The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

It's time for the second installment of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly that covers a range of topics in the world of soccer. In today's feature, we focus on Egypt's messy win over Algeria and the recovery of a Paraguay's Salvador Cabanas.

The Good: Salvador Cabanas' slow recovery. The Paraguayan striker, who plays his club soccer in Mexico with Club America, was shot in the head on Monday after an incident outside a Mexico City bar. He survived the gunshot, but has been in intensive care for the past few days. Just today, it was reported that the striker has made improvements and appears "more stable" after a decrease in swelling. What a blessing for a man who recently looked as if he was on the edge of death.

The Bad: Juventus manager Ciro Ferrara losing his job. Inter Milan defeated Juventus 2-1 on Thursday in the Coppa Italia, with the loss proving to be the final straw for Ferrara. Not only is the club currently in sixth in Serie A, but Juve were also dumped out of the Champions League before the new year. The Bianconeri faithful have had it tough this year, similar to Liverpool in England.

The Ugly: Algeria receiving three red cards vs. Egypt. It was a forgettable end to the African Nations Cup for World Cup qualifiers Algeria, as the Desert Foxes were thrashed 4-0 by the defending champions. This match-up was already full of bad blood after the Algerian team bus was pelted by stones from Egyptian supporters in November, leaving three players injured. Overall, it was an unclassy display from a side who gave into frustrations instead of just playing the game.

Finally, just a heads up for everyone: Arsenal vs. Manchester United on Sunday in one of the biggest rivalries in English soccer.