One David Hickey, with an address in Wales, was moved to put pen to paper after watching the recent England-Germany women’s international on television.

It’s a pretty safe bet that the assistant manager of Ireland will command more column inches and airspace than the assistant manager of Gibraltar before the two countries meet in their Euro 2016 qualifier at the Aviva on Saturday, October 11.

For Andy Reid, it must have been just like old times. Five years ago he earned his 25th international cap in an end-of-campaign knockabout against Wales under interim gaffer Don Givens.

Gareth Bale has passed his medical at Real Madrid and will get his first taste of life as a galactico this afternoon when he is presented at the Bernabeu.

It is the game the world is waiting to see, according to José Mourinho, and he may well be right.

In Hungary, there is no escaping the past when it comes to football.

THERE are questions and then there is the question: Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

FORGET about Keano in Saipan, Anelka in South Africa or all those rebellious Dutch players down the years who have seen it as their birthright to rail against the perceived idiocy of football’s powers that be. When it comes to both getting mad and getting even in football, none of the above could hold a candle to Bela Guttman.

Robbie Keane is ready to make up for lost time against Andorra tomorrow night after passing up the opportunity to move himself closer to membership of an elite club.

FRIENDSHIP is not the most important commodity among team-mates, according to Arsène Wenger.

The Examiner’s football correspondent Liam Mackey likes a good argument when he hears it, and he’s got strong views of his own. Today, and every Tuesday, he will be acting as referee on your opinions on the Premiership. Let him know what you think and he’ll argue the toss with you.

A TWO-GOAL blast from Icelandic striker Eidur Gudjohnsen drove title holders Barcelona back to the top of the Spanish league yesterday, with a 4-1 win at Real Mallorca.

Real Madrid 3 Racing Santander 1

HUNGARIAN football legend Ferenc Puskas, the inspiration of the “Mighty Magyars” side that dominated world football in the 1950s, has died after a long illness. He was 79.

Hungary and Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskas – one of football’s all-time greats – has died after long battle against pneumonia.

Real Madrid will play a friendly in Budapest on August 14 to raise money for their legendary striker Ferenc Puskas, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

PELE may be the world’s favourite footballer but he walked into a storm of controversy yesterday over his choice of the greatest living players.

IT IS probably the only football match to be known simply by the scoreline — 6-3.

WHEN Gerhard Aigner starts talking about introducing sin-bins to reduce indiscipline and Bobby Robson compares the left foot of England rugby hero Jonny Wilkinson to that of Ferenc Puskas, it is time to ask what soccer can learn from rugby.

SPANISH international striker Raul, already his country’s top scorer in history with 34 goals, reached another landmark in Saturday’s 7-2 win over Real Valladolid in which he had a hat-trick.

REAL MADRID coach Vicente Del Bosque never tries to steal the limelight from his players, according to the club’s sporting director Jorge Valdano.

Glasgow welcomed back Real Madrid to the scene of one of their greatest European triumphs.