“The Portuguese Primeira Liga could be one of the most interested title chases in Europe this season. It’s no surprise that the contenders are Porto, Sporting and Benfica, but there’s been something of a shift in the balance of power in Portugal and the club we always associate with the Iberian nation, Benfica, is struggling to keep pace with the other members of the ‘big three’. …”
Game of the People
“Chelsea came from behind to draw 2-2 with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as two of the outsiders for this year’s Premier League title kicked off 2022 with one of the most entertaining matches of the season. After an action-packed first 45 minutes resulted in all four goals, it was the goalkeepers that stole the show in the second half. Edouard Mendy was first called into action in the 57th minute, denying Mohamed Salah’s daring effort from range with a superb leap to his right. A minute later, Mendy made another big save to his right, to keep out a stinging attempt from Sadio Mane after a wonderful interchange between Mane and Salah found the Liverpool attacker free on goal. …”
The Athletic (Video)
“Giovanni Trapattoni carried a bottle of holy water with him, blessed by the sister who actually was his sister. In 2009 the Espanyol manager Mauricio Pochettino hiked to Montserrat to visit the black virgin, enlisting her help in avoiding relegation, salvation delivered soon after. And Raúl Madero, the Argentinian national team doctor, twice visited the wailing wall. The first time, before the 1986 World Cup, he asked for them to be champions; when he went back four years later, he thought that would be pushing it, so requested runners-up. True story, and when it comes to football you’ll try anything. Sometimes it even works. …”
Guardian
“Freiburg head coach Christian Streich says football ‘never gets boring’ for him as he celebrates a decade in charge of the Black Forest side. That’s right, the Bundesliga’s longest-serving current tactician brought up 10 years in the job on 29 December, a remarkable achievement in what is famously a results-oriented and subsequently often a transitional role. There was a certain poetic elegance then, when the 56-year-old recorded his 100th Bundesliga victory as head coach in his team’s final game of 2021, the last-gasp 2-1 triumph over Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 17 a fitting way of ushering in the anniversary of his appointment. …”
Bundesliga (Video)
NY Times: The Teachings of the Philosopher of the Black Forest (June 2020)
W – Christian Streich
“… The Counter Kingdom. A week’s march leads your squad across a frozen tundra dotted with igloos. You show the locals your leopard ball and they kick it around clumsily on the ice. No one appears to know how to put it in the mixer, if they even understand what you’re asking about — it’s hard to tell. They speak in inscrutable tongues: Italian, Spanish, Broad Norfolk, Black Country. Frankly, these people seem less interested in playing with the ball than in keeping you from kicking it, which is a little weird, but as long as you don’t get too close they’re a pretty peaceful bunch. Farther up the snowy coast you meet a druid. …”
The Athletic
****The Athletic: Who never fouls? Who presses? Who hoofs it? What our data experiment says about your team
****The Athletic’s football analytics glossary: explaining xG, PPDA, field tilt and how to use them (July 2021)
Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Edouard Mendy, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Maxwel Cornet and more will be gone for several weeks
“The Africa Cup of Nations begins next month, with over 30 Premier League players set to miss several weeks of the season as they head to Cameroon. Arsenal, Leicester City and Watford are each set to lose a league-high four players. Liverpool will lose three – including forwards Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane – as will Crystal Palace. Chelsea are going to be without keeper Edouard Mendy, who could miss the Fifa Club World Cup and league games against Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham, among others. …”
BBC
“… In Ultra: The Underworld of Italian Football, Tobias Jones charts a way of life reviled by polite society. Although football hooliganism and ultra culture can be found in many societies, it takes a distinctive form in Italy. As a previous author of fiction and non-fiction with Italian themes, and a devoted fan of calcio, Jones is an expert and sympathetic guide to this strange and tenebrous world. Although helpful, an interest in and knowledge of football is not required to profit from reading the book, because it is about a bigger subject: what the author describes as the ‘vanishing grail of modern life: belonging’. The book traces the genealogy of ultra culture, which originated in the anni di piombo (‘years of lead’) marked by political violence from the far-left and the fascist right and by Mafia murders. …”
Book Review: Ultra: The Underworld of Italian Football by Tobias Jones
FT – Ultra: The Underworld of Italian Football — fandom and the far-right
amazon
“There are many ways to win in football — but scoring more goals than you really should have, while conceding fewer than would have been expected, is a pretty good mix. Real Madrid have definitely been outperforming their numbers over the first half of this La Liga season, both in attack and defence. These are two big reasons why Carlo Ancelotti’s team have been able to open up what already looks a potentially decisive lead over their challengers — eight points over second-placed Sevilla, an astonishing 17 to champions Atletico Madrid in fifth, and 18 to Barcelona in seventh (albeit with Real Madrid having played a game more). …”
The Athletic (Video)
“December 23 ~ In the past five years, the UK has lost almost one in seven of its HGV drivers. While this supply of labour has dropped, the demand for the haulage hasn’t, causing queues at pumps, fuel shortages, problems with imports and deliveries, among all the other issues that we have seen over recent months. In a similar vein, it is estimated that registrations of referees in England dropped by between 20 and 30 per cent in 2021. While this supply of labour has reduced, the demand for referees hasn’t. This has already led to thousands of matches so far this season either being postponed or going ahead without a qualified match official in charge, with volunteers or substitutes taking the whistle instead. …”
WSC
“Tottenham announced their financial results recently and whilst the headline figures may have seemed depressing, can new manager Antonio Conte spend to improve the club’s chances of winning a trophy? Kieran Maguire explains why. Illustrated by Philippe Fenner.”
YouTube
ESPN – Tottenham’s Antonio Conte calls for January signings: We need to improve squad (Video)
Scissors Kick 