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Creating a Qualitative Superiority: Sassuolo
A qualitative superiority refers to a situation, where instances of numerical equality are in real terms not equal. It can be used holistically as a complex way to describe the ‘better team on paper’ or is something more individualised within games, which is where I feel it has more analytic use. Using the principle…
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Player Analysis: André Silva
After becoming the latest promising talent coming through the FC Porto academy, André Silva stagnated after moving to AC Milan in June 2017 for €38 million. He was unable to get going for the Rossoneri and was shipped off to Sevilla on loan in 2018/19. Another disappointing spell saw him sent out on a second…
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Player Analysis: Sérgio Oliveira
Throughout Futebol Clube do Porto’s history there has been a lot of memorable and heroic moments, from Rabah Madjer’s backheel against Bayern in 1987, to Costinha’s goal against Manchester United in 2004, to Kelvin’s 92th minute goal against Benfica in 2013, to name a few, and most recently Sérgio Oliveira’s free-kick goal against Juventus, which…
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Lopetegui Bounces Back From Madrid Disaster With Success At Sevilla
On July 21, 2018, the Royal Spanish Football Federation appointed Julen Lopetegui as the manager of the senior national men’s team with the objective of leading them to glory in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The former Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper had previously led Spain to the U-19 and U-21 European Championship titles in…
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Tactical Analysis: Real Madrid vs. Chelsea (First Leg)
In the rain in Spain, Chelsea gave a brilliant account of themselves in a game where they did more than enough to win and may come to rue their chances. In a zone of Madrid under construction: Valdebebas, literally a stone’s throw away from Madrid airport, I’m not sure many would have predicted a Champions…
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Daniel Sakari: Kenya’s Marauding Right Back
Daniel Sakari was born in Mathare North a district of the Kenyan capital Nairobi on 23 May 1999. He has an impressive academic background having attained a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, based in Nairobi. In early 2018, while at university, Sakari trialed at Kenyan National Super…
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Thomas Partey’s Rise to the Top of European Football
Born in Odumase Krobo in the southeast of Ghana, 18-year-old Thomas Partey captivated Atlético Madrid scouts with his technical skill and physical dominance whilst trialling for a second division club in Ghana. The scouts would go onto offer Thomas Partey the opportunity to showcase his talents in Spain. Partey accepted the offer with eager eyes…
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The Revival of Rachid Ghezzal
Rachid Ghezzal ended his 2018/19 season with Leicester City on a disappointing note. He failed to impress when the season started under Claude Puel and in February, when Brendan Rodgers arrived, he barely played. He had the odd good performance; at home to Burnley he created five chances, but his maiden season in England was…
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Simon Kjær’s Renaissance in Milan
2020 was a year many would prefer to forget due to the COVID-19 pandemic that swept around the world. Football, like many other things in life, suffered because competitions had to come to a halt and people were limited in the movement outside of home. When Serie A resumed in June, AC Milan was one…
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Liverpool Miss Out on Chance To Establish Top-Four Foothold
After West Ham United’s shock defeat to Newcastle United at the weekend, there was an opportunity for Liverpool to move back into the top four for the first time since mid-February. But standing in their way was a Leeds United side that are incredibly difficult to play against, and whose attacking style means liberties cannot…
