Features News and Analysis

Real Madrid’s 2022/2023 squad is capable of defending LaLiga and Champions League titles

10Oct

By Javier MartinezNo Comments

Features, LaLiga

Real Madrid’s 2022/2023 squad is capable of defending LaLiga and Champions League titles

After a stellar 2021/2022 campaign that saw Real Madrid win LaLiga and the Champions League, the ‘Merengues’ are looking to defend both titles as the 2022/2023 campaign begins to take shape. Despite their success, there were still areas where the team had issues with last season and needed to strengthen in the transfer window. Real Madrid's defense has a new look The most obvious was the defense where they struggled a lot on set plays and whenever any of the regular starters were missing. That need has now been filled with the signing of Antonio Rüdiger, who joined on a free transfer and will provide the necessary height and depth the team was missing. Additionally, it would allow Real Madrid to play in different formations, such as switching to playing with three defenders. What stil...

21Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features

How did Juventus become so bad?

At the first international "break" and with six matches played in Serie A, Juventus currently sit 8th in the league they once dominated. Winners of nine straight Scudetti, the Bianconeri are now tied on points with crosstown rivals Torino, and it appears they may be headed for a new nadir in an increasingly competitive Serie A. Italy's top flight was once a guarantee for Juve. Now, it is the most exciting and unpredictable league in Europe's top five, with rivals Inter and Milan having won in the last two seasons. Where was Juventus? In fourth, barely hanging onto a Champions League place both times. And after club legend Paulo Dybala moved to Roma this summer, there's a sense that this could be the year the Old Lady tumbles out of the top four entirely if Juve isn't careful. So h...

The Rise and Fall of Málaga in the 2010’s

26Aug

By Amadis HaliNo Comments

Features, LaLiga

The Rise and Fall of Málaga in the 2010’s

The UEFA Champions League is a competition that, despite existing to crown the absolute best team in Europe, is no stranger to deep runs from underdog sides – some of which being clubs that cannot even call themselves the best of their own country, let alone the continent. Just last season, Villarreal, who qualified for the competition as Spain’s fourth-best team, upset German and Italian giants Bayern Munich and Juventus to reach the best four of Europe’s elite competition. 150 minutes into their semifinal tie against Liverpool, Villarreal were level on aggregate with the Merseyside outfit and dreamed of scoring a winner to book themselves a ticket to the final – it was only in the last 30 minutes that their dream was crushed and their Cinderella story was brought to an end. Villarreal...

Can José Mourinho return AS Roma to the promised land in 2022/23?

14Aug

By James CormackNo Comments

Features

Can José Mourinho return AS Roma to the promised land in 2022/23?

Without a moment's hesitation, Vincenzo Montella sprayed the most audacious of diagonal switches in behind for his revered strike partner. The weight of the pass was so perfect that the receiver required just two touches to outwit a Parma defender and beat Gianluigi Buffon at his near post. An already raucous Stadio Olimpico burst into a heightened state of frenzy. Gabriel Batistuta's 20th goal of the 2000/01 Serie A season all but sealed Roma's third Scudetto on a sweltering mid-June afternoon in the capital. Fabio Capello was a champion again, and the Giallorossi had reached the pinnacle of calcio for just the third time in their storied history. For Roma supporters, such success was necessary following an albeit brief period of Biancocolesti supremacy. Their fiercest rivals ha...

24Jul

By khushibhindeNo Comments

Features

Sam Kerr’s FIFA 23 cover is a big deal, but more work must be done

For football fans, EA Sports' FIFA cover reveal has become a tradition, with the honour usually going to the most prominent or iconic players at the time. On Friday, FIFA confirmed that Chelsea Women's Sam Kerr and French superstar Kylian Mbappé would be on the cover of FIFA 23. Having Sam Kerr on the cover of FIFA 23 is a monumental achievement not only for women in sport, but also for female representation in the gaming space. It represents a shift in how the digital sports world views female athletes and is a significant step towards greater inclusivity for women in the video game realm. It will be the first game in the series to feature both women's club football and the Women's World Cup. The game will include the Barclays Women's Super League of England and the Division 1 of Fr...