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Argentina: World Cup 2014 video profile
World Cup draw countdown!
USA: World Cup 2014 video profile
Spain: World Cup 2014 video profile
Russia: World Cup 2014 video profile
Portugal: World Cup 2014 video profile
Mexico: World Cup 2014 video profile
Italy: World Cup 2014 video profile
Germany: World Cup 2014 video profile
France: World Cup 2014 video profile
England: World Cup 2014 video profile
Chile: World Cup 2014 video profile
Brazil: World Cup 2014 video profile
England Supporters' Band vow to play on at World Cup in Brazil
United to go back in for Herrera
World Cup 2014 draw: live webchat
Bendtner keen to take Arsenal chance
Manchester United: five things to do to get David Moyes' reign back on track | Jamie Jackson
Ryan Giggs says Manchester United players must pick themselves up fast
Senna in Ireland, Ronaldo v Ronaldo and (possibly) the golf shot of the year | Classic YouTube
Suárez vows to stay at Liverpool
Moyes, Bendtner and much, much more
The rise and fall and rise of Borussia Dortmund and the Germany team
Football transfer rumours: clear-out at Manchester United?
David Moyes says Manchester United have no room for error in title push

Argentina: World Cup 2014 video profile

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 10:30 PM PST

Argentina are one of 32 teams to have qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Here we assess their chances

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:21 AM PST

Join Paul Doyle for all of the latest news and updates from Brazil on the eve of the draw for next summer's tournament

Paul Doyle

Barry Glendenning

USA: World Cup 2014 video profile

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 05:32 AM PST

We look at the USA's chances of succeeding at the 2014 World Cup under coach Jürgen Klinsmann

Spain: World Cup 2014 video profile

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 05:29 AM PST

Here we assess the chances of world champions Spain of retaining the title in Brazil next summer

Russia: World Cup 2014 video profile

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 05:28 AM PST

Russia have not participated in the World Cup finals since 2002. We assess their chances at the 2014 tournament

Portugal: World Cup 2014 video profile

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 05:25 AM PST

We assess Portugal's chances in World Cup 2014 after their bumpy road to World Cup qualification

Mexico: World Cup 2014 video profile

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 05:22 AM PST

Mexico's route to World Cup qualification was far from perfect. We look at their prospects for the 2014 tournament

Italy: World Cup 2014 video profile

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 05:21 AM PST

As four-time World Cup champions, Italy will be looking for a fifth title when they travel to Brazil in 2014

Germany: World Cup 2014 video profile

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 05:20 AM PST

Germany qualified unbeaten and are one of the favourites to win the title. We assess their chances

France: World Cup 2014 video profile

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 05:19 AM PST

We assess France's chances, with manager Didier Deschamps having some strong players, including Paul Pogba, Raphaël Varane and Franck Ribéry, at his disposal

England: World Cup 2014 video profile

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 05:08 AM PST

England will travel to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as the unbeaten winners of Group H. Here we assess the prospects for Roy Hodgson's team

Chile: World Cup 2014 video profile

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 05:00 AM PST

Chile are dangerous opponents, and impressed in defeating England 2-0 in a November friendly. Here we look at the chances of Chilean World Cup success

Brazil: World Cup 2014 video profile

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 04:53 AM PST

Host nation Brazil have won the World Cup a record five times. Here we assess whether they can add a sixth trophy to their name

England Supporters' Band vow to play on at World Cup in Brazil

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 04:37 AM PST

• World Cup organisers want to ban instruments in stadiums
• Band member hopes FA will help them get around ban

The England Supporters' Band have vowed to play on in Brazil next summer despite the insistence of World Cup organisers that musical instruments will be banned from stadiums for the duration of the tournament.

World Cup managing director Ron DelMont said at a press conference in Salvador this week: "Brazil doesn't need instruments to enhance what you are going to experience in the stadium." But England band member John Hemmingham insists such statements are par for the course and remains confident the ruling will be eased to enable his six-strong brass band to provide a backdrop to England's World Cup bid.

"Instruments are banned from most grounds including Wembley, but we have got a fantastic relationship with the Football Association and I'm sure they will be doing their best to help us on this particular occasion," said Hemmingham. "Obviously you can't have everybody bringing a drum into the stadium or it would be chaos, but we're all about creating a happy atmosphere and I'm sure when organisers realise this we will be all right."

The band were initially banned from backing England at Euro 2012 but tournament officials relented after the FA stepped in.

"We're fans first and foremost so we will be there regardless," added Hemmingham. "We have not missed a game since 1996. We would never miss the match but if we were not allowed in we would still be there to create a great atmosphere outside the stadium."

United to go back in for Herrera

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 04:31 AM PST

• Hoping to get him for less than his €36m release clause
• United want no repeat of embarrassing summer scenes

David Moyes is considering returning for Athletic Bilbao's Ander Herrera in the January transfer window, with the Manchester United manager conscious he has to strengthen his midfield resources.

Herrera is understood to be open to a transfer to United and if Moyes were to move again for the 24-year-old he may hope to prise him from Bilbao for less than his €36m (£29.9m) buyout clause as the player has struggled to reclaim his form in the early part of the Spanish season.

