Analysis

Why Real Madrid can’t win the treble
Analysis

Why Real Madrid can’t win the treble

Winning the treble is seen as the ultimate feather in the cap for an elite footballing institution. Since the Champions League era began in 1992, only five teams have won the treble, which consists of winning the domestic league, domestic cup, and the most coveted prize of them all, the UCL. Those clubs are Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Inter Milan. No Ligue 1 side has won the treble and only the Premier League has more than one treble winner. Meanwhile, Barcelona and Bayern are the only clubs to have won multiple trebles in their histories, and it is this fact that Barcelona fans love holding over Real Madrid. See, Real Madrid have never won the treble. Even though they have won the most Champions League titles in history, recently picking up t...
The 5 best Brighton players you need to know for the 2024/25 season
Analysis

The 5 best Brighton players you need to know for the 2024/25 season

After qualifying for the Europa League in the 2022/23 season, Brighton took a massive step back last season, finishing 11th in the league. The Seagulls have their eyes on qualifying for Europe again this season with new manager Fabian Hürzeler.  People have talked enough about Brighton’s 31-year-old manager; it’s time to look at the players who could take the club back to Europe this season. Here are the five Brighton players you need to know: RW Yankuba Minteh In typical Brighton fashion, the Seagulls may have pulled off the best signing of summer with their purchase of Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle for £30m.  The 20-year-old winger spent all of last season on loan with Arne Slot’s Feyenoord, where he had 10 goals and 5 assists in 27 league matches. He averaged 0.93 goal contribut...
Who has the better career, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Robert Lewandowski?
Analysis

Who has the better career, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Robert Lewandowski?

Strikers have always been the glamor players in world football, and over the last 20 years, few goal-scorers made as many headlines as Robert Lewandowski and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Lewandowski is still going strong as one of the best strikers in Spanish football, likely finishing up his career with Barcelona after forcing a move away from Bayern Munich, where he became one of the greatest strikers of all time. Meanwhile, Zlatan, who also played for Barcelona briefly, is retired and enjoying the next step in his career as an executive for AC Milan, one of his former clubs. In fact, Zlatan played for all three powerhouses of Italian football, but perhaps his period was a largely overlooked tenure in Paris as the first face of the Qatari project before the arrivals of Neymar and Kylian Mba...
Real Madrid’s Best XI Since 2000
Analysis

Real Madrid’s Best XI Since 2000

Real Madrid, regarded as the most successful football club in history, has had the privilege of seeing numerous legendary players wear its iconic white kit. Over the past two decades, the club has enjoyed a golden era, winning multiple La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles. With so many great players contributing to the club's success, it leads to an interesting question: Who are the best eleven players to have represented Real Madrid since the 2000/2001 season? Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois If no one has ever dared to say it, then I'll be the first to do so: Thibaut Courtois is not only better but he's also surpassed Iker Casillas as Real Madrid’s greatest-ever keeper. Along with being a more complete keeper than Casillas (excelling in aerial play, ball distribution, and reflexes),...
Tottenham, Dominic Solanke, and conflating ambition with imprudence
Analysis

Tottenham, Dominic Solanke, and conflating ambition with imprudence

Tottenham were one of the most active teams in the Premier League in both the last summer and winter transfer windows, bringing in the likes of Guglielmo Vicario and Micky van de Ven to transform their defense while adding James Maddison and Timo Werner as big names to boost the attack. In their first season under Ange Postecoglou, Spurs finished fifth in the Premier League, but to get to that next level and return to the Champions League, Tottenham understood that they would need to make a splash by signing one true star to boost their attack. Their choice appears to be Dominic Solanke of Bournemouth, as Tottenham have agreed to sign the player for a whopping 65 million pounds, replacing Harry Kane's presence in the box two years later. Solanke emerged on the Tottenham transfer r...
The uniquely elite career of Pepe, a Real Madrid and Porto icon
Analysis

