Articles
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La Masia: The Maintenance and Revitalisation of Barça’s Youth
Youth production from FC Barcelona’s La Masia academy is renowned across the world. An intense level of pride is associated with the system that focuses on developing players into well-rounded human beings, instead of solely footballing machines. There have been amazing players to come through the system, from Pep Guardiola to Lionel Messi, and Andrés…
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The Keys Behind Parma’s Success This Season
For anyone who followed Italian football in the 1990s, Parma evokes feelings of nostalgia due to its ability to defy the odds and compete against the elite in Italy despite being a provincial club. Bankrolled by dairy company Parmalat, the Emiliani were able to acquire world-class players like Gianfranco Zola, Fabio Cannavaro, Hernán Crespo, and…
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Finding Glory In Heaven On Earth: The Story of Real Kashmir FC
The Indian-administered Kashmir is widely regarded as the “heaven on earth” for its picturesque landscape dotted with magnificent valleys, beautiful lakes, and rivers surrounded by magnificent Himalayan ranges. Kashmir is also the reason for an active territorial conflict primarily between Indian and Pakistan. The region has witnessed three major wars between the neighbours and another limited…
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Analyzing Lucien Favre’s 4-2-3-1
After barely squeezing into the top four in the final weeks of the season, Borussia Dortmund had arrived at a crossroads last summer. The glory days of Jürgen Klopp and the relatively short-lived tenure of Thomas Tuchel had brought trophies and beautiful football to the Westfalenstadion, with both young coaches establishing themselves as amongst the…
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Roman’s Empire: Chapter One: The Special One Arrives
“Please don’t call me arrogant, but I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one.” Those, the words spoken from the fresh-faced, charismatic José Mourinho, in his first press conference shortly after being announced as Chelsea’s new manager, succeeding the “Tinkerman” Claudio Ranieri. What an entrance. Exactly one week before, the then 41-year-old had…
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Raheem Sterling Is Right, So Listen To Him
Let’s talk about Raheem Sterling. The 24-year old is coming off his best ever season and is showing no signs of slowing down. If he’s not there yet, he’s agonizingly close to being labelled world class, and he will be a superstar in football for years to come. He is a man doing his job…
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Udinese: A Victim of Greed, Globalization, and Giampaoli Pozzo’s Neglect
Udinese Calcio are currently languishing neat the wrong end of Italy’s Serie A table, in 17th place and just two points above the relegation zone. Recent years have seen a steady decline from a club that just a few years ago was flirting with European football. The club is owned by the Pozzo family, headed…
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El Derbi Barceloní: The Rivalry That Is A One-Way Street
Saturday evening will bring two local clubs with rich histories together for one of the most unique derbies in Spain. First-place Barcelona will travel to the RCDE Stadium to face eighth-place Espanyol, in a battle that certainly holds importance in the top half of LaLiga’s table. Espanyol enjoyed positive early results in 2018-19, but history…
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Rescuing Southampton’s Identity: How Saints Can be Saved
Southampton were once the envy of the Football League. How else could you perceive the club that rose from England’s third division, empowered a generation of young talent, appointed the right managers, scouts, and personnel, and ultimately, ended up at the pinnacle of the “non-top six clubs” in the Premier League? They were the club…
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Analyzing Unai Emery’s 3-4-3
They haven’t lost a match in nearly four months, and today, they sit fourth in the Premier League and first in their Europa group. Nonetheless, while Unai Emery has had a successful start to life in England, tactical issues continue to pervade the Gunners. From an inability to start games off on the front foot,…
