Both overrated and underrated, Claude Makélélé’s public perception changes with each passing year. Perhaps it’s the idea that we’ve already seen his upgrade in the form of the high-speed blur that is…
Tag: chelsea
Illustration by Federico Manasse The goals, the power, the engine; all done with that unmistakable beaming smile on his face for club and country. Few players are eulogised about fondly across supporter partisanships,…
Illustration by Federico Manasse Saturday 19 May 2012, the Allianz Arena in Munich – home of Bayern Munich. The Champions League final looked as if it was going to be a victory for…
I once spent most of an evening being eyeballed by Diego Costa. At least that’s what I thought was happening. I was in a pub in central London and whenever I looked up…
Hit and miss: that’s an honest way to describe Chelsea’s history with forwards in the Premier League. For every Didier Drogba, there have been a couple of Adrian Mutus on the books…
“He has pneumonia,” said the bald-headed surgeon, his eyes narrowing at the patient lying prone in the bed. “He’s on a life support machine. I’m not certain how long he will live.” The…
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…
If ever there was a time for Harry Redknapp to effusively proclaim a player as “triffic”, it was when describing Frank Lampard. The year was 1996, the venue was a West Ham…
Strike partnerships are a beautiful thing when they come along. The days of deadly duos are something lost to nostalgia in the modern game, with threatening tridents and often even quartets becoming…
It took an unlikely – and expensive – route for Chelsea and Brazil midfielder Willian to reach the very top of club football in England
PRIOR TO THE 2002 WORLD CUP, Marcelo Bielsa found himself deciding who to play in the most advanced position of the field for Argentina. On one hand, an ageing Gabriel Batistuta had…
It is the end of the 2012/13 season and Juan Mata has just received the Chelsea Player of the Year Award for the second year in a row. “I just want to…
In June 2016, Chelsea made their first signing of the Antonio Conte era and yet again it was another Belgian joining the ranks of the Premier League. Despite the considerable sum paid…
There’s an old saying that everything that can be interpreted can also, by design, be misinterpreted. Which camp the oft-besieged figure of striker Nicolas Anelka falls into is a matter of opinion.…
This feature is part of The Tsars of Football The all-important name when discussing Russian football in a European context is Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich. Since buying a controlling stake in Chelsea in 2003…
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…
It’s always hard if you’re seen as the sidekick in a successful partnership. Ricardo Carvalho has often had to play second fiddle to bigger names in the various teams he’s played for…
This feature is part of The Tsars of Football YOU HAVE JUST TURNED on your television to watch your favourite team play in the Champions League. Before the match start, you are…