FANS ARE FALLING OUT OF LOVE WITH MODERN FOOTBALL. It’s an irony that seems especially bitter given the availability of every match in stunning HD and the constant deluge of coverage, but…
Tag: la liga
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…
NOTICEABLY QUIET AND EMOTIONALLY DETACHED, when young Casemiro finally opened up about what had been tormenting him since he was a boy, he told his mother Magda one day while playing of…
At 53, Ernesto Valverde Tejedor will take on the grandest challenge of his long football career, as he takes over the reigns at the Camp Nou. His credentials for the job have…
Confined to his hospital bed, all he could do was stare helplessly at the television. The faint sound of music was still audible, but the match encompassing his eyes had him transfixed.…
There was a time when Francisco Pavón was considered a future leader at Real Madrid – sadly, Florentino Pérez’s Galacticos policy put an end to that
THE EXPERT, THE ARCHITECT, THE SCIENTIST; the heartbeat, the metronome, the brain. Endless adjectives, analogies and appellations have been summoned by fellow professionals in sincere yet scant attempts to describe exactly what…
PEP GUARDIOLA made his mark on the football world at Barcelona, first as a player and then as a manager, and now find himself heading Manchester City’s attempts to establish themselves as…
Teaming up with Hummel, we sent Will Sharp armed with a disposable camera to the Copa del Rey 2017 final between FC Barcelona and Hummel-sponsored Deportivo Alavés to capture the essence of…
IF FOOTBALL IS A GAME of thrills and spills can someone pass Pedro León the mop bucket? For throughout his remarkable and, as yet, unfulfilled career, there have been plenty more of…
IT IS THE EIGHTH MINUTE and Athletic Club have just been awarded a free-kick after Mikel San José is fouled. Their number 10 takes the resultant set-piece, bending the ball around the…
WALK INTO ANY one of San Sebastián’s famed pintxo bars (tx is ch in Basque) and it is more than likely that you will find framed photos hanging from the walls containing…
When it comes to Spain versus England at club and international level, there is only one winner. The past decade has seen 11 Spanish clubs come out victorious in Europe’s top two…
Illustration by Federico Manasse “It’s going to need a bandage, love.” Brilliant, just what I was hoping for. It’s September 1986 and I was just about to start my second season with Hornsea…
Thousands gathered outside the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in front of the iconic and eye-catching mosaic of Sevilla’s club crest, surrounded by those of 60 visiting teams. The Andalusian’s side clash with…
Medium sized clubs providing a proving ground for footballing talent is one of the most common features of modern football, and particularly the transfer market. Clubs with promising young players will be watched…