When Lionel Messi left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain, ending a 21-year spell in Catalunya for the Argentine who arrived as a fresh-faced teenager from Rosario and left a legend, the sky seemed to be falling for Les Culés. It couldn’t happen, it shouldn’t happen — it happened.   Uncertainty lingered around the club and blame…

Seeing River Plate and Boca Juniors face each other is always a guaranteed show, not always good football. One of the most important and historical derbies in the world that sometimes entertains to a greater extent for aspects external to pure football, such as physical disputes, being a battle-hardened match, and that, as they say…

On the 5th of December Jesse Marsch was relieved of his duties at RB Leipzig, becoming the first Bundesliga manager to learn of his dismissal whilst in a COVID enforced quarantine.   The peculiarities of Marsch’s departure stole headlines, but the fact that it had come to this dreary conclusion left few surprised.   Back…

It’s nearly been two full seasons now since Vincent Kompany took the full management role at Anderlecht after transitioning from the unusual job as player-manager.   RSCA have been a formidable beast on the continent, having qualified for at least the preliminary rounds of the UCL/UEFA Cup 59 years in a row (1956-2018). They’ve won…

On Matchday 28 of the  Liga 1 Indonesia season, a huge clash between the two most popular teams in Indonesia took place between Persija Jakarta and Persib Bandung.   The fully confident Persib Bandung had a strong run of form in the last 5 matches with 3 wins and 2 draws, while on the other…

Thursday night’s tie between Napoli and Barcelona saw the latter put on an absolute clinic in attack. It was a performance that pressed the rewind button, reminiscent of the philosophy which made Barcelona one of the most dominant teams of the 2000s. What were the dynamics behind this? Tactical Mechanics   Early in the game,…

In their first season in the Premier League, Brentford have impressed with their direct, aggressive style of football which has seen them sit comfortably above the relegation zone. One rather unique aspect of their approach has been their use of long throw-ins.      As this graphic from @utdarena on Twitter shows, Brentford are in…

Asked to name a managerial villain from the Iberian peninsula, the casual European football fan would likely name Diego Simeone.   A master of the dark arts, dressed in an entirely black getup and often responsible for football that even his admirers would call pragmatic.   More regular observers of La Liga will know that…

Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League tie saw an intense matchup between two of Europe’s best. Tactically, it was a game of two halves characterized by moments of suffering and promise by both sides.   In the end, it was fine margins that saw Liverpool take a 2-0 lead against Inter, putting them in prime position to…