Dani Gil

Latest articles by Dani Gil

Julio Cesar
‘It was our home World Cup and I made crucial saves to take it to a penalty shootout against Chile. That’s when goalkeepers stand alone against the world’ Julio Cesar recalls Brazil’s 2014 World Cup win over Chile

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE The former Inter Milan stopper has recalled a dramatic knockout World Cup game on home soil

EXCLUSIVE
Inter Milan lift the trophy after winning the 2009/10 Champions League
‘Jose Mourinho knew how to bring out the best in each of us. Inter had not been European champions for 45 years, but that did not put any pressure on’ Julio Cesar on the 2010 Champions League final

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE The Brazilian stopper was between the sticks during Inter’s treble-winning campaign

EXCLUSIVE
Barcelona players celebrate their Champions League final win over Arsenal in May 2006.
‘Henrik Larsson found me with a pass and I hit the ball with my whole soul. When I saw it go in, I wanted to get up to celebrate – my body wouldn’t let me’ Juliano Belletti on his 2006 Champions League winner

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE The former Barcelona man broke Arsenal hearts with his Champions League winner

EXCLUSIVE
Juliano Belletti
‘Frank Lampard said in front of everyone that I was the best, even though he was given man of the match. I’d played out of my usual position and it was perfect’ Juliano Belletti on his Chelsea highpoint

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE Belletti spent three years at Stamford Bridge following a £4million move from Barcelona in 2007

EXCLUSIVE
Andriy Shevchenko celebrates after scoring for Chelsea against Portsmouth in October 2006.
‘Working for Mourinho was a great experience – he was a master at motivating and knew how to strike the right chord with each player. We were his soldiers’ Andriy Shevchenko on his loyalty to his former Chelsea boss

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE Jose Mourinho was in charge at Stamford Bridge when the Ukrainian completed his £30million move from AC Milan

EXCLUSIVE
Andriy Shevchenko
‘Ian Rush gave me a pair of Nike boots and I treasured them for years. I tried playing with them once, until my big toes poked through the toe area!’ How a Liverpool legend helped inspire Andriy Shevchenko

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE Former AC Milan and Chelsea striker Shevchenko has recalled an early encounter with the Liverpool and Wales legend

EXCLUSIVE
‘We dominated the game and I had a double chance that Dudek inexplicably saved. Football is beautiful for that reason. Never take anything for granted’ - Andriy Shevchenko relives 2005 Champions League defeat to Liverpool

By Steven Chicken Published

The former AC Milan striker could not believe what was happening when Rafa Benitez's Liverpool came from 3-0 down to win the 2005 Champions League final

Competition
Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (C), flanked with Barcelona's midfielder Xavi Hernandez (R) and Barcelona's midfielder Andres Iniesta (L), poses with the 2010 Ballon d'Or trophy (Golden Ball) for the best European footballer of the year prior to the Copa del Rey (King's Cup) football match FC Barcelona vs Real Betis on January 12, 2011 at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona. AFP PHOTO/ LLUIS GENE (Photo credit should read LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)
'When I joined Barcelona, the president told me, ‘There’s this boy who will be superb’. He started training with us and I soon knew that he would replace me' Ludovic Giuly on knowing his Barca days were numbered

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE The France international knew someone special was coming through the La Masia ranks

EXCLUSIVE
Jens Lehmann is consoled by Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry after his red card in the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona.
‘When Lehmann fouled Eto’o, I put the ball in the net. I was on cloud nine, but then I realised that the referee had blown his whistle for the foul. It was unfair’ Ludovic Giuly on Barcelona’s dramatic Champions League final comeback vs Arsenal

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE The French winger still believes he should have a Champions League final goal to his name

EXCLUSIVE
Javier Zanetti
‘When we saw Sergio Busquets exaggerating, we felt a great injustice had been done. It made us mentally strong. We gave everything, we left our souls on the pitch’: Javier Zanetti on Inter Milan and Barcelona’s 2010 Champions League classic

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE Inter Milan had to dig deep in their Champions League semi-final at the Camp Nou in 2010

EXCLUSIVE
‘There was a time when it was said Xavi and I were incompatible – we proved the opposite. Our connection grew organically, without forcing anything’: Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta recalls early criticism when playing alongside team-mate

By Ryan Dabbs Published

Barcelona pair Andres Iniesta and Xavi formed arguably the best midfield ever, but people were doubtful at the start...

Inter Milan captain Javier Zanetti lifts the Champions League trophy after victory against Bayern Munich in the 2010 final
‘Mourinho convinced us with actions, not words. Immediately, he made us believe we were capable of making history. His confidence gave us wings’: Inter Milan legend Javier Zanetti on the Special One’s instant San Siro impact

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE Jose Mourinho won an historic treble with Inter Milan in 2010, with Javier Zanetti at the heart of his side

EXCLUSIVE
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona) scores a goal. (Photo by liewig christian/Corbis via Getty Images)
‘The second leg at Chelsea will stay with me forever. Luckily, the ball went to the one spot where Petr Cech couldn’t reach it, which was almost miraculous’: Barcelona legend explains 2009 Champions League stunner at Stamford Bridge

