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How Union Berlin Sealed European Football for the First Time Ever
In only their second ever Bundesliga season, 1. FC Union Berlin managed to improve upon their already impressive debut season and qualify for European football. Coach Urs Fischer has done a remarkable job with the East German club and earned what is probably his greatest managerial achievement through very good coaching. In this article, I…
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Italy and Turkey: Two Dark Horses for Euro 2020
It’s here! Get that Mario Balotelli six-pack celebration meme out, dust off that old CD single of ‘It’s coming home’ and start practicing that iconic Marco Van Basten volley in your garden, the delayed European Championships of 2020 (why is it not 2021, it’s confusing the life out of me) has come around and Euro…
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Finding a Harry Kane Replacement
After a very disappointing season, happenings in North London took another turn for the worst when Harry Kane made it quite clear of his intentions to leave. Manchester City are the club rumoured to pull in the world-class striker, and with Moise Kean returning to Everton after his loan spell and Mauro Icardi’s future uncertain,…
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Finding Arsenal’s Next Right-Back
10 years after joining the club as a teenager from Barcelona, Héctor Bellerín is set to return to Spain as Arsenal look to cash in on the 26-year-old as he enters the final two years of his contract. Villarreal have reportedly thrown their hat into the ring and made an offer for him, with Unai…
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Analysis of England’s Right-Back Options Heading into Euro 2020
There were jeers and grumbles of discontent when Gareth Southgate named four right-backs in his 26-man squad for the Euros, with a section of supporters believing it to be an unfathomable decision, while some were dissecting the purpose of each player within the setup. Of course, England switching to a three-back system would have paid…
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The Rise and Fall of Bernard Tapie’s Marseille: Part 6: Le Mec de La Courneuve
This is the six installation of a six-part series on Olympique de Marseille. You can read “Part 1: L’homme d’affairs,” here, and “Part 2: La Nuit Les Projecteurs Se Sont Éteints,” here. You can read “Part 3: Nuits Blanches Et Thés Frelatés,” here. You can read “Part 4: La Balance,” here. You can read “Part 5: Les Retombées,”…
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Scouting Report: The Best Performers of the Under-21 European Championship Knockout Stage
About a couple of months after the end of the group stages, the 2021 Under-21 Euros were back, this time for the decisive knockouts. Spain, Croatia, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Denmark and Germany were all vying for the trophy, and after lots of drama and exciting action, Germany came home with their third European…
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Player Analysis: Mahir Emreli
The octagon, the ring, the mat, whatever dimension or set up, martial arts grounds are often the sanctum for Azerbaijan’s finest athletes and civilians alike. Though perhaps not as prevalent as football’s whistle, the ringing of the bell in boxing or the sijak of taekwondo have commenced almost all of Azerbaijan’s international sporting acclaim. …
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Unlike Its Namesake, ‘Il Divin Codino’ Fails to Live up to Expectations
Roberto Baggio is considered by many football experts and fans to be one of the greatest players Italy has produced, if not the greatest. In a senior career spanning 22 seasons, the Caldogno native scored 291 goals in 643 competitive matches at club level and found the back of the net 27 times in 56…
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Player Analysis: Lucas Paquetà
When AC Milan signed Lucas Paquetá from Flamengo in January 2018, there were high expectations. Touted as one of Brazil’s next greats, the midfielder made the journey across the Atlantic to the San Siro, for a fee of 38 million euros. Expected to set the world alight, Paquetá promptly proceeded to register just 1 goal…
