Since gaining independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, Croatia’s national football team qualified for…
Tag: Lionel Messi
Messi, Lusail, and closing a personal chapter
“Everyone remembers their firsts. The memory of my first taste of football is tangled up…
Give it to Messi and Pray: Netherlands vs Argentina
Give it to Messi and pray. Now. Tomorrow. The day after. Tonight, especially tonight. Give…
Life without Lo Celso: Argentina in need of dynamic solutions in Qatar
Do Argentina miss Giovani Lo Celso, that remarkable presence on the left side of Lionel Scaloni’s midfield that makes things happen? We take a look after Saudi Arabia humbled the Albiceleste at the World Cup in Qatar.
The Champions League Final is Damned and Doomed: Part I
Barrie Davies’s journey to the Champions League Final takes a turn when he finds a…
Kylian Mbappé’s New Residence: Top of the Football World
Kylian Mbappé’s transfer saga, where he played two of Europe’s most prominent clubs off each…
Maradona and Messi Walk Into a Pub: The Anatomy of a Great Debate
There is no place for the Dialectical Method in football. The rabidly tribal football fanatic…
Booze and the Boardroom – Watching Messi Leave
It must be 5:00 PM somewhere in the world. That’s what I tell myself as…
The dance of the virtuoso: Lessons from the World Cup
The platitude of football being a team game has been heard by everyone, but we…
The Messi vs Ronaldo Debate is the Low-point of Modern Football Conversation
Like the mythological snake, Ouroboros, the self-consuming egos of Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi have…
Blood, sweat and toil: The foundations for the legacy of Cristiano Ronaldo
In his relentless quest for personal improvement, Cristiano Ronaldo has given fans a most important…
Good, but not quite elite: The story of Edin Džeko – Part 2
When Željezničar sold Edin Džeko, one of their owners called the €25,000 fee a lottery.…
Football’s Finest Supervillain – Cristiano Ronaldo Hijacking Messi’s Glory
From being a thought crime in 2012 to a thought experiment in 2017, the idea…
The political power of Diego Maradona through five World Cups – Part 1
Diego Maradona is probably the biggest enigma football has known in its history. He was…
FC Barcelona, The Fox in a Wolf’s Den – An Alternative Match Report
AS Roma vs Barcelona played out like one of Aesop’s Fables. Barcelona, the wily fox…
Portugal in Russia 2018: Small beams of hope on a cloudy horizon
Portugal enter this year’s World Cup as defending European champions, but a few things about…
Domination in the DNA – A perspective on Pep Guardiola’s Man City
Pep Guardiola is akin to a Roman Emperor – a man who plans, controls and…
Barcelona 6-1 PSG: When Neymar introduced anarchy in 7 minutes
Barcelona 6-1 PSG: The greatest legacy of the Catalans’ epic comeback was what it did…
The Lords of the Ball – J.R.R. Tolkien’s Legacy and FC Barcelona
The unlikeliest confluence of FC Barcelona with JRR Tolkien’s works of high fantasy. Join us,…
The Foundations of A Dynasty – An Ode to Victor Valdes
World football’s most thankless job was Victor Valdes’ bread and butter, cementing his legend in…