Zlatan: Against all Odds, God Wins.
At 38 years old, with over 500 goals on his account, a devastating goal-scoring campaign in the MLS behind him, a recurring Achilles problem to ponder, and no football in over 3…
The Importance of Getting Erling: A Player and a Coach’s Earnest Search for Perfection
Erling Haaland is now a Manchester City boy. After years of “nearly-theres” on the European stage, the club needed a decisive force, and they seem to have found it in a 21-year-old…
Ange Postecoglou: The Man Who’s Revived Celtic
Ange Postecoglou has reinvigorated Celtic football club in the 2021/22 campaign. The Greek-Australian manager was known to few supporters of the club when appointed. However, through the similarities he shares with Celtic’s…
André Kamperveen: Suriname’s Tragic Legend
The small South American country of Suriname has a deep historical connection to the Netherlands and Dutch football. André Kamperveen was its first player to make that trip overseas, and his success…
From Soccer to Football: Jesse Marsch in Yorkshire
For years, cross-Atlantic sporting relations have revolved around the ‘Football’ vs ‘Soccer’ debate. Will Jesse Marsch’s appointment as Leeds United head coach spark the change in Brits’ perception of Americans? In a…
Lies, Deceit, and Illusion: Football in the 21st Century
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Shutter Island’ is the perfect specimen of deception. Teddy Daniels reaches the brink in search of the truth and it ends up taking a breakdown for him to realise that…
Abramovich Isn’t a Russian Problem: He’s a London Problem
Oligarchic supremacy in football is over now that Roman Abramovich’s tenure as Chelsea F.C. owner is ending. Well, that’s what the Western political-media class wants us to think. In reality, it is…
The Dark Side of the Beautiful Game: Football’s African Slave Trade
For many young African footballers who migrate to Europe, their challenge is not to break into the starting XI, but to find something to eat, somewhere to sleep. This is the sad…
What does it take to build a culture?
And what does one gain from tearing it down? Former USWNT teammates Carli Lloyd and Hope Solo chatted on a recent podcast, deriding the team culture as “toxic” despite opposite reports from…
Being Oneself: Marcelino and Athletic Bilbao
A look at the behavioural similarities between Athletic Bilbao’s traditions and Marcelino’s managerial career over the years. The Basque club has a unique identity, and the Asturian has a special place in Spanish football for working with the underdogs and bringing them back up.
Finding Arsenal: The Value of Thinning the Herd
Fans like to believe that their club has some intrinsic identity. There is some quality that must exist within those 90 minutes for a club to be recognisable. In actuality, the DNA…
Mason Greenwood, Harriet Robson, and a World Designed to Protect Assaulters
I am a man, and just reading detailed reports on physical abuse makes me sick. I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like for women, who live in physical danger…
How Goran Pandev Put Macedonia on the Football Map
If you were to mention the name Goran Pandev to an informed commentator of European football, they’ll tell you of his dynamic forward play, his wicked left foot, and an impressive record…
Town in Albion: The Strange Recent History of Ossett’s Footballing Landscape
The unassuming market town of Ossett, nestled between Wakefield and Dewsbury in Yorkshire’s West Riding, is not known for its football prowess or reputation. Located around eight miles from Premier League Leeds…
Kerr’d his Enthusiasm – Sam Kerr 1 – 0 Pitch Invader
In the dying minutes of a nail biter of a Chelsea/Juventus match-up, Sam Kerr added a new role to her CV – matchday security, taking down a pitch invader who interrupted play…
You Can Check out, and You Can Leave – No Farewell for Formiga
What do you do when you have one of the most accomplished players of all time on your squad, and she’s facing her last international game? If you’re Pia Sundhage, you give…
Gretna F.C. – A Phoenix Not From the Flames?
The clichéd story of a football team financially hyper-extending itself, filing for bankruptcy, before re-modelling as a ‘Phoenix Club’ is not a particularly new or unique one. The battle-hardened fans of Bury,…
Ole Had to Go, but United Have Deeper Issues
And so, after a stretch of performances that can be labelled as a total suspension of talent and intelligence, Manchester United’s Solskjaer Experiment is over. Last night’s deflating loss—the kind where a…
To Find Solutions, Manchester United Need to Start Asking Questions
Most of us have known this feeling. At playgrounds and classrooms, backyards and alleyways, nothing hurts more than a bully taking their sweet time to pull you apart. On his podcast, Gary…
Visions of the Dutch Big Three
(This piece was written following the September 18-19 football weekend.) Over the previous international break, we all laughed as Louis van Gaal shot back at a journalist deriding the Netherlands manager for…
Romelu Lukaku – What Was It That You Said About Slow and Clumsy?
I sometimes wonder how tough life must be for a Premier League footballer. The ball flies past before you know it is coming; you must adapt to overcome the ever-growing number of…
Eredivisie Overture: Part One
The Dutch are a society littered with contradictions. Rising waters threaten a country largely below sea level, but it was Amsterdam that served as a breeding ground for the very capitalism which…
Portugal in the 21st Century – The Cost of Gold
The European Championships this summer were a lesson in team play, for both the robust attacking outfits and the overly conservative. Disregarding his country’s catenaccio history, Roberto Mancini looked to dominate play…
Manchester United, Ronaldo, Kathryn Mayorga, and Us: Everyone Has a Choice
450 goals in 438 games for Real Madrid. 101 in 134 for Juventus. 91 in his last three seasons for Manchester United. Five Champions’ League titles. Five Ballon d’Ors. Rape allegations with…