The FIFA World Cup knock-out phase kicks-off on Saturday in Qatar. Here's an overview of the teams advancing to the last 16.
Spain ended European champions Italy's world record 37-match unbeaten run as Ferran Torres scored twice in a 2-1 win at the San Siro stadium in an entertaining Nations League semi-final on Wednesday.
New Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is well-trained in dealing with the whims of multi-millionaire footballers and club owners despite often coming across as shy and reserved. The 49-year-old won two Champions Leagues and a Serie A title during his eights years at AC Milan and is as qualified as anyone to take the reins at Stamford Bridge.
Juventus beat Cagliari 3-1 away on Thursday to end a three-match winless streak and move four points clear at the top of Serie A.
Now that the second season of the IPL is midway through, Rediff.com assesses the performances of the costliest players in the second season and finds out that they are not worth the price they came at.
Ronaldinho said he was unsure if he would stay at AC Milan next term after scoring two goals in the Rossoneri's 3-0 win over Juventus in their final game of the season on Saturday.
AC Milan coach Leonardo and Juventus counterpart Alberto Zaccheroni bid farewell in contrasting fashions on Saturday when the Brazilian's side eased to a 3-0 win in their final league game of the season.
Forward Adriano and former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho were left out of Brazil's World Cup squad on Tuesday.
Former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho will learn on Tuesday whether or not his impressive season with AC Milan will be enough to earn him a place at his third World Cup.
Juventus crushed visiting Sampdoria 5-1 on Wednesday to leapfrog the Genoa side into second place in Serie A but AC Milan's revival stalled when last-gasp goals earned Napoli a 2-2 draw.
David Beckham will definitely return to AC Milan on loan in January, chief executive Adriano Galliani said on Monday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
David Beckham will not be fit to play again until November as he continues to recover from surgery to repair his torn Achilles tendon, the injured England midfielder said on Monday.
AS Roma took a big step forward in their drive for a surprise Serie A title on Sunday when they beat relegation-threatened visitors Atalanta 2-1 to take the top spot from champions Inter Milan.
VfL Wolfsburg striker Grafite is optimistic the German side have the team spirit to end Manchester United's impressive Champions League home record when the sides meet in Group B on Wednesday.
Exhausted Inter Milan risked surrendering their long-held Serie A lead after drawing 1-1 at fourth-placed Palermo on Saturday.
England have accepted injured midfielder David Beckham is out of the World Cup but have asked him to join the squad in South Africa anyway, coach Fabio Capello was quoted as saying on Friday. The 34-year-old midfielder tore an Achilles tendon playing for AC Milan on Sunday and Capello said he would need six months to recover, ruling him out of the month-long tournament that starts on June 11.
A late equaliser from Werder Bremen's Brazilian international Diego denied AC Milan victory in their UEFA Cup first knockout round first leg tie in Germany on Wednesday.
A burning desire to compete that has marked his career from the outset means David Beckham is unlikely to quit soccer despite being likely to miss this year's World Cup due to an agonising Achilles tendon tear.
Images from the Champions League second-leg match played on Wednesday.
AC Milan midfielder David Beckham returns to Old Trafford for the first time in seven years on Wednesday and fully expects to face Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.
Serie A leaders Inter Milan failed to capitalise on the draw between closest rivals AC Milan and AS Roma when they were held 0-0 by Genoa at the San Siro on Sunday.
Serie A champions Inter Milan humiliated 10-man AC Milan 4-0 to emphatically earn the derby spoils on Saturday.
European champions Barcelona will quickly renew acquaintances with their former striker Samuel Eto'o when they begin the defence of their trophy at Inter Milan in their opening Champions League match next month. The draw also brought together AC Milan and nine-time European champions Real Madrid in another mouthwatering Italian versus Spanish clash with Brazil forward Kaka facing his old club at his new Bernabeu home on Matchday Three.
European champions Barcelona will face Inter Milan, Dynamo Kiev of Ukraine and Russian newcomers Rubin Kazan when they open the defence of their crown following the draw for the Champions League group phase on Thursday.
Serie A leaders AC Milan slipped up for the second straight game in a 1-1 draw at Genoa on Sunday which opened the door for Napoli to cut the gap at the top to three points.
Alexandre Pato fired home in injury time to give AC Milan a lucky 2-1 win at Fiorentina on Wednesday to send the Rossoneri up to second in Serie A.
Two Wayne Rooney headers led Manchester United to a 3-0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford on Tuesday, taking the champions within a point of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.
Chelsea captain John Terry is predicting a "fight to the death" as his team attempt to end Manchester United's three-year domination of the Premier League.
AC Milan warmed up for next week's Champions League clash against Manchester United with a patchy 3-2 home win over Udinese in Serie A on Friday.
Ronaldinho's hopes of a place in Brazil's World Cup squad faded on Tuesday when he was not picked by coach Dunga for their last warm-up against Ireland in London next month.
Ecuadorian winger Antonio Valencia scored on his Manchester United debut in a 2-1 win over Boca Juniors on Wednesday.
AC Milan hope David Beckham will return to the club for five months from January despite the anger of LA Galaxy fans, the Italian club's chief executive Adriano Galliani said on Tuesday. The midfielder joined Milan on loan last January to stay in the England reckoning and then extended his stay in Italy, missing the start of the US season.
Goekhan Inler took advantage of dreadful AC Milan defending to give Udinese a deserved 1-0 win in their Italian Cup quarter-final on Wednesday.
Inter Milan landed a massive blow in the Serie A title tussle on Sunday, going nine points clear when they beat AC Milan 2-0 in a high voltage derby which they finished with nine men.
Soccer player Alexandre Pato and actress Sthefany Brito smile after their wedding at Sao Francisco de Paulo church in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday.
Footballer David Beckham has added another tattoo, a black and white image of Jesus Christ, to his huge collection of body art. Beckham, 34, already has 17 tattoos on his body but decided to get the latest one to pay a tribute to his grandfather Joe West, who died recently. The footballer was very close to him.
Two goals from Ronaldinho helped AC Milan to a 3-0 win at toothless Juventus on Sunday which piled the pressure on Juve's rookie coach Ciro Ferrara.
Serie A leaders Inter Milan ground out a 1-0 victory at Chievo and Juventus ended their bad run with a similarly battling 2-1 win at Parma on Wednesday.
David Beckham wishes he had stayed with Manchester United for his entire career and not left in 2003 for Real Madrid, the former England captain said on Sunday.
