Tottenham Hotspur were just two agonizing minutes away from becoming the first UEFA Europa League-winning team since 2018 to defeat the Champions League holders in the European Super Cup. However, normal service was resumed when it comes to Tottenham and trophies. Normal service was also resumed when it comes to who usually wins the UEFA…

When Afiga Mammadova walks into a football stadium in Baku, she does so with the calm assurance of someone who has seen almost everything the game can offer. The black-and-white Neftchi scarf around her neck is not a fashion choice or a nod to nostalgia. It is a statement of fact. At 69, she has…

ABC, is it really as easy as 123? Well not if you want to catalogue the best football team for each letter of the alphabet it isn’t. You are going to have some letters chock full of amazing teams and then some letters that force you to compare the Bolivian and Tanzanian league to see…

At the final whistle on 2 May 2004, Bolton Wanderers’ Reebok Stadium witnessed an astonishing outpouring. In the away section, inconsolable children and howling adults – some shirtless – were the picture of despair. Their team, Leeds United, had just lost 4-1 and been effectively relegated from the Premiership.   On the pitch, a distraught…

In the 1990s, when Azerbaijani football was still finding its post-Soviet identity, one man in a small western town dared to dream big. His name was Shahbaz Suleymanov, but everyone knew him simply as Sasha from Shamkir — the man who turned a struggling local team into a two-time national champion.   A successful entrepreneur…

Football has always been a game of roles evolving with time, and few positions demonstrate this better than the deep-lying playmaker. From Andrea Pirlo’s elegance to Rodri’s modern dominance, the role has transitioned from artistry to functionality without losing its soul. 1. The Pirlo Prototype: The Artist in Deep Midfield   Andrea Pirlo epitomized the…

The early 1990s were a period of enormous disruption and transformation in culture, economics, and geopolitics. The collapse of the Berlin Wall would trigger the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the subsequent end of the Cold War, signifying a new world order and a change in the global political landscape.   The Maastricht Treaty…

When is the last time you thought about the Kalmar Union? Yeah, I thought so too. Well, let me rectify that with today’s story where we take a look at a hypothetical national team. A team that is so packed with attacking talent that it could blow away any opponent on a good day, but…

There’s no other way to put it: Manchester United are hitting rock bottom. Last season, they finished eighth under Erik ten Hag, their worst-ever Premier League finish. Ten Hag managed to keep hold of his job thanks to his FA Cup Final victory against Manchester City, only to be sacked on October 28 after accumulating…