Second week of the first legs in the last 16 of the Champions League. A lot of things to mull over and some surprises in these latest games. So let's begin with the game in Moscow between CSKA and Real Madrid

The first week of the Champions League knock-out stages has begun. As usual lots of things to discuss from the matches. So let's first look at the game in Germany between Leverkusen and Barça...

The surprises kept coming in the African Nations Cup Final as they had done in the previous rounds, including the semi-finals, which were but a healthy warning of what was to come. Zambia finished up winning the tournament and they did it in a protracted final, agonising, almost never-ending and full of emotion to the last second, to the last penalty kick...

We now know who is in the final of the African Cup and it includes a surprise, and some would say that’s what makes our sport great. Zambia were the surprise and they will be part of the party along with the Ivory Coast as their ‘dance partner’, who were expected to do well. Ghana went out despite their being favourites in the betting to get to the final. A Mayuka goal was enough to seal their glory and leave the likes of Ayew, Asamoah and company with nothing. In the other semi-final, also decided by a single goal, in this case by Gervinho, it was enough for the Ivory Coast to book their ticket to the final. As is becoming the norm, the semi-finals have given us things to talk about. So here we are...

Goalkeepers have always trained in specific ways, differentiated from the rest of the team. It seems like a long time ago when we could see the manager or his assistant dedicating just half an hour extra to the goalkeepers after training whilst the rest of the players stretched on the pitch. Yet the truth is that this has been quite common until recently...

The current African Nations Cup is progressing and coming towards a conclusion. We have been looking at the quarter finals and we have made several observations which we can share with you...

We are going to have a first look at the African Nations Cup which has been taking place in the last few weeks. Thanks to members of my staff, and in this case especially Pedro Campos, we have been able to have a look at many of the participating teams. Obviously this article is just an initial assessment which we will continue in the next phase of the competition, but it gives us the chance to have a brief look at some of the teams who are still in the competition...