In their two relatively short managerial careers, Hans-Dieter Flick and Julian Nagelsmann have built a reputation for themselves as two of the most exciting coaches in Europe. After a 14-year hiatus from management, Flick took charge of Bayern last year and led them to their first treble since 2013. On the other hand, Nagelsmann led…

Whilst they remain bottom of Group B heading into the final matchday, Inter kept their chances of progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League alive after narrowly beating Marco Rose’s Borussia Mönchengladbach away from home on Tuesday evening.    Inter’s record signing Romelu Lukaku was in fine form at Borussia-Park, scoring a brace…

The first day of December saw an important Champions League game between Atlético Madrid and Bayern Munich at the Wanda Metropolitano. The importance of the game was felt more so by Los Rojiblancos, as they went into the fixture needing a win to secure their place in the Round of 16, whilst the Bavarian side…

After earning a shock 3-2 victory over Real Madrid at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Matchday 1 of the Champions League group stage, Shakhtar Donetsk repeated the trick when they welcomed the Spanish giants to the NSC Olimpiyskiy on Tuesday evening.    Most expected Real Madrid to win the game and guarantee their qualification…

Out of all the managers in European football, few have had a more improbable, unexpected rise to the top than Maurizio Sarri. He never played at the professional level, he split his time between working as a banker and playing and managing an amateur side, but in 1999, he quit his day job and dedicated…

Three years after winning the DFB-Pokal and finishing second in the Bundesliga, VfL Wolfsburg found themselves in the relegation play-offs at the end of the 2016/17 season. They defeated Eintracht Braunschweig to retain their place in Germany’s top flight, but despite bringing in the likes of Divock Origi, Ignacio Camacho and John Brooks, they found…

Three weeks after grabbing a commanding 3-0 victory at the San Siro, Christophe Galtier’s Lille welcomed Milan to the Stade Pierre-Maupoy for Matchday Four of the UEFA Europa League group stage. Despite recording 13 shots in comparison to their Italian opponents’s four shots, Les Dogues were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw that saw them…

On November 20, Monaco welcomed Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Louis II, in search of a victory to continue their two-match winning streak. Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel’s side looked to build on their impressive form prior to the international break and add onto their lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table.   With star…

Out of all the 20 teams in La Liga, José Bordalás’s Getafe are the most antithetical to the possession-heavy style of play that has encompassed Spanish football over the past decade. Their extremely direct play in possession combined with their high intensity, physical pressing off the ball has been a constant menace for most sides…

The most cited quotation in tactical theory can be attributed to Johan Cruyff, who once said, “If you have the ball you must make the field as big as possible, and if you don’t have the ball you must make it as small as possible.”   This is for good reason, as it encapsulates a…