All About The Beautiful Game
The verdict is in, and it is brutal: Paul Pogba has received a four-year ban for a doping offense. The Frenchman was suspended in September after failing a drug test, leading to reports that his stay in Turin would be cut short. Now, his career might be over. Everything Pogba has done has made headlines. … Read more
In the 86th minute of a crucial European Championship Qualifier match, Kenan Yıldız enters the pitch. Yıldız, an 18-year-old attacker from the German city of Regensburg, earned his first call-up after a strong start to the season with Juventus. But Yıldız — formerly of Bayern Munich — isn’t making his Germany debut. He’s making his … Read more
Last season was rough for Juventus. The Italian giants were deducted 15 points — later changed to ten — after a scandal involving transfer fees, dropping down to seventh in Serie A. Normally this means they would play in Europa Conference League, but Financial Fair Play violations resulted in a one-season ban from Europe. Meanwhile, … Read more
In January 2019, Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven took on FC Groningen. In the final minutes of the match, PSV, fighting for back-to-back Eredivisie titles, made an unusual substitution: despite leading by just one goal, they subbed off Uruguayan international Gastón Pereiro for a 16-year-old attacking midfielder. His name was Mohamed Ihattaren. Over the next few months, … Read more
For the first time in over a decade, Juventus will not be in the Champions League next season. After being docked ten points for financial irregularities, the Turin-based club finished 7th in the league with 62 points. This is a big shock for a side that has dominated Italian soccer for the past few years, … Read more
For the second consecutive time, Italy will not be heading to the World Cup. This is no recent development: they’ve known since March’s loss to North Macedonia in qualifiers. However, a lot has changed since this occurred, particularly an important—and brutally honest—complaint from Italy coach Roberto Mancini directed at the lack of young players and … Read more
One month ago, I made my predictions for the Champions League Round of 16 first leg. Some of these predictions were close, others were not. Liverpool came tantalizingly close to the 1-0 victory I had predicted, winning 2-0 over Leipzig. Dortmund’s talent up front showed as well as inconsistency in the back, where they won … Read more
This season’s Champions League group stages had several surprises in store for us. In Group B, Real Madrid lost two games to Shakhtar Donetsk but still advanced at the cost of Inter Milan. In Group C, defending Portuguese champions FC Porto finished second in the group, surprising Marseille and Olympiacos. In-form Manchester United were unable … Read more
In a previous post, I asked you all to vote for who should have won the Ballon d’Or since it will not be awarded this year. In the end it was a race between two people, which is probably what would have happened in the real awards. Here are the rankings: T-3: Ciro Immobile, 33 … Read more
I have previously written an article about the five best available free agents (here). That list contains the likes of Chelsea forward Willian and Manchester City forward David Silva, but for many teams, especially those fighting for promotion or those, like Leeds United, who have just earned promotion, younger players are key. In this article, … Read more