Tag: Barcelona

2025/26 Ballon d’Or Power Rankings after Matchday 1 of the Champions League
20Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

2025/26 Ballon d’Or Power Rankings after Matchday 1 of the Champions League

Even though we haven't learned who the official Ballon d'Or winner of the 2024/25 season is as Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Demebele fight for the award, all of the European leagues have played at least three games domestically and the first Matchday of the 2025/26 Champions League is already completed. So now is a good time to start the Ballon d'Or Power Rankings as an early barometer of the season to come for key individuals and breakout stars in European football this season. Since it's extremely difficult for defensive players to carry the team, go above and beyond, and capture the imagination of fans and the voters, this list is heavily skewed towards attacking players. You'll also find no players from Ligue 1 or the Premier League in this top 10. There's no bias in these leagues...
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La Liga Power Rankings: Picking the top 6 after Matchday 4
15Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

La Liga Power Rankings: Picking the top 6 after Matchday 4

With four matches in the bag, let's take a look at the updated La Liga Power Rankings after Real Madrid won their fourth in a row and Atletico Madrid outlasted Villarreal in a marquee matchup. Note that power rankings are weighed heavily on form, so this is a combination of predicted the best teams in the future and honoring the teams that have truly been the best through four games in the 2025/26 season so far. 6. Real Betis One of two teams with five matches played in the La Liga season, Real Betis are only 10th in the table despite this advantage, because they've only won one game this season, which was a 1-0 victory over Deportivo Alaves. So it's been a disappointing start to the campaign for a perennial European side, and the Conference League Finalists are going to need more ...
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World Cup 2026: Ranking Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and the 5 best players older than 35
9Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

World Cup 2026: Ranking Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and the 5 best players older than 35

The 2026 World Cup will take place next year in North America, and the qualifying rounds have given us plenty of nostalgic moments with the two biggest legends in the history of this game, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, still racking up the goals. Well past the age of 35, Cristiano and Messi remain two of the world's finest players on the international stage, even as they have long past waved goodbye to the highest level of European football. But there are a couple of other iconic players past the age of 35 who could be factors at the next World Cup but are still shining for powerhouse clubs in European football. How do they stack up with the two GOATs? As the nations decide who is in and out of the 2026 World Cup, let's take an early look and rank the top five players older ...
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Champions League Power Rankings: The 10 best managers for the 2025/26 season
30Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Champions League Power Rankings: The 10 best managers for the 2025/26 season

The 2025/26 Champions League draw for the league phase is set, with the matches to begin next month in mid-September, and it's anyone's guess as to how this year's tournament will ultimately play out. Obviously, the players are the one who play the game, but the spotlight has become increasingly focused on the manager, and there's no one style that makes someone successful in the Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti won two of the last four Champions League titles on chaos, Pep Guardiola won one on structure while embracing the virtues of a free-scoring No. 9 in Erling Haaland, and Luis Enrique finally brought the big one to Paris by embracing a more team-oriented playing style without Kylian Mbappe. It's not easy ranking managers at baseline, but ranking them from different leagues ...
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Champions League Power Rankings: The top 12 strikers before the 2025/26 season
30Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Champions League Power Rankings: The top 12 strikers before the 2025/26 season

There isn't a single position on the football pitch that receives as much attention as the striker position, It is the marquee position, because there's a school of thought that every great team needs a great player who can finish off the goals. Although Real Madrid have won a Champions League title in recent years without a true No. 9 and Manchester City have won the Premier League without one, those are exceptions to the rule. Because Real Madrid have also dropped Champions League titles without a true top goal-scorer, while Manchester City only became Champions League winners after they added Erling Haaland, a record-breaking striker. Ahead of the 2025/26 Champions League season, which will officially begin next month with the league phase, let's do an intial power ranking of t...
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Champions League Predictions: Biggest threat to win title from each top 5 league in 2025/26
23Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Champions League Predictions: Biggest threat to win title from each top 5 league in 2025/26

The 2025/26 Champions League season is still in its play-off stages for another week, but on Aug. 28, those matches will end and the league phase will be finalized, setting in motion the start of the second campaign in this new format. PSG finally conquered European football last season in their first one without superstar Kylian Mbappe - or Neymar for that matter - following a more team-oriented approach under Luis Enrique. They will no doubt be the favorites again this season, but as in any year, the field is wide open with so many great contenders around European football. Before the 2025/26 Champions League campaign truly gets underway in mid-September with the first league phase matches, let's start with some predictions. Some leagues are more clear-cut than others - looking ...
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Ranking the 5 best teenagers in European football for the 2025/26 season
19Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 5 best teenagers in European football for the 2025/26 season

It's not easy to step right in and be a star in one of the top five leagues in European football before you've turned the age of 23, let alone before turning the age of 21...or 20, for that matter. Lamine Yamal's success at Barcelona may be leading some to unrealistic expectations of what young players can do, because the 18-year-old's success in his first two seasons as a full-time starter - and Barca's most crucial player on a team filled with stars - has been nothing short of extraordinary. Not even the two GOATs, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, were playing at this level before they even became legal adults. But for the most part, the wider world of football fans understand both how special Yamal is and how difficult it is for anyone to even start at the highest levels of Eur...
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La Liga 2025/26 Storylines: Title Race, Real Oviedo’s Return, and Relegation Drama
13Aug By Javier MartinezNo Comments
Analysis

La Liga 2025/26 Storylines: Title Race, Real Oviedo’s Return, and Relegation Drama

As the 2025/26 La Liga season is set to begin, Spanish football promises a captivating blend of high-stakes rivalries, historic comebacks, and intense battles across the table. From the race for the title to the fight for survival, here are five key storylines, packed with context and insights, to watch this season. La Liga 2025/26 Title Race: Can Barcelona Defend Their Crown Against Real Madrid and Atlético? The race for the La Liga title promises to be an exciting competition, with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid as the leading contenders, and Atlético Madrid posing as a potential dark horse. Barcelona, managed by Hansi Flick, secured the title last season and boasts a dynamic attacking lineup led by rising star Lamine Yamal. The recent addition of Marcus Rashford on loan from Manches...
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Every Champions League contender’s best Ballon d’Or candidate for 2025/26
9Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Every Champions League contender’s best Ballon d’Or candidate for 2025/26

PSG took everyone by surprise and conquered the 2024/25 Champions League, and although their triumph of world football's premier club competition was marked by a transition to a more team-oriented setup after the departure of Kylian Mbappe, the Parisians still had one of the Ballon d'Or favorites from the campaign in the resurrected form of a more mature Ousmane Dembele. Every high-achieving club needs at least one superstar to lead the way, and in 2025/26, there's a wide open slate of contenders of the Champions League crown, whether it's the defending champions PSG or the competition's record-holding champions Real Madrid. So in that spirit, let's take a preview of what could unfold in the 2025/26 and name every Champions League title contender's best shot at capturing the Ballon d...
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Ranking The Top 25 Players In La Liga History
6Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
All-Time Lists

Ranking The Top 25 Players In La Liga History

Who are the greatest players in La Liga history? It's a deceptively simple question, but ranking the top 25 legends of Spain's top flight requires more than just goals and trophies. From the golden era of Alfredo Di Stéfano and Francisco Gento to the recent reign of Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema, La Liga has produced some of the most iconic footballers ever to play the game. This ranking dives deep into the best players in La Liga of all time, factoring in longevity, influence, technical brilliance, and historical context. We’re not just listing the top La Liga goal scorers or the most decorated names — we’re asking who truly defined eras and shaped Spanish football across decades. Whether it's midfield magicians like Xavi and Iniesta or cult heroes like Quini, this is the defini...
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