FANCY A GAME, FRANCESCO?
Although this will come as a surprise to absolutely no one, but Francesco Totti has proved this week that he is still a wizard with the ball at his feet, as shown in this clip of him playing a small-sided match during retirement. Standing over a free-kick down the right-hand side, the former Roma captain steps up to fire a thunderbolt of a strike into the roof of the net. Someone get his number and we'll phone him for a game of 5-a-side when he's not busy.
pic.twitter.com/RhZptTltyF
— FutbolBible (@FutbolBible) January 14, 2020
KLINSMANN NOT OFFICIALLY A COACH?
Of course he is, but the German was left a little embarrassed this week after Bild reported that his coaching badges that make him eligible to be a head coach in the Bundesliga were actually out of date. He has disputed this claim, and has pulled off a bit of a humble brag by saying that the correct (and up to date) documents are "in a drawer somewhere" in his house in California. While he pisses about looking for a bit of paper, Hertha have the small matter of hosting Bayern this weekend.
Hertha’s assistant coach Alexander Nouri says he feels confident Klinsmann’s license issue will be cleared up by Sunday.
— Hecko Flores (@hecko90) January 15, 2020
Being in charge of the team against Bayern Munich “does not cross my mind,” says Nouri. #BSCFCB pic.twitter.com/IWOeBR9u14
BARCELONA TOP MONEY RANKINGS
For, perhaps surprisingly, the first time in their history, Barcelona have been named as the highest-earning football club of the year by Deloitte. Over the course of 2019, they generated €841m which is also the first time in history that a club has broken the €800m mark. The top five are 1. Barcelona 2. Real Madrid 3. Manchester United 4. Bayern Munich 5. PSG.
Top 10 Football clubs with highest total revenues in 2018/2019 season
— Nairametrics Research (@Nigeriandata) January 14, 2020
Barcelona –£741m
Real Madrid –£667.5m
Manchester United –£627.1m
Bayern Munich –£581.8m
PSG –£560.5m
Manchester City –£538.2m
Liverpool –£533m
Tottenham –£459.3m
Chelsea –£452.2m
Juventus –£405.2m
[Deloitte]
YOUTH FOOTBALL HEADING IN RIGHT DIRECTION
The Scottish Football Association is set to impose a ban on children 12 years old and younger heading the ball in training and in matches after further recent studies enhanched the hypothesis linking it with dementia in later life. The ban on heading has already been in place in the United States since 2015, but Scotland would represent the first European country to do so.
Should headers be banned for under-12s?
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) January 16, 2020
The @ScottishFA could ban children under-12 from heading the ball due to links with dementia.@goose_angus from @StirUni explains the damage it can do… pic.twitter.com/zhOp1wF1gG
