All About The Beautiful Game
Charles Erb Author’s Note: Since this article was published, Bordeaux have been reinstated in the second tier, rather than the third. Not long ago, Bordeaux were one of France’s elite teams. The likes of Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps, Bixente Lizarazu, and more played for the six-time French champions. In 1996, they reached the final of the UEFA … Read more
Brazilian side Palmeiras are one of South America’s top sides. They’ve won the Libertadores three times, the Sudamericana once, and the domestic league ten times. One of the ways they’ve sustained their success is player sales: developing top talent, then selling them for profit in order to bring in new players. Gabriel Veron is the … Read more
Barcelona’s academy has always been special: the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi, and Andres Iniesta graduated from the legendary La Masia. Just look at some of their academy prospects in 2016: Ansu Fati, Eric García, and Nico, among others. However, even with academies as good as Barcelona’s, sometimes talents slip through the cracks. One that … Read more
Saturday, July 16th. Wisła Krakow, a club based in Poland’s third-biggest city, opened their season. However, something was unusual this year. The 13-time Polish champions were not facing off against one of Poland’s elite clubs, nor were they against an up-and-coming Ekstraklasa team. They weren’t facing an Ekstraklasa team at all: for the first time … Read more
In recent years, Colombia has become a hub for footballing talent. In 2014, teenager James Rodríguez picked apart some of the world’s top teams in the World Cup, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer. He moved to Real Madrid shortly thereafter. Since then, the list of Colombians playing at big clubs has grown: Davinson Sánchez, … Read more
While it seems like, in many leagues, the season has just ended, it’s already beginning to start elsewhere. That’s the case in Switzerland, where the league kicks off this weekend with several high-profile matchups. With the success of the Swiss national team at the Euros and qualification for the World Cup over Italy, it appears … Read more
It’s no secret that DC United are having a miserable season. This struggle has looked inevitable since preseason when a string of notable players left. First, it was Yamil Asad and Joseph Mora, then Yordy Reyna, then Ramón Ábila. Academy graduate Kevin Paredes (who is eligible for the Dominican Republic) was the next to leave, joining … Read more
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is just a few short months away, but a lot of factors remain to be determined. One of the most pressing questions is that of hosts Qatar – will they be able to progress through their group, despite having a mainly domestic-based untested squad? I’ve already done a review … Read more
While many fans might not notice, the Greek Super League played a huge role in English football last season. Wolverhampton Wanderers finished tenth in the Premier League last season thanks to the strong goalkeeping of Jose Sa and the attacking of Daniel Podence, both bought from Olympiacos. Luka Milivojevic, Crystal Palace’s captain for much of … Read more
The summer transfer window is open, meaning that teams across the world are making moves for players. Some of the biggest moves so far have been for talented prospects: the likes of Erling Haaland, Karim Adeyemi, and Ryan Gravenberch have all swapped teams this summer. Many teams (like Galatasaray) are starting to sign younger players … Read more