3-4-2-1 Formation

People often obsess over formations and forget that it is the personnel and the actions behind the structure that determine whether a formation becomes functional or not.  The numbers on paper are just a base or a reference point.  What matters is how the system breathes, how players interpret their...

The Bundesliga title race has been dominated by two clubs over the past 15 years. Bayern Munich have been the serial winners of the league, with only Bayer Leverkusen being able to beat them out over the course of a season in recent years (2023/2024). In their first season under...

Milan van Ewijk’s path has been anything but straightforward. Born in Amsterdam on the eighth of September, 2000, and of Surinamese descent, he didn’t come through one of the big Eredivisie academies. After spending time in Feyenoord’s youth setup, he had to start over at Excelsior Maassluis, playing senior football...

Juventus faced AC Milan at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw that certainly did not suit either team. Both sides had goal-scoring opportunities in the match, but neither team was capable of exploiting them as they should have, missing a golden chance to...

Kamaldeen Sulemana has recently joined Atalanta from Southampton for a fee that reached £18m. He follows his former head coach Ivan Jurić, who also had his first experience in the Premier League managing the Saints last season. Although Jurić’s experience with Southampton was unsuccessful, leading to relegation despite high hopes for...

It is easy to lose track of the number of players Chelsea have purchased since the new ownership took control at Stamford Bridge.  The club’s model has focused on the pursuit of high‑ceiling youth, banking on contracts of extraordinary length and the potential of later resale value. Among that recruitment...

Even though Leverkusen and Mönchengladbach are relatively close to each other, most fans wouldn’t call the game a derby, simply because it lacks tradition. Still, this Sunday's game between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the BayArena had a lot of eyes on it, but not for the right reasons....

Juventus played their first UEFA Champions League match of the 2025/2026 season against Borussia Dortmund, and the game ended with a very dramatic late draw after the Bianconeri scored their fourth goal to equalise. The result cannot be considered positive for Juventus, as they were playing at home and were...

Bradford City have long been one of the biggest ‘fallen giants’ in English football. Last appearing in the Premier League in 2000/2001 when they finished bottom of the table, the Bantams spent the last six seasons in EFL League Two before finally managing to earn promotion to the third tier...

The Dutch Eredivisie is already approaching its fourth matchday, and after three games, a huge surprise has emerged at the top. Instead of the usual names like Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord Rotterdam or AZ Alkmaar, NEC Nijmegen are leading the league heading into the weekend. Scoring 12 goals while conceding...

Fenerbahçe hosted Benfica at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League playoff round, which determines which team will advance to the League Phase. The match ended with a disappointing 0-0 draw from the perspective of Fenerbahçe, the home side. Sarı Kanaryalar were not able to impose their...

In one of the most surprising transfers of the European summer window, Nicolò Tresoldi (born 20th of August 2004) made the move from Hannover 96 to Club Brugge. The 21-year-old centre-forward had been attracting attention in Germany’s 2. Bundesliga for some time, so his switch to Belgium came as a...

Manchester United lost their first game of the 2025/2026 Premier League season at Old Trafford against Arsenal, despite showing some positive signs and confirming to their fans that they are ready to be more decisive and more competitive than last season. Manchester United showed great discipline and willingness to score,...

Very few footballing nations can claim a defensive lineage as rich as Italy. From Paolo Maldini's elegance to Fabio Cannavaro's grit to Franco Baresi's authority, Italian defending has long been an art form. Now, a new name is beginning to echo through the corridors of calcio tradition. That name is Parma's 18-year-old sensation: Giovanni Leoni....

In the 2020s, the Swedish Allsvenskan has been very competitive overall, but in the end, the result stayed the same for most years. Over the last couple of years, Malmö FF have won four out of five Swedish top-flight titles, with only BK Häcken being able to win one in...

Following a thoroughly disappointing 2024/2025 season, wherein they finished 15th in the Premier League and lost the UEFA Europa League Final to Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United need to undergo a significant squad upheaval for the upcoming season. With the Manchester United transfer of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo finalised, Ruben Amorim's next...

Birmingham City have completed the signing of Japan international Kyōgo Furuhashi from Stade Rennais for an undisclosed fee. The 30-year-old joined Rennes in January and leaves having made just six goalless appearances in his short stint at the club. Before this, Kyōgo spent four seasons in Scotland, playing for Celtic, the reigning...

Following a season spent at Chelsea, Jadon Sancho returned to Manchester United with one season left in his contract. Given that the Red Devils are not planning to keep Sancho, as they do not believe he fits Ruben Amorim tactics, the latest rumours suggest that Man United are in advanced...

Real Madrid eliminated Juventus from the Round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup with a 1-0 win. Los Blancos advance to the Club World Cup quarter-finals, where they will go on to face Borussia Dortmund. The match confirmed that I Bianconeri will need to make some remarkable adjustments...

The 2024/2025 EFL Championship season was a disappointing one for both Rob Edwards and Middlesbrough. Edwards began the season managing Luton Town, off the back of Premier League relegation in 2023/2024. His side entered the year as top-six favourites, but by January, he had been sacked with his team firmly...