Soccer breakups are often just like the real thing. They can be by mutual consent — it was probably for the best — or they can be long, drawn out, acrimonious affairs. Just ask Emmanuel Adebayor.

Towards the end of last season, it became clear that his services would no longer be required at Arsenal and so they sold him to those upstarts on the blue side of Manchester. And Manchester City were very glad to have him. But it was never really what Adebayor wanted. Arsenal would surely be contending near the top of the Premier League and would also guarantee Champions League soccer. And so, the whole thing turned rather bitter.

It culminated on Saturday when Adebayor faced Arsenal for the first time and set about making a point. But as in all sports there are right ways and wrong ways to do that. Scoring against your old club, as Adebayor did on Saturday, is fair game. He more than proved that he could still be of value as a striker.

World Cup qualifying is reaching its final stages, but for one would-be favorite, little has gone to plan. After two ugly defeats last week, Argentina is now in very real danger of not making it to South Africa next summer. They have not missed a World Cup since 1970.

First, Argentina lost at home to Brazil, 3-1, and on Wednesday Paraguay booked a spot in the World Cup at their expense, winning 1-0. That left Argentina in fifth place in the South American qualifying group, where only the top four earn an automatic bid. The fifth faces a playoff against the fourth finisher from the North, Central America and Caribbean Zone. (If you need a full refresher on how qualifying works, click here.) Read more...

After a summer of absurdity in the transfer market, here’s a story you didn’t expect. Chelsea has been banned from signing any new players for a year. (Of course, that is surely pending an appeal.)

Nevertheless, the decision is particularly symbolic for Chelsea who shaped their current squad by splashing out millions from owner Roman Abramovich’s bank account a few years ago. And it is with those players that the club catapulted itself back into contention after decades of futility. Read more...

It started during Arsenal’s match against Celtic in the preliminary round of the Champions League two weeks ago. Playing at Emirates Stadium, Arsenal striker Eduardo broke free from the defense and ran onto a ball played into the penalty area. Artur Boruc dove out to meet him. Eduardo went tumbling. And the referee awarded a penalty kick. Read more...

If you need a refresher on how the Champions League works, you can click here. The full group breakdown, with a few quick predictions, is after the jump. Read more...

After being bought up with petrodollars and appointing Sven Goran Eriksson as their Director of Football, the Magpies of League Two (English soccer’s fourth tier) are now on the prowl in the transfer market. And over the last couple of weeks, some of the names bandied about by the British tabloids have been downright ridiculous, from Luis Figo to Patrick Vieira.

But there is one name — another former star past his sell-by date — who seems to be interested. Sol Campbell, the central defender who has played for England in three World Cups, is currently in talks with Notts County, according to the BBC’s Web site. Read more...

A week after the Premier League and two weeks after the Bundesliga and Ligue 1, Italy’s Serie A finally clicked into gear this weekeend. Though for defending champions Inter Milan, it might have been to early.

They got a rude awakening on Sunday when Bari held them to a 1-1 draw at home in the San Siro, while Inter’s rivals, Juventus and A.C. Milan, both did their jobs by starting with a win. Samuel Eto’o grabbed his first league goal for the Nerazzurri from the penalty spot in the 55th minute, but Bari equalized 18 minutes later to earn a valuable point from the champions. But what stood out in the match reports was a costly miss by Eto’o with Inter leading 1-0. Read more...

Of course, after only three games, it’s still very early in the season. But already people are wondering, is Tottenham for real?

They came out of the blocks with the best possible start by beating Liverpool, 2-1, in the surprise of the opening weekend. Then, they crushed Hull 5-1 and followed it up on Sunday with a tough 2-1 victory over West Ham. But a look at their schedule shows that things are about to get much more difficult. Sure, they have Birmingham next — and the way Spurs are playing, there’s no reason it shouldn’t mean another three points — but then come Manchester United and Chelsea in quick succession. Read more...