A deal to buy Herrera in the summer failed after United refused to pay the fee with the Basque club refusing to lower the price due, in part, to their policy of only fielding players from the region.

Given the farce on the closing day of the last window which featured three Spanish lawyers, Rodrigo García Lucas, Alvaro Reig Gurrea and Guillermo Gutiérrez being photographed entering Spanish league offices apparently acting for United - subsequently denied by the club - if Moyes does attempt to prise Herrera away again, he and Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, would have to be confident of success.

But Wednesday evening's 1-0 defeat to Everton that left United 12 points behind the leaders, Arsenal, plus the disappointing start to the career of the £27.5m summer signing, Marouane Fellaini, will have concentrated minds at Old Trafford regarding recruitment in the winter window.

Jamie Jackson

World Cup 2014 draw: live webchat

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 04:18 AM PST

Our Latin America correspondent Jonathan Watts was online from Brazil to answer your World Cup questions
• World Cup 2014 draw countdown – live!

Jonathan Watts

Bendtner keen to take Arsenal chance

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 03:44 AM PST

• Forward scored in 2-0 win against Hull City
• 'It has been difficult for players not in the team'

Nicklas Bendtner admits it has been tough watching from the bench as Arsenal stormed to the top of the Barclays Premier League, but remains ready for when his next chance will come.

The 25-year-old Denmark international was recalled to the Gunners' starting XI against Hull at the Emirates on Wednesday night to give leading forward Olivier Giroud a rest – and headed the home side in front inside two minutes.

It was Bendtner's first goal for Arsenal since March 2011. Since then he has had several unsuccessful loan spells and hit the headlines with his off-field behaviour last month following a police caution for causing damage to an apartment building where he lives.

Arsenal went on to win the match 2-0 and stay four points clear of Chelsea at the top of the table as Arsène Wenger's men continued to lay down a marker for a long overdue assault on the Premier League title.

Wenger feels Bendtner, who was close to leaving in the summer, has the attributes to produce consistent performances if he is fully focused, and the forward intends to do just that as Arsenal get set for a testing run of fixtures.

"It was a fantastic feeling, I think my celebration for the goal was a show of that," Bendtner told Arsenal Player. "It was my first Premier League game this season, so I am pleased to have scored and that we won.

"It has been difficult for the players who have not been in the team because we have had such good form and the players who have played have been magnificent. With the way people play now, it looks like whoever comes in takes it in his stride and goes with it, that showed again because there were a couple of changes and everybody played well."

There is little respite ahead for Arsenal who host Everton on Sunday, then travel to Napoli for their final Champions League group match before a crunch clash at Manchester City on the following Saturday.

Bendtner said: "We are very much looking forward to it because we know this is a very hard period coming up and we need everybody to be focused and sharp, but we will take just one game at a time and try to put the points on the table."

Manchester United: five things to do to get David Moyes' reign back on track | Jamie Jackson

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 03:36 AM PST

Van Persie's absence is proving costly and with no early return Moyes faces pressure to buy well in the January transfer window
• Manchester United to go back in for Bilbao's Ander Herrera

1) Get Robin van Persie fit

Both David Moyes and Ryan Giggs bemoaned the wasted chances following Wednesday evening's 1-0 defeat to Everton. The one man even more clinical than the 10-goal Wayne Rooney is Robin van Persie. The Dutchman has managed eight strikes so far in a season limited to 13 Manchester United appearances due to the toe and groin injuries that have already impacted on the champions' hopes of defending their title. Van Persie last played in the 1-0 win over Arsenal at Old Trafford on 10 November. The 30-year-old scored the winner that day to lift United to fifth and a manageable five points from the leaders. In his absence since, United have failed to win. There have been a pair of draws, at Cardiff City and Tottenham Hotspur, plus the reverse to Everton: forget trying to compete for a 21st crown, two points from nine is hardly Champions League qualification form.

On Wednesday, after his old club had beaten his new one, Moyes said: "We had some chances and, if we took them, then the game could have changed dramatically. We didn't take them and in the end we lost the game. There were a couple of big moments for us to score, one or two opportunities. Everton were always a threat on the break, they broke very quickly against us but I always felt we could just about nick it. But in the end, we didn't do so."

The sooner the Scot can again name Van Persie in the starting XI the better the side's chances of edging any close match. However the prognosis does not sound good: "I don't know [when Robin will return]," Moyes said. "We've been trying to get him back for a few weeks. But he is not ready yet. It's his groin. It's a sore groin injury and nothing desperately serious."

2) Solve the Marouane Fellaini conundrum

There is still serious head scratching among the United congregation regarding precisely why the Belgian has been bought. For those in the sceptic camp the charges against Fellaini consist of the "can't-pass, can't-create, can't-read-the-game" nature that are damning for a player who is supposed to be a central midfielder. Those less harsh believe that given the time to settle some require at United the 26-year-old can be the hard-tackling, controlling force in the centre of the park the club has required for some seasons.

Fellaini (as well as Moyes) believes his best position is alongside Michael Carrick yet he has struggled there since making his full league debut in the 4-1 hammering Manchester City handed United in September.

