Toronto FC entered the Concacaf Champions League final as the favorite to beat Chivas de Guadalajara and become the first Major League Soccer team to win the title after nine years of Mexican dominance.
But by now we all know what happened. Chivas scored early and added a massive second away goal in the second half in a 2-1 victory at BMO Field on Tuesday night.
The scene shifts to Estadio Akron where Chivas, in CCL play, has yet to concede a goal. The odds are now stacked against TFC, but what about their chances in Mexico, where they've already gotten the necessary results against Tigres UANL and Club America?
COUCH: Look, everything about this situation is simply reminding us a truism about sports: "There's a reason they play the games." It was true when everyone with Toronto in their hearts got their hopes high heading into Leg 1, and it remains true after those hopes were crushed by the action on the field.
Tournaments are hard. Finals are harder. This Toronto team has been taken bad losses before, and unlike, say MLS Cup 2016, they've got only a single-game slog to gain sweet, sweet revenge. Of any MLS club, I'd doubt this one in that situation the least. Long odds, perhaps, but ones I'd bet they overcome.
BOEHM: Yes, of course they can. A 2-0 win at Estadio Akron would be enough to overcome their painful Leg 1 loss, and this TFC side is eminently capable of such a result — not that they couldn't also win a high-scoring shootout by a two-goal margin, another route to a CCL final aggregate victory.
MLS' historical woes on Mexican soil have been well documented, but here's another stat to consider in the days ahead: Chivas are winless at home in league play during the current 2018 Clausura campaign (0-4-3) with just four goals scored and 10 against. And in the Apertura, they won just one of their nine home matches. The Reds can do this; they just have to believe.
STEJSKAL: Can they? Yes. Will they? Yes. Toronto are so much better than the score currently shows. They'll be more ready for Chivas from the jump in Leg 2, and Sebastian Giovinco will have a couple of magical moments in the final third to lead TFC to history.
TENORIO: Sure, of course they can. They scored multiple goals on the road against Tigres and netted a goal in the Azteca against Club America. I think Toronto will make the game competitive in Guadalajara, and they certainly have the attacking talent to dig out of the hole. Is it likely? Probably not. But it’s certainly possible.
WARSHAW: Yes. The first leg felt disastrous, but if Toronto had finished their chances, it would be a different situation. It's a tough task, but Toronto are a good team capable of winning in Guadalajara. The game should flow in the same way as the first leg, and Toronto will get two or three more opportunities than Chivas, so if Toronto scores those chances they will win the tie.
“I hope I won’t watch the World Cup on TV,” Neymar joked, calling the tournament a “dream”.
Brazilian superstar Neymar said Tuesday that he won’t be back playing at least until the second half of May, when he is scheduled to have his final medical exam following foot surgery.
“There isn’t an exact date yet. I have the last exam, if I’m not mistaken, I’m not sure, on May 17,” the Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil forward told a press conference in Sao Paulo.
“I’ll be cleared to play. Then I’ll see, it depends on how things develop, it depends on my next exams.... It has not been decided,” he said.
The timing leaves the world’s most expensive footballer in a tight race to feature again for PSG with the freshly crowned French champion’s season ending on May 19 with a game against Caen.
However, his prospects for starring in Brazil’s much fancied side at the World Cup in Russia, which runs from June 14 to July 15, look much better. Brazil open their campaign on June 17 against Switzerland in Rostov.
“I hope I won’t watch the World Cup on TV,” Neymar joked, calling the tournament a “dream”.
“I will have enough time to prepare,” he said at the press conference, where he walked with crutches and his foot immobilized in a medical boot. “It’s evolving well.”
With the enforced rest period Neymar added, “I will arrive better than I was before.” Neymar, 26, broke a bone in his right foot on February 25 in a Ligue 1 game against Marseille, before returning to his home country for surgery and rehabilitation.
