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An Analytical Look at Giovanni Reyna
17-year-old Giovanni Reyna is by most accounts one the top young talents in world football. The England-born American is now at Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund after signing for the club at the age of 16. He made his way to Germany after coming up through the New York City FC Academy, where his father Claudio…
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Reggie Cannon, Systemic Racism and the National Anthem
The 2020 Major League Soccer season started back in February, on schedule, but less than a month in, the league was put on hold indefinitely due to the pandemic. A return in July saw the one-off tournament called the MLS is Back Tournament with 24 out of the 26 MLS teams participating. Results of the…
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How Donny Van de Beek Could Help Solve Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka Problem
Whisper it quietly, but Manchester United may have made a smart move in the transfer window. Donny van de Beek’s arrival from Ajax is imminent, and while midfield isn’t the most pressing need for United, this signing definitely helps. In terms of his profile as a midfielder, Van de Beek is definitely different to…
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Scouting Report: Donny van de Beek
Donny van de Beek may have played his final game for Ajax after he was absent from Erik ten Hag’s squad for Saturday’s friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt and absent against Union Berlin. The midfielder has been heavily linked with a summer exit and former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, currently Ajax’s CEO,…
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Spezia’s Remarkable Return to Serie A
La Spezia is a city that is not well known for its sporting prowess or great historical sites, and it is better known as a transport hub, especially for tourists who travel to the colorful villages of Cinque Terre. The city has the second-largest population in the Liguria region after Genoa and it is…
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From the Board to the Pitch: What Football Can Learn from Chess
You play football with your mind, and your legs are there to help you. – Johan Cruyff. The above quote was uttered from football’s seminal leader, the unofficial king of the modern game, Johan Cruyff, and it may just be the most important of his innumerable, incessantly quoted adages. If we take the…
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Fulham Learning From Their Previous Mistakes
Fulham’s last spell in the Premier League wasn’t long ago. They earned promotion from the Championship via the playoffs in the 2017/18 campaign but were subsequently relegated twelve months later after finishing nineteenth in the top flight. Their struggle to survive due to poor recruitment, something Scott Parker is eager not to repeat this time…
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Player Analysis: Ferran Torres
With Leroy Sané’s contract entering its final 12 months and the German demanding a transfer to Bayern Munich, Manchester City were forced to sell their star winger to the Bavarian side for a fee potentially rising to €60 million. City were forced to act fast to secure a Sané replacement — and they decided to…
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How Atalanta Use Their Center Backs in Possession
Playing three centre backs is often presented rather superficially as defensive system, as many anticipate it will manifest itself as a back five: subtracting either a midfielder or a forward in favour of a defender. However, many teams such as Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta use the extra cover provided by a back three to allow…
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Why Rodrigo Moreno is a Perfect Fit for Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds
“Rodrigo Moreno to Leeds. The forward of the Spanish team is going to a newly promoted [team] in England. To gain perspective: it is as if Harry Kane signs for Elche,” wrote former footballer Alberto Edjogo-Owono on social media. After a lengthy exile from the top flight, Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites sent out a statement…