Moyes has spoken of having to throw him in earlier than he wished due to injuries but this only shines a light on the paucity of midfield options and the failure in the last transfer window (see below) to recruit properly for the department.

The word is that the Fellaini is playing in discomfort that hampers his movement due to the wrist injury that requires surgery some time over the next three weeks. For a £27.5m signing this is far from the ideal scenario but given Michael Carrick's absence due to an achilles problem Moyes may have to continue to ask Fellaini to soldier on.

3) Have a productive January transfer window

The fallout from the blundering in the close season has come home to roost painfully for everyone connected with the club. Moyes had the chance to sign Thiago Alcântara, who is four years younger than Fellaini, a bespoke central operator, and who would have cost up to £10m less. While that deal is now dead after Alcântara moved from Barcelona to Bayern Munich, the dithering has to stop in January. What has become clear in this opening part of the season is why Moyes wants Everton's Leighton Baines: the left-back carries an attacking threat - from open and dead-ball play - that Patrice Evra does not. The manager remains keen on the Liverpudlian who turns 29 next week yet can he be signed in the winter window? Roberto Martínez says no, with the Everton boss reiterating the club's summer stance last week. If Baines is to be prised from Goodison Park then the cost may well be north of £20m, but given Everton's determination not to sell plus the general difficultly of buying in January the deal appears difficult. Beyond Baines, Moyes continues to need at least one more midfielder, so might he return to Athletic Bilbao for Ander Herrera? If so, then, again, United need no repeat of the dilly-dallying that saw the deal fall down on the final day of the previous window when Moyes and Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, refused to pay the ¤36m (£30m) buyout clause for the 24-year-old.

4) Go on a run of wins to ensure Champions League qualification

To wake to a Premier League table that shows United in ninth place, as many points - 12 - after 15 games from the leaders, Arsenal, as from Fulham in the third relegation spot asks serious questions of United.

Now, Moyes and his squad need to forget the campaign so far, remember why they are the champions, and go on one of those irresistible runs that has helped claim the club so much silverware.

As, post-Everton, Ryan Giggs said: "We cannot feel sorry for ourselves for too long. We need to get on a run, before this we were on a 12-game unbeaten run. We have to get over this disappointment now. We'll get a better idea in the New Year, and hopefully we can start picking up points again."

This was always going to be a season of transition following the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson. Failure to secure participation in next term's European Cup, though, was not on the agenda of the club or its owners.

5) Less caution, more carpe diem

While United had a difficult start that included Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in their opening five games a case can be made for Moyes falling back on pragmatism rather than a searing desire to live or die by seizing the day. A fine 4-1 win at Swansea City in the Scot's league bow as manager was followed by the 0-0 draw with Chelsea in front of the United crowd. Where comparisons between Ferguson and (the man he anointed) Moyes seem to end is that the former Old Trafford manager was a gambler by nature. In that goalless result with José Mourinho's side Moyes left Shinji Kagawa on the bench despite him being, along with Van Persie and Rooney, a one-off of a talent whose brightest asset is to slide in on defences at unorthodox angles while unlocking them to create for others. At Old Trafford on a Monday evening under the lights with Chelsea before him, the picture forms easily of Ferguson throwing Kagawa on after informing the Japanese he is about to be the game-winner. Another question is posed by Adnan Januzaj not starting against Everton, with Antonio Valencia being picked instead. At 18 the forward's match time has to be managed but if he was fit enough to come on after 58 minutes, as he did, might he have started? And, when, Januzaj did enter it was for Kagawa, rather than Valencia, a more belts-and-braces footballer.

Jamie Jackson

Ryan Giggs says Manchester United players must pick themselves up fast

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 02:37 AM PST

• Champions now 12 points behind Arsenal after Everton defeat
• 'We cannot feel sorry for ourselves for too long'

Ryan Giggs has warned his Manchester United team-mates they cannot feel sorry for themselves following Wednesday evening's 1-0 defeat to Everton, and says the champions now need to go on a winning run.

Bryan Oviedo's 86th-minute goal gave Everton a first victory at Old Trafford since 1992 and left United in ninth place, 12 points behind the leaders Arsenal and the same difference above the relegation zone.

David Moyes's side next play Newcastle United at home in Saturday's early kick-off, and Giggs is clear the champions now have to respond instantly. "It's a quick turnaround, but we've got to pick ourselves up," he said. "We cannot feel sorry for ourselves for too long. It's a home game and hopefully it will be a different result. We need to get on a run, before this we were on a 12-game unbeaten run. We have to get over this disappointment now."

After Newcastle, United travel to Aston Villa and Stoke City, host West Ham United, then make trips to Hull City and Norwich City, before hosting Tottenham Hotspur on New Year's Day to end a busy a period of the season.

Despite the margin to Arsenal, the Welshman insists that if a string of victories can be accomplished from these games United can still challenge for the title.

"We'll get a better idea in the New Year, and hopefully we can start picking up points again," Giggs said. "We've had a few disappointing results, but the performances have not been that bad. We're just not getting the rub of the green, or taking our chances when we should. If you don't do that, you are going to get punished like we did against Everton."

