FOOTBALL’s polarisation over the past decade has prompted league administrators and business people to discuss solutions that can prevent their clubs from being marginalised. The game has become corporatized, meaning money talks louder than ever before in football. Size really does matter, both for a club and a league. The top five leagues in Europe […]
FEYENOORD recently revealed the pandemic has been comparatively kind to them, partly due to their own prudent processes but also because the club’s fans and partners waived any compensation claims for an unfinished season in 2019-20. Feyenoord made a net loss of around € 6.7 million for the campaign, but their turnover increased from € […]
A YEAR ago, Ajax were the darlings of Europe as they disposed of Juventus and Real Madrid and looked set to reach the UEFA Champions League final. In 2020, Ajax have left the European stage already having lost to Getafe in the Europa League, and they are being seriously challenged at the top of the […]
AJAX charmed Europe in 2018-19 season and players like Donny van de Beek, Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs de Ligt all won rave reviews for their performances in the UEFA Champions League. But the Dutch side’s success was also owed to the presence of Hakim Ziyech, a 26 year-old Morocco international whose virtuosity and creative […]
THIS IS a club that has called on the methods of Billy Beane of Moneyball fame. A club that has a reputation for bringing on home-grown talent. They’re also dynamic data wizards and come from a town best known for cheese. AZ Alkmaar have a playing budget that amounts to around 25% of the mighty […]
AJAX’s renaissance last season was always going to be short-lived as Europe’s big clubs were waiting in the wings for their chance to pounce on the best players. Those hung up on presentism expressed their surprise that a team from the Netherlands could compete with the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus, even though the […]
EVERYBODY expected Ajax’s renaissance in 2018-19 would come to a shuddering halt as they started to lose their key players to Europe’s elite band of clubs. When Ajax were beaten in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League, thanks to a heartbreakingly late goal, the conclusion was that an exciting young team had probably lost […]
FREE MOVEMENT of people is one of the basic rights across the European Union, allowing cross-border travel and employment opportunities. It has many benefits, some of which will become apparent to the United Kingdom’s population when the country does stumble uncomfortably out of the EU. While this has opened-up the world, or at least part […]
HE MAY have been blonde and an Ajax player, but Ruud Geels is rarely mentioned in conversations when the great Dutch masters are discussed. Could it be that he was prematurely balding in a time when long, flowing hair was de rigeur, or the fact he was overshadowed by more celebrated players. Or perhaps it was because […]
