This feature is part of The Academy Way IN THE AFTERMATH OF ARSENAL’S first Emirates Cup win since 2010, following a 1-0 win against VfL Wolfsburg, the spotlight was firmly focused on one…
ON AUGUST 16, 2010, Georgian businessman Merab Jordania bought Vitesse Arnhem, becoming the first foreign owner in the Netherlands, with the sole ambition of dominating Dutch football. Vitesse hadn’t finished higher than second…
Building a squad to thrive in Europe’s top leagues can take years of careful planning and stability, but Rayo Vallecano’s finances dictate a completely different approach to the transfer market. Last season Los…
As featured on Guardian Sport IN THE 14TH MINUTE of Barcelona’s game against Levante on November 25, 2012, Martin Montoya replaced Dani Alves completing a significant moment in the history of the club.…
Talk about football in Paris and the conversation is likely to be dominated by Paris Saint-Germain after Les Rouge-et-Bleu completed a domestic treble last season. Laurent Blanc’s side are dominating French football at…
THE SIGHT OF A BRAZIL TEAM in full samba flow invokes something in football supporters that can’t be replicated by any other team. People marvel over Spain’s fluid passing and Germany’s ruthless dynamism…
Nothing in football compares to the crushing feeling of defeat when a team is relegated. Sometimes there is a dull predictability about it, after a consistently abject season; sometimes it follows last day…
ITALIAN FOOTBALL IS GOING THROUGH somewhat of a transitional phase, with both Milan sides failing to qualify for Europe for the first time in 60 years. At the other end of the scale…
THE 2015 UEFA EUROPEAN UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIPS get underway on June 17 and with the absence of 2013 winners Spain there will be a new champion crowned in Czech Republic. Italy, beaten finalists at…
If footballers were like fine wine, maturing with age, then the prestigious Toulon Tournament award for the best player would represent a who’s who list of world football’s best players, both past and…
In the words of Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle: “Happiness belongs to the self-sufficient.” There is no club more self-sufficient in world football than Athletic Club and after another season fighting for European qualification in…
Cast your minds back, if you will, to the summer of 2006. Fresh off the back of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany two members of the Argentina squad that were knocked…