Soccer Sorcery

According to Diego Maradona, the man responsible for Carlos Tevez's triumphant return to Manchester City after months in exile after his fallout with Roberto Mancini over whether he would enter a Champions League match is Diego Maradona. From the Belfast Telegraph : "I told Tevez, 'you must go back now'," Maradona told national press."I said that because he was losing money but also because he needed to play football again," he added. So not only is Maradona Tevez's most trusted source of sound logic, but he is also apparently the striker's accountant. Which is even more terrifying for Carlos considering how much Maradona owes the Italian government in back taxes.

Manchester United's Paul Pogba (right) in action against Athletic Bilbao's Javi Martinez Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is hopeful Paul Pogba will stay and predicts a "fantastic" future for the player at Old Trafford. The 19-year-old midfielder was linked with a move to Juventus but, having featured in the Reds' last three games, is now back in the United fold. Ferguson, speaking at Friday's press conference, said: ""We want Pogba to stay because we think he's going to be a fantastic Manchester United player and hopefully that's the case." Sir Alex Ferguson launches amazing attack on Manchester City Bryan Robson: Ferguson will give Manchester United title edge Ferguson alsohas hailed Jonny Evans' contribution to the Unitedcause this season. The Northern Ireland international has featured more often in central defence for United than any other player in this injury-ravage...

During the World Cup 2006 quarter-final penalty shoot out between Germany and Argentina, Jens Lehmann's stellar performance was attributed to a cheat sheet he kept stuffed under his shin pad, detailing the spot-kick habits of La Albiceleste's finest. When last night's DFB Pokal semi-final between Borussia Mnchengladbach and Bayern Munich ended goalless after 120 minutes, Mnchengladbach shot stopper Marc-Andr ter Stegen attempted to replicate Lehmann's heroic feats, with a similar note prepared by goalkeeping coach Uwe Kamps. Sadly, it didn't work out quite so well. According to Bild , the note explained how David Alaba tends to shoot low and to the right (he did, but too powerfully to be saved), Franck Ribery usually smacks the ball up the middle (he didn't) and Thomas Mller often chooses careful placement over power (he had been subbed off earlier in the game). Ter Stegen didn't save a single spot kick, and probably would have been better off randomly guess...

While Lionel Messi has been busying himself with silly Barcelona club records for most goals scored , Sergio Ramos has earned a Real Madrid record that will be far more important to tell his grandkids about (mostly as a way to keep them in line). Yes, during Real Madrid's heavily refereed 1-1 draw against Villarreal on Wednesday, Sergio Ramos was shown the 11th red card of his La Liga career, which is a new club record (previously held by Fernando Hierro). The Ramos was booked twice in the second half, with the second coming after his odd pirouette tackle Nilmar. And once Ramos was sent off, teammate Mesut Ozil was shown a red card of his own for apparently getting mouthy with the sensitive ref (Jose Mourinho was also sent off for dissent and a member of his staff was red carded for clapping in support of Cristiano Ronaldo after he was fouled). Congratulations to Sergio Ramos on this achievement. He's only 25 years old, so he still has plenty of time to collect a lot more red c...

Seeing your favorite team play in person for the first time is a special day for any child. But when you spend the first half in terrible pain because your favorite team's star player accidentally snapped your wrist like a twig with a pre-match cannon shot, it tends to put a damper on the day. Or make it even more special, depending on how you look at it. For 9-year-old Jamie Thomas, this is exactly what happened when he went to see his beloved Manchester United beat Wolves 5-0 last weekend and an errant Wayne Rooney shot came his way. From the Shropshire Star : Jamie's father Andy said: "It was his first Man Utd game and we were in the Wolves end because somebody got us tickets. "We were sat on the first row right at the front. [...] "The players were warming up and Rooney and Hernandez were taking a few shots. Rooney missed one and it was coming straight towards Jamie so he put out his hands to stop it hitting him and it broke his wrist. "At first we tho...

Have you ever dreamed of a place where the warm sun dries Iker Casillas tears before they reach his cheek, the Persian Gulf breeze blows through Xabi Alonso's beard and Pepe is stomping someone to death on the beach? Then welcome to Real Madrid Resort Island -- the planned holiday resort in the United Arab Emirates scheduled to open in January 2015. From Reuters : A presentation at the Bernabeu on Thursday showed plans for sports facilities, a marina, luxury hotels and villas, an amusement park, a club museum and a 10,000-seat stadium with one side open to the sea. "It is a decisive and strategic step that will strengthen our institution in the Middle East and Asia," said Real president Florentino Perez. The 4.6 million square foot venture is in partnership with the government of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and is expected to attract a million visitors in its first year of operation. But since that's a whole three years away, Jose Mourinho probably won't be one ...

Manchester United winger Nani Manchester United winger Nani should be back in contention for the Fulham game after returning to training after an ankle injury. And with Phil Jones over his recent bout of flu, the Reds are in strong shape for the home clash with Fulham on Monday. "There are no problems with injuries," Ferguson told www.manutd.com . "It's much better now." With Chris Smalling recovering from a head injury and Antonio Valencia instantly hitting his stride against Wolves, Ferguson will have a powerful squad to select from. The Reds could go into the game second in the title race, with Manchester City playing at Stoke on Saturday evening. Will United beat City to the title? Have your say. Tweet