May 2012
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Filling the void: the Yoann Gourcuff story
By Matthew Richards
With the European Championships on the horizon, Matthew Richards profiles the tumultuous career of Yoann Gourcuff, who was somewhat controversially called up to the most recent French squad, in part one of a look at his remarkable journey that has taken him from France to Milan, and back again.
Ever since Zidane chose to so ignominiously end his career in Berlin, French...
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Letters from Shanghai: The mediocrity remains, but...
By Andrew Crawford, writing from Shanghai
The dust has started to settle on the ugly coup that ousted Jean Tigana from the Shanghai Shenhua dug out last month- but that doesn’t mean things have improved.
Shenhua’s last game, another dull, uninspiring 0-0 draw against Shanghai Shenxin at the Hongkou was the fourth game in a row that the former have gone without scoring a goal. The team is...
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On Chelsea and deservedness
By Max Grieve
Munich rocked; the Allianz Arena shaking in anticipation of the final whistle. It would come, as it always does, but brought with it a fresh burden. Drogba rose to meet the corner; Drogba fell back to earth, and sent millions into raptures. Thousands watched on in the city centre as the boom broke, and the Bayern support were plunged into a silence.
Deeper still into the match,...
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Drogba's Dream: The Last Charge of the Ancients
By Jordan Brown
Didier Drogba emerged from the confines of his tent to the thrum of a busy camp. All around him the army of Chelsea were preparing for war. Infantrymen were rushing to formation, their tall pikes bobbing rhythmically as they ran. Plated warhorses stomped and bit at paiges checking the readiness of mounts, bowmen were fitting their strings and chatting nervously in small circles...
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Will Bayern make it a blue day in Munich for...
It’s not quite what we expected. Bayern Munich edged past Real Madrid in a penalty shoot-out of epically comic proportions, and Chelsea saw off Barcelona in an incredible encounter at the Camp Nou. Now, the teams that beat arguably the best club sides in world football meet at the Allianz Arena in Munich, where Bayern will look to draw level with Liverpool on European Cups won, and Chelsea...
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[Posted by MG]
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Losses and llamas: a complicated week at Bayern...
By Max Grieve
Jupp Heynckes was, to a point, playing the fool, but there was a grim undertone to his comments. “I have watched and coached in the Spanish League,” he declared earlier in the week. “I know how hard it is to beat Barcelona. And now I’m left to wonder if Barça can’t beat Chelsea, how can we?”
Certainly Bayern Munich’s loss to Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal Final at...
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ASEC Mimosas: Ivory Coast’s Football Factory?
By John Ray, follow on Twitter.
“Les Elephants”, the footballers of the Ivory Coast, help captivate and enthrall a nation while playing against Madagascar: large outdoor television flicker and the metropolis of Abidjan rustles. Arouna Kone (PSV) crosses to Salomon Kalou (Chelsea) at the edge of the area; the supporters swell in deliverance as he belts the ball into the Malagasy net. There are...
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On Barcelona, Madrid and Stalin
By Max Grieve
In Bilbao, Real Madrid won the title for the first time in four years, whilst at the Camp Nou Lionel Messi equalled, then surpassed, the record for the most goals scored in a European season. The Spanish newspapers would have you believe that only one or the other of these happened, of course.
“El Mejor!” Marca’s front page screams the following morning – “The Best”. Mourinho is...
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I am José Mourinho, and you hate me because you...
“It is not normal to sell an image of perfection, because at the end of the day nobody is perfect.” - José. May 6, 2012.
You won’t know why I said it. Lots of people think they know me - that they have the measure of me. None of them do, they say it is something in my character, the impulse that drives me - then two weeks later it will be that I’m such a devious planner and that it’s all mind...
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How the mighty have risen
By Max Grieve
Six years ago in Bari, the directors watched on as Juventus celebrated their 29th Scudetto. Celebrations moved from beneath the stadium to the team bus, which Luciano Moggi boarded in tears. The players too, though they appeared to hide it well, must have known what was to come. Transcripts of recorded telephone conversations between Moggi and several Italian football officials...
