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John Obi Mikel: The Magician Who Became A Warrior
It was 2003. I was just a boy, wide-eyed and full of wonder, watching Nigeria’s U-17 team in the FIFA World Cup. The Golden Eaglets didn’t make it past the group stage that year, undone by the cruel toss of a coin. But in that tournament, amid the disappointment, one player left a mark on…
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Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima and the Riddle of a God Amongst Men
I would never have written this piece; after all, it concerns a god, and with gods, there is nothing truly needing to be told. Their wonders precede them, their acts follow, leaving awe and sometimes a mess in their wake. However, when the gods are slighted by mere mortals, the heavens do not remain silent,…
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Alex Morgan: Farewell to One of the USWNT’s All-time Greats
15 years after making her senior debut for the US Women’s National Team, Alex Morgan would announce that she was hanging up her cleats for good. Last Thursday, Morgan announced her retirement from professional football. The move was quite the shock that caught many people by surprise and that initial shock took some time to…
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Manuel Neuer: The Goalkeeper of all Eras
In the continuous cycle that is football, where tactics are a back-and-forth that returns to the point of origin; it legitimizes the present as the appropriate thing and rescues the past as a cause of what will come in the future, the goalkeeper escapes that thin line that fuses both chronologies to make room for…
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Pepe: The Last of a Dying Breed
In a world where defenders have become artists, sculpting attacks from the back with delicate touches and deft passes, there was one man who refused to be confined by the brushes of modern football. Pepe — raw, relentless, and unapologetically fierce — was a throwback to a time when defending was an unforgiving craft, carved…
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Sebastián Coates: El Patrón
May 15th 2018. An insignificant day for many, yet the darkest in the rich history of Sporting Clube de Portugal, while significant in marking the legacy of Sebastián Coates, affectionately referred to as “El Patrón” or “Seba” by many Sportinguistas. On this day, a mob of 50 disgruntled vandals launched a brutal attack on…
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Marco Reus: A Dortmund Boy, A Dortmund Man, A Dortmund Legend
From Jurgen Klopp to Thomas Tuchel, from Lucien Favre to Edin Terzic – Marco Reus has been a mainstay at Dortmund for almost twelve years. 2024 will mark his final season at the club, with both player and club opting to move on at the end of his current contract. Despite his career in North-Rhine-Westphalia…
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Thiago Silva Leaves Big Boots to Fill after Illustrious Four-Year Spell at Stamford Bridge
Thiago Silva has confirmed that he will leave Chelsea when his contract runs out at the end of the season, ending a hugely successful four-year stint in west London. There has been plenty of speculation surrounding the Brazilian’s future at Stamford Bridge, but he has put those rumours to bed after delivering an emotional farewell…
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Farewell to the Man that Made Us Happy: An Ode to Jürgen Klopp
If we bore people constantly, why should they come? So we have to try and give them some excitement. Not only silverware. That’s obviously the main target. But between the start and the silverware, there must be a lot of good moments together. And we’ve had them. Goodbye, Jürgen. Those words came off…
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Mario Zagallo: Adeus to One of Brazil’s Greatest Managers
In the hallowed corridors of football’s history, there exists a rarefied air reserved for the immortals. Every manager and player aspire to sip from the cup of glory, the FIFA World Cup, at least once. Yet, imagine a maestro who not only tasted victory four times but orchestrated a symphony of triumph for a fifth. Such…
