Tug of war is more popular these days as a recreational activity. It is usually an event for teachers in school meets.

Tug of war generates more fun than fierce competition. But the sport was more t

Spain reserved their best for the final at Euro 2012. It was a perfect evening for the world champions as they added another glittering trophy to their on-the-brink-of-collapse cabinet. Here is a repo

Sometimes, success alone is not enough to make a popular footballer. Even though the Brazilian team at the 1970 World Cup had great footballers in all positions, the player who put everyone in the sha

Goals are the lifeblood of football. Nothing gives fans more excitement and satisfaction than watching the ball hit the back of the net.

They may not remember a superb last-ditch tackle or a percept

Alan Dzagoev, Jordi Alba, Mario Mandzukic, Mats Hummels and Vaclav Pilar are not names many fans will have fancied for their Euro 2012 fantasy team a month ago.

But the five — united by youthful exu

At 33, Andrea Pirlo is at a stage where many footballers go through mid-life crisis. It is a phase in which their vision dims, legs tire, shots lose venom, bodies give up and spirit evaporates.

An i

For the third major football tournament in succession, the host hasn’t qualified for the second round. Euro 2008 was a roaring success on and off the field but co-hosts Austria and Switzerland failed

There has been a sharp increase in the number of headed goals at Euro 2012. Twenty-four matches in the group stage yielded 17 goals off the head, nearly a third of the 60 scored.

The numbers are unp

The beautiful game has been tarred again. For the second time in a row, a major football tournament — Euro 2012 on this occasion — has been mired in a goal-line controversy.

It seems these debates h

Euro 2012 is poorer with the exit of Russia who thrilled fans and neutrals alike with a 4-1 destruction of the Czech Republic on the first day of the tournament.

Russia’s ouster has got as much to d