Barcelona's Lionel Messi brought back memories of outstanding performances by his Argentine compatriots Diego Maradona and Ricky Villa at Wembley with his match-winning display in the Champions League final on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid secured a hard-fought 2-1 home victory over Real Betis in La Liga on Sunday thanks to an own-goal by Rui Silva and a header by Alvaro Morata as Diego Simeone's side ended a three-game winless run in all competitions.
Not only the senior team but the young Blue Colts also emerged victorious in the SAFF Men's U-19 champions after hammering Pakistan in the final and clinching a vigorous 3-0 victory.
With the mammoth task of facing a country that appears to grow great players on trees, Greece go into their final Group B clash with Argentina on Tuesday knowing they have nothing to lose.
Indian fans wait for Messi's '2011 Tendulkar moment'
Argentine prodigy Lionel Messi emulated Diego Maradona once again on Saturday when he scored a replica of the Argentine great's famous "hand of god" goal with a desperate equaliser against city rivals Espanyol on Saturday.
In the streets of the capital, revellers partied early into the hours of Monday. Fans climbed onto bus stops and lamp-posts, blared horns, banged drums and set off fireworks into the night sky. Some even climbed the tall Obelisco monument.
The comparison with Maradona for the title of the greatest Argentine player of all time cannot be complete without a world title, which the late Maradona won almost single-handedly 36 years ago.
Saturday's game should give Barcelona's teenage Argentine Lionel Messi the chance to pit his skills against Real Madrid's Brazilian wizard Robinho.
Wearing his infectious goofy grin, 'Samba Magician' Ronaldinho cast a spell on the football-crazy denizens of Kolkata as his arrival for a two-day visit in Kolkata ushered in an early onset of the Durga Puja festival.
Argentine legend Diego Maradona will kick off a football conclave on October 3 in the presence of a galaxy of current and former Indian stars like Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and I M Vijayan.
Wasteful Napoli held to goalless draw by visiting Monza
A Colombian doctor who treated controversial Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona for weight loss last year was nabbed at an international airport on Wednesday with nearly 2 kilos of cocaine packed in his bags, police said.
Diego Maradona was forced to stub out his fat cigar but no one could take the smile off his face -- or stop him talking -- after Argentina's 3-1 last 16 World Cup defeat of Mexico on Sunday.
But after an exceptional transfer window and with Luciano Spalletti at the helm, Napoli dominated the title race while their main rivals all suffered slumps during the season.
Two of the most intimidating strikers in world football, Argentina's 35-year-old Lionel Messi and Poland's 34-year-old Robert Lewandowski, line up against each other on Wednesday with a last 16 place at stake in the World Cup.
'I understood that if I dedicated myself solely to coaching, I could get much better at it'
Lionel Messi kept his dream of winning his first World Cup alive by rifling in the opening goal in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Mexico in World Cup Group C, proving he was far from done in the tournament.
Manchester United's miserable season continued with a 3-2 home defeat by Galatasaray.
Former India captain Kapil Dev on Wednesday lauded Yuvraj Singh's inclusion in the Indian T20 team terming him as a 'crowdpuller like John McEnroe'.
Soccer fans watch the telecast of the World Cup game between Argentina and Saudi Arabia on a Kolkata street with the God Of Football (Diego Maradona holding the 1986 World Cup trophy poster) to keep them company.
Scenes from the champion team's homecoming...
Raucous home support for holders Argentina did not make up for the absence of Juan Martin del Potro and Federico Delbonis on Friday as they fell 2-0 behind to Italy in the first round of the Davis Cup.
Antonella Roccuzzo and her children stole the show during Argentina's 2022 World Cup last 16 clash against Australia on Saturday night.
Reactions to the death of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, who died on Wednesday.
Pope Francis is a lifelong fan of the Buenos Aires San Lorenzo soccer team.
Global sales of soccer gear were up more than 700% for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar versus the 2018 World Cup in Russia across the Fanatics network of online stores.
Several thousand Argentinians are expected to descend on Qatar for the tournament starting next month but not all are having an easy ride.
The Italian coach considers that having healthy players, such as striker Karim Benzema, will be the key to face the schedule that awaits the Madrid side, who will be looking to defend their LaLiga, Spanish Super Cup and Champions League titles.
'I feel very happy, to be able to achieve this, to finish my World Cup journey by playing my last game in a final'
Pochettino, who is well aware of Messi's game-changing abilities having worked with the 35-year-old last season, said he was still the best player in the world.
'It was a signal really, because it was the first goal in a tight game. When he cheated, a lot of the players as well as me complained... I was chasing the referee. But it stood.'
Argentina came out on top over France in the FIFA World Cup 2022 final at Lusail by 4-2 on penalties after both teams finished 3-3 at extra time.
The team had arrived in the early hours of Tuesday at Ezeiza airport. Despite it being around 3am local time (0600 GMT), thousands were waiting with banners, flags and flares and howling with joy after Messi and his team mates ended the country's 36-year wait to win the World Cup.
Dominic Xavier pays homage to arguably the greatest footballer the world has seen.
Here is what you need to know about their route to the final
"The people who have seen Pele, Alfredo Di Stefano or Diego Maradona. The opinions are sentimental, but the other side, if he (Messi) wouldn't have won the World Cup, the opinion and my opinion wouldn't change."
The Argentines suffered one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history
Saudi Arabia stunned Lionel Messi's Argentina 2-1 with brilliant individual goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari during the FIFA World Cup Group C match on Tuesday.
The enormous structured global advertising machinery that surrounds every football game on the planet today? Pele was perhaps single-handedly responsible for all of it. By just being brilliant, captivating crowds, and behaving like a being from the future, doing things that STILL provoke oohs and aahs from watchers. Vaibhav Raghunandan salutes the Incomparable Pele.
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