Champions League

12 Greatest Club Sides: 12) Juventus 1994-1998

January 1, 2012
By Joshua Askew
12 Greatest Club Sides: 12) Juventus 1994-1998

This is the first in a 12-part series examining one-by-one the teams I believe to be the twelve greatest club sides in football history. Bear in mind the selection is completely based on my own opinion and picking the twelve greatest sides out of the hundreds and thousands that have played the game down the…

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Universality May Not Be the Answer – Part Two

June 30, 2011
By Joshua Askew
Universality May Not Be the Answer – Part Two

Something that’s always bothered me when discussing the glory days of Serie A is that Fabio Capello’s first stint at Milan (excluding his brief caretaker role in 1987) is so often attributed to Arrigo Sacchi. In a recent article comparing Sacchi’s Milan with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, Jonathan Wilson claimed “a version of this fixture did…

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Breaking down Spurs’ defensive troubles in Europe

December 10, 2010
By Joshua Askew
Breaking down Spurs’ defensive troubles in Europe

After Tottenham qualified for the Champions League, among the excitement were question marks over Harry Redknapp’s tactical acumen and how much success Tottenham’s 4-4-2 could sustain on the continent. For the most part, Harry has shown he can be a clever tactician even if he doesn’t consider himself one – calling more into question whether he knows…

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Mourinho vs Barcelona: A Game of Two Years

December 6, 2010
By Joshua Askew
Mourinho vs Barcelona: A Game of Two Years

Plenty of people that Barcelona’s incredible 5-0 El Clasico win over Real Madrid had little to do tactics, and they had a point: when teams go out with a similar gameplan, it comes down to who can execute it better, but saying that makes it sound as if the Catalans are untouchable. They aren’t, and…

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Manchester United vs. Chelsea – Game Theory, a Basque economist and John Terry’s tears

October 30, 2010
By Joshua Askew
Manchester United vs. Chelsea – Game Theory, a Basque economist and John Terry’s tears

The general feeling surrounding Chelsea’s 2008 Champions League run is that it was done in spite of Avram Grant, rather than because of him. Perhaps it was, however his networking could well have tipped the balance in Chelsea’s favour should their final game against Manchester United go to penalties if any footballing knowledge he may…

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