The story goes about Marcelo Bielsa, manager of Marseille, that back in Argentina, he had a football pitch built next to his home in the country.

The Champions League group stage was due a knife-edge finale and it has duly arrived. Just four group winners have been decided and only one runner-up.

Lionel Messi is a household name, even for those who don’t follow football, whereas the chances are that even football anoraks would have to check the identity of Marcelo Estigarribia.

It was said that the euros would be devalued. Not the currency, the football.

Kick-off for Friday’s European qualifier between Georgia and Poland in Tbilisi is 9pm, one hour and a quarter later than the match in Glasgow.

Tonight is when the Champions League starts to get serious.

The crisis in Italian football is a bit like climate change.

Winning in Europe at the same time as winning at home is an art, and even experience does not guarantee success.

German football is like the German economy. Both are normally so strong that an upset can be magnified into a potential crisis, writes David Shonfield.

International breaks in football usually are a source of frustration, this one more than most.