On Saturday night Barcelona once again stood at the top of world football. Once again they went toe to toe with their greatest advisory and once again they come out victorious, standing tall above the rest of world football. This was more than just another El Classico. This seemed different, a genuine turning point in modern Spanish football. Real Madrid went into this match on top of the league and for the first time too, on top psychologically. Cracks has [...]
For better or for worse Spanish football these days seem to be defined by only two matches. This weekend we see the first of these matches, the first El Classico. For the past three seasons Barcelona have got the better of Real Madrid both in terms of the El Classico and over the course of a season. This season feels different however. Maybe this will finally be the season that Real Madrid strike back and take first blood in their [...]
For certain clubs in Europe, spending big money is nothing new. Man Utd, Barcelona, Real Madrid & the two Milan clubs are examples of clubs for which out spending and out achieving the teams around them is par for the course. For others, success comes as a result of a rich sugar daddy pumping vast sums of money into the club and elevating them above their natural state. The problem comes when the money runs out and said club is [...]
In every great civilisation there comes a tipping point, a point where the Empire has grown too bloated and too large and it must crumble down and burn to the ground. It happened in Greece, in Rome and it is happening to football today. Just as the Romans put on bigger show after bigger show in the Coliseum as it’s time as a super power came to an end, now it’s football’s turn to reach that disgusting end. Wages can’t [...]
For some players, transfers happen out of the blue. In Mikel Arteta’s case that was literally true. He left behind the blue boys of Liverpool and moved down the road to the red of north London in a transfer that moved very quickly and to the surprise of many. Everton of course were not happy. They didn’t want to sell but they were left with no choice once the player asked to leave. Other transfers take a far longer time [...]
Wenger’s Demise Echoes Cruyff’s Final Years At Barcelona. For even the greatest clubs with the greatest managers, sometimes things just naturally come to an end. This is true in other aspects of life too. Even after Winston Churchill helped fight off the Nazi’s and raise the nations spirits with his brilliant war time addresses, he still lost the next election. The public wanted a new approach, one that looked forward to the future rather than one that was built on [...]
The Barcelona dominance of European football over the past few seasons (3 out of the last 6 Champions League finals have been won by them) has highlighted both their quality as a football team and the winning mentality of the club. And yet despite this dominance from Barcelona, the other Spanish teams have failed to make a big impact on the competition. Real Madrid famously failed at the last 16 stage repeatedly until finally making the semi finals last season. [...]
In the biggest match in world football you expect many things to happen, some good, some great and some unwanted. However the racist abuse that rained down on Wednesday night at the Nou Camp was something far beyond simple accusations of bent refs and diving footballers. No it wasn’t all 90,000 people within the stadium directing vile racist hate towards the black players on the pitch, but there was a large enough element of the support doing it that it [...]
Barcelona will win the league table, Real Madrid will cry about it and Malaga will finish in the top four. This is just one of the possible outcomes at the end of the 2011/12 season and would seem one that is very plausible and even likely considering the current state of Spanish football. Certainly how far Malaga can go with their new team and Qatari owners will be one of the most interesting stories in European football this season. As [...]
In three years time the World Cup in Brazil will have just have finished. It will have been the first World Cup held in South America since 1978 and the whole continent will hope to put on a show not just off the pitch, but on it too. This Copa America should have been a chance for Brazil and Argentina to show the world that they are forces to be reckoned with. In the same way that winning the European [...]
