-
![]()
Unai Emery: The King of the Underdog Teams
The job of a coach, and soccer coaches in particular, is a nasty business to begin with. You are almost always guaranteed to lose. If you are successful, everyone wants you to be successful forever. If you fail, you will soon find yourself without a job. Coaches are often not credited enough for the team’s…
-
![]()
Analyzing the Attacking Structures from AFCON 2025
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations has been nothing short of absolute entertainment, with memorable moments already starting from day one. From Ayoub El Kaabi’s bicycle kick to Patson Daka’s backflip, to Mbekezeli Mbokazi hitting the crossbar with a shot that sounded like it destroyed the post from the halfway line, to Samuel Moutoussamy almost…
-
![]()
How Full-Backs Quietly Took Over the Game: Why Coaches Now Build Around Them
When the final whistle blows and pundits point to a striker or a No. 10, there’s a good chance the decisive action began not in the centre but from a full-back. Once a defensive afterthought, the full-back has become an attacking engine, a player who carries the ball into the final third, creates overloads, and…
-
![]()
Tactical Analysis of Xabi Alonso’s First El Clásico as Real Madrid Manager
On October 26, 2025, Xabi Alonso marked his debut as Real Madrid’s manager in one of football’s most iconic fixtures: El Clásico against Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu. Appointed in May 2025 following Carlo Ancelotti’s departure, Alonso brought a fresh tactical philosophy honed from his successful tenure at Bayer Leverkusen. This match, the first of…
-
![]()
The Illusion of the Final Pass: How Modern Football Misunderstands Creativity
It began on Twitter, of all places. Edwin Onyebolise, a seasoned sports journalist, dismissed the assist outright, calling it a fraud — a hollow metric masquerading as creativity. He argued passionately that chance creation, not the final pass, was the true measure of intelligence and influence on the pitch. Across the thread, a fan countered,…
-
![]()
The Tactical Tragedy of Almosts: Dortmund Vs Leipzig
Let me start by saying: I didn’t plan to spend my Saturday night watching two Bundesliga sides play football like a PhD thesis on “The Futility of Trying.” Yet here we are — me, my cold noodles, and ninety minutes of what I can only describe as German engineering having an emotional breakdown. Dortmund…
-
![]()
Can Thomas Frank keep the good times rolling at Spurs?
It’s been so far, so good for Thomas Frank since taking over the managerial reins at Tottenham Hotspur. Having impressed during his seven-year stay with Brentford, guiding the Bees to their first-ever Premier League campaign and establishing them as a top division outlet, the Danish coach took the ambitious step of swapping stability for unpredictability…
-
![]()
Old Trafford and the Ghosts That Refuse To Leave
They came to Old Trafford chasing a ghost. A ghost last seen in 2013, the year Sir Alex Ferguson closed his book on greatness. Since then, Chelsea have returned here season after season, armed with new managers, new money, new promises—yet always leaving empty-handed. And here they came again, facing a Manchester United so often…
-
![]()
Football’s Energy Crisis: Amorim’s United and the Illusion of Infinite Stamina
I have a confession: I am tired. Not just “bad night’s sleep, forgot to put my phone on silent” tired, but the sort of tired that feels philosophical. Existential even. The kind of tired that makes you look at Manchester United under Ruben Amorim and mutter, “Oh dear God, I know exactly how you feel.”…
-
![]()
Explaining the Decline of the Azzurri
The question to ask after the recent disappointments of the Italian national team is how it is possible that one of the most important national teams in the world, with four World Cups (second only to Brazil) and two European Championships, is at real risk of missing the 2026 World Cup for the third consecutive…
