RSS
ATOM
advertisement
Exclusive Interview: Melbourne Victory Captain Kevin Muscat
Kevin Muscat talks to Goal.com's Chris Paraskevas about why Melbourne could host a World Cup final, his reputation as a dirty player, Ljubo Milicevic, Asia, a potential Hollywood career and much more...
|
Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £100 in free bets! |
|
Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
Sign up with Paddy Power for a free bet up to £50 |
Jun 29, 2009 6:07:03 AM
Heading into potentially his final season on the pitch, former Australia international Kevin Muscat talks about what it means to have returned home and won two championships with Melbourne Victory and insists there is life yet in his 35-year-old legs ahead of the club's A-League title defence...
Goal.com: Kevin, I guess the first question is, how much longer are you going to play for?
Kevin Muscat: I think the answer to the question is, I don’t know. It’s too difficult to look forward and see how the body is going to hold up. I can only speak here and now, and at this point in time I feel strong and the body’s not causing me too much grief, so I’m quite comfortable.
Goal: Do you remember a time where perhaps you were the young player, causing the older boys trouble?
KM: Without a doubt, you look back on your career at those people who were all there to help you. I suppose I’m at a time now where I draw inspiration from the younger boys and watching how they go about their business, because in modern day football you need to do a lot more physically with your body, which is what I’m trying to do.
Goal: What did it mean to you to come back to Australia at the end of your career and see these young players coming through?
KM: To be honest with you, when I came to Australia I didn’t think I was getting towards the back-end of my career. By no means did I think it was the end, I still knew I had a few good years in me and I basically had the idea of giving something back to the game and to the country that gave me so much. It’s great at the moment and long may it continue. I think we still have to strive forward and bring through youngsters. Realistically we’ve got to start creating the players for 2018 and 2022 and that starts with the youngsters now and that for me is the next major step in building a football nation.
Goal: You said you had come back to give something to the game over here; in what capacity do you see yourself doing that in the future? Melbourne have spoken about a coaching role for you in the long-term.
KM: At this point in time I’ve maintained that the Melbourne Victory have been great to me and I think I’ve worn my heart on my sleeve also and have been fortunate enough to create a very good relationship with them. In the years to come, upon my retirement, I’ll move into the coaching side of things as an assistant coach – that’s already set in stone – but that’s not to say I’m looking forward to it already, because I’ve got so much football to look forward to before that. But I’ll certainly be doing my apprenticeship because it’s something I’ve given a lot of thought to and want to have a crack at. Like I said, it’s a long way off; 12 months of football is certainly a long time.
Goal: Have you been able to develop a passion and love for the club during your time at Melbourne? Is the A-League that different to England in that respect?
KM: It’s no different, especially because of the fact that I’m a Melbourne boy, that I came here from day one and have hopefully had an impact. What we’ve been able to create here in Melbourne, everyone in the football club should be very proud of. The Melbourne public have responded and our fans have by far been the best over the four seasons and of course if you spend four years at the club and with the success we’ve had, you create some sort of love affair not only with the football club but with the fans in general.
Goal: Has it been difficult to connect with fans and the public, given Melbourne’s reputation as an AFL town?
KM: It goes without saying that it’s been difficult. People on the inside understand exactly what has been done, players have been asked to go well above the call of being a footballer to get out in the public and work hard. But at the same time, I was always adamant that there were enough football-loving people in this city to create something special and along the way you’ll find that a pretty high percentage of our members also have an AFL membership. The two codes are played at different times of the year so there’s certainly room for us.
Goal: So Melbourne is an example of how different codes don’t necessarily have to compete but can co-exist in Australia?
KM: I think the first mistake you make is trying to compete. That’s the ultimate sin. AFL has been a well-established business in this town and in this city for a number of years, so to take someone from the embryonic stage would have been a crazy thing to do. You’ve got to clean up your own background, start planting some seeds, and the way that the football club and the board of directors has gone about things has been spot on. The evidence of that is that, as I said, there are a high number of our members who follow AFL. A number of people have actually said ‘I can’t wait for the football to start’, in terms of our code, because it offers something different. You don’t want to convert someone but what you’re trying to do is fill the stadiums, and creating an ‘us against them’ mentality was never going to work.
Goal: Do you think it’s important that cities like Melbourne, and Australia generally, build relationships between the various sports codes for the 2018/2022 World Cup bids?
