The year 2004 was one of multiple shocks in football. Werder Bremen won the Bundesliga, Porto won the Champions League, Valencia won the UEFA Cup and LaLiga, while Greece won the European…
Tag: la liga
In 2017, Real Betis unveiled a bust of former manager Patrick O’Connell at the Estadio Benito Villamarín to honour their only LaLiga title, won under the Irishman’s management in 1935. The bust…
WHEN YOU THINK OF THE FINEST LA LIGA STRIKERS over the past 20 years, you would include the Real Madrid trio of Raúl, Ronaldo and Morientes. Then Kluivert, Eto’o and Suárez from…
Throughout history there are thousands of individuals who, in a literal sense, have given their life to become professional athletes, all with a dream of one day becoming elite-level performers. Some had…
“Real Madrid is the club of my life, I will never call to ask for a job, but I am always available to offer myself.” These were the parting words of Álvaro…
THERE ARE FOOTBALLERS THAT ARE FAN FAVOURITES for the world-class qualities that they exhibit on the world stage week in, week out. Then there are footballers who are remembered for other reasons,…
THE BEST STORIES are frequently those which seem scarcely believable; full of paradoxes and contradictions, with little room for logic or genuine coherence. Add a sense of mystery and the account suddenly…
BEFORE FORMER SPANISH NATIONAL TEAM COACH LUIS ARAGONÉS noticed that his team could pass the ball faster than any player could run with or without it, Spain were far from a source…
Pinned to the floor with the nearby bed serving as their canopy of preservation, a family besieged by war would sometimes sit for hours. Miles away, mortars would be shot in their…
THERE IS A WELL-TOLD TALE, one shrouded in layers of conspiracy and confusion, of the saga that preceded Alfredo Di Stéfano’s transfer to Real Madrid. The details are different depending on who…
This feature is part of A Tale of One City SITUATED ON THE SOUTH-EASTERN COASTLINE OF SPAIN, Murcia is a city better known for its tourism industry than its football exploits. And is…
To a child falling in love with football right now, there’s a world of difference between FC Barcelona and Ajax Amsterdam. Barcelona play in a popular league with megastars in every position,…
Illustration by Federico Manasse The headlines the morning after seemed hyperbolic, but those that witnessed it knew there was no exaggeration. “What a bully!” read Marca’s front page. “Sensational”, effused Mundo Deportivo.…
FOOTBALL IS A FICKLE WORLD. When a club is doing well, all seems plain sailing, with everyone over the moon. But when the club starts to sink towards the precipice of decline,…
Illustration by Federico Manasse ON THE LAST OCCASION Barcelona announced the acquisition of an expensive Brazilian footballer, in the summer of 2013, it was the prodigiously talented and fresh-faced Neymar who had…
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…
Illustration by Federico Manasse Very few players have united a whole country quite like Hugo Sánchez, but then there have been few players like the Real Madrid legend. When Mexico’s hottest property…
Illustration by Federico Manasse Xavi Hernández departed the pitch for the final time as a Barcelona player, filled with emotion. It was bittersweet for the then-35-year-old, who departed for Qatar in 2015…