Articles
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Birmingham’s Glorious Gunners: How Seb Larsson, Nicklas Bendtner and Fabrice Muamba Made Their Name
For many clubs, falling from established Premier League status to the Championship bears resemblance to the infamous story of when rapper Coolio dived into the crowd at a gig in Stoke-on-Trent only to be robbed and injured by those in attendance. One moment, everyone below you is watching on in envy, merely standing and…
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Scipio Africanus and the Carthaginians: The Flank Dilemma in the Premier League
“I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war, by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country,” – US Army General George S. Patton. As funny as this may sound, the famous general was actually right. But the question is,…
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Tactical Analysis: Paolo Zanetti’s Venezia
Venice is one of the most unique cities in the world. Known for its narrow canals, and tourist attractions like the Rialto Bridge and St Mark’s Cathedral, the Italian city is picturesque and has drawn visitors from all over the planet. Its football team Venezia does not boast a particularly illustrious history, but the…
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Player Analysis: Samson Akinyoola
Goals garner attention; this is nothing new within the footballing ecosystem. Good goals get clicks, whilst good goalscorers get famous; with this in mind, it is no surprise that they are the most lauded and sought after commodity in football. Increasingly teams are willing to risk financial failure on forwards who play at a…
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The Fall of Bulgarian Football: A Sad Decline or Corrupted Farce?
The year is 1993, 17th of November. Bulgaria, in the face of Emil Kostadinov, have just managed an extraordinary goal in the dying seconds of stoppage time against France to go to the 1994 FIFA World Cup at the expense of their opposition. Despite Bulgaria having a history of being a tricky side over…
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Antonio Conte’s Biggest Tactical Problem at Tottenham: He Has Defenders That Aren’t Comfortable on the Ball
Ball-playing centre-backs: a staple for modern football teams. Unfortunately, it is not a luxury that Antonio Conte has inherited at Tottenham Hotspur – a problem that has been evident in both of Spurs’ first Premier League games under him. This is not a new issue, but it is certainly becoming incredibly evident now there…
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Player Analysis: Tommaso Pobega
“Pobega is a total midfielder. He has not been a regista. He has nothing to stand out in but he is good at everything and he delivers important performances. His time arrived for the national team of Italy, that’s a good thing.” Those were the words of Torino coach Ivan Jurić from his press…
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Taiwo Awoniyi: Union Berlin’s Nigerian Target Man
Thanks to Football Manager, the average football fan can differentiate the many different types of centre forwards and the specific requirement attached to each role. The categories such as ‘Advanced Forward’, ‘Target Man’, ‘Deep Lying Forward’, ‘Poacher’ etc have been used to accurately describe strikers based on the qualities they possess. However, the popular…
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Florin Răducioiu and Stevan Jovetić – Football’s Unlikely Journeymen
It took Stevan Jovetić just six minutes to open his Hertha Berlin account on matchday one of the current Bundesliga season, tapping home from point-blank range to give his new side – and seventh career club – the lead against Köln. But while the home side rallied and turned the game around to win…
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A Match Made in Heaven: Marek Hamsik’s Impact at Trabzonspor
Marek Hamsik has already cemented his legacy as somewhat of an enigma. He is a modern legend of Napoli, spending twelve years with the Italian giants and, despite failure in pursuit of a league title, was instrumental in some of the best football the league has seen in the past decade. After leaving the…
