A FEW weeks ago, the La Liga race looked a foregone conclusion with Atlético Madrid 10 points clear and favourites to lift their first title since 2014. Real Madrid and Barcelona, were shot, fading forces with old players, financial pressure and internal politics. Diego Simeone’s team were in full flow, supposedly more adventurous than ever […]
THERE was a little introspection in Madrid, Barcelona and Seville after the first legs of the UEFA Champions League, with Spanish football officials fearing a series of setbacks had signalled the decline of the most successful nation in European club competitions. Like most events big or small, disappointment was accompanied by social media-driven over-reaction and […]
FOOTBALL is a results business, so for Chelsea, it was a case of job done in Bucharest. But if it is also deemed to be an entertainment industry, then it was, at times, white handkerchief territory in the Arena Nationala at times. Curiously, nobody has really considered the pandemic could be a competitive disadvantage for […]
THIS could finally be the season when the stranglehold starts to loosen across European football and some of the top leagues finally celebrate a new champion. According to CIES Football Observatory, trophies in Portugal, Spain, Italy and France will be changing hands, while Manchester City will regain the Premier League they last won in 2019. Bayern […]
WITH Spain’s big two struggling to live up to their illustrious names, Real Sociedad and Atlético Madrid have emerged as title contenders in the early months of 2020-21. While Sociedad have been boosted by the arrival of David Silva, Diego Simeone’s side are going through something of a reinvention and their new look is winning […]
FOR the second night running, the Champions League delivered an intriguing tie that kept the stay-at-home crowd on the edge of their sofas and underlined the competition’s ability to thrill. Leipzig, the much-discussed product of corporate football, edged their way to the last four of the Champions League at the expense of a club that […]
ONLY three times since the UEFA Champions League was formed have both of the previous season’s finalists exited at the round of 16 stage. The structure of the competition is designed to allow the rich to become successful, so that fact should come as no great surprise. The Champions League has become the playground of […]
WITH Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in their autumn years and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a retirement tour, the football world is asking itself where is the royal line of succession? Kylian Mbappé is being touted as the greatest thing since Pelé and there are big hopes for Atlético Madrid’s João Félix, but are these players […]
CAN ANYONE end Barcelona’s recent dominance of La Liga? After a summer of big signings and the announcement of record revenues, Barca look stronger than last year and with Real Madrid enduring a miserable pre-season and Atlético Madrid in transition, it could be a third consecutive title – and nine in 12 – for the […]