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Frank de Boer's vision: The whole is greater than...
By Mohamed Moallim
Jim Collins, in “Good to Great”, wrote the secret of long-term corporate success lies in cultivating a distinctive set of values. For all the talk of diversity and globalisation, this usually means promoting from within and putting down deep local roots. Boris Groysberg, Harvard Business School, affirms companies are too obsessed with hiring stars rather than developing...
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Gràcies Pep. Ha estat bonic. (Thanks Pep. It's...
By Max Grieve
Pep Guardiola’s first league match, away at Numancia, was confusing in its lessons. Barcelona boasted 70 per cent of the possession, and had 26 shots – two of which smacked against the woodwork – but lost; Mario Martínez Rubio, simply Mario, scoring in Eric Abidal’s absence at the far post.
“We played badly,” admitted Guardiola. “We were undisciplined and people were not doing...
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Paper over the cracks: Liverpool’s cup confusion
By Max Grieve
With apparently false obstinacy, both red and blue repeated the tired lines. “We’ll pick a team that will do this club justice,” said Dalglish. His captain nodded in approval: “We’ve got the game against Fulham, and then we can get ready for Chelsea”. This sentiment was echoed in London. “I have not rested players in the past,” Di Matteo declared ahead of his side’s vital league...
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A history of perfectionism meeting innovation:...
AFR, alongside a selection of top bloggers, participated in the exclusive launch of the boots on the 1st of May in Manchester. Dominic Vieira enjoyed the privilege testing the Predator Lethal Zones displaying Portuguese flair which certainly impressed the beloved Kickette, alongside meeting the brains behind the project and watching Nani, Cleverley and Dzeko #unleash their skills. Perhaps the...
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Roy Hodgson: not who England want, but perhaps...
By Oliver Sparrow, writing from London
So, the FA have finally got their man. The man they have been so patiently waiting for. The man everyone loves. The man doing so well in the Premier League. The man so obviously the right choice for the England job – Roy Hodgson.
“What!?” – I hear you cry. That’s right, Roy Hodgson. The FA have refused to be harangued by old ‘Arry’s chums in the media....
April 2012
41 posts
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The Aston Villa of Alex McLeish: Down Amongst the...
By Andrew McGowan
As Fernando Torres streaked implausibly through, tiptoed around Victor Valdes and rolled home to plunge a fervid Camp Nou into agonising self-doubt last night, a very different footballing psychodrama was playing out in the West Midlands.
The Aston Villa of Alex McLeish - a man whose football is so nihilistic, his programme notes could be ghosted by Ayn Rand - were...
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The curse of the white buses?
By Dominic Vieira, writing from Lisbon
A game we’ve all seen before, where Barcelona persistently tried to find the net and were unlucky, again. The consequences of an attacking overload were suffered at the back as an advanced defensive line lost them Europe’s most wanted crown. Chelsea are going to Munich.
In each of the past 5 years, FC Barcelona have reached the semi-finals of the...
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What is Pedro's role at Barcelona?
By Dominic Vieira, writing from Lisbon
Once a nobody, once irreplaceable and now an uncertainty. At the age of 24, the forward from Tenerife has played over 160 matches, kissed all the trophies and set a record which Messi didn’t, becoming the first player in history to score in 6 different competitions in one season.
After swiftly establishing himself during his first full season at...
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We don't support you or your "slave-like" training...
Posted by Eric Beard
Billions of dollars surround the beautiful game and, like in any business, clubs strive to gain an advantage over their competitors. Some gain advantages through hard work and creativity. Others do so through unethical and even inhumane practices. Vasco da Gama sadly does not appear to be a club well-versed in ethics. The Rio de Janeiro-based club have been ordered by a...
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Ronaldo, es o melhor?
By Dominic Vieira, writing from Lisbon
There’s no denying that the two best teams on the planet are about to go head to head in another exhilaratingly exciting El Clásico, managed by revolutionary men, armed with an elite selection of Spanish world champions, sponsored by the two leading sports brands with varying “sports betting vs. Qatar foundation” kit sponsors, featuring...