Articles
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Monza and its Milanese Connection
Synonymous with motor racing, Monza is known around the world for its famous racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, which has hosted the Italian Formula One Grand Prix for every year bar one since 1950. Situated about 15 kilometers north of Milan, Italy, the city has started to gain some attention from football fans…
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Scouting Report: Teden Mengi
The Manchester United youth academy serves as a source of great pride for its fans, both local and global. With an unbelievable run of 4000+ consecutive games over 90 years with a youth academy graduate being named in the matchday squad, United have truly earned their reputation as a club that gives youth a…
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What Happened to Lucas Torreira at Arsenal?
Coming off the back of an impressive 2017/18 season both with Sampdoria and the Uruguayan national team, the hype surrounding Lucas Torreira was astronomical. After a decade, Arsenal fans finally thought they had a Gilberto Silva replacement. A fellow South American, embodying the Garra Charrúa mentality, with the heart, desire, energy and determination to rejuvenate…
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The Increasing Value of Left-Footed Sharpshooters
Over the last 3-5 years, public football analysis has, as a field, become increasingly oriented around expected goals (xG). The metric now gets regularly cited by older pundits as well as young, and in general the trend has been positive. It’s an easily accessible way of understanding game-over-game performance (even if it’s more applicable over…
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Davies Accustomed to Adapting
At a young age, Alphonso Davies learned all about making adjustments. Life was going to throw some unexpected challenges his way and still does, yet he handles them with aplomb. Signed to Bayern Munich and viewed as being equipped with the requisite skill to replace the departed goal-scoring exploits of Arjen Robben and Franck…
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Player Analysis: Rivaldo Coetzee
After 5 seasons at Ajax Cape Town, where he made his professional debut at the age of 17. Rivaldo Coetzee, a product of the Ajax Cape Town academy, signed for Mamelodi Sundowns in August 2017, after a failed move to Celtic – it was found that he has an underlying problem with his right-foot during…
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Ralf Rangnick: The Hoffenheim Diaries
“That’s the kind of football we want to play one day,” said Jürgen Klopp after his Borussia Dortmund side were beaten 4-1 by Ralf Rangnick’s Hoffenheim in a Bundesliga fixture in September 2008. Vedad Ibišević (twice), Sejad Salihović and Carlos Eduardo struck for the Sinsheim club to seal an emphatic win in their first-ever season…
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What is Next for Manchester United?
As Jesse Lingard pounced on Kasper Schmeichel’s error to put Manchester United 2-0 up away at Leicester on the final day of the 2019/20 Premier League season, it felt like the feel-good factor had returned to Old Trafford as the Red Devils secured Champions League football for the 2020/21 season in 3rd place — despite…
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Cristiano Lucarelli: How a Political Enemy Became Italy’s Best Goalscorer
Shirt tucked in. Captains armband. Livorno was Cristiano Lucarelli’s ninth club, but the one closest to his heart. A divisive figure, known for having La Bandiera Rossa as his ringtone, he scored one-hundred and one goals in four seasons to fire Livorno from tenth in Serie B to ninth place in the Italian top flight. …
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Player Analysis: Marash Kumbulla
The biggest surprise of the 2019/20 Serie A campaign was undoubtedly Ivan Jurić’s Hellas Verona. After going down 2-0 in the first leg of the promotion playoffs to Cittadella, Hellas Verona launched a remarkable comeback in the second leg to seal promotion after a sole season in Serie B. Jurić replaced caretaker manager Alfredo Aglietti…
