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Player Analysis: Nicolò Barella
“The lads are giving me their soul, but in games like this, our limits emerge. You need experience, and who do I ask? Sensi taken from Sassuolo or Barella taken from Cagliari? Maximum respect for them, but unfortunately they lack it.” That was the blunt assessment made by Inter coach Antonio Conte in November…
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Mike Trésor Ndayishimiye: A Burundi International Catching Ajax’s Eye
In Kirundi, Burundi’s main language, Ndayishimiye means “I thank him.” Mike Trésor Ndayishimiye doesn’t visit Burundi as often as he used to. His father Freddy was the captain of the national team and his grandparents still live there. It’s a religious country and Ndayishimiye lends his surname to God. Released by Anderlecht at 19…
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Match Report: VfB Stuttgart vs. Mainz
To kick off Matchday 19 of the 2020/21 Bundesliga campaign, relegation stragglers Mainz paid a visit to Baden-Württemberg, where they would take on Stuttgart at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Since earning promotion to the top flight last season, Die Schwaben have been one of the Bundesliga’s revelations, having taken points off the likes of Borussia Mönchengladbach…
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Les Banlieues: France’s Cauldron of Talent
From Paris to Marseille, the biggest cities in France have perennially been the producers of some of the nation’s greatest footballers. Though the cities themselves get the plaudits, it is mostly the socially and economically forgotten suburbs of these cities where the talent can be found. The suburbs have harnessed the greatest footballing talents…
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Keira Walsh X Lia Wälti: Manchester City’s Young Livewire Against Arsenal’s Flamboyant Veteran
The world of football can be as cruel as it is beautiful. Oftentimes, it’s the forwards who find themselves on the front page of the daily newspaper, because they might’ve scored four goals in a 4-0 victory for their team. However, it’s almost criminal the way that zero in the scoreline is overlooked. The…
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Lorenzo Pellegrini: The Giallorossi’s Creative Maestro
If you were asked to name some of the top midfield creators of the last 5 years or so, chances are that, unless you were a Roma superfan, Lorenzo Pellegrini would not make your list (and even then, it’s doubtful). But the Giallorossi youth product has quietly turned into one of the continent’s most productive…
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Brian Brobbey’s Breakthrough in Amsterdam
He’s unstoppable, has an insatiable appetite for goals, and wants a move away from Amsterdam. In the 2018/19 season, Brian Brobbey scored 49 goals for the Ajax youth teams. He was playing against players up to four years older than him. It’s fair to say he turned a few heads, even back then. Now 18,…
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İlkay Gündoğan’s Movement in the Final Third
İlkay Gündoğan began his career at VFL Bochum, breaking through their youth academy. He began playing for the club’s reserve team in 2008 before securing a move to FC Nürnberg the following season. His first big move came when Borussia Dortmund acquired him in 2011; he helped Dortmund win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in…
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Lewis Dunk: Graham Potter’s Very Own Brighton Rock
Through the winding cobbled alleys. Past the idyllic Victorian curvature, of the pier front, whose grace and charisma reach out beyond the water’s edge. Lewis Dunk sets himself. Rising and crashing, stretching and diverting, the coursing symmetry of boot hitting ball and wave hitting wood. So simple, so swift and yet its impression so unmistakable. …
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Tactical Analysis: Milan 2020/21
After a tumultuous decade for AC Milan, which saw them suffer their longest trophy drought since the 1940’s and go through 11 different managers, things are looking up for the Rossoneri. Stefano Pioli’s side currently sit atop the Serie A table with 43 points — just two points above Inter — whilst they are set…
