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Even After Croatia, The Three Lions March On
It’s been 52 years of hurt for England fans, and trust me, we kept count. It’s also been close to three decades since the majority of England fans last felt a sense of pride in their national team. Constant hurt and disappointment have accompanied England through every World Cup since their lone win in 1966,…
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World Cup 2018: The World Cup of Immigrants
The French National Team. The Albanian Eagle Celebration. Raheem Sterling. Naturalized Citizenship. All of these headlines have been the source of much debate during the 2018 World Cup and in the lead-up to before Sunday’s Final. But positive or negative, this is all the cause of human migration, which has been present ever since the…
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The Diagnosis of the Socceroos
April 25, 1915 is a day etched in Australian history. During the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I, Britain, France, and their allies fought against the Ottoman Empire, and after some failed naval attacks in February and March, troops landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, but the campaign proved to be an ill-fated one as the…
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Unai Emery’s Summer Reconstruction
“I will miss you.” With those words Arsène Wenger ended his 22-year-long reign at Arsenal, and millions of fans across the globe wondered who would replace the French professor. Some wanted Luis Enrique, others wanted Massimiliano Allegri, the Juventus tactician. Soon, though, it became clear that Allegri was not going to leave Juventus to save…
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Russia’s Cellar Dwellers: #1-Morocco
Grouped with tournament favourites Spain and Portugal, Morocco were always going to face an uphill battle getting out of the group stages. Factor in a demoralizing opening day defeat due to a stoppage time own goal against Iran, and Morocco were as good as gone before the tournament even started. However, that didn’t stop them…
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Russia’s Cellar Dwellers: #2-Costa Rica
The reason Germany are ranked lower than Costa Rica is because of expectations: while many expected the reigning World Cup winner to challenge for the World Cup, few expected the reigning World Cup Cinderella team to advance to the knockout round. Granted, it wasn’t the hardest group between Serbia, Brazil, and Switzerland, but the odds…
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Football: The World’s Greatest Unifier
As I was making my way through the thick post-game crowds at Otrikiye Stadium, I noticed two peculiar jerseys in the back. Of course, throughout the course of the Poland-Senegal game, I had spotted an array of interesting kits, from one featuring Senegal’s backup defender Kara Mbodji, to one featuring Argentina’s 2nd choice goalkeeper Willy…
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Russia’s Cellar Dwellers: #3-Germany
Bland, lacklustre and overall completely devoid of any real ideas in the final third, Germany suffered a similar fate like the past two world champions and exited in the group stages just four years after winning it all. Last time the Germans performed this bad in Russia, they crumbled in Stalingrad. Joachim Löw started…
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Russia’s Cellar Dwellers: #4-Australia
Perhaps the most forgettable team of the entire tournament, Australia came and left their fourth straight World Cup without a bang or a whimper. After a chaotic build-up to the tournament, many would have expected a more eye-grabbing campaign from the Socceroos, but perhaps it was the chaos that preceded it which triggered the boring,…
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‘World Enough And Time’: Maurizio Sarri Joins Chelsea
Andrew Marvell opened in ‘To His Coy Mistress’: “Had we but world enough and time, This coyness, Lady were no crime We would sit down and think about which way To walk and pass our long love’s day.” Chelsea now have a new mistress in Maurizio Sarri, and sadly- although it’s going to be kisses…
