As Leicester City celebrates its unexpected title triumph, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com lists similar success stories across Europe's top leagues.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Lionel Messi was in inspired form as champions Barcelona hammered Celta Vigo 5-0 on Saturday, recording a fourth straight league victory which keeps them top of La Liga after Real Madrid had put the pressure on the Catalans with a 4-1 win at Eibar.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Real Madrid's 5-0 thrashing of Granada on Saturday equalled a Spanish record of 39 games unbeaten in all competitions. Reuters Sport takes a look at the factors behind their run.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona's 2-1 loss at Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League last week was down to a lack of intensity while Sunday's 1-0 reverse at Athletic Bilbao in La Liga exposed their relative physical frailty.
The goal machines of Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Shakhtar Donetsk cranked into top gear on Tuesday as the Champions League captivated its continental audience with a record 40 goals in one eight-game night.
Real Madrid ended their long wait for a La Liga victory by beating Real Valladolid 2-0 on Saturday with two late goals in interim coach Santiago Solari's first home game in charge of the struggling European champions.
Barcelona were held 1-1 at home by Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League knockout stage playoff
Atletico Madrid maintained a two-point lead in La Liga with a 3-0 victory at Las Palmas and Barcelona and Real Madrid stayed hard on their heels with thumping wins over Athletic Bilbao and Sporting Gijon on Sunday.
Pires signed for FC Goa in the opening season of the ISL in 2014. However, after a year-long stint with the club, the world-cup winning Frenchman announced retirement.
The most impressive players at the FIFA World Cup 2022 after Round One.
Atletico Madrid secured a berth in the Champions League group stage for next season and Deportivo La Coruna narrowly escaped relegation when they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at champions Barcelona on the final day in La Liga on Saturday.
Football's winter transfer window closed on February 1, and, surprisingly, none of Europe's biggies made even a slight move, let alone sign a player.
Kerala Blasters have staged a coup of sorts and signed 22-year-old Spaniard Lluis Ribera Josu Currais for the second season of the Indian Super League.
Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola has termed his former club Barcelona as the 'best team in the world', after both the teams were being drawn against each other for the high-octane Champions League semi-final clash.
Despite Manchester City officials trying their best to sign Lionel Messi in recent years, manager Pep Guardiola has in contrast expressed his deep desire to see Argentine star striker end his illustrious career at Barcelona. Guardiola, who had worked with Messi for over four years in Barcelona, believes that the Camp Nou club has become the striker's home. "Messi will finish his career at Barcelona that is what I desire deeply. I want him to be there from the beginning to the end," Marca quoted Guardiola as saying.
Luis Suarez was incredulous after being sent off in Barcelona's thrilling King's Cup semi-final second leg with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, ruling him out of the final in May after playing a pivotal role in getting his team there.
Griezmann special earns Atletico 1-1 draw at Sevilla
Check out the top footballers of the weekend.
The 19-year-old Mbappe followed up a domestic treble with Paris St Germain with a string of impressive performances in France's World Cup winning campaign.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field on Saturday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Cristiano Ronald headed his 300th goal for Real Madrid in a laboured 2-0 La Liga victory at neighbours Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday that kept the gap on leaders Barcelona down to four points.
Lionel Messi marked his first start after injury with a goal in Barcelona's 1-1 draw at AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday while Fernando Torres got two as Chelsea thumped Schalke and Atletico Madrid's charge continued.
La Liga's reputation as the epicenter of world soccer talent has been bruised by the world record smashing sale of Neymar to Paris St Germain and how Barcelona react to the departure of one of their leading players will define the new season in Spain.
Images from football matches played in the La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga on Saturday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday
Images from football matches played across Europe.
Key head-to-head battles in Saturday's "Clasico" between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabeu stadium (1600 GMT)
Real Madrid ensured top spot in La Liga at the midway point of the season when Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice in a 3-0 win at Getafe on Sunday before Lionel Messi's hat-trick helped Barcelona to a 4-0 victory at Deportivo La Coruna.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field on Friday
Union Berlin's Paul Jaeckel scored a 76th-minute winner to give his team a 1-0 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Sunday and send them two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin will be in Spain's Euro 2016 squad, the country's football federation said on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Bellerin and the other 18 players named to face South Korea in a friendly in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria on Wednesday, have been guaranteed spots in the European Championship squad. Bellerin was included after Real Madrid right back Dani Carvajal sustained a leg muscle injury in Saturday's Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid. The Real Madrid and Atletico players in the squad will be named later on Tuesday when Spain coach Vicente del Bosque announces his final list.
Manchester Utd's Fred receives racist abuse after defeat by Liverpool.
The policy of buying players cheap and selling them for a higher price a few years on is a business model that worked well for clubs like Atletico Madrid and FC Porto. With the transfer window open for the next few weeks, Rediff.com takes a look at clubs that made smart deals over the years.
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