Joe Green Sports

The Cypriot God… From Blackburn Not many English players like to go abroad, least of all to Cyprus. But when Matt Derbyshire, born in Lancashire, packed his bags and headed off to Cypriot First Division club Omonia Nicosia, he thought it was the end of his professional footballing career. The striker had had spells at English clubs like Rotherham and Birmingham, and even played 14 times for the England Under-21s, yet when he found himself without a club in August 2016, he decided it was time for a different challenge. He was instantly a hit in Cyprus, marking his league debut with a 2 nd -minute penalty, and scoring the winner in a Europa League qualifier meant he became an immediate fan favourite. As the season went on, the boy from Blackburn couldn’t stop scoring, even surpassing Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the leader board for the European Golden Shoe. Before you complain that Derbyshire was being marked by a 38-year-old Cypriot carpenter while Zlatan has to deal with the best around...

WHY ANDREA BELOTTI ISN'T WORTH £86 MILLION £86 million. That’s a lot of money. Even for football’s sky-rocketing transfer deals, only Paul Pogba has cost more money than that. Suarez, Higuain, Ronaldo and even Gareth Bale were all considered to be worth less than this gigantic sum. So why is Andrea Belotti, currently playing for 9 th placed Torino and with just 3 competitive caps at international level, set to become the 2 nd most expensive player on the planet? Despite foreign interest, Belotti’s biggest admirer is a lot closer to home; Torino’s president, Urbano Cairo. Indeed, Cairo rates Belotti so highly, when the time came for contract negotiations in December, he stuck a whopping £86 million buy-out clause in the Italian’s contract. Belotti had only signed for the club 4 months earlier, after an underwhelming season at Palermo. While 10 goals from 13 games is not a bad return, it hardly warrants such a high valuation. Belotti continued to score, and Cairo continued t...

Bundesliga 2016/2017 Review – Bayern Reign Supreme LAHM AND ALONSO LEAVE ON A HIGH Bayern Munich captain Phillip Lahm, and Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso, both announced their retirement from football would be at the end of the season, adding extra incentive for the title to stay in Munich. Bayern were in the top 2 from the very start of the season, losing only twice in 34 matches and scoring 89 goals, 30 of which came courtesy of striker Robert Lewandowski. They finished 15 points ahead of newly-promoted RB Leipzig, who defied all odds to qualify for the Champions League in just their first season ever in the top flight. Borussia Dortmund made up for an underwhelming season with victory in the German Cup, but there will be plenty of improvement needed for manager Thomas Tuchel’s side if they are to challenge Bayern and Leipzig next season. STILL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT FOR GERMAN CHAMPS However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Bayern. They were beaten 6-3 on aggregate by Rea...