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Antonio Conte’s Biggest Tactical Problem at Tottenham: He Has Defenders That Aren’t Comfortable on the Ball
Ball-playing centre-backs: a staple for modern football teams. Unfortunately, it is not a luxury that Antonio Conte has inherited at Tottenham Hotspur – a problem that has been evident in both of Spurs’ first Premier League games under him. This is not a new issue, but it is certainly becoming incredibly evident now there…
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Player Analysis: Tommaso Pobega
“Pobega is a total midfielder. He has not been a regista. He has nothing to stand out in but he is good at everything and he delivers important performances. His time arrived for the national team of Italy, that’s a good thing.” Those were the words of Torino coach Ivan Jurić from his press…
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Taiwo Awoniyi: Union Berlin’s Nigerian Target Man
Thanks to Football Manager, the average football fan can differentiate the many different types of centre forwards and the specific requirement attached to each role. The categories such as ‘Advanced Forward’, ‘Target Man’, ‘Deep Lying Forward’, ‘Poacher’ etc have been used to accurately describe strikers based on the qualities they possess. However, the popular…
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Florin Răducioiu and Stevan Jovetić – Football’s Unlikely Journeymen
It took Stevan Jovetić just six minutes to open his Hertha Berlin account on matchday one of the current Bundesliga season, tapping home from point-blank range to give his new side – and seventh career club – the lead against Köln. But while the home side rallied and turned the game around to win…
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A Match Made in Heaven: Marek Hamsik’s Impact at Trabzonspor
Marek Hamsik has already cemented his legacy as somewhat of an enigma. He is a modern legend of Napoli, spending twelve years with the Italian giants and, despite failure in pursuit of a league title, was instrumental in some of the best football the league has seen in the past decade. After leaving the…
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Analyzing Dean Smith’s First Match as Norwich City Manager
Southampton took the lead early on via a goal from Adam Armstrong, who had joined in the summer to replace attacking talisman Danny Ings, who left for Aston Villa for a whopping fee of £30 million after refusing to sign a new contract extension. With Ings missing out on a homecoming due to injury…
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Breaking Down Fiorentina’s €80m-rated Sharpshooter Dusan Vlahovic
Rumors about Dusan Vlahovic’s move become hot news every time he closes a giornata with goals. After it was reported that he doesn’t plan to extend his contract which will end in June 2023, big clubs such as Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur have become interested in his services, with La Viola reportedly setting his price…
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Player Analysis: Jonathan David
A mere eight months after ending Paris Saint-Germain’s domestic dominance and winning their first Ligue 1 title in a decade, Lille find themselves 12th in Ligue 1 after a summer exodus that saw them lose Boubakary Soumare, Luiz Araujo, Mike Maignan, and perhaps most importantly, manager Christophe Galtier. However, perhaps the lone shining light in…
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The Ultimate Bundesliga 2021/22 Data Analysis
The international breaks are an odd period in the football calendar, offering respite for some, monotonous friendlies for others, and career-defining qualifiers for the rest. Even in the world of sports journalism, the international break can throw a shoe-horn in regular plans, allowing individuals like myself to deviate from the normal schedule, and refine some…
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Scott Twine: Primed for a Seamless Rise to the Top
With a daily influx of fixtures and the ringing of fake crowd noise forever in our ears, football fan fatigue reached its peak through the first few months of this year, at least from a personal perspective, and I found myself searching for ways to restore my enthusiasm in the sport that started to become…
