Thomas Levin on the 4-4-2-loving wheeler-dealer.
Lucas Leiva arrived on Merseyside as the hottest property from Brazil. At 20, he had captained Gremio and his national youth side, also gaining senior caps, and became the youngest player to win the Bola de Ouro, joining the esteemed company of Zico, Falcao, Romario, Kaka and Carlos Tevez. Liverpool fans thought they were onto a winner;…
A potentially perfect or awful game for Roberto Mancini depending on the result. With just one win in six and the same amount of points at the same stage last season, the questions over whether or not he’s bettered his predecessor Mark Hughes have been brought up with alarming regularity over the last few weeks.…
Stoke City are probably one of the most easily detestable teams in the Premier League. Not only is their play ugly, but through it they tarnish one of the greatest loves English football has: the underdog. The great underdogs take on their Goliaths and better them; Stoke attempt to bring their opponents down to their…
In 1973, Liverpool exited the European Cup to Miljan Miljanic’s Red Star Belgrade. Having lost the away leg just 2-1, Bill Shankly had every reason to be optimistic about progressing to the quarter-finals, but an impressive counter-attacking game by the Yugoslavians ensured they went through. It was time for introspection. Upon emergence from the famous…
