Gary Armstrong 
With strong rumours last week that leading Borussia Dortmund marksman Robert Lewandowski will be leaving the Westfalenstadion in the summer for arch-rivals Bayern Munich, there are genuine fears amongst the Dortmund faithful and football supporters worldwide that the reigning German champions’ golden generation may be torn apart before it reaches its prime.
Rangers’ Scottish Cup 4th Round exit at the hands of Dundee United last Saturday ensures that there will be no Old Firm derby in Scottish football this season for the first time since World War II.
Although still in relative infancy in Europe, the Brazil 2014 qualification campaign for many other continents began in earnest as far back as June 2011. With under 500 days to go until the finals, we look outside of Europe at the countries most likely to make it to the upcoming World Cup.
With votes due to be cast by fellow professionals next month, we make an early prediction as to the likely nominees and contenders for the Premier League’s best player this season.
Having started with only 2 players with over 8 previous caps and a whole raft of youngsters in an impressive 1-1 draw with Italy on Wednesday night, are we about to witness a successful new generation of Dutch talent under the stewardship of veteran coach Louis Van Gaal?
Arguably the Premier League’s best goalkeeper this season, QPR’s signing of Julio Cesar in the summer surprised many, yet he has been instrumental in the club’s recent upturn in form and has since gained a re-call to the Brazilian national team as well as the rumoured interest of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
As of Sunday night, SSC Napoli sit in second place in Serie A, just 3 points behind champions Juventus, 6 points ahead of Lazio and 9 points ahead of Milan giants Inter and AC. This is a remarkable achievement for the Azzuri of Naples, especially when you consider that just 9 years ago, the club were declared bankrupt and demoted to the third tier of Italian football.
At the age of just 22 years old, Blackburn Rovers striker Jordan Rhodes netted his 100th Football League goal on Saturday, in a 2-0 defeat of Bristol Rovers. With the Ewood Park side unlikely to achieve promotion this season, Rhodes’ goal scoring exploits mean that there’s every chance he will reach the big time before Blackburn do.