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Player Analysis: Ali Akman
It is somewhat ironic that Ali Akman was born in Yıldırım, a district of the Turkish city of Bursa which translates into English as ‘thunder.’ As they say, you can take the boy out of thunder, but you can’t take the thunder out of the boy. Just ask Emilijus Zubas, Erhan Erentürk, Atilla Özmen,…
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The Reawakening of Hirving Lozano at Napoli
When Mexican international Hirving Lozano arrived at Napoli in August 2019, his transfer from Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven was seen as a landmark moment. The transfer fee of €38 million plus bonuses was the most the Partenopei had paid for a player at the time, it was the highest figure the Rood-witten received for a player,…
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Trusting Method in the Midst of Madness: A Manchester United vs Arsenal Review
Going into their game on Sunday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Mikel Arteta found themselves in tough positions. Both managers had raised eyebrows with some worrying performances and languished in the bottom half of the table. Questions were being asked about the impact these managers had in their respective tenures. Traditionally, when clubs like Manchester…
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How Lionel Messi Could Fit in at Manchester City
The biggest transfer saga of the summer ended up with a whimper, not a bang. After weeks of speculation, Lionel Messi announced his decision to remain at Barcelona for another season, continuing his legendary 19-year-spell at the Catalan club. While Manchester City will be disappointed in their latest failed attempt to pry the Argentine superstar…
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Player Analysis: Georges Mikautadze
At 20 years of age, Georges Mikautadze is on track to have a breakthrough season. Born in France to Georgian parents, Mikautadze spent seven years at Lyon’s academy, before spending a lone season at AS Saint-Priest in the French lower tiers. He joined Metz’s academy in 2017, and in 2019/20, he scored eight goals in…
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More Than a Trivia Answer: The Story of VVV-Venlo
Last Saturday saw a plethora of major stories across football — Real Madrid beating Barcelona at the Camp Nou, West Ham grinding out a 1-1 draw against Manchester City — but the most shocking headline came in the Netherlands, when Erik Ten Hag’s Ajax put 13 goals past VVV-Venlo in their own stadium. The league-record…
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Tactical Analysis: Manchester United vs. RB Leipzig
After beginning their Champions League campaign with a statement victory in Paris, Manchester United welcomed RB Leipzig ahead of what would prove to be another huge European night for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Last season’s semi-finalists dominated possession at Old Trafford, but the Red Devils in a rare 4-4-2 diamond formation dominated the match –…
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Player Analysis: Tariq Lamptey
From Trent Alexander-Arnold to Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Kyle Walker, English football is blessed with an unrivaled crop of top quality right backs. The latest addition to the bunch is Tariq Lamptey, who at 20 years of age, is blossoming into one of the finest right backs in Europe. Born in Hillingdon, Greater London to…
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The Fight to Make Hertha Berlin a Bundesliga Contender
Despite being the oldest club from the biggest city in Germany, Hertha Berlin have struggled to consolidate a spot in the Bundesliga’s upper echelon. After an impressive 2009/10 season that saw them finish fourth in the league, the club yo-yoed between the top flight and second tier over the next few seasons, culminating in a…
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Premier League Predictions: Matchday Seven
Another day brings another set of predictions for Matchday Seven of the Premier League. Here is what to watch out for as we enter the last days of October and come into November. Wolves vs Crystal Palace Sunday’s draw at Newcastle was a frustrating result for Wolves. Raúl Jiménez’s strike with ten minutes…
