Search: ' Spain'

Phil Ball and Juanjo Moran explain the Spanish model of the feeder club system

The Spanish league system is something of an oddity in Europe. There are basically three divisions worthy of note – The First, the Second A‚ and the Second B‚ after which there lies a morass of regional feeder leagues containing a hotch-potch of small town clubs, some forgotten bigger clubs, clubs who represent barrios (neighbourhoods), of larger cities that were once independent of the current conurbation, and some reserve sides.

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Wednesday 1 Another stumble for Liverpool, beaten by a Roberto di Matteo goal at Chelsea, prompting the first Gullitism of 1997: "We are a rough diamond that needs to be polished every day but it's beginning to have a nice shine." Arsenal close the gap to two points with a 2-0 home win over Middlesbrough, who drop into the bottom three after Blackburn and Forest win away at Everton and fast-sliding West Ham respectively. Man Utd, held at home by Villa, stay third but Newcastle are only a point behind them after beating Leeds 3-0.

Friday 3 Rangers all but wrap up their ninth successive Scottish League title with a 3-1 home win over Celtic, clinched with two late goals from Erik Bo Andersen, which stretches their lead to fourteen points. A judicial report into the Olympique Marseille corruption investigations alleges the club spent around £12 million in bribes to opposing players and officials and referees in European and domestic matches over a number of years. The club's former owner Bernard Tapie and ex French national team manager Michel Hidalgo are among 20 people to be charged with match-rigging.

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Manchester bids to become the new natioanl football centre even though the odds are firmly stacked in Wembley's favour. Adam Brown reports

It is now a year since the Sports Council made the curious decision of asking Manchester and Wembley to revise and re-submit their bids for the national stadium. The ‘race’ for the national stadium saw the final, final bids re-entered on 6th November.

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Following Wales' 7-1 drubbing at the hands of Holland, Cris Freddi looks back at the heaviest defeats suffered by the British and Irish in Europe

The Welsh might take a few crumbs from knowing a) they weren’t alone in conceding seven in a game against the Europeans, and b) the English were the first. After the historic 6-3 home defeat by Hungary in 1953, Billy Wright and boys must have travelled to Budapest in some trepidation, though you wouldn’t have known it from listening to Stanley Rous, who said simply “We will win”.

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Jimmy Burns examines how many of Diego Maradona's problems were of his own making

There is a childhood memory that keeps coming back to Diego Maradona as an image of self-preservation in a world spiralling out of control.

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