Brazil’s national team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar, performed surgery on March 3 and then estimated that Neymar would be out for “two-and-a-half to three months”.
In his absence, PSG were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in the last 16 in March.
Brazil will also face Costa Rica and Serbia in their group, as they target winning a sixth World Cup, four years after the nightmare of their 7-1 loss to Germany in the semi-finals on home soil in 2014.
For now, Neymar said he spends much of his time playing poker, his “favorite pastime,” and “playing video games and going on the computer”. Not that he enjoys the couch potato experience much.
“There are doubts, of course. I feel them too. But it’s normal for a guy who ended up injured. This was the first surgery in my career,” he said. “It’s really hard seeing my team score and becoming champions without me being with them.”
“Still, I am more rested,” he said. “We have to look on the bright side.”
According to Yahoo Esporte in Brazil, Manchester City have devised a plan to land Sao Paulo defender Eder Militao for free as they look to fend off Chelsea.
City clinched the Premier League title over the weekend, first beating Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 at Wembley Stadium before seeing Manchester United lose 1-0 at home to West Bromwich Albion.
Pep Guardiola has now clinched a domestic double with the Premier League title and Carabao Cup, but the attention will swiftly turn to strengthening his squad for next season.
City are already being linked with a host of new signings, and recent reports from the Daily Mail suggested that City are looking to land Sao Paulo defender Eder Militao in a £20million raid.
However, Yahoo Esporte in Brazil have detailed that City don't want to pay that kind of money for Militao, and actually have a plan to sign the youngster for free.
It's claimed that City intend to sign Militao to a pre-contract agreement this summer as he will be inside the final six months of his deal, meaning he can join City for free in January 2019.
City would have to play the long game in their pursuit of Militao, but with Chelsea breathing down their necks in the race for his signature, City appear to be planning their clever move for the defender.
Militao, 20, is primarily a right back, but he can also play at centre back and in holding midifeld, with Guardiola no doubt attracted to his versatility.
Pierluigi Collina warns that even with VAR technology, “there will continue to be incidents that divide opinion and the referee must make a final decision.”
The video replay technology, with two officials in the booth watching and passing on information the referee might want to look at again, was introduced this season in Serie A and the Bundesliga.
It is spreading to Spain and France, as well as the 2018 World Cup, while there have been calls for it to be used in the Champions League.
“In football, the interpretation of the referee is very important. There are and will continue to be incidents that divide opinion even after the game is finished and the referee must make a final decision,” UEFA Head of Referees Collina told news agency Ansa.
“There are many other sports where technology, such as instant replays or overhead cameras, have been implemented for many years. However, in these sports, it is used purely for objective decisions, not subjective ones open to interpretation.
“Doing the same thing in football would mean limiting the ability to intervene too much, as it would only be to tell offside positions or if a foul was inside the box, but not for something such as handball and it would be a shame not to use VAR for those situations too.”
VAR will be used at the World Cup in Russia this summer and the officials from all over the globe are being trained at the Coverciano centre near Florence.
“I realise it’s very attractive to talk about this novelty, but I think it more important to underline the good work done by the referees to ensure they don’t always need to look to VAR.
“We are doing very intensive and careful work with the referees and help from Coaches who instruct players to replicate situations that are important for a referee to decide on.
“The idea behind all of this is to help the referee, who will then have to make those decisions on the field in a pressure situation.”
Liverpool’s CEO has shared a scouting report from their 1984 European Cup final against Roma.
The Reds won the trophy on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico, and the two sides meet again next week in the Champions League semi-finals.
Ahead of the match, the club’s CEO Peter Moore has gone back through the archives, to find a scouting report on the Giallorossi compiled by Tom W. Saunders before that final.
Dated May 13 1984, the report praises Agostino Di Bartolomei, noting that he “runs the midfield” with his “excellent distribution”.
The Liverpool scout had never seen Falcao before, and were impressed with his “brilliant ball control”, while Bruno Conti was seen as “the most aggressive attacking player… prepared to shoot from any position”.
