World Soccer

2010 was meant to be their year. Finally an African nation was going to make a sustained challenge at a World Cup . It was on home turf for the first time and there were more African players operating in European superpowers than ever before. The Elephants were ready to rampage and the Black Stars were aiming for the sky. There was even optimism that Nigeria's Super Eagles may soar, having reached the semi-finals of the African Nations Cup.

Thierry Henry didn't touch the ball much during France's comprehensive 2-0 friendly defeat by Spain last Wednesday, but when he did, boos and jeers reverberated around the Stade de France. France supporters are notoriously hard to please and seeing a Spain team ease to victory against their boys probably hammered home the magnitude of the task at this year's World Cup .

Carlos Tevez's assertion that John Terry would have "lost his legs" in his old neighborhood in Argentina for having an affair with Wayne Bridge's ex-partner is the stuff of journalistic fantasy. The Manchester City striker twisted the knife further into Terry with quotes in the English press on Thursday suggesting the former England captain lacked a moral code.

John Terry having an affair with Wayne Bridge's ex-partner might just turn out to be the best thing that could have happened to Manchester City's season. City have looked overly defensive and predictable since Roberto Mancini was appointed coach in December but on Saturday they produced a second-half performance full of fight and no little skill to hammer Chelsea 4-2.

I witnessed one of the best individual defensive performances of the season at the San Siro as Inter Milan defeated Chelsea 2-1 in the Champions League. Lucio was an absolute colossus in central defense for the nerazzurri, who triumphed thanks to goals from Diego Milito and Esteban Cambiasso. Read more... Lucio on Another Level originally appeared on About.com World Soccer on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 17:27:38.

Cristiano Ronaldo's petulance knows no bounds. On-field strops seem to be par for the course with him these days, but even by his standards Sunday's display takes some beating. Let's make no mistake, Ronaldo was sublime in Real Madrid's 6-2 thrashing of Villarreal, scoring the first, making two more and winning the penalty which Xabi Alonso converted. But Read more... Spoilt Ronaldo Showing Himself Up originally appeared on About.com World Soccer on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 17:58:09.

Manuel Pellegrini is a man constantly under pressure at Real Madrid. This pressure intensified after the 1-0 Champions League defeat to Lyon on Tuesday. The trouble is that Real's squad is so expensively assembled that the convenient solution to the club's ills is to replace the coach. Get rid of Cristiano Ronaldo because the team often play better without him? Never. Sell Karim Benzema because he hasn't made the expected impact since joining from Lyon? No way. Instead of attempting to build a team with more equilibrium, it is easier just to replace the coach.

Brazil striker Adriano has been quoted as saying that he would consider a move to AS Roma in the summer. "The Emperor," as he doesn't like to be called, quickly regained his form after leaving Inter Milan for Flamengo in 2009. 19 goals in 30 matches was a handsome return, and such form has triggered rumors of a return to Italy. Read more... Adriano Must Mull Next Move originally appeared on About.com World Soccer on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 18:13:04.

The news that Alessandro Nesta is considering coming out of international retirement is interesting from a moral perspective. It is certainly positive for Italy . The team lack quality cover for first-choice central defenders Fabio Cannavaro and Giorgio Chiellini. Coach Marcello Lippi is keen for him to join the Azzurri's World Cup squad, and paid Nesta and his fellow Italians a visit at AC Milan's training complex recently.

The two standout matches in the big European leagues on Sunday were Chelsea's encounter with Arsenal and Roma's visit to Fiorentina. In both games, pragmatism triumphed over style. Didier Drogba, so often Arsenal's tormentor, scored two first-half goals to earn Chelsea a 2-0 win, while Roma struck late through Mirko Vucunic to win 1-0 in Florence.