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Preston North End: Analyzing Alex Neil’s Plucky Underdogs
Preston North End have made an impressive start to the 2018/19 EFL Championship season, sitting 3rd after 17 games. The Lancashire outfit, who boast a squad primarily made up of British players, have established themselves among the leading pack in the race for promotion to the Premier League. North End always seems to be labelled…
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Inter Miami and the South American Connection
Major League Soccer’s new expansion team may have been founded my English star David Beckham, but the signs are forming that Inter Miami will be the club of choice for another demographic; Miami’s vast and thriving South American communities. The most public face of the franchise’s South American identity can be found on its still…
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Brendan Rodgers and his High-Flying Foxes
King Power Stadium has witnessed a roller coaster of events over the last few years, from the tragic helicopter crash and death of beloved owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha to the miraculous 2015/16 title run under Claudio Ranieri. But between the highs and lows, Leicester have had prolonged bouts in the middle, hovering in a realm of…
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Napoli’s Nightmare in November
The Partenopei’s season seem to be falling apart as the President, players, coaching staff and fans are all on the edge. Can they possibly salvage their campaign in Campania? It all started so well for Napoli, as five wins in their first seven matches gave hope to the fans that this was indeed “their year”,…
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The new kids on the block: Turkey’s emerging crop of center backs
How much influence can a team’s defense have in a successful system? To answer this question, we must begin with the fundamental understanding that teams are built from back to front, a basic principle of which there are zero doubts. It’s not enough that your team can score goals; they also need defenders who can…
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The Renaissance of Football’s Forgotten Boy Genius: André Villas-Boas
The day is January 30 1994. Sir Bobby Robson had just arrived at the Estadio das Antas (Porto’s 3rd & longest occupied stadium) to take charge of FC Porto. It was the year the life of a 16 year old Portuguese teenager – Luís Andre Villas-Boas – would change forever. Alongside him in the FC…
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Delightful Shocks – 1978 World Cup First Group Stage
It took just nine minutes for the deadlock to be broken in Austria’s opening World Cup fixture against Spain in Buenos Aires. Centre back Bruno Pezzey’s anticipation helped quickly snuff out a pass that was intended for Spain’s full back Antonio De La Cruz. Pezzey then sprayed the ball to Walter Schachner near the touchline…
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Tactical Analysis: Chelsea vs. Ajax
The UEFA Champions League has given us some memorable nights in recent memory but few group stage matches have had anywhere near the madness, thrill and all-round quality that was on show when Frank Lampard’s high-flying Chelsea took on Erik Ten Hag’s league leading Ajax at Stamford Bridge. A game that began as usual at…
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Tactical Profiles – Inter’s Onslaught Under Conte
Inter Milan are – as everyone knows them – the team regularly touted to usurp the inevitable Italian champions Juventus, and ultimately suffer at the behest of their own incompetence. Everything post-Mourinho has led to the same question asked over and over and over; why can’t Inter do it? Why do they keep failing? Well,…
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Five U-21 players that can make the step up from the Championship to the Premier League
The Championship is a goldmine for young talent and the league keeps on churning out fantastic youngsters at an exceptional rate. The likes of Che Adams, Ezri Konsa, Lloyd Kelly and Daniel James made the step up to the Premier League in the summer and many more will follow suit in the coming transfer windows.…