The 1984 final is remembered for Bruce Grobelaar’s “jelly legs” in the shoot-out, and there is a section of the report dedicated to penalties.
It was noted that Di Bartolomei “waits for the goalkeeper to make his move” before striking it - although semi-final opponents Dundee United are confused for their city rivals, Dundee.
It’s recommended that Grobelaar be told to “stand his ground until the kick is taken” - though there’s no mention of what to do with his legs.
Goalkeeper Francesco Tancredi was identified as a weak link who “made mistakes in Scotland against Dundee [United]”.
Centre-back Dario Bonetti - who was later joint-manager of Dundee with his brother Ivano - was “very impressive” against Verona while Falcao’s impact is “on par with Graeme Souness”.
Of Conti, the scout simply says “this player will cause problems”.
Saunders advised that “the battle will need to be won in midfield”, noting that manager Bob Paisley thought Roma were “the best team he’s seen in the competition so far”.
Eagerly looking forward to reacquainting ourselves with our old friends @ASRomaEN In anticipation, we went through the archives today and found these gems - scouting reports from Tom Saunders,including recommending Bruce doesn't move his feet on penalties. No mention of his knees
France Football claim that agent Mino Raiola has been pushing Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma towards Paris Saint-Germain for €60m.
The shot-stopper is only 19 years old, but this month became the youngest player to have taken part in 100 Serie A matches.
His future remains the subject of speculation and he has refused to guarantee he’ll remain at San Siro past this term.
According to France Football, agent Raiola has already been hard at work for several weeks in his negotiations with PSG.
It is well known that Milan have agreed terms with Pepe Reina to join as a free agent when his Napoli contract expires in June.
Although Donnarumma’s price-tag has been cited at around €100m, it’s reported the asking price is now closer to €60m.
Juventus are the favourites ahead of Olympique Lyonnais to sign Manchester United winger Anthony Martial.
According to The Sun, Martial is more likely to spend next season in Turin than he is in Ligue 1.
The 22-year-old can play in any of the trident attack roles, but primarily on the left wing, and is under contract with Manchester United until June 2019.
He was snapped up from Monaco in 2015, but struggled to get regular playing time and has slipped down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho.
This season, Martial has amassed 11 goals and 10 assists in 42 competitive games for Manchester United.
Mohamed Salah is sure his Champions League semi-final with Roma will be “very emotional” playing for Liverpool.
The Egyptian forward is expected to be the star of the show in the two games, starting at Anfield on Tuesday with the second leg at the Olimpico.
“It’ll be very emotional facing Roma for the first time,” Salah told Sky Sports.
“I played there for two years, I was very happy and had a good rapport with the fans. I’m very pleased to go back there, as I loved the fans and they loved me.
“I hope to win, but I also want to wish Roma all the best.”
Venerdì 20 aprile 2018, una data da segnare col circoletto rosso per il Milan. A poco più di un anno dal closing e il passaggio del club da Silvio Berlusconi a Yonghong Li, va in scena un appuntamento che può determinare il futuro prossimo a tinte rossonere e le ambizioni di una squadra che si avvia a mancare la qualificazione alla Champions League per la quarta stagione di fila.A Nyon, nella sede della Uefa, si terrà intorno alle 11 l'incontro con la commissione giudicante in tema di Fair Play Finanziario, che chiede chiarimenti circa la solidità economica del Milan e in particolare della sua misteriosa proprietà.
