Tag: man utd

Louis van Gaal: a divisive success story

TO SOME, HE’S ONE OF THE BEST MANAGERS OF THE PAST TWO DECADES, willing to sacrifice style for substance and flair for formality. To others, he’s an unnerving disciplinarian, an expert at…

Carlo Sartori: the Italian Busby Babe

BEFORE MATTEO DARMIAN, FEDERICO MACHEDA AND MASSIMO TAIBI, there was another Italian on the books at Old Trafford – the Red Devils’ first ever non-British player, Carlo Domenico Sartori. Born on 10…

Dimitar Berbatov and the golden touch of perfection

If one were to step into the boots of Dimitar Berbatov, the scene would perhaps play out like something from Inception; players sprint at walking pace, their faces contorted with exertion, each…

Terry Cooke: the Class of ‘92’s long lost graduate

On the day that legendary Manchester United youth coach Eric Harrison was formally honoured for his extraordinary developmental work with young footballers – most notably his discovery and nurturing of the Class of…

Jordi Cruyff and a career unfairly spent in the shadows

Nature or nurture? It’s a question psychologists have debated for centuries. In the context of sport, it’s interesting that so many gifted individuals have raised children who have also gone on to…

Edwin van der Sar: the master of Cruyffian methods in goal

FOOTBALLERS TEND TO decline as they move into their 30s, with dimming enthusiasm and an assortment of injuries tending to slowly draw the curtain on their careers. But goalkeepers are the anomaly…

Andrew Cole: the defining Manchester United years

Football songs seemed to reach a peak in the 1990s. At the start of the decade came Italia 90, which spoilt us with Luciano Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma and World in Motion by…