Mihir Bose: It would be wrong to say there are no German lessons for English football

In the next few days we shall hear much about how the all German Champions League Final on Saturday is a game changer. True, the way Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund destroyed Real Madrid and Barcelona suggested a dramatic shift in power from Spain to Germany. But such conclusions, while both common and tempting immediately after the whistle has blown, rarely stand up to more considered scrutiny.

If a couple of matches can produce such dramatic football changes then why did the Manchester United-Chelsea final in Moscow in 2008 not leave an imprint on the game?

Read more …

Lee Wellings: It’s up to you – New York New York…

‘New York , New York so good they named it twice’.

I’m pretty sure singer-songwriter Gerard Kenny wasn’t referring to soccer when he delivered this hit record in 1978, but suddenly the game will be all over the city.

New York WILL be named twice in the MLS have when the New York City FC franchise join the Red Bulls in 2015. The Red Bulls actually play in New Jersey but remember also the famous old New York Cosmos are about to re-emerge in the second tier of American football……

Read more …

No place for losers in the race for the Premier League’s TV cash

TV broadcasts

By Paul Nicholson
May 23 – The difference between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ in English football was emphasised again by the release by the Premier League of their broadcast payments to clubs for the 2012/13 season just finished. Even within the Premier League, the payments to clubs show a huge gap with Manchester United at the top earning 34% more than bottom placed QPR.

Read more …

David Owen: Ja, ja, it’s German week in London – but should we be congratulating the FA for its foresight in rebuilding Wembley?

Yes, OK, this is the German renaissance – and the juxtaposition of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Saturday’s European Cup final certainly indicates that German football is doing something right.

But, in one small detail, the match is a notable coup for the English game: it is being played at Wembley, the second time in just three years that European club football’s flagship occasion has been staged underneath the now famous arch.

Read more …

Pizza Hut step in for a slice of women’s football in Bangladesh

womens football in banglaes vs iran

By Mark Baber
May 22 – The Bangladeshi women’ side lost 9-0 against Thailand and Iran lost 6-0 to the Philippines yesterday in the AFC Women’s Asia Cup Qualifiers in Dhaka yesterday. The qualifiers, played in the Bangabandhu National Stadium, are being sponsored by Pizza Hut’s local franchisee, Transcom, a multi-sector company who run a number of Pizza Hut franchises in the country.

Read more …