ELLIOTT NON CI SARA' - Il club di via Aldo Rossi, che lo scorso dicembre si è visto rifiutare il voluntary agreement, ossia un piano autogestito di rientro delle perdite registrate nelle stagioni 2014-15, 2015-16 e 2016-17, sarà rappresentato dall'amministratore delegato Marco Fassone, dal direttore esecutivo David Han Li, dal Chief Financial Officer Valentina Montanari, dal Group Financial Director Alessandro Baj Badino e dal Chief Communication Officer, Fabio Guadagnini. Non ci sarà invece alcun esponente di Elliott, l'ente che ha permesso con un prestito da 303 milioni di euro, più interessi, a Yonghong Li di completare l'acquisto del Diavolo e finanziare il mercato estivo; il fondo di Paul Singer ha comunque redatto un documento nel quale si conferma il pieno sostegno, anche economico, all'attuale management rossonero. Da parte del Milan traspare un certo ottimismo sull'esito dell'incontro, che sarà comunque comunicato non prima del finale di stagione, ma le conseguenze della gestione non propriamente virtuosa addebitabile alla precedente proprietà possono comunque portare a sanzioni di diverso tipo, da scontare nelle prossime stagioni.
MERCATO AUTOFINANZIATO - In caso di settlement agreement, la prima opzione porta a una una multa di cui 1/3 andrebbe versata immediatamente e i restanti 2/3 al termine del triennio in caso di mancato raggiungimento degli obiettivi. Inoltre, stando ai precedenti di Inter e Roma, la Uefa potrebbe imporre una limitazione dei giocatori iscrivibili nelle liste per le competizioni europee. Infine, il Milan dovrà impegnarsi a non sforare il muro dei 30 milioni di euro di perdite in questo lasso di tempo. In tema di mercato, il ds Mirabelli ha già lasciato intendere che non ci sarà un'altra significativa infornata di giocatori, bensì 3-4 acquisti per completare e migliorare la rosa che potrebbero essere consentiti dalla partenza di altrettanti elementi(Donnarumma, Suso e Kalinic i candidati più autorevoli). Se i rossoneri dovessero qualificarsi anche per la prossima stagione all'Europa League, la lista da compilare dovrebbe ricalcare quella presentata per la doppia sfida con l'Arsenal, con la possibilità di aggiungere un calciatore soltanto a fronte della cessione di un altro di pari o inferiore valore economico. Il Milan attende, il giorno del giudizio è arrivato.
LONDON -- Arsene Wenger has criticised the Premier League for being too conservative after it declined to implement both video assistant referees (VAR) and safe standing in the near future.
Premier League clubs voted against using VAR next season after the technology was trialled in cup games, and the league said on Wednesday it needs more evidence of a benefit to fans and clubs before making a decision on safe standing.
Wenger previously called the decision on VAR "very bad" and said on Thursday it needs to take a more progressive stand on safe standing as well.
"At the moment, I would say that the Premier League is very conservative in all its decision-making. You can see that with VAR and you see it as well with standing," Wenger said. "The Premier League has been created by people who wanted to be in front of everybody else. Overall, I must say at the moment, we look a little more like we look first [at] what happens everywhere else, then if it goes, well we follow it.
"But it's a bit more of a conservative approach. That's the tendency, always, when you are successful -- not to take many risks anymore and let's continue like that."
Wenger said he understood the security concerns connected with safe standing, but said in his news conference that he is "100 percent" in favour of implementing it at English stadiums.
"The atmosphere is much better when people stand. The closer you are to the position of the player, the more supportive you are," he said. "I think as well that it is a tradition of English football to have that and overall, I must say, it is much better. There are safety reasons that they don't do it and I can understand that, but if the safety is right, then it has my 100 percent backing."
However, he rejected the notion that standing sections were especially needed at the Emirates, where the atmosphere has been notoriously flat in recent years and thousands of seats have gaped empty for the team's last few home games.
"We want [the fans] to help the team, but that comes from the team, the attitude of the team," Wenger said. "We want them behind the team every time.
"Overall, the quality of our games at the Emirates was very good this season in terms of the number of goals scored [and] number of quality games we have played. We have seen great football there. It is away from home where we have not produced the results, which was traditionally our strong point."
