Blogs

With less than 1,000 days to go until the 2014 FIFA World Cup Finals, Brazil's preparations are in turmoil. Progress on stadia is slow, costs are escalating, and several FIFA deadlines have already been missed. Aleks Klosok explains why world football's premier tournament could be heading for a late kick-off

Aleks Klosok takes a closer look at ten Brazilian stars who have, in recent years, followed a path already well trodden by their fellow compatriots, in turning their backs on the lure of European club football in favour of a welcome return to home comforts

Why RemiX is dub-obsessed, and why you should be too

A serial adulterer, a volatile character, an incurable alcoholic and yet undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary entertainers the game is ever likely to see. Aleks Klosok pays tribute to the controversial, colourful and captivating life of a man many consider to be the forgotten hero of Brazilian Football: Garrincha

Aleks Klosok explains why A Seleção's latest set of International Friendlies - an underwhelming 1-0 victory in Costa Rica last Friday followed by an industrious 2-1 win away to 2011 Gold Cup Champions Mexico on Tuesday - have left their under pressure Head Coach Mano Menezes will plenty of food for thought

Over the coming months Aleks Klosok will be reporting from Brazil on players past and present, A Seleção and the country's preparations ahead of hosting the FIFA World Cup Finals in 2014. He kicks-off by looking at ten players to keep an eye on in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

Unbeaten in eleven games in all competitions - a run stretching back to May 2011 - presently occupying a UEFA Champions League position and, as it stands, boasting the tightest defensive backline in the whole of the Barclays Premier League. Aleks Klosok reflects upon Newcastle United's sensational start to the new season

Rejected by Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton as a teenager, an established member of the Tranmere Rovers first-team at the age of 18 and just a year later snapped up by German football giants FC Bayern Munich. Aleks Klosok reports on the remarkable and somewhat unexpected fortunes of Dale Jennings

Huw Fullerton samples all that Amsterdam has to offer. No, not that.

Joe Nicholson makes the most of his last few days with beer and sightseeing in Vienna, Amsterdam, Brussels and Bruges

Huw Fullerton samples all that Amsterdam has to offer. No, not that.

In the second part of his countdown to European Club Football's Big Kick-Off, Aleks Klosok looks ahead to an intriguing set of opponents that lie in wait for the four English clubs involved in the UEFA Europa League Group Stages

Joe Nicholson speeds through Italy and Croatia as his trip nears its end

As European Football's Elite Club Competition returns to the fold this week for its landmark 20th season, Aleks Klosok previews the UEFA Champions League Groups involving English participation