KM: For the actual World Cup bids it goes well beyond what the Melbourne Victory can do as a football club. The FFA are well entrenched across all the codes of football and I’m pretty sure the government will have a part to play as we get closer. I’m pretty sure everything will fall into place. The World Cup is something special, something different. You can talk about any code or any sport around the world but the World Cup is isolated, well above everything, so I’m pretty sure that getting the World Cup is not only massive for our code of football but for what it does for the country on the world stage.
Goal: You’ve seen first-hand the passion for sport that the people of Melbourne have. What would it mean for Melbourne to host a Wold Cup final?
KM: The debate will go long into the night but my theory at this point in time is to let the people in the right places, making the right decisions, firstly get the right to host it and then if that happens, why not? Melbourne has been well represented in terms of getting out and supporting not only our code of football but any sport. If Melbourne was given the opportunity to host any game, they’d do a fantastic job.
Goal: Let’s talk about your time in Asia with the Melbourne Victory now. The Asian Champions League is obviously a fairly new competition to Australia, what was it like to compete in it?
KM: The reality is we’re challenged so much, we saw recently Newcastle [lose to Pohang]. The challenges are so great because we are competing on an uneven playing field. When we [Melbourne Victory] ventured into Asia we were in a group that had Gamba Osaka in it, who won the tournament - we got beaten 4-3 at home, lost 2-0 away and unfairly, in my opinion, the campaign was viewed as a failure. Maybe those comments are made because of the standards we set ourselves, but certainly in the latter stages of the competition Newcastle were handicapped because they hadn’t played a competitive game in 3-4 weeks and that match for me was certainly no surprise.
Goal: Is the difference in standard and quality between the J-League and A-League that big, based on your experience? What was it like playing against Gamba?
KM: The J-League has been going on a lot longer than the A-League and Gamba’s team had three or four top-quality players playing in their national team, players like Endo. Nearly all of the players in the Socceroos these days are playing overseas. But I’ve no doubt that once our seasons are up and running, we’ll be able to compete and Adelaide proved that later on in their campaign where there was a fixture pile-up.
Goal: Is that something that has to change in the future? Australian teams will always struggle coming off the back of a lack of game time...
KM: That’s just the reality. I’ll reiterate that last night was evidence of that. Unfortunately we’ve got handicaps that other countries don’t have, the fact that we can’t move our competition because of the competition for grounds in Australia and memberships is too difficult because we’d be overlapping with the AFL and NRL.
Goal: Ahead of your side’s next Asian Champions League campaign in 2010, are you confident they can go one step further and get out of the group stages?
KM: If the format was as it is now, we would have got out of the group stage [last time]. We were beaten by Gamba, who were at that time by far the best team in the competition, and I remember after they beat us I said they’d go on and win it. This time around though, without a doubt the goal is to get out of the group stages and give the last 16 a shake.
Goal: You mentioned that Gamba have a fully-fledged international, whilst there have been whispers of Mark Viduka and a Melbourne Victry return and the difficulties associated with it. Obviously it would make a difference to have a Viduka in your side...
KM: It goes without saying. For me personally, we [the Socceroos] missed his quality over the last 12 months. He is a special breed and I for one certainly hope he finds a club for himself in Europe and stays fit for the World Cup because we certainly pack a stronger punch when the big fella plays for the national team.
Goal: Speaking of overseas, does England hold a special place for you because you made your name as a footballer there?
KM: Without a doubt. Not only was I able to fulfil a dream playing professionally abroad for ten years, I made some very good friends and both my kids were born in the UK. With a lot of these things you go along in your career and take them for granted but I’m sure when the day comes that I decide to hang the boots up, those memories will certainly mean a lot more to me.
Goal: Did England shape you as a footballer and maybe even as a person?
KM: You certainly realise it when you remember certain lessons that you learn very early on about what it takes to become a footballer and a professional. Possibly each country teaches you very different lessons. It was certainly very cut-throat in the UK and there have been a number of players who do go over there and find it difficult for one reason or another, but certainly the opportunities that it does give you along the way when you do crack it gives you a satisfying feeling.
Goal: Did England toughen you up?
KM: Without a doubt. It certainly is not a league where you’re going to be nursed along. You’ve really got to think on your feet and it’s sink or swim basically. Half the battle is to do with what your character is like and you learn a number of lessons very early on that are going to shape your career.
Goal: Do you think that maybe your time in England and incidents such as the one with Matty Holmes and Ian Wright gave you a bit of an unfair tag as a hard man and a dirty player?
