Wait, what?   Everyone thought the same thing, didn’t they? When Marcelo Bielsa, THAT Marcelo Bielsa, was announced as the manager of Leeds United, who were predicted to finish 11th in the Championship that season and were only just recovering from the typically tumultuous tenure of Garry Monk.   Photo: Sportsfile / Getty   Then,…

The concept behind wide target men is simple yet extraordinarily effective, both as a tactical tool for an individual match as well as a fundamental cog through the duration of a season. The most prominent and effective use of this was Mario Mandžukić under Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus.   My hypothesis behind the wide target…

To wrap up Matchday 29 in the Bundesliga, Champions League hopefuls RB Leipzig visited Cologne at an empty RheinEnergieStadion. The hosts were looking to pick up their first win in the league since the restart, whilst Leipzig were aiming to stretch their unbeaten run in the league to 10 games. The pressure was firmly on…

Borussia Mönchengladbach have enjoyed a thoroughly productive season in the Bundesliga, surpassing all expectations that supporters had when Marco Rose took over as manager last summer. After defeating Bayern Munich 2-1 in December, Die Fohlen topped the Bundesliga, albeit temporarily. Since then, performances have generally been consistent, and Gladbach have been strong challengers for the…

Nearly three years after joining Paris Saint-Germain for a world record fee, Neymar remains an enigma for Barcelona. The Brazilian has leveed several lawsuits against the Catalan club due to unpaid wages, and yet Barça can’t seem to get their minds off him. Whether Barcelona could actually afford to sign him is one question —…

When Hansi-Dieter Flick was appointed as Bayern Munich’s interim manager in November, there was a widely hheld view that he was merely warming the seat for a higher calibre coach going into this summer, with Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri potentially waiting in the wings. Fast forward six months, Flick is the first Bayern manager…

On Wednesday, Hertha Berlin visited RB Leipzig at an empty Red Bull Arena on the 28th Matchday of the Bundesliga season. With Dortmund’s 1-0 defeat against Bayern on Tuesday, Leipzig were able to jump to second place if they won against Hertha Berlin, who had picked up two wins in a row since the league…

After going winless in three games, RB Leipzig took on relegation-threatened Mainz on Matchday 27 in a must-win game to keep their title hopes alive. After Dortmund and Bayern put on convincing displays a day before in their wins against Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, the pressure was on Leipzig to deliver. They did it in…

This was the most highly anticipated Der Klassiker in recent memory, with Dortmund having the opportunity to cut the gap on league leaders Bayern Munich to 1 point with a victory. The unprecedented  tension and circumstances surrounding the match itself added fuel to the fire, as football fans salivated over the first major match-up since…

The “False 9” is without question one of the most renowned tactical innovations of the 21st century, as its implementation led to tremendous amounts of success for teams in both club and international competitions. From Lionel Messi to Roberto Firmino to Kai Havertz, several dominant teams in modern times have been built their attack around…