The uniquely elite career of Pepe, a Real Madrid and Porto icon

Football fans had already bid farewell to two of the best midfielders of the 2010s and early 2020s, Thiago Alcantara and Toni Kroos, as the former Bayern Munich and LaLiga icons decided to retire. Thiago's exit came after injuries robbed him of a true farewell in the Premier League with Liverpool, where he showed flashes of the player who so expertly guided Die Roten to the 2019/20 treble. Meanwhile, Kroos left world football on top, having shined as Germany's best player at Euro 2024 after conquering LaLiga and the Champions League one last time for Real Madrid as a six-time career UCL champion between the Royal Whites of Spain and the Reds of Germany. Now, world football will say goodbye to a legend on equal footing of Thiago and Kroos, with a pedigree of longevity that will ena...
Making sense of Niclas Fullkrug’s sudden transfer to West Ham
Analysis

Making sense of Niclas Fullkrug’s sudden transfer to West Ham

West Ham made headlines in the Premier League by signing a new No. 9 this summer, pivoting quickly from the increasingly frustrating pursuit of Aston Villa striker prospect Jhon Duran to inking AC Milan target Niclas Fullkrug of Borussia Dortmund (and Werder Bremen) fame. The German international is coming to London at a 27 million euro fee, joining a long list of well-known strikers around European football to make a big-money move to West Ham just when they were starting to get some hype. Let's take a closer look at Fullkrug as a player and make sense of why the Hammers are signing a player past the age of 30 who has never scored 20 goals in a Bundesliga season. Why he left Dortmund Niclas Fullkrug only spent one season at Borussia Dortmund after Edin Terzic advocated to sign the...
Analyzing how Dani Olmo fits Barcelona lineup, realistic expectations, and criticism of transfer
Analysis

Analyzing how Dani Olmo fits Barcelona lineup, realistic expectations, and criticism of transfer

Barcelona have just signed one of the most talented players on the transfer market and one of the most impressive performers at Euro 2024, yet they are being roundly criticized by even their own fans for the move. Dani Olmo is headed to Barcelona from RB Leipzig for a 60 million euro transfer fee after weeks of negotiations, and his signing comes in the aftermath of a failed pursuit of Athletic Club star Nico Williams, who has been one of LaLiga's best wingers over the past two seasons. Williams was an even bigger part of Spain's Euro 2024 triumph and tabbed by Barcelona star and national teammate Lamine Yamal as a dream signing for Barca; the two formed an unstoppable winger partnership this summer. Olmo could be faced with the task of being the next starting left winger for Barc...
Analysis

What West Ham fans must know about Guido Rodriguez’s playing style, strengths, and fit

Although Guido Rodriguez was most frequently linked to Barcelona and even seemed to have a deal in place for the Real Betis star before Hansi Flick evidently vetoed the transfer upon his arrival in Catalunya. Therefore, that opened the market wide open for the best free agent defensive midfielder available, and after rumors initially surfaced, West Ham decided to quickly secure the signing of the 30-year-old Argentinian No. 6. to join their midfield options. As West Ham welcome the veteran LaLiga standout to their side, let's take a closer look at how Guido Rodriguez can help the Hammers in the 2024/25 Premier League season as they look to get back to European football after winning the 2022/23 Conference League. Here's a look at Guido's playing style, the strengths that he can br...
Analysis

The 5 best Genoa players you need to know for the 2024/25 season

Genoa only recently returned to Serie A, and while that could make them easy to overlook as a team with top talent, they did finish 11th in the league last season, four points ahead of Monza and just four points behind reigning Scudetto winners Napoli. In doing so, Genoa unearthed some of the most underrated talents in world football, including a couple of key starters who are getting looks from Europe's elite clubs like Juventus and Liverpool. So here is a look at the five best players on Genoa to watch closely in the 2024/25 Serie A season, as these five players could make big strides to stardom or soon join top clubs after helping Genoa achieve success. Last season, Genoa sold one of Serie A's best center backs, Radu Dragusin, to Champions League contenders Tottenham, and there...