Jamie Jackson

Senna in Ireland, Ronaldo v Ronaldo and (possibly) the golf shot of the year | Classic YouTube

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 02:31 AM PST

This week's round-up also features the amazing Iron Bowl finale, Azerbaijan's triple corner dummy routine and Tyson: Uncaged

1) A splendid, rare video of Ayrton Senna, winning the 1982 Leinster Trophy at Ireland's Mondello Park in the Formula Ford 2000 Series.

2) Golf shot of the season? A ridiculous up-and-down, played the wrong way, off a fence.

3) Remember the Serbia Under-17s' triple dummy corner-kick routine? Turns out Azerbaijan beat them to it by 17 years (even if they failed to score against France). More football bits and bobs: Ronaldo v Cristiano Ronaldo – battle for the name; three of Pep Guardiola's best goals for Barcelona; and Oranje v Jong Oranje (Holland v Holland U-21s) in 1986-87.

4) Mike Tyson: Uncaged, the full 1996 documentary.

5) 'Holy cow! Oh my God! Auburn wins! Auburn wins!' Rod Bramblett calls home the insane ending to last weekend's Iron Browl. And here's how Alabama's woe was recreated on Tecmo Super Bowl.

6) This is what 25,921 teddy bears being tossed on to the ice in slow motion at a Calgary Hitmen game looks like. More on the annual teddy bear toss here.

Our favourites from last week's blog

1) Comical pin placement at Olympic Club in the second round of the 1998 US Open.

2) This chap looks familiar …

3) Buildings, trees, fences and more: some splendid snowboarding for you.

4) Rory Best plays on against the All Blacks … with a broken arm!

5) The 2011 Woodsmen Show in Pennsylvania.

6) Sunday league own goal of the season contender, followed by a swift walk of shame.

Spotters' badges: GrahamClayton, pexteballa, illocon, richardsmall, JBoyler.

Guardian YouTube channel playlists

You can follow Classic YouTube on our individual Guardian YouTube playlists, including football and other sports. And here are all of the Guardian's YouTube playlists.

Suárez vows to stay at Liverpool

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 02:15 AM PST

• Striker scored four against Norwich and is happy at Anfield
• 'I think we can achieve what we set out to do'

Luis Suárez says he is "happy to stay" at Liverpool and wants to fire the club into the Champions League.

The striker had been determined to leave Anfield in the summer, with Liverpool rejecting a £40m plus £1 offer from Arsenal.

However, having scored another four goals against Norwich City in Wednesday's 5-1 rout to take his season's tally to 13, Suárez says he is only concentrating on helping the club finish in the top four.

"I think we can achieve what we set out to do," the Uruguayan, who became the first Premier League player to score three hat-tricks against the same side, told Marca when asked about Liverpool's Champions League chances. "My aim is just to help make the team better. My job is just to score the goals that mean we keep winning games and get as high in the table as possible.

"I am happy to be in the Premier League, the best league there is. I am happy here and I will stay. I don't know about challenging for the title, but we want to be as high up in the table as possible and do as well as we can. I think we can achieve our target."

Moyes, Bendtner and much, much more

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 02:12 AM PST

David Moyes needs to start impressing at Old Trafford and Chelsea's strikers still can't fire away from home

1) Moyes testing Old Trafford's patience

Newcastle have not won a league game at Old Trafford since John Tudor and Stewart Barrowclough scored the goals to secure a 2-0 win in February 1972. Could they end that run on Saturday? David Moyes will be without Wayne Rooney, suspended after his fifth booking of the season, and the Manchester United manager did not exactly sound hopeful about Robin van Persie's chances either. Van Persie has missed the last three league games, in which time United have taken two points and dropped to ninth in the table, 12 points off the top. One of the notable things about the defeat to Everton was that there was only a smattering of boos at the final whistle. Yet Old Trafford feels different right now. Opposition teams are suspecting this side might be vulnerable. Another bad result and it is difficult to imagine the crowd retaining their patience. Daniel Taylor

• Match report: Manchester United 0-1 Everton

• Moyes feeling 'sore' after United defeat

2) Away-day blues for Chelsea strikers

Chelsea manager, José Mourinho, was eager to defend Fernando Torres after the striker failed to hit the target for the fourth game in a row, insisting that the Spaniard had made a significant contribution to the victory. However, the striker has failed to score in his last four games and was guilty of missing two excellent chances at the Stadium of Light. He was eventually replaced by Demba Ba and there were reminders of last season in his body language at times. Chelsea are still waiting for a striker to score in an away game in the Premier League this year. John Wardle

