Having returned to England after his humiliating ouster from Chelsea, it is up to Jose Mourinho to leave a positive legacy at Manchester United.
In England, the celebrations went on at Leicester City as they marked their fairytale Premier League success with another win while champions Juventus' long unbeaten streak in Italy came to an end.
When Swedish champions Malmo take on mighty Real Madrid on Wednesday they do so knowing they would probably have to sell their entire squad just to be able to afford a single player from the bench of the Spanish giants.
In an exclusive chat, Del Piero tells Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi of his urge to entertain fans and his interest in understanding India and its culture.
Photos from the UEFA Champions League last 16 first leg-matches played on Wednesday
Real Madrid were the big winners in Spain as their success at Almeria was followed by a Barcelona draw and a surprise Atletico Madrid defeat.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid were thumped 4-0 away by city rivals Atletico Madrid to open up the Spanish title race, while Chelsea strengthened their hold on top spot in the English Premier League after a 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
Chelsea returned to their early-season form to open up a five-point lead in the Premier League, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continued to make mincemeat of La Liga defences and Juventus extended their lead in Serie A. In France, Olympique Lyonnais retained top spot with a 2-0 win at RC Lens.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Ahead of the UEFA Champions League proper, which kicks-off next month, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com tells football fans what to expect in this year's competition.
Atletico Madrid got their La Liga campaign up and running in less than convincing fashion when Antoine Griezmann's deflected free kick secured an edgy 1-0 win at home to promoted Las Palmas on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Ronaldo equals Raul Real Madrid record while Morata emulates Del Piero after scoring in five consecutive matches
Croatian wunderkind Borna Coric offered emphatic proof of his potential when he crushed Rafael Nadal in the Swiss Indoor tournament on Friday before local hero Roger Federer cruised into the last four.
Manchester United dropped further down the table after losing 5-3 against newcomers Leicester City. Barcelona and Real Madrid scored 13 goals between them during a memorable La Liga weekend, when Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick.
(Reuters) - Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris St Germain reached the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday on a night when the goals flowed all over Europe with United the highest scorers in a 5-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen.
Barcelona lost ground on La Liga leaders Real Madrid when their 11-match winning streak was snapped by Malaga, while Premier League pacesetters Chelsea dropped points at home to Burnley. Bayern Munich enjoyed a second-successive goalrush in the Bundesliga after routing Paderborn 6-0 while AS Roma lost ground to Serie A leaders Juventus after yet another draw. This and more from the happenings in the world of football over the weekend.
On the 30th anniversary of the football tragedy, Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra, in an exclusive interaction with Italian author Francesco Caremani, discusses the incident that affected so many people, including himself.
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