This is Manchester City's third Premier League title, yet it's the first time they've won it by playing properly as a team. Previous incarnations of City have been unquestionably successful and memorable for the manner of their title victories, but were also marred by a culture of superstars before teamwork.
Pep Guardiola has overhauled that version of City and created a genuinely harmonious, cohesive side who can be considered on a different planet to the title winners of 2011-12 and 2013-14.
The 2011-12 side will forever be remembered fondly for various key moments: the final minutes of the famous 6-1 victory at Old Trafford, Vincent Kompany's headed winner in the "title decider" against Manchester United and, more than anything, Sergio Aguero's incredible late winner on the final day at Queens Park Rangers.
Yet that City side was largely based around one strong individual in each department: Joe Hart in goal, Kompany in defence, Yaya Toure in midfield and Sergio Aguero upfront. David Silva was magnificent in the first half of the campaign and knitted together City's play wonderfully, but he faded after Christmas -- City's performances suffered and they fell back upon individual magic rather than team play.
For a club, and a fanbase, sensitive to allegations they had "bought" success purely by recruiting expensive individuals, it wasn't the image they wanted to project.
The problem with the 2011-12 City side was the lack of proper partnerships. The best relationships between teammates are egalitarian, whereas Roberto Mancini's side featured one obvious "star" and one functional player required to rein in their game.
Toure insisted on bombing forward, so City had to use either Gareth Barry or Nigel De Jong -- and sometimes both -- rather than a proper deep-lying playmaker. The midfield lacked guile. Aguero wanted to play as a second striker but sprint in behind rather than coming short, so Edin Dzeko had to sacrifice his game and always make the reverse movement, often away from goal which wasted his talents. Kompany's tendency to jump out of defence meant City's other centre-back was exposed too readily, partly explaining why they seemed to sign a new defender every summer.
The best partnership was between Silva and James Milner, who combined wonderfully in the 6-1 win at Old Trafford, with Silva drifting between the lines and Milner making dangerous runs. But Milner was often omitted with Samir Nasri instead playing and offering much the same option as Silva. City then lacked width, and their play lacked variety. They were a successful side, and a largely positive one, but not overwhelmingly likeable.
Two years later, there were differences in personnel and manager, with Manuel Pellegrini arriving, but largely the same system. Aguero started the 2013-14 campaign as a second striker, with Dzeko or Alvaro Negredo forced to work for the Argentine. Toure was now even more attack-minded, hitting an incredible 20 goals, but showed absolutely no interest in defensive work, which isolated his new partner Fernandinho.
Defensively, Kompany's partner was Martin Demichelis, who badly struggled at times and was repeatedly targeted as the weak link. There was at least an improvement in terms of width, because Jesus Navas had been recruited to stretch the play properly on the right, allowing Silva to drift infield without bumping into someone else replicating his movement from the opposite flank.
Yet, it was still difficult to find partnerships where two players genuinely brought the best out of one another. Various players still seemed to be performing "balancing" roles rather than genuinely directing their team's play: Demichelis, Fernandinho, Navas and Negredo were all good footballers, but played subordinate roles to City's stars. And it was still a team of stars.
Under Guardiola, the stars play as a team -- and now, there are good partnerships across the pitch. The most exciting has been an unusual partnership, between the right-centre midfielder and the left-winger, Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane. The Belgian's stunning crossfield diagonal balls into Sane's path have repeatedly penetrated opponents: the German's speed makes De Bruyne's passes better, De Bruyne's passes make Sane's speed more devastating.
The way De Bruyne has combined with Silva, the duo playing as "free No. 8s" in De Bruyne's words, has also been hugely impressive and unlike anything the Premier League has witnessed before. Sometimes they've dominated the centre of the pitch, exchanging passes while breaking forward, and sometimes, like in the impressive 1-0 win at Chelsea when De Bruyne grabbed the winner, they've intelligently drifted out wide together to overload the opposition down the flanks. Playing both in those roles was a hugely ambitious move from Guardiola, but their selflessness and intelligence has made them into a fine partnership.
