SCHALKE BEAT DYNAMO IN GERMAN CUP

With the new Bundesliga season yet to commence, German top flight teams got the chance to test just how well they might be prepared for the new season’s curtain raisers as they slugged it out with the rest of the clubs from the lower divisions in the third round of the German Cup.


Dynamo Berlin hosted Schalke 04 at Sportpark and made sure to give The Royal Blues a run for their money even if Domenico Tedesco’s side ran out 2-0 winners as they advanced to the next stage.

It is however still a sorry sight, seeing Dynamo reduced to a fourth tier tiny club as against to when they dominated the East German Championship prior to the historic albeit figurative fall of the Berlin Wall leading to the unification of East and West Germany under its current name.

Now playing in front of a 14,000 capacity Park right there in the city of Berlin, The Wine Redsfrustrated Schalke for long spells before they got bailed out by two late goals from Ukrainian YevhenKonoplyanka. Continue reading “SCHALKE BEAT DYNAMO IN GERMAN CUP”

Even outside of the Premier League, Franco di Santo continues to struggle

In the early stages of Franco di Santo’s career, he was labeled as the new ‘’Maradona’’ as he was making waves with his childhood club AudaxItaliano where di Santo was able to score 12 in 17 appearances in 2007 and the Argentinean player continued scoring goals as well as making impressive appearances in the following year.


It was because of these memorable performances that Chelsea decided to sign Franco di Santo on January of 2008 for a price tag of £3.4 million for a player who at that point in time was 19 years old.

Franco di Santo spent 2 seasons in Stamford Bridge but could never really make an impact with Chelsea as he had to settle with a space on the sidelines as a substitute player for a significantly long period of time.

The Argentinean player would later be offloaded to Blackburn Rovers and his performances did not get any better as he continued to struggle with a lack of goals or appearances that would be worth remembering. Continue reading “Even outside of the Premier League, Franco di Santo continues to struggle”

NALDO SET TO MISS SEASON REMAINDER

Schalke 04 star Naldo is reportedly set to miss the rest of the games for this season after his groin injury was confirmed.


The German side played the return leg of their Europa League match in the round of 16 but the Brazilian defender could not finish the game with the rest of the team.

The 34-year old is set to undergo a surgery within the next few days. MRI Scan reveal a partial tendon tear in the adductors.

“Naldo has partially torn a tendon in the adductors and will be sidelined until the end of the season, the head coach of the club Markus Weinzierl said.

The team would have to play the 22nd match this season against fourth place Hoffenheim this weekend. The team is in the upper part of the table so they would be hoping to frustrate their opponents. Continue reading “NALDO SET TO MISS SEASON REMAINDER”

FRANCO DI SANTO COPING AT SCHALKE 04

The Italian club Schalke 04, penned a deal with Franco Di Santo on 25th of July, 2015 from Bundesliga rivals Werder Bremen after the activation of a release clause in his contract and having passed medical tests, the former Chelsea man was officially declared a Schalke player in the evening, in time to meet with his new teammates for a three-day training camp from Sunday.


The four-year deal with the Gelsenkirchen club came on the heels of his exit from Bremen, whose director of sport Thomas Eichin was critical of the manner by which his agent treated them.

The 27-year old had only one year remaining on his contract in Bremen and tried to extend the deal, but Eichin alleged that Di Santos’ agent kept them waiting without any tangible reason.

“He assured us and we concluded that he would notify us about his decision dearly enough if he would like to stay with us or leave,” Eichin told Bremen supporters at the Weser Stadion. Continue reading “FRANCO DI SANTO COPING AT SCHALKE 04”

CHELSEA SET TO BEGIN NEW ERA

Chelsea have headed into every season of recent as one of the top contenders for glory in the Premier League.


This time is a little different being a new era at Stamford Bridge. The arrival of new boss Antonio Conte marks a different era, with the Italian being the 10th different manager in the Roman Abrahimovich period.

There might be less pressure to win titles from the very first season, results are expected nonetheless. Chelsea won the league in brilliant fashion in the 2014/14 season with Jose Mourinho. Just a year later, despite being favourites to retain the crown, Chelsea were 16th and close to relegation within a few months. They finally finished at the edge of the top ten, one of the lowest for a defending champion of the Premier League. After the turbulent year, only two players have been recruited so far. N’Golo Kante arrived from Leicester City and Michy Batshuayi from Olympique Marseille. The Foxes will miss Kante as he was a major force when they lifted the title in the last campaign. Conte will switch to a system that allows two strikers, so Batshuayi would be a key player.
Continue reading “CHELSEA SET TO BEGIN NEW ERA”

Franco di Santo returns from Injury

Argentine striker Franco di Santo made his much awaited return back from injury and he featured in the friendly against MSV Duisburg.

The match ended in a disappointing 3-1 defeat for the team struggling against relegation in the Bundesliga. Werder Bremen had won the last two friendly matches by the same score – 3-2 – but there was no repeat of the same after allowing their opposition to score more than two goals yet again. The club will have to improve a lot defensively if they are to climb out of the relegation zone. Werder Bremen are in the 16th place after having managed to take only one point per game so far.

They returned to the league action on 1 February with a home match against Hertha Berlin. Head coach Viktor Skripnik has been given a huge boost with the return of Di Santo, who has scored seven goals in just 11 matches this campaign. Continue reading “Franco di Santo returns from Injury”