• Match report: Sunderland 3-4 Chelsea

• All the best images from Wednesday night's games

3) Shelvey needs to concentrate on his football

Jonjo Shelvey is not everyone's cup of tea and when Swansea paid £5m for him in the summer there was a sense that Liverpool had done well to recoup that much for a fringe player. Shelvey, though, seems to be growing in confidence at Swansea, where he is no longer the small fish in a big pond that he was at Anfield. He was the best player on the pitch against Newcastle United on Wednesday night, when he had a hand in the second goal and scored a brilliant third in Swansea's 3-0 victory. Michael Laudrup, the Swansea manager, was particularly impressed with the way that Shelvey adapted to taking up a more attacking role in a formation without an orthodox striker. "We saw the perfect way to play without a No9, when you move the ball around and someone who is coming from deep, like Jonjo, is making good runs from midfield. I think that position suits him very well," Laudrup said. The problem with Shelvey, however, is that in between the second and third goals he could easily have been sent off after he squared up to Mathieu Debuchy, the Newcastle right-back. Shelvey motioned to headbutt Debuchy and although he appeared to stop short of making contact, it was a stupid act and the sort of incident that the 21-year-old seems to be unable to walk away from. It's a shame that Shelvey has an issue with his temperament, because there is, in football parlance, "a player in there", as he demonstrated against Newcastle. Stuart James

• Match report: Swansea City 3-0 Newcastle United

4) Southampton may need reinforcing in January

Southampton manager, Mauricio Pochettino, spoke of "seeing how it goes" when talk of the transfer window cropped up, but the manager must privately be craving the chance to add to his options. An eye-catching start to the season has been checked, with Aston Villa's fine victory at St Mary's a third successive defeat and Manchester City due on the south coast on Saturday. More worrying is the flurry of injuries that has afflicted the squad ahead of the cluttered Christmas period: Artur Boruc has broken a hand; Morgan Schneiderlin was absent on Wednesday; Victor Wanyama and Nathaniel Clyne will undergo scans on Thursday after sustaining new muscle injuries; José Fonte was patched up to play; Guly do Prado is a long-term absentee. This squad boasts quality but can feel rather thin when the injuries bite, and there is disruption now to endure, particularly across the back-line. Losing key personnel ahead of six games in three weeks would be bad enough even before the standard of the opposition is taken into account, with Tottenham, Everton and Chelsea following on from City. Southampton have spent heavily in recent times to supplement their talented homegrown players. They may have to again in mid-winter if that excellent start is to be maintained. Dominic Fifield

• Match report: Southampton 2-3 Aston Villa

5) Adam needs to take a good hard look at himself

Charlie Adam has been cast as the kind of creative catalyst to help take Stoke City out of the dark ages. But instead of helping the Potters reinvent themselves, he is in danger of becoming their very own Neanderthal man, if Wednesday's match against Cardiff City is anything to go by. Dennis Wise was the player whom Sir Alex Ferguson suggested was capable of starting a fight in an empty phone box; Adam looked like a one-man pub brawl. He kicked, pushed and elbowed his way around the Britannia Stadium pitch like a drunk careering around a teetotallers' convention. First of all there was his hack on Fraizer Campbell which warranted the yellow card awarded by Michael Oliver; but then came his senseless push on the same player - for which Peter Crouch was absurdly booked - while Stoke attempted to build a wall to defend a free-kick. Mark Hughes wants creativity, he needs someone capable of making goals. Adam is the team's top scorer this season, with all of three goals. So Stoke can loath do without him. But that's what they almost had to for the final knockings as Adam, with malice aforethought, landed an elbow on Jordon Mutch. What was he thinking? Was this a bid to get banned for the Christmas build-up? The referee missed that one; so retrospective action becomes plausible. Adam has been through enough in recent times to take a good hard look at himself; if he doesn't, the FA should. Peter Lansley

• Match report: Stoke City 0-0 Cardiff City

6) Berbatov's Fulham love affair is over

It does not feel like a coincidence that, a matter of days after Martin Jol's sacking at Fulham, Dimitar Berbatov wants a transfer. Jol loved Berbatov, considering him as one of the few world-class players at the club and he made him the focal point of the team. But Berbatov is enduring a barren season and, with his champion now departed, he clearly feels that it is a good time to explore his options. New Fulham manager, Rene Meulensteen, is a fan of Berbatov's as well - he worked with him previously at Manchester United - but he did not sound optimistic about keeping him in January. Asked after the 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur whether he would try to persuade him to stay, Meulensteen answered: "The most important thing is that we have to focus from game to game all the way up to the beginning of January and I had some good chats with Dimitar. He is a player that really cares for this club and I think that was evident in the way he played tonight." Could Fulham be collectively stronger without the brilliant but sometimes frustrating Bulgarian? David Hytner

• Match report: Fulham 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

• Berbatov wants to leave Fulham says agent

7) What has Suárez got against Norwich?

There was only one talking point at Anfield, and it is one that will be discussed for many a year; Luis Suárez's four goals against Norwich City and the quality, the variety, of every one. Liverpool have frequently reacted well to set-backs under Brendan Rodgers but no-one could have anticipated the excellence of the Uruguay international, regardless of his personal crusade against Norwich City over recent seasons. Suárez was unplayable and it was interesting that the Liverpool manager brought up the striker's long-term future – one he believes will be best served at Anfield in the long-term. "This club suits him," said Rodgers without prompting in the post-match press conference. It was one of the finest individual displays the Liverpool manager had ever seen. Please add your own nominations below ... Andy Hunter

• Match report: Liverpool 5-1 Norwich City

8) Can Bendtner solve Arsenal's striking issue?