Then there's the way Kyle Walker's speed on the overlap has allowed Raheem Sterling more license to move into goal scoring positions -- and, at other times, Sterling has kept the width more to allow Walker to tuck inside into a more central role. That's also what has happened on the other flank with Sane and Fabian Delph, a makeshift left-back who has adapted impressively because Sane provides the width, meaning he doesn't need to overlap.
But the best partnerships have been in the final third. The most notable feature of Manchester City's attacking play this season has been their selflessness in front of goal, and the number of times they've played an "extra" pass to a teammate in a point-blank position, often for an empty net. This has often involved Sane and Sterling combining from opposite flanks, with Aguero also inevitably featuring.
Those three, and Gabriel Jesus on occasion, have acted as a properly harmonious front three. The map of City's goals this season, depicting where each successful shot has been struck from, is extraordinary -- there's absolutely nothing between the penalty spot and the edge of the "D." City's players have consistently turned down good shooting positions to feed teammates in great shooting positions.
Essentially, City don't have anyone simply playing for themselves. That might sound a simple concept, but their previous title-winning incarnations have featured Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez's sulks, Toure's lack of interest in defensive duties or Aleksandar Kolarov vacating his position to shoot optimistically from range. All these players would be entirely out of place as regulars in this side.
All title-winning sides have good players, but the better title-winning sides have good partnerships -- and the very best title-winning sides have so many good partnerships that the side almost becomes one interconnected network. Guardiola created that at Barcelona, particularly in his third season, and he's close to something similar here with City. These partnerships are maximising individual ability and next season this lot might be even better.
How about we all take a step back and keep the hell away from that Pandora's Box?
That means you, Marca, who saw fit to devote Tuesday's front page to the following concept: the accusations of pro-Real Madrid refereeing bias might hurt Zinedine Zidane's team against Bayern Munich.
And you, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, who accused UEFA head of refereeing Pierluigi Collina (who happens to be Italian) of being so obsessed with appearing transparent and unbiased that he ends up penalizing Serie A clubs. You too, Medhi Benatia, who compared events at the Bernabeu last week to a "rape" and, when an Italian comedian called him out on it, replied "if you'd like to try it out, I'm at the [training ground] every day... you can put it wherever you like."
And, as much as it pains everyone who has admired your career, you too, Gigi Buffon, who -- while saying on Sunday that the way you expressed yourself was over the top -- stood by your basic concept: that calling a match-deciding penalty when the game is about to go to extra time is wrong because you should "let the pitch do the talking."
As for the pond scum who littered social media as well as the offline world with threats and abuse toward referee Michael Oliver and his wife, Lucy, they don't need to take a step back. Instead, they need to be identified, exposed, named and shamed to their wives, children and employers as well as face criminal charges where applicable.
But back to the folks who really should know better. Amid the chaos, Max Allegri said it best on Tuesday.
"Let's not waste energy on this stuff," said the Juventus manager. "This is life, we're part of the show. It's over. I don't want to hear one more of my players go back to this. It's been a week. We're done."
He's right. Not just because lost amid the chaos of the penalty and the red card was one basic fact: Juventus had roundly defeated Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, putting three goals past them. That matched Madrid's heaviest home defeat in a European knockout tie. (Spartak Moscow beat them 3-1 in the 1990-91 European Cup quarterfinal, except unlike Juve, they weren't 3-0 down on aggregate when the match kicked off.)
That's what we should talk about, not vast conspiracies. I say this as someone who, more than most, isn't averse to discussing conspiracies if (key point, here) there is logic behind them to make them plausible.
So let's do some deconstructing, shall we?
Yes, referees have been accused of favouring Real Madrid in the past. Just last season, they got some huge calls in the return leg against Bayern. But guess what? It happens to most big clubs who do well in Europe. Or have we forgotten those hilarious "UEFAlona" jibes already?
