Analysis

Addressing the topic of a player's value is extremely difficult in world football, especially when comparing across positions and even ascribing value to a player specific to the team they play for. One way to define "value" is an equivalence to importance. That is to say, a player is valuable because he is important to his team, and the "Most Valuable Player", which is the phrasing Serie A uses for its annual award in a hearken to American sports, is therefore the player who helped his team the most. But in this article ,I'd like to discuss value in a less nebulous but equally challenging realm, which is a player's financial value on the transfer market in a perfect vacuum in which leverage, contract, and overall situation are taken out. Let's take a look at the most valuable pla...

As a position, center backs are underrated in general, because they have to do so much heavy lifting to stop the opposition's best attackers and are being tasked with more playmaking and on-the-ball ability under pressure - even moreso in modern football than ever before. Here are 10 center backs who are especially underrated. These are young players who haven't yet been picked out as top transfer targets, or they are more experienced players in their primes who have somehow flown under the radar, largely because they star for clubs outside of the spotlight. Joachim Andersen, Crystal Palace Even though Joachim Anderen has been operating at the highest level while starting for Crystal Palace in the Premier League, the vast majority of fans around the world don't know how good he is. ...

The 2024/25 Serie A season will kick off on Aug. 17 with the likes of Inter Milan and AC Milan in action, and after winning the league by nearly 20 points, the Nerazzurri will be out to achieve even more, perhaps looking to get back to the Champions League Final. Serie A underwent a lot of turnover this past summer, mainly from perennial disappointments Juventus, who finally axed Max Allegri and replaced him with Thiago Motta - the darling manager who nearly led fairytale side Bologna to the Champions League. Although the summer 2024 transfer window in Serie A is far from settled with players like Federico Chiesa and Tammy Abraham mired in intraleague transfer rumors, enough deals have been made so that we can fairly take stock of the window thus far. Here is a look at every team'...

After finishing sixth in LaLiga and missing out on the Champions League, Real Sociedad will head into the 2024/25 without their top-performing player of the previous campaign, center midfielder Mikel Merino. Despite that, there are still plenty of great Real Sociedad players worth knowing and watching closely next season - and not just because a couple of them could be headed to "bigger" European clubs. Before the 2024/25 LaLiga season gets under way, let's take a look at a handful of the best Real Sociedad players every world football fan needs to know. AM Takefusa Kubo Takefusa Kubo has to be the most recognizable name in the Real Sociedad squad, as he is legitimately one of the most exciting players to watch in world football because of his acceleration, close control, and emerg...

Before Schalke nearly became the worst team in the history of German football, they were literally the third-biggest club in the country behind Bayern Munich and arch rivals Borussia Dortmund. In fact, just two years before the bottom started to fall out, Schalke finished the season second behind Bayern. Heck, that very 2019/20 season during which they collapsed in the second half of the campaign, the Royal Blues were second at the end of the Hinrunde. Schalke are a proud club, and their "Knappenschmiede" academy has literally produced some of the greatest players in the history of German football. So let's honor Schalke and some of its legends of the recent past by looking at the 10 best players the Royal Blues ever developed from the ground up. GK Manuel Neuer We have to begin wi...

Inter Milan have one of the most enviable midfields in European football, and this group of players have brought the Nerazzurri a great deal of success under manager Simone Inzaghi. Just two seasons ago, Inter were in the Champions League Final against the mighty Manchester City and the most expensive squad ever made, and if it weren't for some finishing woes, Inter may have added the Champions League trophy to the Coppa Italia that year. Inter's excellence in the second half of the 2023/24 season was a sign of things to come, as the most overlooked of the powerhouse clubs in Italy won the Scudetto for a second time in four seasons. Lautaro Martinez received Ballon d'Or love and new signings Yann Sommer and Marcus Thuram were both tremendous, but Hakan Calhanoglu stole a lot of he...

In all honesty, Sevilla have been pretty terrible lately, so you'd be forgiven if you forgot that they are legitimately one of the biggest clubs in Spanish football and were in the LaLiga title discussion with Real Madrid as recently as the first half of the 2021/22 season. But since then, Sevilla have been a step above Spain's Schalke or Bordeaux, finishing 12th and 14th in LaLiga in the last two seasons. They were even flirting with relegation in the 2022/23 season before winning the Europa League and charging up the table under miracle-worker Jose Luis Mendilibar. Right now, Sevilla are so bereft of talent that Valencia's Peter Lim is probably feeling pretty good about himself in comparison. They just sold their only legitimate goal-scoring threat, Youssef En-Nesyri, to Fenerbahce...

All football fans have dreamed of becoming a professional football player and having the experience of playing at the top level. Despite the many perks of becoming a professional, it's not all fun and games for every player. While all players suffer setbacks in their careers, some experience tremendous bad fortune. Whether it was due to injury or always being on the wrong team at the wrong time, some could simply not catch a break. Let's delve into the top 3 footballers who, despite their talent and dedication, encountered remarkable adversity and misfortune throughout their careers. Iñigo Martínez Iñigo Martínez has had a mixed career, often finding himself in difficult situations. While he helped Real Sociedad reach the Champions League in 2013 and the Copa del Rey semifinals in ...