Countdown to Brazil: Part 1 – FIFA World Cup 1978
“With what I know now, I can’t say I’m proud of my victory. But I didn’t realise; most of us didn’t. We just played football. In hindsight, we should never have played…
The quest for La Decima via Equilibrio
“Equilibrio” That one word was ever present in Carlo Ancelotti’s press conferences since he signed up to be Madrid’s coach. It was also the one thing that Mou-drid lacked. For all of…
In defence of Tiki Taka
Chelsea and Bayern Munich lost their respective Champions League semi-finals. They did not just lose, but rather both teams were comprehensively out-played and beaten comfortably. On the tactical spectrum, Mourinho and Pep…
Olivier Giroud: Part Deux
(All statistics in this piece are from WhoScored and Squawka.) Over a year ago, I wrote ‘Olivier Giroud: A bit more than what meets the eye’ for Football Paradise. The Frenchman has…
Ryan Giggs: Holding you Together, since ’91
This article is not about the number of games he played, or the goals he scored or any other statistic. You can find them very easily on Google. But that will not…
Barca – Més que un club en problems
2013 was supposed to a year of revolution at Barcelona. With the now late Tito Vilanova unable to continue, the club were going to appoint a manager for the first time…
…She said it’s for The Arsenal, And we’re going to Wembley!
Securing victory in 5 consecutive matches takes you to the final and 6 victories wins you the trophy. That is the glamour of the FA Cup. Practically every professional team in England…
Walk on with hope in your heart
There are multiple ways to play football. There are multiple systems which work as frameworks for teams to promulgate a club’s, it’s locality’s and a country’s cultural heritage – simply by the…
ó, aqueles dias!
Confederations Cup final, 2013. Brazil vs Spain. Neymar gave one of his best performances till date and guided the home nation to a rather fantastic 3-0 victory. Saying that Gerard Pique and…
Schizophrenic Arsenal
What has this season come to? It’s a rhetoric question and I don’t know the answer to it myself. Every devoted supporter feels an immense pain when their club gets knocked about…
I’m a United fan and I’m not a Plastic!
“My Name is Khan, and I’m not a terrorist.” Yes, I’ve clearly plagiarised this and modified it into my article title. Congratulations on your genius, if you screamed “Aha!” as soon as…
The legend of Carles Puyol
The year is 2009. The venue is the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Cristiano Ronaldo, the Ballon D’Or winner, is looking to the skies for divine inspiration as Leo Messi, perhaps the shortest…
Demichelis, City’s achilles
As the ball bounced towards the byline in the 25th minute of the F.A Cup encounter between Wigan and Manchester City, Marc Antoine Fortune probably saw Martin Demichelis close in on his…
Little Mozart continues to orchestrate
English commentators are bound to look at another few years of struggling to pronounce Tomas Rosicky’s name correctly with the 33-year-old midfielder signing a new contract with Arsenal in the past week…
Terry-fic : Part Deux
We’re 10 games from the end of the Premier League, but it’s still impossible to predict who will win. Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool all have realistic chances of taking the no.1…
How Will History Treat Monsieur Rooney?
So, Wayne Rooney has put pen to paper and signed a contract till 2019, and in all probability, with the revelation that he will be a club ambassador once he retires, he…
You’re not that important
Jordan Brian Henderson. In the summer of 2012, Jordan Henderson was offered to Fulham in a last ditch attempt by Liverpool to land Clint Dempsey. An year after what would be a…
FA Cup: Arsenal 2 – 1 Liverpool
“For me, one of the highlights of yesterday’s game was the unanimous chanting of Sir Tom Finney’s name by both the Arsenal and Liverpool fans. Most of these fans have never seen…
Neymar – Underhand Tactics or Illegal Deals?
Neymar. Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior. Millionaire. Pretty-boy. FC Barcelona. Attacker. All facts. Transfer fee from Santos FC to FC Barcelona? ‘€57 million? LIES!!’, as the accusation taken to court by a…
Lu-lu-lu-Lukas Podolski!
“If there is one (player) you want to see in front of the goal in a shooting position, it is him because Podolski is certainly one of the best finishers I have…
What’s the Mata with United, Moyesy? – Life after Fergie, Part I
When I wrote “20 and counting!” – when we won the Premier League last season – little did I know that in the coming winter transfer window, I would be re-reading “So,…
Football – A rather dangerous ride
Football insults your intelligence. While that is the truth, it is not the whole truth. Football doesn’t just insult your intelligence, it also emotionally cripples you, screws up your social relationships and…
His return could turn out to be in the Nik of time
Nicklas Bendtner has always split opinions. If you want a footballer to keep his head down, be humble about his achievements and always put the team first, stick the Dane at the…
The best of Portugal v. The Scourge of FIFA
Marvelous, quick, insanely accurate, two-footed, expert marksman, fox in the box, towering header of the ball, trickster, man with the bulletproof attitude. A player so amazing, the comments made by the fat…