By Ryan Dabbs Published

EXCLUSIVE Barcelona shattered Chelsea hearts in the 2009 Champions League semi-final

EXCLUSIVE
CHOFU, JAPAN - DECEMBER 15: Andres Iniesta of Barcelona looks on with Xavi after the Andres Iniesta Testimonial 'El Clasico' In Tokyo at Ajinomoto Stadium on December 15, 2024 in Chofu, Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Masashi Hara/Getty Images)
‘Many people expect me to coach Barca one day, but I’m not thinking about it. Hopefully one day I’ll return – Guardiola, Xavi and then me? Sounds good’: Andres Iniesta discusses potentially becoming Barcelona manager

By Ryan Dabbs Published

EXCLUSIVE Andres Iniesta is a Barcelona legend who could potentially follow in the footsteps of other Blaugrana academy products

EXCLUSIVE
UNSPECIFIED: 1988 Frank Rijkaard, Marco Van Basten and Ruud Gullit of AC Milan pose for photo after training session, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images) Real Madrid
‘To beat that team, with Frank Rijkaard, Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit, was almost impossible - it was one of the greatest games of my coaching career': Ex-Real Madrid manager reflects on beating stacked AC Milan side in 1989

By Ryan Dabbs Published

EXCLUSIVE Real Madrid beat AC Milan in 1989 in what the winning manager claims is the best of his coaching career

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‘There was great chemistry from the start. I’d jump up with a smile on my face, as I knew that if I won the jump and touched the ball, he’d find it for a finish’: How Kevin Keegan proved the perfect strike partner at Liverpool

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE Kevin Keegan formed one of the best little and large partnerships the English game had ever seen in the 1970s at Liverpool

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'We lost the first league game of the season, then drew with Racing Santander. Spontaneously, I decided to go to Pep's office to reassure him. “Don’t worry,” I told him, “everything will be fine"': Andres Iniesta opens up his early Guardiola pep talk

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE When Barcelona appointed a rookie Guardiola in 2008, he had plenty of early doubters

EXCLUSIVE
‘I’m told there was talk about joining Rangers, but I was never tempted by the Premier League. A few minutes at Barca were worth more than anywhere else’: Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta reveals potential transfer away from Camp Nou never interested him

By Ryan Dabbs Published

EXCLUSIVE Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta says that he never wanted to move to the Premier League - but there was potential for a Rangers transfer

EXCLUSIVE
Andres Iniesta
‘It’s hard to describe scoring the winner in the World Cup final. The ball came to me, I controlled it, and time stopped. It was like slow motion. I heard silence’: Andres Iniesta recalls scoring winner for Spain against the Netherlands in 2010

By Ryan Dabbs Published

Andres Iniesta describes what it felt like to score the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final for Spain against the Netherlands

Competition
CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 02: Wales captain Ryan Giggs shakes the hand of manager John Toshack after being substituted on his last International appearance for his country during the Euro 2008 Group D Qualifying Match between Wales and Czech Republic at the Millennium Stadium on June 2, 2007 in Cardiff, Wales. Photo by (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
‘I trained at Spurs and thought they’d give me a chance. But I received a letter thanking me but saying they didn’t think I was good enough – I was gutted’: How Tottenham missed out on signing Wales legend John Toshack

By Ryan Dabbs Published

Tottenham invited a future star for trials when they were aged just 15, but turned him away after deeming them not good enough to play for the club

Coaches & Managers
Sergio Busquets, Jesus Navas, Sergio Ramos, Javier Martinez and Juan Manuel Mata of Spain pose with the trophy in the Spanish dressing room after they won the 2010 FIFA World Cup at Soccer City Stadium on July 11, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa
'I asked a ball boy to give me a ball as a souvenir. He told me he couldn’t give it to me as the game wasn’t over, but I took it out of his hands and tucked it under my shirt' Juan Mata describes the mayhem of the World Cup final whistle in South Africa

By Jacque Talbot Published

EXCLUSIVE Juan Mata recalls the moment Spain won their first ever World Cup and the messy 48 hours that followed

EXCLUSIVE
The Manchester United squad celebrate with the FA Cup trophy after The Emirates FA Cup final match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium on May 21, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Tom Purslow/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Juan Mata on surprising Louis van Gaal quality that led to Manchester United's last FA Cup triumph

By Steven Chicken Published

Manchester United last won the FA Cup in Louis van Gaal's final game in charge of the club in 2016

Competition
Zlatan Ibrahimovic during his time at Manchester United
Juan Mata reveals Zlatan Ibrahomivic’s brilliant first words to the Manchester United dressing room

By Joe Mewis Published

The mercurial Swede announced himself to the Manchester United dressing room in typical fashion

Competition
Manchester United v Atalanta – UEFA Champions League – Group F – Old Trafford
Juan Mata: I spent a season on the Manchester United bench because I believed in Cristiano Ronaldo

By Steven Chicken Published

The former Manchester United playmaker stayed at Old Trafford in hopes of a title win that never came

Player
Former Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata leaps into the air at Anfield to score a dazzling bicycle kick.
Juan Mata tells the story of THAT special strike at Anfield for Manchester United

By Matthew Holt Published

The Spaniard shocked Merseyside as his dazzling bicycle kick sailed into the net back in 2015

Person
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