And what an exciting week it has been, with players returning to packed stadiums, some memorable individual and team performances and a medical incident which had the world on edge.
Italy midfielder Alessandro Florenzi believes they can prove the doubters wrong again in Friday's Euro 2016 clash with Sweden in Toulouse.
World Cup hosts Russia turned in another unconvincing display as Austria extended their winless run stretching back to October with a 1-0 victory in a friendly on Wednesday.
Former Italy great Alessandro Del Piero will play for the Delhi franchise of the Indian Super League (ISL) and will also be the competition's brand ambassador, the ex-Juventus player has said.
Seven-time European champions AC Milan hit back from two goals down against Celtic to claim a 4-2 victory that sent them into the Europa League knockout phase on Thursday as they were among 14 teams to progress in Europe's second-tier competition.
However, a Serie A recommendation that similar cuts be made at all top flight clubs has been rejected by the players' union which argues that those at smaller clubs are less able to afford reductions.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to deposit in its account the compensation given by Italy for the kin of two Indian fishermen killed by Italian Marines off the Kerala coast in February 2012.
Gianluigi Buffon saved three kicks in a shootout as Italy beat Uruguay 3-2 on penalties to take third place in the 2014 Confederations Cup on Sunday following a 2-2 draw.
IMAGES from Serie A matches played in Italy on Wednesday.
Serie A champions Juventus continued their rebuilding when they signed forward Simone Zaza from Sassuolo for 18 million euros ($19.72 million), the Turin club said on their website (www.juventus.com) on Tuesday.
Juventus moved a step closer to a second successive Serie A title after winning 2-1 in a pulsating "derby of Italy" at Inter Milan on Saturday, while Edinson Cavani came off the bench to inspire Napoli to a thrilling 5-3 win at Torino.
Juventus extended their lead at the top of Serie A to 12 points after winning a pulsating 'derby of Italy' with Inter Milan 2-1 on Saturday.
Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana ran the second fastest women's 5,000 metres in history as she missed out on the world record by just over a second at the Rome Diamond League in Rome, on Thursday.
Images from football matches played in the La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga on Saturday.
Substitute Alessandro Matri struck twice, including a winner in stoppage time, as Serie A leaders Juventus hit back to win 3-1 at 10-man Cagliari on Friday.
The haunting images offers a glimpse into the suffering asylum seekers face on the US-Mexico border.
Juventus secured a largely undeserved 3-0 win over Celtic in their Champions League last 16 first-leg tie on Tuesday after an otherwise backs-to-the-wall display to silence almost 60,000 passionate home fans at Parkhead.
Italian World Cup-winning striker Alessandro Del Piero has joined forces with American actor Patrick Dempsey to launch a new motor racing team which the duo hope to enter in the prestigious Le Mans 24-hour endurance race.
Juventus moved nine points clear at the top of Serie A after defeating Palermo 4-0 at home on Sunday and Francesco Totti bagged a dramatic late equaliser as AS Roma drew 3-3 at Atalanta.
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Alessandro Del Piero's uncertain future in Australia could be close to being resolved, with the former Italy striker pledging his support for struggling Sydney FC.
His overall record of five wins, two draws and seven defeats included shock losses to Hapoel Beer Sheva and Sparta Prague in the Europa League and at home to Cagliari in Serie A.
Alessandro Del Piero aims to stir a latent passion for soccer among the Australian people in his two years playing at Sydney FC, the Italy and Juventus great said on Monday.
Claudio Ranieri has received an honour from the Italian president after the soccer manager led rank outsiders Leicester City to the top of the English Premier League.
Alessandro Del Piero, almost certainly playing his last home game for Juventus at the age of 37, celebrated with a goal as the Serie A champions beat Atalanta 3-1 on Sunday to finish their campaign unbeaten.
A look at how Gucci's Cruise collection brought back lost trends into fashion.
Ambani's holding group launched the Indian Super League, an elite competition of newly created teams, in 2014 with the aim of attracting investment and big global names, much like the Indian Premier League has in cricket. 'It was 100% a wasted opportunity'.
Brazil's teenage striker Neymar, who won the Copa Libertadores with Santos, has been voted South American soccer's Footballer of the Year.
Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly found new love in Alessia Tedeschi, after former girlfriend Irina Shayk dumped him ending their five year relationship.
German Andre Greipel won the fourth stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday after world champion Mark Cavendish crashed close to the finish and was unable to contest the final sprint.
Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas shocked top seeds Marcelo Melo and Lukas Kubot to storm into the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Open
Alessandro Diamanti scored the decisive spot kick as Italy beat England 4-2 on penalties after their action-packed Euro 2012 quarter-final finished goalless after extra-time on Sunday.
Napoli won their first major title since the Diego Maradona era, denied Serie A champions Juventus the double and handed their captain Alessandro Del Piero an unhappy end to 19 seasons at the club by beating the Turin side 2-0 in the Italian Cup final on Sunday.
Filippo Inzaghi and Gennaro Gattuso both announced their departures from AC Milan on Friday, following in the footsteps of Alessandro Nesta, who revealed that he was leaving the Serie A club on Thursday.
Mirko Vucinic scored a stunning extra-time goal to help Juventus into the Italian Cup final with a 4-3 aggregate win over Serie A title rivals AC Milan in the semi-final second leg on Tuesday.
Alessandro Del Piero will spend the night in hospital after requiring eight stitches in a head wound sustained during Juventus's 2-0 win over Cesena on Sunday, the Turin club said.
The two leader spoke privately for about 20 minutes.
Get over Italian legend Alessandro del Piero and make way for Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza.
Barcelona forwards Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi fired the Catalans to a confidence-boosting 2-0 win at in-form Sevilla on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
British tennis maestro Andy Murray has reclaimed his second spot from Roger Federer in the latest ATP rankings after winning his maiden Italian Open title.