KM: All I’ll say is that ultimately everyone’s got the right to forge an opinion of anyone. I certainly have got opinions of different people but ultimately I’m very comfortable with myself and with my career.
Goal: So you don’t regret anything you’ve done?
KM: Maybe one or two things, we all make mistakes. I challenge anyone who suggests they’ve never done wrong or made a mistake – I’ve certainly made my fair share. Ultimately you look back and think ‘Could I have done that a little bit differently?’ and anyone would say that they might have changed things slightly.
Goal: You had the pleasure of playing with Tim Cahill on the way to an FA Cup final with Millwall. Was it then difficult to miss the final through injury?
KM: I think at the start it was a pleasure for Tim to play with me! I’m only kidding. I was in the national team at the time and I received calls from FFA officials with regards to what Timmy was like and whether it was worth trying to get him to play for Australia, and I said without a doubt. He was a very determined, no-nonsense character who had ‘winner’ written in his eyes and ability. With all of those ingredients you have a half a chance. Unfortunately I missed out on the final but that’s part and parcel of the game – I don’t dwell on things too much, it was a disappointment but what can you do?
Goal: Did disappointments like that and your time in England help to turn you into the strong leader that you are today?
KM: I don’t know if it’s something you get taught. You pick things up and you take the good out of situations and out of people and try to emulate them and hopefully you can carry it off. In my time I certainly played with quite a few strong characters and most times they were successful, whether it was a game of five-a-side or head tennis. It’s something that I wasn’t conscious of developing but which developed in time.
Goal: Are clashes with other players and personalities simply part of your strong character? There was talk of a rift with Ljubo Milicevic during his time with the Melbourne Victory.
KM: It is part and parcel. It’s like anything, where you’ve got two individuals trying to compete for the same thing and one is going to be disappointed. Ultimately both individuals are going to go as far as they can to be successful. I’ve always maintained that I’m the first to congratulate someone if they’ve been beaten and the first to have a drink or a chat after the game. What happens on the green should stay there in my book, but unfortunately it doesn’t stay there too often.
Goal: So the Muscat we see on the pitch doesn’t necessarily reflect the Muscat off the pitch?
KM: Anyone can draw their own judgements and has the right to do so. I’d be very surprised if anyone had the same opinion of me as a person and as a footballer.
Goal: Going back to your time in the UK, was there one club where you enjoyed yourself particularly? You spent time at Rangers as well...
KM: I enjoyed my time at Rangers, where we won the treble, and that meant a lot to me. I reached the FA Cup final with Millwall and spent five great years with Wolverhampton Wanderers and also won promotion with Crystal Palace. With each club there are different defining moments that I can draw upon.
Goal: Moving onto your Australia career now, does that penalty against Uruguay in 2001 rank up as the best moment?
KM: I draw a lot of emotion from that night as it was the first night we had ever won a World Cup qualifier like it on home soil and I managed to score the goal and it was in Melbourne, which made it a bit sweeter.
Goal: Was it hurtful at times playing for the national team? The return loss to Uruguay springs to mind...
KM: It’s like anything. There were some highs, like when we beat France and Scotland away in Hampden Park. We also underachieved for a number of years but the qualifying campaigns were very difficult.
Goal: Does it make you appreciate the job that Pim Verbeek has done with the national team? When you were playing there wasn’t a concern so much with how we played but where we’d qualify. Times have changed today obviously...
KM: We never walked into any game as favourites, apart from the Oceania qualifiers, whereas now with the quality we’ve got we’re favourites. The reality is, we’ve qualified for the World Cup and along the way I don’t think we’ve always had our full compliment of players to choose from, so it’s a massive achievement.
Goal: Kevin, the final question: we’ve seen some of your punditry work on television, but is there a future for you in that? Perhaps even a blockbuster movie?
KM: I don’t know, you tell me! How did I go?
Goal: I didn’t think you were too bad, actually. You scrubbed up quite nicely alongside Craig Foster...
KM: [Laughs] I love football and most things to do with it. I’m fortunate enough to have been invited a few times and I’ve enjoyed it. Of course I’d explore that avenue...
Goal: Kevin, thanks very much for your time and good luck this season.
KM: No problem, it was a pleasure.
Chris Paraskevas, Goal.com
Goal.com: Kevin, I guess the first question is, how much longer are you going to play for?