Let's just say there were a fair few gasps when the team-sheet came out the news that for this performance, the role of Olivier Giroud would be played by Nicklas Bendtner. As it turned out he gave a decent understudy's performance. He scored, came close with a couple of other efforts, and showed a greater work ethic than usual. The Dane hasn't exactly burst through the doors of the last chance saloon and blasted everyone out of sight, but he did make enough of an impression to give Wenger food for thought. If Bendtner can be dedicated, with Lukas Podolski back in training this week and Theo Walcott recovering from a sick bug and hoping for more game time, will that be enough attacking support to carry Arsenal through the rest of the campaign? As a striking group is there enough there to compete over a season? The fact that both Steve Bruce (who has managed Bendtner before) and Wenger had mixed feelings about him afterwards was telling. While complimenting Bendtner's qualities, they both made a point of airing their doubts about his mentality. They can't quite bring themselves to trust him, so he will have to keep knuckling down to convince Wenger that he can be the answer. Amy Lawrence

• Match report: Arsenal 2-0 Hull City

9) City need their 'glass man' to stay in one piece

Can Vincent Kompany now put a string of consecutive full 90 minutes together for Manchester City after safely coming through a first full game in two months in Wednesday evening's 3-2 win at West Bromwich Albion? There was a moment in the opening minutes when the captain flung himself at Saido Berahino as the forward unloaded a 25-yard shot. Kompany's intervention killed the threat and suggested Manuel Pellegrini's main man is not one to hold back, despite the injuries that have plagued him over the past two years. Dubbed the "glassman" by the German media when at Hamburg for his fragile physique, if Kompany can keep his body together then City's hopes of reclaiming the title are greatly increased. Jamie Jackson

• Match report: West Bromwich Albion 2-3 Manchester City

10) Palace life is all about staying in contention

Victory in Tony Pulis' first home game in charge of Crystal Palace did not hoist his side out of the relegation zone, but it did offer hope that the Londoners can stay in contention with those clubs just above the cut-off. The new manager is counting down the games, and days, to the 2014 having already identified the need to add up to five new players to his squad to "lift the quality" at his disposal. Only in January will Palace know whether they boast the defensive nous, strength and ammunition to survive in the top flight. The manager will be backed in the window in terms of wages and transfer fees, with Pulis having already spoken to the recently appointed sporting director, Iain Moody, about potential recruits. His biggest issue will be convincing players to move to Selhurst Park given they will be joining a struggle, hence the immediate urgency to keep the side in touch. "It would be good to at least be in touch with the rest of the Premier League come the new year," said the co-chairman, Steve Parish, who has recognised the need to invest further despite the 16 additions made last summer. "It is notoriously difficult for promoted teams to survive, but I feel we have the right man in to help us do that, and he has the time to achieve that aim. If we can hang in there over Christmas then that would be excellent." It would certainly offer Pulis the chance to wheel and deal in a market where the likes of Fulham, Cardiff and West Ham are also sure to be seeking reinforcements. That competition will be equally fierce. Dominic Fifield

• Match report: Crystal Palace 1-0 West Ham United

The rise and fall and rise of Borussia Dortmund and the Germany team

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 02:10 AM PST

In this extract from Tor! The Story of German Football, Uli Hesse documents how the counter pressing tactic adopted by Jürgen Klopp at Dortmund has helped Joachim Löw's national team

If you mull over the changing fortunes of German football during the past two decades, sooner or later it strikes you how closely the rise and fall and rise of the national team and Borussia Dortmund mirror each other.

Both sides won a major European title (their last to date) within 12 months of each other in the second half of the 1990s. Then they reached – and lost – finals in 2002 and 2008, both times on the back of largely middling performances, before suddenly taking off and capturing the public's imagination in 2010. Not to forget that both went through arguably their biggest ever crises in late 2004, early 2005.

This correlation isn't surprising. Through large parts of the 1990s, Dortmund were desperately trying to become what the Bundesliga had until then failed to produce: a strong, perennial rival of Bayern Munich.

The problem was that the only concept of how to go about this seemed to be to out-Bayern Bayern. In a mixture of desperation and megalomania, Dortmund spent ridiculous amounts of money, epitomised by the fact that they are still the only German club listed on the stock exchange, together with chemical companies, internet startups and soft drink producers.

The house of cards collapsed during 2003-04, when the club admitted to having accumulated debts totalling £100m. Only a few weeks after Rudi Völler had stepped down as national coach and plunged the Germany team into a deep crisis, Dortmund's president was forced to resign and it became apparent that survival was at stake.

The deciding day was 14 March 2005. On that Monday, 444 small investors came together in a building at Düsseldorf airport to listen to a Dortmund representative.

These men and women had loaned the club money through an investment fund. Now they were being told that Dortmund could no longer meet the instalment agreement because there was no money left. Finally, they were asked to agree to a deferring of these payments. If they voted no, they were informed, Borussia Dortmund would be bankrupt with immediate effect. After more than six hours of questions and explanations, the investors agreed to the bailout plan the club had drawn up. At 3.30pm – the time when most Bundesliga games kick off on a Saturday – the club was saved.

