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Daniele De Rossi: The Club Icon Leading Roma’s Resurgence
On January 16, 2024, José Mourinho was relieved of his duties as Roma manager after back-to-back defeats to Lazio in the Coppa Italia quarterfinal and Milan in the league. Two wins in seven games was enough for Roma’s owners to cut tie with the ‘Special One’, with the club hierarchy appointing Daniele De Rossi until…
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Las Palmas: Punching Above their Weight in their Return to La Liga
The 2023/2024 season for Unión Deportiva Las Palmas has been a return to La Liga filled with challenges and noteworthy moments, marking their first season in the Spanish first division since the 2017-2018 season. Throughout the early months of the competition, the team has experienced both lows and significant victories that highlight their struggle and…
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How Rúben Amorim Turned Sporting into a Powerhouse
When Rúben Amorim took charge of Sporting in March 2020, the club had won just four major trophies in the previous decade: two Taça de Portugal titles and two Taça da Liga titles. Since then, he’s ended a 19-year drought for the league title, he’s guided them to two Taça da Liga titles, and he…
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Tactical Analysis: Christian Streich’s Freiburg
There’s still two months left in the 2023/24 season, but we’ve already seen various teams announce changes at the managerial position. Both of the reigning champions in Spain and Germany are on the lookout for new managers, with Xavi and Thomas Tuchel stepping down from their posts at Barcelona and Bayern Munich at the end…
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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…
