… Van Gaal has never been a “template” manager,...
Few football executives have been asked to take the reins of a global brand shortly after a corruption scandal, while also following in the footsteps of a trio of family members. But that is what happened to Andrea Agnelli, president of Italian giants Juventus, current champions of Italy and third in Serie A at present. […]
The Belgian national team are on the verge of securing a place at the World Cup finals for the first time since 2002 and play away to Croatia on Friday before hosting Wales on Tuesday in two remaining qualification fixtures. A draw against Croatia, who are five points behind Belgium at the top of Group […]
Uefa explores internationals shake-up with Nations League plan From ESPN…The plans, revealed in Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, remain vague but there is a “concrete proposal” to introduce the concept, which may see teams separated into divisions based on their seeding and then competing for promotion and relegation. The season would, theoretically, be played out over ten matchdays […]
English footballers account for less than a third of all the minutes played in the Premier League, a State of the Game study for BBC Sport has found. The figure for home country players – 32.26% – is down from 35.43% in 2007-08 and is significantly lower than all other major European leagues according […]
…Diego da Silva Costa is waiting for a call that could make him a World Cup-winning striker. He has two options for which national team he might represent next year during soccer’s showcase event. One is Brazil, where he was born. The other is Spain, where he plays professionally and where he was recently granted […]
…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 […]
It’s a little late but hey better late than never. The best picks from around the web for Gameweek 7! FPL Hints captained Ozil and then Barkley over the last 2 weeks – both of whom have been a hit. So this week they go for Suarez – I say get on the bandwagon!! They […]
Bespectacled, business-like and Belgian, Jean-Louis Dupont does not look like a revolutionary. But then if revolutionaries looked too obvious, we would see them coming. There is little danger of Dupont sneaking up on anybody now, though. He is the man who took on European football’s bosses as an inexperienced lawyer and claimed a landmark victory […]
Let’s talk about Aleksandar Kolarov. Not enough people talk about Aleksandar Kolarov, which is a shame, because he’s a fascinating individual with many varied interests, including botany and Agatha Christie novels. How would you describe Kolarov? Would you suggest that he is a fine footballer, owner of 43 caps for Serbia, possessor of a fierce […]
United look scared Its not just the results that have gone against United; its their either attitude which will worry most United fans. I have never seen a United team actually look this hesitant and scared. With all due respect to WBA; who outplayed United at Old Trafford the result should have been a straight […]