World Football

Forget Gotze, Five Bundesliga Prospects To Watch During The Summer

May 102013

This article was written by guest writer Cameron Kilmister. You can find more of his work on his own blog here. All the transfer talk coming from the Bundesliga nmight be focused on Mario Gotze’s £31.5 million move to Dortmunds arch rivals, Bayern Munich and to be honest, why wouldn’t all the focus be on him. This is a player who has been dubbed as one of the greatest talents to emerge from a German clubs youth academy, and at the age of 20 he still has a bright long career ahead of him. Yet Gotze is not the only promising looking player to emerge from a youth academy in the Bundesliga. Over the last decade the Read more..

Olympic Football Preview – Livening up The Games

Brazilian Football, Olympic Football, World Football

Jul 222012

Olympic Football Preview - Livening up The Games

If watching people chasing each other around a track, or throwing objects around on a field isn’t your idea of entertainment, then there are plenty of other sports at the Olympic games to keep you half interested. After the much hyped build up to the games it’s natural to feel disappointed when you realise athletics isn’t really that good to watch, and the goings on at your local baths are more exciting than the 200 metre freestyle swimming. To put it in a football context, it’s similar to the build up to an England performance at a major tournament – all hype, expectation, sponsorship and waffle – but not much of an end product. The Read more..

Tweets on Nationalism – Football, Obsession, and Orwell

Analysis, Philosophy, World Football

Mar 302012

Tweets on Nationalism – Football, Obsession, and Orwell

The world of football is more exposed than ever thanks to the internet. The global game has become increasingly more accessible, and the amount of people following the game online multiplies each day. Elementary translation services provided by services such as Google, or Bing, mean foreign texts can be badly translated and taken out of context; and every club, nation, manager, and player is covered by some blog, tweet, journalist or podcast somewhere in the ether. Football fans have never had it so good, as the overpriced TV channels show leagues from all over the globe, and even if you can’t access these the internet allows you to keep up with results and news in Read more..

This January Transfer Window: Paris Sounds Good

Transfer Rumours, World Football

Dec 292011

This January Transfer Window: Paris Sounds Good

There aren’t many transfer rumours lately that aren’t related in some roundabout way to Paris Saint-Germain. We’ve already covered the possible transfer of Leandro Damiao, and the long list of European teams who are hoping to sign him – a list which includes PSG. But the transfer of Damiao to France will depend on whether or not PSG can sign Hulk from Porto, who is also wanted by Chelsea, or if they can lure Alexandre Pato from AC Milan. At the moment, it looks like the latter story has the most truth to it, as Pato is thought to relish the chance to join a club on the way up in which he can be Read more..

Studying Football Tactics at The Universidad de Chile

Analysis, Tactics, World Football

Dec 252011

Studying Football Tactics at The Universidad de Chile

Since Barcelona’s rise to power as the dominant force in world football, tacticians have been exhaustively analysing their methods and style to the nth degree. Barcelona are the successful, world renowned embodiment of certain tactical systems, which make their style of play the subject of many a debate, and numerous analyses. Once the obvious exhibit has been dissected thoroughly, the studious football writer needs to look elsewhere to fulfil their desire to explain tactics to people and draw crap diagrams which don’t really mean much. This is what they found in their search for an alternative. Make sure you include or at least reference the following: Marcelo Bielsa. Cruyff, Michels and Total Football – this might Read more..

Don’t Worry Santos, Barcelona Do This to Everyone

Brazilian Football, FIFA Club World Cup, World Football

Dec 212011

Don't Worry Santos, Barcelona Do This to Everyone

Santos 0 – 4 Barcelona Everyone was waiting to see Messi versus Neymar, and Santos had been waiting for months to test themselves against the best team Europe has to offer – one of the best teams Europe has ever offered. After an average domestic season in which Santos finished 10th in the Brasileiro and only qualified for next seasons Copa Libertadores by being the defending champions, all thoughts were on the World Club Cup, and a faceoff between the best players on their respective continents. A sense of anticipation emanated from Brazil as a nation; they were represented in the final of this intercontinental competition for the first time since 2006, but the main Read more..

Barcelona Defeat Al Sadd – But Lose Villa to Injury

FIFA Club World Cup, World Football

Dec 152011

Barcelona Defeat Al Sadd - But Lose Villa to Injury

Barcelona set up the Club World Cup final tie predicted by everyone at the start of the tournament, as they defeated Al Sadd by four goals to nil in front of over 66,000 people at the Nissan Stadium, Yokohama. The win came at a price though, as their Spanish star striker David Villa suffered a broken leg which will rule him out for the rest of the season, and probably next summer’s European Championships. A blow for Barcelona, and for Spain. Brazilian club Santos await Barcelona in the final, and Barcelona’s goals against Al Sadd had a few Brazilian connections to speak of. The first two goals were scored by Adriano, who played his youth Read more..

Santos (and Neymar) into the Club World Cup Final

Brazilian Football, FIFA Club World Cup, World Football

Dec 142011

Santos (and Neymar) into the Club World Cup Final

Today’s World Club Cup fixture saw South American representatives, Santos of Brazil, show their class to edge past a spirited Kashiwa Reysol side, a result which takes them through to the final of the competition. They will meet the winners of tomorrow’s game between Al Sadd and Barcelona. Many pundits are predicting big things from Santos forward Neymar in the build up to the 2014 World Cup, by which time he will be aged 21 and carrying the hopes of the home nation on his shoulders. Until then he’ll just have to make do with Pele describing him as better than Messi – “I think Neymar is much better, more complete” – and a whole Read more..

FIFA Club World Cup Update – Semi Final Preview

Brazilian Football, FIFA Club World Cup, World Football

Dec 132011

FIFA Club World Cup Update - Semi Final Preview

AFC Champions League holders Al Sadd of Quatar secured themselves a dream tie against Barcelona in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup, after defeating the current CAF Champions League holders AS Tunis by two goals to one. Al Sadd can boast a few relatively familiar names in their line-up – including players such as Nadir Belhadj, Abdul Kader Keita, and Mamadou Niang – all of whom may be familiar to followers of European football. The game will take place at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama this Thursday, the 15th of December, and could draw a large crowd in host nation Japan’s second largest city. The first semi-final will take place the day before, Read more..

Kashiwa Reysol v Auckland City – FIFA Club World Cup

FIFA Club World Cup, World Football

Dec 102011

Kashiwa Reysol v Auckland City - FIFA Club World Cup

Around 18,000 fans turned up to this FIFA Club World Cup opener between Kashiwa Reysol of Japan, and Auckland City of New Zealand, as Kashiwa booked their place in the quarter finals stage of the competition, setting up a tie against C.F. Monterrey of Mexico. This sounds like an impressive attendance for what has been described as a curtain raiser, but problem was that Japan’s Toyota Stadium which hosted the game, has a capacity approaching 40,000, so the fans were rather sparsely scattered and the stadium not half full. The host nation club would perhaps have liked to win by a clearer margin against the New Zealand amateur side, but the Auckland City players gave Read more..

Older Entries