There is a legitimate argument to be made for Adolf Hitler being responsible for one of the greatest sides football has ever seen. Germany never impressed under Nazi rule and they didn’t even have a professional league until 1963 – Hitler paid more attention to the Olympics, using football to his advantage but not to…
I am not a superstitious person: I do not try to avoid black cats, I step on cracks in the pavement, and I avoid breaking mirrors because it’s just plain impractical. If there was ever a person to make me question those beliefs though, it’s Michael Ballack. Having worn the number 13 shirt at every…
Ukraine’s opening game of Euro 2012 against Sweden was the perfect send-off for Andriy Shevchenko. Before the game Shevchenko was talked about, yet it was mostly backhanded discussion – he was one of few recognisable names on the Ukrainian roster, but debate was more about whether or not he would complete the 90 minutes than…
The long term readers among you might notice that this isn’t the first time we have discussed Helenio Herrera’s Internazionale side. Seeing as we have already discussed this Inter side’s tactical set-up, there is little need to cover old ground, so we will look at some of the other reasons people believe they achieved greatness.…
All statistics are from InStat Football. 1) Andrea Pirlo ran the game Post-match the focus was on the Juventus man, just as it had been before the game. Pirlo had been singled out as the one England needed to stop and yet they did an appalling job of doing so. Early on, Danny Welbeck and…
In a tense match bereft of quality, the result was decided by Poland’s main flank: the right one. With Poland needing a win it was odd Smuda selected the same team that set out to stop a highly efficient Russia side playing on the counter, starting the match in a 4-1-4-1 with Robert Lewandowski up…
As the battles between fans outside the stadium threatened to steal the headlines, Franciszek Smuda and Dick Advocaat prepared their sides for what looked, and proved to be (so far), the most interesting match of Group A. Russia were unchaged in their 4-3-3 but Smuda looked to solidify his midfield by bringing in Dariusz Dudka…
A brief rekindling under Louis van Gaal aside, it has been a testing few years for Bayern fans, often playing second fiddle to a couple of clubs. Battling their way through to the Champions League final at their own stadium, things seemed to be boding well for Bayern: as well as the benefit of playing…
On the 18th of May 1994, Fabio Capello became a European champion for the first and only time in his career. Having spent the week listening to the taunts of his opposite number Johan Cruyff over the boring style he employed compared to his predecessor Arrigo Sacchi, Capello’s Milan took the more impressive Barcelona Dream…
