“So, barring any problems with a medical, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will today sign for Paris-Saint Germain. Many in the football world have been shocked by PSG’s audacious €65 million swoop for the Milan duo of Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva, but it really should come as no surprise given the club’s massive transfer outlay ever since it was purchased by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) last summer.” Swiss Ramble
“Won’t be a full column this week, but I wanted to point readers to Opta Pro’s interview with Soccernomics co-author Simon Kuper. I’ve written in the past that the perception of Soccernomics as ‘a book on soccer analytics’ has had unfortunate consequences for the popular understanding of statistics in football, reducing it to a set of curious ‘freakonomics’ style tidbits that have little to do with how teams play but instead how many fans kill themselves during tournaments, or why England doesn’t win World Cups.” The Score
“Is football even remotely the same as it was two seasons ago? If your answer to that question is no—as is mine, and most other football fans’—then you can probably apportion either blame or thanks to Pep Guardiola. The former Barcelona manager has single-handedly changed the face of football, taking a brilliant Blaugrana team and micro-managing some outrageous successes. One of the fantastic things about Guardiola’s managerial style is his ability to create, to change and to innovate. He is a proven virtuoso in his field, and his mastery of the “false nine” is just one in a long line of genius tactical adjustments.” bleacher report
“It became almost a trademark, but not in a good way. Chelsea’s style was one evolutionary step beyond ‘catenaccio,’ not just parking the bus but packing a whole fleet of double-deckers in front of Petr Cech. Last season’s Champions League was won with a no-frills, safety-first approach; even the most blue-tinted fan would agree. But those who suggest that this is a sign of things to come from Roberto Di Matteo are wide of the mark. Chelsea’s summer dealings thus far — both in terms of completed deals (Werder Bremen’s Marko Marin and Lille’s Eden Hazard) and transfer targets (Internacional’s Oscar and Wigan’s Victor Moses — confirm that.” ESPN (Video)
“Kenny Dalglish was not the world’s greatest tactician, so it was only natural to expect Liverpool to struggle tactically under him. But before we explore these problems in detail from 2011/12 – what they were, why they occurred, how they could have been fixed – it would be instructive to look at the first six months of his second spell in charge of the club. What can we see from here that will help us draw useful conclusions about his performance last season?” Tomkins Times
“A revolution in soccer writing has occurred in the twenty-first century with the rise of the internet as a platform for fans and academics to write for a broader audience. Some of the best of that writing is in this collection of 39 essays from the pioneering and award-winning blog Pitch Invasion. These essays feature sharp and critical perspectives on soccer history, culture, identity and the meaning of fandom in a global soccer world. Edited by Pitch Invasion’s founder Tom Dunmore, contributors from England, Finland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, North America and Poland explore supporter culture worldwide and the sport beyond the headlines. This is a must-read collection for any serious fan.” amazon
“This has it all, and should give an exhaustive idea of why the Cosmos still matter almost four decades later. This is also why anyone who complains about the Age of the Internet needs to leave now without a fuss.” The Score (Video)
Scissors Kick 