But that was only the beginning. Now Dortmund were forced to radically change their approach, something Bayern Munich never had to do in recent history. In so doing, Borussia followed a model similar to that of the national team.

Partly out of necessity, partly through conviction, the club decided to trust young, cheap or even homegrown players who would hopefully offset their lack of experience with passion and enthusiasm. But it wasn't easy; it took time and courage.

In 2008, for instance, Dortmund surprisingly reached the cup final against Bayern Munich. There was a talented centre-back in the squad, 19-year-old Mats Hummels. But coach Thomas Doll put him on the bench and played Christian Wörns (35) and Robert Kovac (34) at the heart of the defence. Two Luca Toni goals won the game for Bayern.

It might have been the moment when Dortmund's board realised you can't forge new paths with an old type of coach. Five weeks after the cup final and five weeks before Germany reached the Euro 2008 final, Dortmund announced they would replace Doll with Jürgen Klopp.

The revolution in Dortmund was greatly abetted by the fact that two Talent Promotion Programmes created by the German federation in 2002 had begun to yield spectacular results. Germany had won nothing in youth football since 1992 (when the Under-16s beat Spain in the European Championship final).

But in mid-2009, the country became the first to simultaneously hold the three major continental titles at the junior level. The Under-17s (built around attacking midfielder Mario Götze), the Under-19s and an Under-21 side that included Hummels, Mesut Özil and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer all won the European Championship.

Suddenly there were almost more excellent young players than you knew what to do with. And coaches were no longer afraid of placing trust in them. In early 2011, Dortmund would play – and win – a crucial game at Bayern with a team that had an average age of 22.3 years.

In the same season, no fewer than four Bundesliga clubs (Mönchengladbach, Kaiserslautern, Freiburg and Hannover) that were either expecting to fight relegation or actually doing so decided to try youngsters in the one position where conventional wisdom says you need experience: in goal. The keepers in question were Marc-André ter Stegen (19), Kevin Trapp (20), Oliver Baumann (20) and Ron-Robert Zieler (22). They all came through.

During the 10 years that followed the launch of the Extended Talent Promotion Programme, the average age of a Bundesliga footballer sunk from 27.6 to 25.3 years. It wasn't just that the young players were better schooled than previous generations – the game had become so much more demanding that young legs had an edge. They ran more and needed less rest time.

In October 2010, national coach Joachim Löw said: "Our team at the World Cup was four and a half years younger than our team at the Euros and you could see that we were physically able to play at a higher pace than two years ago."

He was referring to the 2008 Euros and the 2010 World Cup. And he was right. Although Germany came second in the former tournament and only third in the latter, the World Cup was much more impressive and the real eye-opener for the rest of the football world.

There were some misgivings in the build-up to the World Cup, because Löw first lost his preferred goalkeeper, Leverkusen's René Adler, and then his captain and most important player, Michael Ballack, to injury. But Neuer was a more than capable replacement for Adler, and Philip Lahm, who was now widely hailed as Germany's most consistently outstanding player, took over both the captain's armband and the leadership role.

Finally, none of the kids Löw tried out seemed in any way awed by the occasion or suffering from nerves. Barely three months after his first international, Bayern's 21-year-old midfielder Thomas Müller tore through the best defences in the world with fearless abandon, often to collect another fine through ball from Özil.

It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the pace and the inventiveness of the German game virtually humiliated England and Argentina in the first two knockout matches. Both conceded four, which doesn't happen at these stages of a major tournament. (Though there was a lucky moment for Löw's team when Frank Lampard hit the underside of the crossbar with a terrific shot and the linesman miraculously failed to spot that the ball had crossed the line.)

But the German youth movement was stopped in the semi-final and by the same team that had beaten them in the Euro 2008 final, Spain. Löw's players were never able to initiate one of the breathtakingly swift attacks that had overwhelmed England and Argentina, simply because they only rarely had the ball. And if they finally won possession, often near their own penalty area, all they saw was a sea of red shirts quickly shutting off the passing lanes and closing in on them.

It was a style of play Germans had begun to refer to as "counter pressing". It basically meant that if a player lost the ball far upfield, his team-mates did not retreat or swarm out in anticipation of a counter-attack. Instead they moved further forward to immediately put pressure on the opposing player with the ball.

It was highly effective tactic, because the man in possession was often forced to rush his pass and if it was intercepted, it happened in a dangerous area of the pitch. But it was also a tactic that demanded an awful lot of running – not to mention a lot of practice – from the players.

Six weeks after the World Cup, Klopp unleashed counter pressing of a rarely seen intensity. His young team seemed to be constantly in attack, even against strong opposition, and created a plethora of chances. Even though Dortmund managed to waste most of them (missing all of their five penalties), they ran away with the League – and won both games against Bayern.

The new edition of Tor! The Story of German Football is available here

• This article first appeared on When Saturday Comes
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Football transfer rumours: clear-out at Manchester United?

