As they close in on their eighth consecutive Austrian Bundesliga title, Red Bull Salzburg continue to draw more and more praise for their promising young players such as Patson Daka and Mergim Berisha, in addition to a unique, domineering style of play. Case Study: Jesse Marsch’s Red Bull Salzburg   They can be most recognised…

After enduring a couple of dreadful seasons (2018/19 and 2019/20) where the club seemed to lose its stability, Monaco required structural changes to regain its status. Hence, hiring Paul Mitchell as the sporting director before the start of the current season was the first step. It was followed by hiring Niko Kovač, the former Bayern…

Despite the continued struggles of football in a post-pandemic era, the U-21 European Championships is set to begin on March 24th, an international tournament that will be unlike any of its predecessors. Alone the scheduling raises eyebrows, with the group stages and quarterfinals separated by exactly two months as UEFA hopes to get the green…

5 years ago Young Boys Bern were the joke of Swiss football, finishing runners-up six times between 2007 and 2017, and even blowing a 13 point lead in the 2009/10 campaign. Just as English football has adopted the term ‘Doing a Spurs’ to refer to Tottenham Hotspur’s title drought, fans of Swiss Football became accustomed…

The latest and perhaps most important Derby della Madonnina in recent memory showcased an unconditional destruction of Milan, through Inter’s intelligent exploitation of their man-oriented defensive system. This article seeks to systematically analyse how Inter were so effective, attempting to extrapolate more holistic techniques on how to disrupt and destroy man-orientation.    Milan use the…

Eintracht Frankfurt fans fondly remember the 2018/19 season when Adi Hütter introduced his high tempo attacking style of football at the Deutsche Bank Park and qualified Frankfurt for the following season’s Europa League. The Austrian manager has since seen several players come and go but he continues to challenge for a place in European competitions.…

Ah, the day of a Champions League knockout stage second leg. A rare sort of occasion in which you’d expect me to bounce out of bed, consume a hearty jentacular breakfast and buzz around in excitement all day long. It was a tough decision to make on Tuesday, but Juventus vs Porto got the nod.…

When Spezia coach Vincenzo Italiano submitted his coaching thesis in September 2020, he wrote about the need of all his players to be directors of the play.   “Having been a midfielder, a playmaker, I made myself more and more aware of the fact that this could still be an advantage from tactical point of…

Porto played excellently in the 1st leg of their Round of 16 tie against Juventus at the Estádio do Dragão. The principal factor behind their victory was the efficacy of their pressing which successfully confined Juventus and prevented them from sustaining dangerous pressure. Federico Chiesa’s late goal means the game is still open going to…

After two years and two months, Jorge Sampaoli’s time in Brazil has reached its end. The 60-year-old rescinded his contract as Atlético Mineiro manager on February 22; four days later, he was announced as the new coach of Olympique de Marseille, replacing caretaker manager Nasser Larguet and taking charge on a contract until June 2023.…