Kevin Muscat: I think the answer to the question is, I don’t know. It’s too difficult to look forward and see how the body is going to hold up. I can only speak here and now, and at this point in time I feel strong and the body’s not causing me too much grief, so I’m quite comfortable.
Goal: Do you remember a time where perhaps you were the young player, causing the older boys trouble?
KM: Without a doubt, you look back on your career at those people who were all there to help you. I suppose I’m at a time now where I draw inspiration from the younger boys and watching how they go about their business, because in modern day football you need to do a lot more physically with your body, which is what I’m trying to do.
Goal: What did it mean to you to come back to Australia at the end of your career and see these young players coming through?
KM: To be honest with you, when I came to Australia I didn’t think I was getting towards the back-end of my career. By no means did I think it was the end, I still knew I had a few good years in me and I basically had the idea of giving something back to the game and to the country that gave me so much. It’s great at the moment and long may it continue. I think we still have to strive forward and bring through youngsters. Realistically we’ve got to start creating the players for 2018 and 2022 and that starts with the youngsters now and that for me is the next major step in building a football nation.
Goal: You said you had come back to give something to the game over here; in what capacity do you see yourself doing that in the future? Melbourne have spoken about a coaching role for you in the long-term.
KM: At this point in time I’ve maintained that the Melbourne Victory have been great to me and I think I’ve worn my heart on my sleeve also and have been fortunate enough to create a very good relationship with them. In the years to come, upon my retirement, I’ll move into the coaching side of things as an assistant coach – that’s already set in stone – but that’s not to say I’m looking forward to it already, because I’ve got so much football to look forward to before that. But I’ll certainly be doing my apprenticeship because it’s something I’ve given a lot of thought to and want to have a crack at. Like I said, it’s a long way off; 12 months of football is certainly a long time.
Goal: Have you been able to develop a passion and love for the club during your time at Melbourne? Is the A-League that different to England in that respect?
KM: It’s no different, especially because of the fact that I’m a Melbourne boy, that I came here from day one and have hopefully had an impact. What we’ve been able to create here in Melbourne, everyone in the football club should be very proud of. The Melbourne public have responded and our fans have by far been the best over the four seasons and of course if you spend four years at the club and with the success we’ve had, you create some sort of love affair not only with the football club but with the fans in general.
Goal: Has it been difficult to connect with fans and the public, given Melbourne’s reputation as an AFL town?
KM: It goes without saying that it’s been difficult. People on the inside understand exactly what has been done, players have been asked to go well above the call of being a footballer to get out in the public and work hard. But at the same time, I was always adamant that there were enough football-loving people in this city to create something special and along the way you’ll find that a pretty high percentage of our members also have an AFL membership. The two codes are played at different times of the year so there’s certainly room for us.
Goal: So Melbourne is an example of how different codes don’t necessarily have to compete but can co-exist in Australia?
KM: I think the first mistake you make is trying to compete. That’s the ultimate sin. AFL has been a well-established business in this town and in this city for a number of years, so to take someone from the embryonic stage would have been a crazy thing to do. You’ve got to clean up your own background, start planting some seeds, and the way that the football club and the board of directors has gone about things has been spot on. The evidence of that is that, as I said, there are a high number of our members who follow AFL. A number of people have actually said ‘I can’t wait for the football to start’, in terms of our code, because it offers something different. You don’t want to convert someone but what you’re trying to do is fill the stadiums, and creating an ‘us against them’ mentality was never going to work.
Goal: Do you think it’s important that cities like Melbourne, and Australia generally, build relationships between the various sports codes for the 2018/2022 World Cup bids?
KM: For the actual World Cup bids it goes well beyond what the Melbourne Victory can do as a football club. The FFA are well entrenched across all the codes of football and I’m pretty sure the government will have a part to play as we get closer. I’m pretty sure everything will fall into place. The World Cup is something special, something different. You can talk about any code or any sport around the world but the World Cup is isolated, well above everything, so I’m pretty sure that getting the World Cup is not only massive for our code of football but for what it does for the country on the world stage.
Goal: You’ve seen first-hand the passion for sport that the people of Melbourne have. What would it mean for Melbourne to host a Wold Cup final?
KM: The debate will go long into the night but my theory at this point in time is to let the people in the right places, making the right decisions, firstly get the right to host it and then if that happens, why not? Melbourne has been well represented in terms of getting out and supporting not only our code of football but any sport. If Melbourne was given the opportunity to host any game, they’d do a fantastic job.
