In the 17th minute of Spain’s 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Sweden, the ball ricocheted out to Gavi deep in his own half. An array of yellow shirts swarmed the La Masia product, trying to press and harass the 17-year-old – probably backing their chances against a midfielder that has barely touched manhood.  …

At 23 years of age, Cristian Romero is a starter for Tottenham Hotspur and the Argentina national team, a Copa América winner, and one of the most promising center backs in Europe. But at 17, he had reached a breaking point where he considered whether a football career was even worth pursuing.   Born in…

When talking about West Ham’s latest “wonderkid”, pundits tend to fall into the same predictable patterns. They’ll point to the Hammers as the ‘academy of football’, draw a cheeky comparison to Frank Lampard, and finish up by suggesting that East London is somehow football’s true spiritual home.   I promise not to do any of…

Living in the shadow of a famous relative is not easy for anyone following in that person’s footsteps. Diego Simeone had a lengthy career as a midfielder for a number of clubs and played over 100 times for his native Argentina.   His son Giovanni has had a mixed playing career so far. There have…

Since joining from Sporting in January 2020 for an initial fee of €55 million, Bruno Fernandes has arguably become Manchester United’s most important signing since the capture of Robin van Persie in 2012, which delivered the Red Devils their last Premier League title to date. Playing in the traditional #10 position, Fernandes has taken the…