Simply put: If favouritism exists, it's not clear why it should suddenly end. If there is no favouritism -- and you'd tend to believe that if there was a big pro-Madrid plot, they wouldn't leave it until six seconds from the final whistle to spring into action against Juventus -- then you wonder why they would suddenly overcompensate. Or, indeed, how it would benefit Juventus given that they're out of the competition.
Agnelli's logic is equally twisted. He accuses Collina of not wanting VAR in the Champions League, which is a bit odd since he's pushed VAR in his other role as head of FIFA's Referees Committee. It's also bizarre because under the current VAR protocol, Oliver would not have overruled himself.
The other part of the argument is that in his desire to appear impartial, Collina sends weaker and less experienced referees to officiate the Italian sides. Now, it's true that Oliver, age 33, isn't particularly seasoned compared with some UEFA officials. But with Mark Clattenburg (who would have gone to the World Cup) decamping to Saudi Arabia, Oliver is probably the top Premier League referee. The way to get experience is to actually officiate Champions League knockout rounds. Had the first leg been closer, you'd imagine that somebody else might have received the call, but with Real Madrid coming off a 3-0 away win, the appointment made sense.
What about the theory that Collina penalises Italian clubs? When he took over at UEFA, Serie A was fourth in the country coefficient rankings. Now it's third and Juventus have reached two of the past three Champions League finals, which suggests that if Collina is leading a big anti-Italian plot, he's not doing a very good job.
Agnelli, rather ominously, spoke about replacing Collina. If he were just a club president you could understand it. But he's also the chairman of the European Clubs Association and a member of UEFA's Executive Board, which makes the statement rather ominous and ill-advised.
Benatia needs some counselling if he thinks comparing Oliver's penalty to rape is appropriate.
Buffon's situation is complicated by all the extraneous smoke and mirrors around it. He says he's being honest about how he feels, how moments like that make him feel alive, how he's not going to hide behind conformist niceties. Great. But strip it all away and what is his basic point? That a big game should not be decided by a contentious penalty in injury time.
It's true that most neutrals and all Juve fans would have enjoyed extra-time. Let them settle it on the pitch, sure, but a referee has to call what he sees. Buffon should know that, because the shoe has been on the other foot in the past.
Remember this? When Lucas Neill brought down Fabio Grosso deep in injury-time in the Round of 16 game between Italy and Australia at the 2006 World Cup, nobody remembers Buffon running after the referee saying you couldn't possibly award a penalty in those circumstances. If Buffon had been in goal for Australia, maybe he would have reacted exactly the same way. But it still would not have been right.
Complicating everything are the folks (usually neutrals) for whom the referee is always right, regardless. They're also the ones who tend to view referees like some sort of collective entity, a bit like the Borg from Star Trek: they are to be respected and never questioned... at least unless their team is playing.
It doesn't work that way in real life. If you talk to most high-level referees, they'll tell you it shouldn't. They are individuals, they are uber-competitive, they take pride in their work, they are self-critical (away from the cameras) and they don't hesitate to critique the work of their colleagues.
We witnessed a thrilling Champions League quarterfinal and an outstanding performance from a Juventus side devoid of (arguably) their best player, Paulo Dybala. Now take Allegri's advice and move on.
Spain international De Gea features in the lineup for the fourth straight year and the fifth time in six seasons, but the 27-year-old said team success means more.
"I'm very, very proud to be nominated once again and I guess it's a result of me having a good year on a personal note," De Gea, who has also been shortlisted for the PFA Player of the Year, told United's official website.
"It makes you even more proud, really, when you know your fellow professional players have nominated you. It's really a source of satisfaction for me.
"I'm pleased with how my own performances have gone; it's just a pity this season we have not won one of our big targets trophy-wise.
"We've still got the FA Cup in front of us and must make sure we win a trophy and not just a personal accolade."