Goal: Let’s talk about your time in Asia with the Melbourne Victory now. The Asian Champions League is obviously a fairly new competition to Australia, what was it like to compete in it?
KM: The reality is we’re challenged so much, we saw recently Newcastle [lose to Pohang]. The challenges are so great because we are competing on an uneven playing field. When we [Melbourne Victory] ventured into Asia we were in a group that had Gamba Osaka in it, who won the tournament - we got beaten 4-3 at home, lost 2-0 away and unfairly, in my opinion, the campaign was viewed as a failure. Maybe those comments are made because of the standards we set ourselves, but certainly in the latter stages of the competition Newcastle were handicapped because they hadn’t played a competitive game in 3-4 weeks and that match for me was certainly no surprise.
Goal: Is the difference in standard and quality between the J-League and A-League that big, based on your experience? What was it like playing against Gamba?
KM: The J-League has been going on a lot longer than the A-League and Gamba’s team had three or four top-quality players playing in their national team, players like Endo. Nearly all of the players in the Socceroos these days are playing overseas. But I’ve no doubt that once our seasons are up and running, we’ll be able to compete and Adelaide proved that later on in their campaign where there was a fixture pile-up.
Goal: Is that something that has to change in the future? Australian teams will always struggle coming off the back of a lack of game time...
KM: That’s just the reality. I’ll reiterate that last night was evidence of that. Unfortunately we’ve got handicaps that other countries don’t have, the fact that we can’t move our competition because of the competition for grounds in Australia and memberships is too difficult because we’d be overlapping with the AFL and NRL.
Goal: Ahead of your side’s next Asian Champions League campaign in 2010, are you confident they can go one step further and get out of the group stages?
KM: If the format was as it is now, we would have got out of the group stage [last time]. We were beaten by Gamba, who were at that time by far the best team in the competition, and I remember after they beat us I said they’d go on and win it. This time around though, without a doubt the goal is to get out of the group stages and give the last 16 a shake.
Goal: You mentioned that Gamba have a fully-fledged international, whilst there have been whispers of Mark Viduka and a Melbourne Victry return and the difficulties associated with it. Obviously it would make a difference to have a Viduka in your side...
KM: It goes without saying. For me personally, we [the Socceroos] missed his quality over the last 12 months. He is a special breed and I for one certainly hope he finds a club for himself in Europe and stays fit for the World Cup because we certainly pack a stronger punch when the big fella plays for the national team.
Goal: Speaking of overseas, does England hold a special place for you because you made your name as a footballer there?
KM: Without a doubt. Not only was I able to fulfil a dream playing professionally abroad for ten years, I made some very good friends and both my kids were born in the UK. With a lot of these things you go along in your career and take them for granted but I’m sure when the day comes that I decide to hang the boots up, those memories will certainly mean a lot more to me.
Goal: Did England shape you as a footballer and maybe even as a person?
KM: You certainly realise it when you remember certain lessons that you learn very early on about what it takes to become a footballer and a professional. Possibly each country teaches you very different lessons. It was certainly very cut-throat in the UK and there have been a number of players who do go over there and find it difficult for one reason or another, but certainly the opportunities that it does give you along the way when you do crack it gives you a satisfying feeling.
Goal: Did England toughen you up?
KM: Without a doubt. It certainly is not a league where you’re going to be nursed along. You’ve really got to think on your feet and it’s sink or swim basically. Half the battle is to do with what your character is like and you learn a number of lessons very early on that are going to shape your career.
Goal: Do you think that maybe your time in England and incidents such as the one with Matty Holmes and Ian Wright gave you a bit of an unfair tag as a hard man and a dirty player?
KM: All I’ll say is that ultimately everyone’s got the right to forge an opinion of anyone. I certainly have got opinions of different people but ultimately I’m very comfortable with myself and with my career.
Goal: So you don’t regret anything you’ve done?
KM: Maybe one or two things, we all make mistakes. I challenge anyone who suggests they’ve never done wrong or made a mistake – I’ve certainly made my fair share. Ultimately you look back and think ‘Could I have done that a little bit differently?’ and anyone would say that they might have changed things slightly.
Goal: You had the pleasure of playing with Tim Cahill on the way to an FA Cup final with Millwall. Was it then difficult to miss the final through injury?
