ARSENAL 1-0 LEEDS UNITED

Were it not for Thierry Henry’s headline-grabbing return, this would most likely have been the highlight of Arsenal’s FA Cup Third Round match with Leeds.

Working as a pundit for ESPN, former Arsenal defender Martin Keown was the unwitting victim of a Leeds target practice…

The domestic leagues of Argentina are often associated with above-average levels of foul play, so much so that in this case, local TV network TyC Sports produced a highlights package of the biggest literal hits of 2011…

HAMBURG ALL-STARS 4-5 UNDP ALL-STARS

A modern legend of Romanian football, playmaker Gheorghe Hagi recently put his boots back on to participate in a team representing the United Nations Development Programme in a ‘Match Against Poverty’ charity game against legends of German club Hamburg.

While the result might be clearly considered secondary on such an occasion, Hagi helped his team to a 5-4 victory, with the 46-year-old showing some skills that would not look out of place in his heyday, up against a team which featured several of Hamburg’s current first-team players…

The football tournament that most of the world will be looking forward to the most this year will be UEFA Euro 2012 in Ukraine and Poland, and while the organisers of the event keep relaying the official tournament slogan of ‘Creating History Together’, at least one aspect of this summer’s tournament will be relying on inspiration from the past.

The official match ball of UEFA Euro 2012 was revealed on the same day as the tournament draw, with the name (adidas Tango 12) serving as a throwback to an iconic ball brand which in the 1970′s & 80′s was used in a number of FIFA World Cup (’78, ’82) and UEFA Euro (’80, ’84, ’88) tournaments, amongst others.

While the key focus is the European Championships for the Tango 12, the design will most likely be applied in tweaked incarnations for a number of other major tournaments this year, including the 2012 Olympic Games Football Tournament, where it will be known as the ‘adidas Albert’.

Regarding the ‘blast from the past’ naming process for the Tango 12, though, have the innovative ball-makers run out of ideas already, or is this just a one-off tribute?

A video made by Adidas highlighting the ball and its Euro inspirations can be seen below:

footy-fever.com wishes its viewers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Despite a busy schedule for him at this point in the year, the clips below show what Santa Claus likes to do in his downtime, while little helper Lassi Hurskainen (known for his YouTube compilation: ‘Goalkeeper Tricks’) shows some dead-ball accuracy whilst dressed for the occasion.

Merry Christmas 2011 from footy-fever.com!

BAYERN MUNICH 3-0 FC KOLN

This match from the weekend in the Bundesliga was a win for Bayern Munich to keep them top of this season’s standings, but the games was most notable for this literal ball-bursting shot from Belgian defender Daniel Van Buyten.

As much as makers of these official league balls will go on about greater ball technology and enhanced adhesive seams, it is nice to see that they aren’t immune from an old-fashioned ripping. Could it be considered a little over-the-top to halt play here, why not just carry on and keep the game as unpredictable as the few seconds before it?

BOCA JUNIORS U17 1-1 ATLETICO MINERO U17

This game during the 2nd 2011 Future Champions (Under-17 Club) Cup ended in a bit of a farce, as Boca Juniors U17′s failed to progress from the group stage (1st video), causing tears, violence, tears, and coaches blocking cameras (2nd video)…

HARROGATE RAILWAY ATHLETIC 3-4 GUISELEY

This recent West Riding County Cup clash in England ended on a very high note for Conference North club Guiseley, who won the match in second half injury time (around 2:40 into the clip) direct from a Danny Forrest kick-off…

Strange how this match in Brazil saw Corinthians player Jorge Henrique’s attempt at an ‘air kick’ trick against Palmeiras suddenly turned into a brawl. Perhaps partially due to the club’s long-standing rivalry, but still…

Golden Goal, a football show on Norwegian TV station TV2, recently had a segment which displayed an alternative approach to the sport. With five players on each team (preferably recent legends of Norwegian football), all players (and the referee) were hooked up to wireless electric shockers, with the show’s two presenters having their fingers on the pulse. Could ‘Elektrosjokkfotball’ take off?