Articles
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Round of 16 Fan Preview: Schalke 04
The round of 16 match between Manchester City versus Schalke is a unique one. Most fans, especially those not too familiar with the German club, will be quick to suggest this should be a cake walk. How can it not be, with a team second in the English Premier league and oodles of money against…
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BTL’s best footballers & managers of 2018
Breaking The Lines asked a panel of 21 football journalists and experts all over Europe to choose their best players and managers of 2018. Each expert was given a choice of 30+ players per position, as well as 30 managers, and placed his 10 best in their respective positions, ranking them from 1 to 10.…
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Analyzing Pablo Machín’s 3-5-2
Barcelona may be on top of the La Liga table as usual, but this has been quite the bizarre season as far as the Spanish top flight is concerned, with teams like Abelardo Fernández’s Deportivo Alavés and Quique Setién’s Real Betis catching the eye with some impressive performances. The pick of the lot however has…
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Zach Lowy and Justin Walley Discuss “One Football, No Nets”
In September 2017, amateur British football coach Justin Walley became the “National Team” Manager of Matabeleland, an obscure international team in western Zimbabwe. As a volunteer coach, Walley had one goal in mind: leading Matabeleland to the CONIFA World Cup in London the following summer. Zach Lowy, co-creator of Breaking The Lines, chats to Justin about…
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Round of 16 Fan Preview: AS Roma
In two weeks, AS Roma will take on FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. The giallorossi will hope to repeat their run to the semi-final once again this year, as they face off against the reigning champions and current league leaders of Portugal. After a summer that saw their rivals strengthen…
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The Rise and Fall of Alexandre Pato
Many players have shown immense promise in their formative years, but ultimately failed to live up to the hype and expectations bestowed upon them by millions. Some fail due to poor attitude, some due to shady entourages, some due to cruel injuries. From Antonio Cassano to Ravel Morrison, a fair amount of players have enchanted the…
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Zach Lowy and Daniel Geey Discuss “Done Deal”
Daniel Geey, a leading lawyer in the football industry and the chairman of Football Aid, published his tell-all book “Done Deal: An Insider’s Guide to Football Contracts, Multi-Million Pound Transfers and Premier League Big Business” on January 24. Zach Lowy of Breaking The Lines talked to Geey about his experience working in English football and…
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European Super League: The Ungodly Fruit We Can’t Resist
“It’s all ‘bout the money / it’s all about the dum dum duh dee dum dum,” sang Swedish artist Meja in 1998. Cut to November 2018. Those same words sprung to my mind while I was perusing Der Spiegel’s investigative article “Documents Show Secret Plans for Elite League of Top Clubs.” Like Forbes put it, “it…
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Best Young Managers In The Football League
The English Football League is a hotbed for young, promising managers plying their trade, trying to work their way up the pyramid. Premier League bosses such as Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Chris Hughton all started their prestigious managerial careers in the lower leagues of English football. Don’t be surprised if some gaffers on this…
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Are Everton Heading In The Right Direction Under Marco Silva?
It was a rough start to 2018 for Everton Football Club. An absolutely horrid January featured losses to Manchester United and Tottenham in the league, along with a FA Cup loss to rivals Liverpool. The summer signings which Everton paid good fees for weren’t working out either. Things were teetering at Goodison, to the extent…
