…When Barcelona were Europe’s dominant force between 2009 and 2011, for example, it was extremely difficult to tell whether strategy would move in the first respect (further evolution) or the second respect (a shift toward an opposing style of play). In the end, Bayern’s success last year probably represented a hybrid of the two: They […]
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How the sporting director is taking root in English football
The foundations for a summer of change at White Hart Lane were laid a decade ago. After Glenn Hoddle was sacked in 2003, Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, decided to take the club in a new direction. Dismayed at the prospect of overhauling the first-team squad yet again, Levy travelled across Europe with John […]
Home Fans with ‘foreign names’ banned for UCL games by Copenhagen
FC Copenhagen have rejected claims of discrimination after the club banned home fans with foreign-sounding names from attending their upcoming Champions League group games. The Danish champions were drawn in Group B alongside Real Madrid, Juventus and Galatasaray, but sent out an email on Friday informing supporters with non-Danish surnames that their tickets were being cancelled […]
Champions League Draw Round-up
Four former winners with 16 triumphs between them – FC Barcelona, AC Milan, AFC Ajax and Celtic FC – were pitted together in the UEFA Champions League group stage draw. … FC Barcelona and AC Milan, 11-time winners between them, top the bill in Group H. The pair will meet in Europe’s premier club competition for […]
Football Manager Craze
As the computer game that discovered Lionel Messi prepares to launch a 21st edition, its popularity has never been greater. … “I went and did a gig at Manchester City and met a load of the players,” says the self-confessed City fan. “I met Micah Richards, the defender, and I was a bit rude to him. Afterwards my […]
Football and the obsession with attacking
Whether a team leads the hunt for trophies or languishes at the foot of the league table, it seems as though every club has come to demand an attractive brand of football from their coaches and players. Is it feasible? Well not always, yet despite living in a result-oriented age where even the slightest […]
Spurs qualification marred by Inter racism
Spurs qualification marred by Inter racism … The result was marred, however, by monkey chants that appeared to be directed at several Tottenham players, including Adebayor, while an Inter fan was seen waving an inflatable banana. “It’s a very sensitive situation,” Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas said of the chanting. “UEFA set out to act on […]
Crisis? What crisis?
“Until now, English football was only going through an identity crisis,” I said, shamelessly stealing a line from Michael Cox. “Now it also has a results crisis.” I looked up, probably wearing a smug expression, happy that after close to two hours of incoherent ramblings and a good deal of clueless stammering I’d finally delivered what […]
Gazza downfall a warning to young players
When a young Paul Gascoigne was asked for his footballing hero, he gave an unequivocal answer. Bryan Robson, captain of England, was his choice but the reasoning was troubling. He had not chosen ‘Robbo’ for his bravery, goalscoring from midfield or inspirational leadership. Instead, Robson was hailed above all others because of his ability to […]
Ronaldinho is back!
Of all the various methods Ronaldinho is reported to have found to irritate the coaching staff at Paris Saint‑Germain during the early days of his soon-to-be stratospheric European career, my favourite is the story of Ronaldinho being spotted, in the wee hours of a weekday morning, playing the bongos on stage at the Club Bikini […]
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