Articles
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Ralf Rangnick at Schalke: The History and the Future
On Friday afternoon, BILD broke the news that Ralf Rangnick was set to become Schalke’s Sporting Director for the 2021/22 season and plan for life in 2. Bundesliga as their inevitable relegation looms large. The report highlighted his plans and desire to help Schalke on their way back to the Bundesliga and subsequent success. The…
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Destroying Man-orientation: Antonio Conte Style
The latest and perhaps most important Derby della Madonnina in recent memory showcased an unconditional destruction of Milan, through Inter’s intelligent exploitation of their man-oriented defensive system. This article seeks to systematically analyse how Inter were so effective, attempting to extrapolate more holistic techniques on how to disrupt and destroy man-orientation. Milan use the…
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Tactical Analysis: Adi Hütter’s Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt fans fondly remember the 2018/19 season when Adi Hütter introduced his high tempo attacking style of football at the Deutsche Bank Park and qualified Frankfurt for the following season’s Europa League. The Austrian manager has since seen several players come and go but he continues to challenge for a place in European competitions.…
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Kelechi Iheanacho’s Breakthrough at Leicester City
Since joining from Manchester City in the summer of 2017, Kelechi Iheanacho’s Leicester City career has been neither hot nor cold, plagued with inconsistency to put it nicely. The Nigerian has certainly not met Leicester City’s expectations when they paid £25 million for him, but he’s also not done badly enough to warrant the flop…
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Dael Fry – Middlesbrough’s Big Lighthouse
Dael Fry is no stranger to the limelight. He made his Middlesbrough debut at 17 and has since gone on to rack up another 134 appearances for his hometown club. Fry was quick to establish himself as a one of the brightest prospects in English football, attracting interest from the likes of Manchester United and…
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The Old Lady Is Broken – Where Do Juventus Go From Here?
As former Juventus legend and these days, club director Pavel Nedvêd kicked the advertisement boardings in disgust at the end of extra time in Porto, Juventus crashed out of the last 16 of the Uefa Champions League for the second year in a row. Juve played against ten men for 36 minutes of normal…
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Player Analysis: Alfredo Morelos
Banished to the naughty step for much of his time in Scotland, often by his own hand, Alfredo Morelos always manages to return to the hearts and minds of Rangers fans. Whether it be “El Bufalo”, “Buff”, “Alfie”, or any of the whole host of monikers coined for the Colombian, Morelos never fails to make…
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Player Analysis: Andreas Christensen
Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea have been resurgent. In their 11 matches, they have racked up eight wins and three draws, meaning that the German tactician is just one match away from potentially equalling Luiz Felipe Scolari by avoiding defeat in his first 12 matches in charge of Chelsea. Tactical Analysis: The First Weeks of Thomas…
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Tactical Analysis: Juventus vs. FC Porto
Ah, the day of a Champions League knockout stage second leg. A rare sort of occasion in which you’d expect me to bounce out of bed, consume a hearty jentacular breakfast and buzz around in excitement all day long. It was a tough decision to make on Tuesday, but Juventus vs Porto got the nod.…
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Tactical Analysis: Vincenzo Italiano’s Spezia
When Spezia coach Vincenzo Italiano submitted his coaching thesis in September 2020, he wrote about the need of all his players to be directors of the play. “Having been a midfielder, a playmaker, I made myself more and more aware of the fact that this could still be an advantage from tactical point of…
