Two developments have sparked some well-needed life into Czech football this season: That Tomáš Souček has surpassed expectations since signing for West Ham United last summer for €21 million, and the sudden rise of 19-year-old Senegalese striker Abdallah Sima, who has now scored seven league goals in just nine appearances for first-placed Slavia Prague, taking…

When Danish international Christian Eriksen joined Inter in January 2020, his unveiling by the club was a glamourous one. He was presented at La Scala, the premier opera house in Milan, and wore a stylish black suit, which was quite fitting considering the city’s status in the fashion world. Unfortunately for the former Tottenham Hotspur…

Despite a significant slump in local competitiveness and constant economic plights, the Argentine first division (currently known as the Liga Profesional de Fútbol) continues to generate interest all around the world as the search for the next up-and-coming world-beater to come from such a prolific line of production continues.   However, in recent years this…

Football has bore witness to countless rags-to-riches stories, but perhaps no country has had more than Brazil. Dani Alves would wake up every day at 5 a.m. to help his father pick melons, Rivaldo grew up in a poor area of Recife and lost several teeth due to chronic malnutrition, and Gabriel Jesus painted the…

When we talk about female strikers, there is one name that pops up instantly – Arsenal’s number nine, Vivianne Miedema. The Dutch striker is arguably the most prolific striker to have graced the world of women’s football, let alone the Women’s Super League (WSL). As Ian Wright rightly tweeted, “Every single goal Viv scores is…

Dani Olmo is a 22-year-old Spanish left-sided/central attacking midfielder who currently plays in the Bundesliga for RB Leipzig. Born in Terrassa, Catalonia, Spain, Olmo started his footballing career in 2006 at RCD Espanyol’s youth academy where he quickly made a name for himself at a very young age.    Olmo was snapped up by FC…

It’s been nearly 15 years since Villarreal, a small-town team from the Comunitat Valenciana,  put together one of the most astonishing Champions League runs of all time. Finishing top of a group in which Manchester United finished bottom, they dispatched of Glasgow Rangers and Inter Milan in the knockout stages, before narrowly losing out to…

Things were all square between SuperSport United and Kaizer Cheifs at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe stadium before Bradley Grobler lobbed the ball into the net, following an Itumeleng Khune mistake. In what already is a heated race for the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot, Grobler has laid the foundation for his most prolific season ever. He…

Aliou Dieng, born on 16 October 1997, turned 23 years of age only a few months ago. He was born in the landlocked west-African country of Mali. His career started at Djoiba AC one of Mali’s biggest clubs where he made his debut back in 2015 as a teenager.   After enjoying a few successful…

What do Shane Long, Alex McCarthy, Gylfi Sigurðsson, Michael Olise, and Omar Richards have in common? Yup, that’s right. They are all graduates of Reading FC’s productive academy. The Royals have assembled quite the production line in recent years, and their youth set up arguably doesn’t receive the plaudits it deserves.    Olise and Richards…