Articles
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Tactical Analysis: Ralph Hasenhüttl’s Southampton
“If you want guarantees you should buy a washing machine. There are no guarantees in football anymore,” Ralph Hasenhüttl famously stated in his first press conference as Southampton manager on December 6, 2018. In contrast to Hasenhüttl’s parabolic statement, it seems like the biggest guarantee of the Premier League so far this term is the…
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Taking a Deeper Look at Wesley Fofana
On October 2, 2020, Leicester City completed the purchase of Wesley Fofana from Saint-Étienne. In doing so, they filled a hole in their squad and concluded a transfer saga that had been brewing since Fofana gave a jaw-dropping interview with L’Équipe three weeks prior, claiming “I would be crazy to reject Leicester.” Leicester City…
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Footballers and their Academic Backgrounds
Football is the most renowned sport in the world. But while many football fans think that footballers are overpaid individuals who are undereducated, footballers, just like other people, are professionals, only that their prowess in the field is louder than their academic area of specialization. Some are continuing with the studies while others have already…
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Tactical Analysis: VfB Stuttgart 2020/21
Having been relegated to the Bundesliga 2 at the end of the 2018/19 season, the future was not looking particularly good for Stuttgart fans. They had only come up to the Bundesliga two years prior, and in their first season, managed an impressive 7th-place finish. They then slumped down to 16th in the league the…
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Tactical Analysis: Der Klassiker
The first Der Klassiker of the 2020-21 Bundesliga season did not disappoint. Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich side took on Lucien Favre’s Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park where the two German heavyweights put on a thoroughly entertaining end to end display. Although Bayern ran out 3-2 winners, Dortmund would’ve felt that they deserved more from the…
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How Sassuolo Adapted to Crisis and Defeated Napoli
Roberto De Zerbi’s Sassuolo faced off against Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo with several key players including talisman Francesco “Ciccio” Caputo, Domenico Berardi, and Filip Đuričić missing. In response to this, De Zerbi changed to a fluid system that allowed them to interchange between a 3-4-3 in possession and a 4-5-1 mid block off…
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Player Analysis: Burak Kapacak
Burak Kapacak stands on the edge of the Altınordu box. Facing away from goal, he is aware of the space behind. Also the overlapping run of Emirhan Aydoğan. The result is a sumptuous back heel when nothing seemed on. It ends in a goal, and congratulations for the young provider from his teammates. Born…
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Gianluca Scamacca’s Emergence at Genoa
Aspiring footballers in Italy find it tough to break through at senior level, and with Italian coaches having the preference for established stars or experienced heads, looking for that valuable playing time can be hard and disheartening. In January 2015, a 16-year-old striker named Gianluca Scamacca left the Roma youth system and joined PSV…
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Helmut Groß, Controlled Chaos and the Stuttgart School
The late 1990s and early 2000s saw a period of struggle for the German national team. After winning the European Championships in 1996, the World Cup two years after that saw them fall in the quarter-finals, losing to debutants Croatia in France. The 3-0 embarrassment led to calls for change, but it didn’t arrive in…
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Premier League Predictions: Matchday Eight
With another international break approaches, teams across the Premier League will want to end Matchday Eight with a win. Here is what to watch out for. Brighton vs Burnley Despite losing 2-1 to Spurs, it was a valiant effort from the Seagulls. Tariq Lamptey excelled yet again and is increasingly growing in stature…