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:50 AM PST

Today's rumours have tool issues

England will ban their players from swimming off the golden sandy beaches of Brazil next summer, because the sea is full of sewage. "A sewer runs past the squad's £180-a-night Royal Tulip hotel," reports the Sun. The same newspaper (and many others) quotes the Brazilian sports minister Aldo Rebelo, speaking about "the massed robberies and the rapes that happen" in his nation's cities. "We do not have the same safety conditions on the streets as in European cities," he said. Other than the distance and the money and the floating faeces and the near-certainty of violent assault, however, Brazil remains an ideal holiday destination.

Talking of links between England and Brazil, Englishman Ashley Young and Brazilian Anderson are linked by the fact that Manchester United are desperate to sell them in January, while Arsenal or Tottenham could make a move for Javier Hernández, who is in the worst position of all as United don't really want to sell him and don't really want to play him. Potentially arriving at Old Trafford meanwhile is Benfica's Nemanja Matic, who is up for grabs with a £20m price tag swinging around his neck – Borussia Dortmund have also been linked – and £16m Atlético Madrid playmaker Koke – Liverpool being potential rivals for the Spaniard.

Sticking with Spain, Real Madrid might very well be lining up a summer swoop for Sergio Agüero, but Barcelona insist they are not. "We have had no contact with him," their vice-president, Josep Bartomeu insisted. "I can say that the story is not true." More likely to be Camp Nou-bound is Pepe Reina – "I would love to return to Barcelona," he trilled – while those clever Barça scouts have spotted a talented midfielder they apparently might be interested in, name of Aaron Ramsey.

Arsenal sent Gilles Grimandi to scout Paris St-Germain's teenaged midfielder Adrien Rabiot, already a target for Chelsea, at the weekend. In further foreign-teenager-based news, Liverpool are confident of beating off the rival advances of Internazionale, Manchester United and Arsenal again to win the race to sign Halmstad's Swedish striking sensation Valmir Berisha. "I have rejected Arsenal and Manchester United, who invited me for trials," the player said. "There is Real Madrid now, the club of my dreams, but I think I will turn them down, unfortunately. The most important factor is my football education." Iago Aspas is unlikely to be at Anfield to welcome him, with the £7.2m flop of a forward strongly linked with a January loan switch to Valencia, while another striker who moved in the summer is rumoured to already be available on loan, with Radamel Falcao allegedly disgruntled in Monaco and willing to consider a switch to Chelsea.

Dimitar Berbatov is not happy at Fulham. "I don't like to speculate as nobody knows what will happen in January but what I can tell you is he is not happy at Fulham," the striker's agent, Emil Dantchev, said, before revealing that he would like to find another option in England. "He would like to find another option and the priority is to stay in England." Arsenal and Chelsea, the latter presumably only if they haven't already snapped up Falcao, are apparently keen.

Reading will make simultaneous January moves for West Brom's Graham Dorrans and Southampton's Billy Sharp, who recently joined the Royals on loan. The Belarus midfielder Renan Bressan seems Championship-bound, with Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Wigan all interested in his free signature. Millwall and Charlton are both keen on the Burton striker Adam McGurk, Sunderland and Bolton want the Coventry left-back Cyrus Christie, while Leyton Orient want to sign 23-year-old forward Jai Reason from Eastleigh.

Simon Burnton

David Moyes says Manchester United have no room for error in title push

Posted: 04 Dec 2013 05:04 PM PST

• Moyes believes United now need to win 'an awful lot of games'
• Roberto Martínez 'couldn't be prouder' of his Everton team
• Match report: Manchester United 0-1 Everton
• Pictures: the best images from Wednesday night's matches

David Moyes, describing himself as "sore" and "disappointed", admitted Manchester United had left themselves almost no room for error after dropping to ninth in the Premier League, 12 points from the top.

The 1-0 defeat at home to Everton means the champions have taken only two points from their past three games and Moyes believes they will have to go on a long winning run after Christmas to stand any chance of catching the leaders, Arsenal.

Moyes insisted he was not concerned about the abusive chants he suffered from Everton's fans but his mood could be gauged by the fact his post-match press conference lasted barely two minutes. His team, he said, had not "reached the standards we wanted tonight" and there was an admission that results had to improve. "We will need to play some great football and win an awful lot of games in the run-in if we are going to be in there and around it at the end of the season."

To the question of whether he thought United were capable of recovering the lost ground, he replied: "I've got nothing to suggest anything else."

Bryan Oviedo's goal leaves Everton in fifth place, with only one defeat since Roberto Martínez filled the void left by Moyes's switch to Old Trafford.

"I couldn't be prouder," Martínez said. "The performance isn't actually the best this season. We've played a lot better but we had a real mentality when we had to dig in. We never felt inferior. We kept doing what we're good at and we created many open chances. We've got a fantastic blend of senior players with real experience and arrogant young players with incredible talent and strength in every position."

United had not lost in the league since the final weekend in September, when they went down 2-1 at home to West Brom. "It doesn't hurt more [being Everton]," Moyes said. "I know they are a very good team with very good players but, as you would imagine, it is a sore one when it is your old team. I didn't really think we got on top of the game all night. It's disappointing but we move on to the next game now."

Daniel Taylor

Friday, 6 December 2013