Analysis

Jude Bellingham has been the most popular up-and-coming young midfielder in world football over the past couple of seasons, reaching star status almost immediately after signing with Borussia Dortmund. In the 2022/23 season, Bellingham took a huge step forward in his career as the clear leader and star player for BVB after Erling Haaland's departure to Manchester City. And at 19 years old with his all-around skill set, Bellingham is, in many ways, a more valuable commodity than Haaland Hence why he is reportedly on his way to Real Madrid for a transfer fee exceeding 100 million euros. Let's take a closer look at Jude Bellingham, analyzing his playing style, strengths, and weaknesses before evaluating his overall quality as a player. Playing Style Jude Bellingham is the protot...

Juventus striker Dušan Vlahović was one of the hottest names in European football a couple of seasons ago when he was banging home the goals with Fiorentina. While he did has shown moments of quality for Juve, particularly at the beginning of his tenure, the Serbian international is currently in a difficult moment under Max Allegri. As rumors regarding his future continue to swirl, Vlahović has been subject to heavy criticism from football fans around the world, with some even bluntly surmising that he was never all that good to begin with. Let's take a closer look at Dušan Vlahović as a player, analyzing his strengths and weaknesses, overall playing style, and drawing a final conclusion on his overall quality. Playing Style At Fiorentina, Dušan Vlahović was a goal-scorer's goal-sc...

The story of Joaquín is a perfect tonic for the ruthlessness of modern football. A Real Betis legend for these two stints separated by nine years, an old-school winger who rallied against the winds of change to keep playing in an era where he was unfashionable, and a beloved figure in Spanish football. This is the story of Joaquín, and the legacy he leaves the club. Early years To give him his full name Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez was born in the Andalusian town of El Puerto de Santa María, a town known for producing fellow footballer José Manuel Pinto, but also comedians. Joaquín would be comfortable in the company of both as adoring fans would find out. Although he was from a town not far from Cádiz, Joaquín was a Bético, As are a lot of people in Andalusia. His youth career at Real B...

It's safe to say that Tottenham‘s season under Antonio Conte didn't go anywhere near as many had originally expected. After guiding Tottenham back to the Champions League and being backed by the board, there was a sense that this would be the season that Spurs would finally break that long-awaited trophy drought. Not only this, many thought that they could be outside challengers to win the Premier League title. However, those Premier League chances quickly evaporated and so did their hopes of winning a trophy. Domestically, Nottingham Forest eliminated them from the EFL Cup and then Sheffield United would do the same in the FA Cup. Meanwhile, they were eliminated in the Round of 16 of the Champions League by AC Milan who had not reached the knockout stages of the competition since the 2...

Tottenham's image as a club has drastically changed in the past decade, which has seen the club enjoy a meteoric rise. Although they qualified for the Champions League in 2010 and had future world-class players on their team (Luka Modrić, Gareth Bale, Dimitar Berbatov, etc), the perception around Tottenham was much different than what it currently is. Back then, Spurs were only known as a UEFA/Europa League team and not even taken into consideration for Champions League positions. Players viewed the club as a stepping stone to signing for bigger teams as Tottenham had been known for developing elite players and then making a profit off them. However, Tottenham's fortunes began to change in the 2014/2015 season when the team was in a transitional period and searched for a manager that...

MLS is a retirement league no longer. The American top division is now the leading talent developer in North America and a go-to destination for young South and Central American stars hoping to get noticed by European scouts. Foreign players, like Miguel Almirón, Jack Harrison, and Jhon Duran all broke through in MLS. As did domestic stars, such as Alphonso Davies, Tyler Adams, and Brenden Aaronson. Who will be next to join this list of illustrious alumni of MLS players in Europe? We can’t say for sure, but here are the MLS players who deserve a transfer to Europe this summer. Thiago Almada (Atlanta United, 21) We start our list off strong with perhaps the best young wonderkid applying his trade in MLS right now. Thiago Almada always seemed too good for MLS, but this year he’s real...

Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass is a little over a month old. If you’ve not already subscribed, the new platform lets fans watch every MLS game no matter where they are in the world. MLS Season Pass also comes with coverage for each team and additional MLS programming that covers every game and storyline in the league. This deal is one of a kind among top leagues so we were eager to give our honest thoughts about it, but we also wanted to give MLS and Apple enough time to work through the growing pains of starting a streaming service from scratch. Now that enough time has passed, here are our five takeaways from Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass so far. Apple is all-in on MLS Season Pass If you’re in the US and have watched any sports content over the past few months, you’ve probably seen MLS Sea...

Think of Madrid and you think of Real Madrid, the city's giant football club plays a leading role in Spanish football, let alone in the nation's capital. But, Madrid is far from a one-club city. This Sunday, Rayo Vallecano and Atlético Madrid will face off in LaLiga. A brief history of Atlético and Rayo I'll start with the more well-known club of the two, the city's second club, Atlético Madrid. Founded by Athletic Club fans in 1903, they quickly became more than a Basque project in the capital, but have never quite been able to topple Real Madrid off its perch as the city's number-one club. During the Second World War they became the team of the air force, calling themselves Atlético Aviación de Madrid, and in the 1950's they had something of a golden era. Under the management of Hel...

Bayern München have always been known for poaching not only the best Bundesliga players, but signing them from their nearest league competitor. Throughout the years, particularly since the turn of the century, every time a Bundesliga challenger appeared (Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, and most recently RB Leipzig), their best players would always finish up at Bayern. Bayer Leverkusen: They challenged Bayern for the Bundesliga title in 2002 and reached the Pokal Cup and Champions League finals. Despite failing to win any of those competitions and giving rise to the club’s unfortunate nickname            ‘Neverkusen’, Bayern wasted no time in picking apart their team. The following season, Bayern signed Ballack and Zé Roberto, and then Lúcio a few seasons later. Since then Lever...