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Analysing Sérgio Conceição’s Porto
When Sérgio Conceição took charge of FC Porto in the summer of 2017, Porto had just lost the last four league titles to Benfica. He put a stop to that in his first season, restoring Porto’s dominance and ending a five-year trophy drought. Since then, he has added two more Primeira Liga championships, one Taça…
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Leopards Don’t Change Their Spots – The Tumultuous Battle for Maurizio Sarri at Lazio
The unsavoury topic of player power is a putrid facet of the game, sabotaging the fairytale stories of many would-be managerial conquests. Be it dressing-room leaks, public outbursts or unnecessary statements on the field, primadonna voyeurs continue to taint the dressing rooms of some of the most notable household names across the globe. While…
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Tactical Analysis: Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta
Since taking charge on June 14, 2016, Gian Piero Gasperini has transformed Atalanta from a team that was solely focused on fighting relegation to a team that has grown accustomed to European fooball. Having ended a 26-year European drought in his first season at the helm, Gasperini has taken them to extraordinary heights with the…
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Tactical Analysis: Javier Aguirre’s Mallorca
Founded in 1916, Real Club Deportivo Mallorca had to wait until the 1990s for their time in the spotlight. The Balearic side reached the 1990/91 Copa del Rey Final, with Alfredo’s 111st-minute goal seeing Atlético Madrid prevail 1-0 at the Bernabéu. Between 1997 and 2003, Mallorca finished third in La Liga on two occasions, won…
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Tactical Analysis: How Barcelona Edged Napoli to a Place in the Champions League Quarterfinals
Napoli faced off against Barcelona in the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League Round of 16, with the two sides drawing 1-1 in the first leg in Italy. The second leg took place six months later due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Barcelona winning 3-1 via goals from Clement Lenglet, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. Barcelona would…
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Tactical Analysis: Paulo Fonseca’s Lille
It has been three years since Lille edged Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title on the final day of the season, claiming their first championship in a decade under Christophe Galtier. They did so on the basis of a French-Portuguese connection, with sporting director Luis Campos crafting a young squad featuring Portuguese players like…
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Tactical Analysis: Roger Schmidt’s Benfica
Since leaving PSV in the summer of 2022, Roger Schmidt has settled in at a different red & (somewhat) white club, none other than Benfica. The German has led ‘As Aguias’ to a Portuguese title and a Supercup in only one and a half years at the capital club. It has been a difficult run…
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Tactical Analysis: How Marcello Lippi’s Italy Won the 2006 FIFA World Cup
The mid 2000s oversaw a dramatic shift in European football’s power dynamics as the once-dominant Italian clubs collective crowns started to slip. A combination of ageing squads, the infamous Calciopoli scandal which tarnished the league’s formerly gleaming reputation and the subsequent expulsion of Juventus, Fiorentina and Lazio, who were the best teams in the country…
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Striving to Reclaim a Sense of Self – The Quest for Total Football in Barcelona
A 97′ penalty sealed a much-needed 2-1 road victory for Barcelona against Celta Vigo in the latest installation of La Liga’s weekly opera. It was a welcome three points that allowed marginal breathing space between themselves and the imposing figure of Atlético Madrid in fourth position. But it was yet another goal conceded in a…
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Can Bayer Leverkusen Win Their First Bundesliga Title Under Xabi Alonso?
Having won each of the last 11 Bundesliga titles, Bayern Munich’s dynasty is under threat with Bayer Leverkusen pushing for their first-ever league title under Spanish manager Xabi Alonso. They are the sole team in Europe who have yet to suffer defeat in all competitions, and they sit five points clear of Bayern in first…