KM: I think at the start it was a pleasure for Tim to play with me! I’m only kidding. I was in the national team at the time and I received calls from FFA officials with regards to what Timmy was like and whether it was worth trying to get him to play for Australia, and I said without a doubt. He was a very determined, no-nonsense character who had ‘winner’ written in his eyes and ability. With all of those ingredients you have a half a chance. Unfortunately I missed out on the final but that’s part and parcel of the game – I don’t dwell on things too much, it was a disappointment but what can you do?
Goal: Did disappointments like that and your time in England help to turn you into the strong leader that you are today?
KM: I don’t know if it’s something you get taught. You pick things up and you take the good out of situations and out of people and try to emulate them and hopefully you can carry it off. In my time I certainly played with quite a few strong characters and most times they were successful, whether it was a game of five-a-side or head tennis. It’s something that I wasn’t conscious of developing but which developed in time.
Goal: Are clashes with other players and personalities simply part of your strong character? There was talk of a rift with Ljubo Milicevic during his time with the Melbourne Victory.
KM: It is part and parcel. It’s like anything, where you’ve got two individuals trying to compete for the same thing and one is going to be disappointed. Ultimately both individuals are going to go as far as they can to be successful. I’ve always maintained that I’m the first to congratulate someone if they’ve been beaten and the first to have a drink or a chat after the game. What happens on the green should stay there in my book, but unfortunately it doesn’t stay there too often.
Goal: So the Muscat we see on the pitch doesn’t necessarily reflect the Muscat off the pitch?
KM: Anyone can draw their own judgements and has the right to do so. I’d be very surprised if anyone had the same opinion of me as a person and as a footballer.
Goal: Going back to your time in the UK, was there one club where you enjoyed yourself particularly? You spent time at Rangers as well...
KM: I enjoyed my time at Rangers, where we won the treble, and that meant a lot to me. I reached the FA Cup final with Millwall and spent five great years with Wolverhampton Wanderers and also won promotion with Crystal Palace. With each club there are different defining moments that I can draw upon.
Goal: Moving onto your Australia career now, does that penalty against Uruguay in 2001 rank up as the best moment?
KM: I draw a lot of emotion from that night as it was the first night we had ever won a World Cup qualifier like it on home soil and I managed to score the goal and it was in Melbourne, which made it a bit sweeter.
Goal: Was it hurtful at times playing for the national team? The return loss to Uruguay springs to mind...
KM: It’s like anything. There were some highs, like when we beat France and Scotland away in Hampden Park. We also underachieved for a number of years but the qualifying campaigns were very difficult.
Goal: Does it make you appreciate the job that Pim Verbeek has done with the national team? When you were playing there wasn’t a concern so much with how we played but where we’d qualify. Times have changed today obviously...
KM: We never walked into any game as favourites, apart from the Oceania qualifiers, whereas now with the quality we’ve got we’re favourites. The reality is, we’ve qualified for the World Cup and along the way I don’t think we’ve always had our full compliment of players to choose from, so it’s a massive achievement.
Goal: Kevin, the final question: we’ve seen some of your punditry work on television, but is there a future for you in that? Perhaps even a blockbuster movie?
KM: I don’t know, you tell me! How did I go?
Goal: I didn’t think you were too bad, actually. You scrubbed up quite nicely alongside Craig Foster...
KM: [Laughs] I love football and most things to do with it. I’m fortunate enough to have been invited a few times and I’ve enjoyed it. Of course I’d explore that avenue...
Goal: Kevin, thanks very much for your time and good luck this season.
KM: No problem, it was a pleasure.
Chris Paraskevas, Goal.com
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £100 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power for a free bet up to £50 |
|
Thank you for your comment!
Please enter your name
Please enter your location
Please share your comment!
1 Comments
Advertisement
Inside Goal.Com
-
Fabio Capello & FA differ on public perception
The governing body played the populist game and lost a manager who still had English football's best interests at heart but would not accept responsibility without command
-
The top 20 clubs in football's money league
Deloitte's annual publication of the richest sides in football sees a familiar Spanish duo stretch their advantage over England's finest in 2010-11
-
How Capello's exit will affect England's players
As the national team enters a new era, we take a look at the players who are now destined for big things and those potentially heading for the scrapheap under a new boss
-
Cartoon: Redknapp sentenced to England service
Goal.com cartoonist Omar Momani gives us his unique take on the football news of the day ...
-
The list of clubs that could try to sign Capello
Now that the Italian is no longer the England head coach, it is likely that a number of high-profile clubs from across Europe and elsewhere will make an attempt to lure him
Advertisement
Advertisement
