ON 6 JUNE 2014, Marco Reus’s professional life plunged into darkness. Darkness often touches professional footballers, but for this exceptionally blessed German playmaker, it was a darkness that would come to plague…
This feature is part of The Masterminds: 10 Under 45 Vincenzo Montella is not entirely dissimilar to Roberto Mancini. Like the former Inter and Manchester City manager, Montella exudes effortless charisma and…
This feature is part of The Masterminds: 10 Under 45 On 25 February 2015, Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim arrived at the Emirates Stadium with a plan. That plan – executed immaculately by…
As featured on Guardian Sport SOME FOOTBALLERS HAVE the privilege of working under gifted tacticians and thoroughbred winners during their careers, but it’s the intuitive ones who take it upon themselves to…
This feature is part of The Masterminds: 10 Under 45 When Eddie Howe announced his retirement from football at the age of 29, he wasn’t certain what fate had in store for…
There’s a wonderful simplicity that characterises Jermain Defoe’s career: a love of playing and a love of scoring goals. It sounds faintly ludicrous – a Premier League striker driven by the desire…
I once heard a joke involving Owen Hargreaves when the midfielder was a Manchester United player. The joke went along the lines of ‘Hargreaves ruled out for a further four weeks after…
SOMETIMES IN FOOTBALL, it’s difficult not to feel sorry for goalkeepers. Yes, in the modern game they may be protected species, but they’re still faced with the answerable putdown of having a…
This feature is part of The Masterminds THE PRESS CONFERENCE was an explosive three minutes, leaving a cluster of Germany’s top journalists stunned and bewildered. Bayern Munich coach Giovanni Trapattoni was addressing…
This feature is part of The Masterminds SOME MANAGERS find it difficult to build one truly great team. Sir Matt Busby built three. At Old Trafford, the legendary Scot made Manchester United…
This feature is part of The Masterminds IN 1974, Argentine football had unquestionably seen more prosperous days. The national side had just been dumped out of the World Cup in Germany having…
This feature is part of The Masterminds IF TROPHIES ARE your thing, let’s start with them. Marcello Lippi, the grandfather of modern Italian football, won a World Cup, a Champions League and…
This feature is part of The Masterminds “EVERY MANAGER DIES a little during a game. I’d rather die in a dug-out than moulder away in a director’s box.” Jock Stein, speaking in 1978. Many…
This feature is part of The Masterminds More than anything else, a football manager thinks about winning. It’s the source of their happiness, their confidence and, ultimately, keeps them in employment. No manager…
As featured on Guardian Sport With one brief, shocking press conference, he was gone. Marcelo Bielsa announced to the media at the Stade Vélodrome following Olympique Marseille’s 1-0 loss to Caen that he had…
This feature is part of A Tale of One City Even though a meeting between the ‘Big Two’ in Northern Ireland was always a hotly-contested affair, this one had even more of an…
This feature is part of A Tale of One City The rain was thumping down on the Azteca turf but it failed to dampen the spirit of Miguel ‘Piojo’ Herrera. In the midst…
This feature is part of A Tale of One City You don’t have to journey very far back to encounter the last thrilling Melbourne derby. Just last week, in fact, as Victory overcame City…