We’re just over a week away from the beginning of the 2025/2026 Ligue 1 campaign. At RC Strasbourg, newly appointed club captain Emmanuel Emegha (196cm/6’5”, 83kg/182 lbs) is going through his final pre-season preparations as he gets ready to lead his club into the new season. They intend to compete...
Olympique de Marseille have signed Argentine defender Facundo Medina on a season-long loan from Ligue 1 rivals RC Lens. This is one of the team's most important signings for the upcoming 2025/2026 Ligue 1 season. Under Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi, in his first season at the club, Marseille finished second...
Following a successful treble-winning season, Paris Saint-Germain are in the market to make upgrades to their squad. The UEFA Champions League winners, who already boast a world-class group of players, will aim to enhance depth and build for the long term. From this perspective, the centre-back position is one of...
Welcome to another instalment of our budget-friendly series. Last week, we released a list of four budget-friendly strikers who could join middle- or low-level clubs in Europe's top-five leagues. Now, we're moving on to midfielders. The idea is the same: to find affordable midfielders with decent attributes, numbers or qualities...
If we look at the latest transfer rumours, it seems that everyone is talking about the same strikers: Viktor Gyökeres, Benjamin Sesko, Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak, and Nick Woltemade. It all makes sense, given that those names are usually linked with the big clubs. But it's also interesting to see...
As coaches prepare for the upcoming season, implementing a cohesive pressing system is crucial for teams seeking to control games when they do not have the ball and when trying to force the opposition to play into areas they feel they can exploit. Working on a variety of pressing options...
Adi Hütter’s AS Monaco finished a respectable third place behind Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille in the 2024/2025 Ligue 1 season. Going into his third season as head coach, the Austrian will have some high-profile signings at his disposal—Paul Pogba, who returns after serving his 18-month ban, was one of the biggest stories in...
Earlier this week, French football was rocked by the news that Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) will be relegated to Ligue 2 for 2025/2026. The relegation was handed to Lyon by the DNCG, French football’s financial watchdog, pending an appeal. The instability surrounding one of France’s biggest and most historic clubs represents...
Thiago Almada floats across the pitch like any playmaker raised in the Rioplatense school. He manages tight spaces, has lightning‑quick changes of pace, uses pauses as synonymous with rhythm, and delivers sharp passes (with a broad range of them). However, despite floating and possessing the traits of a classic Argentine...
In the modern era of football, the term 'overload' is typically applied to pressing or attacking actions. The term is essentially used to describe when a team creates an advantage, such as a numerical advantage, over the opposition in certain situations to achieve their goal. The objective may be different. In the context of...
The end of the season is always a time for reflection. One year ago, Total Football Analysis published our first-ever Ligue 1 Team of the Season for the 2023/2024 campaign. Now, we’re back again with an all-star XI from the French top flight for the 2024/2025 campaign, which saw Luis...
Many football fans will recall when 16-year-old Angel Gomes made his senior debut for Manchester United. In the final match of the 2016/2017 Premier League season, Gomes entered the pitch in the 88th minute, replacing Wayne Rooney during a 2-0 win against Crystal Palace. This appearance put his name in...
Dribbling has long been one of football’s most eye-catching actions—a burst of creativity capable of shifting momentum in an instant. This tactical analysis examines how dribbling serves as a strategic mechanism within various systems and styles of play, focusing on the roles of Rafael Leão at AC Milan, Jamal Musiala at Bayern Munich, Ousmane Dembélé at Paris Saint-Germain, and the...
Tanner Tessmann is a very interesting profile, a right-footed 6/8, and possibly the best midfielder from the United States. He joined Olympique Lyon from Venezia on August 24, 2024, spending the past season in France. Before he moved to Venezia, he was still playing in the MLS with FC Dallas,...
This tactical analysis of RC Strasbourg will analyse how Liam Rosenior has the Ligue 1 side fighting for European football with an exciting attacking style of play. Rosenior took over the Alsace club in July 2024. With three games of this season left to play, including one against UEFA Champions...
Désiré Doué is having a season to remember, with 10 goals and 11 assists in 41 games and 2,259 minutes. At just 19 years old, he's already becoming a massive player for the club and country. He has also received his first senior call-up for the French national team. Coming...
Djordje Petrović (194cm / 6’4”, 89kg / 196lbs) has been one of Ligue 1’s top goalkeepers in the 2024/2025 campaign. The 25-year-old Serbia international is playing a crucial role in Strasbourg’s fight for UEFA Champions League qualification, with Liam Rosenior’s side currently placed fifth in the league, one point behind...
Welcome back to the third instalment of my series of articles, which takes a data-driven approach to player ID and recruitment in football. In the first two, I have looked at centre-backs, taking a close look at the roles of 'Dominant Defender' and 'Ball-Playing Defender'. This time around, it is...
Just over one year ago, Mika Biereth (187cm/6’2”, 78kg/171lbs) joined Austrian Bundesliga side SK Sturm Graz on loan until the end of the 2023/24 campaign — a season which Sturm Graz would end as league title winners for the first time in 13 years under the guidance of current TSG...
Plenty of eyes have turned to Germany U21 international and FC Köln academy product Jonas Urbig following his €7m move to Bundesliga giants FC Bayern. On his arrival at Bayern, Urbig has been coined the ‘heir apparent’ to Manuel Neuer, while the 21-year-old was drawing comparisons to Barcelona’s Marc-André Ter...
