
Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku running with the ball
“There has been a refreshing aesthetic to the Premier League this season. Some might think that the style of football has regressed to a bygone era, but the increased quality across all teams means that we find ourselves in a moment where greater focus is being spent on small margins. Throughout the division, teams are more willing to play with an aggressive, man-for-man defensive structure, which has led head coaches to look for creative solutions to find space to exploit. As a result, individual battles have never been more important. Players whose strengths lie in one-v-one profiles are worth their weight in gold — both in and out of possession. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Daily Archives: February 26, 2026
1950 FIFA World Cup

“The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men’s national teams. It was held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. It was the first World Cup tournament in over twelve years, as the 1942 and 1946 World Cups were cancelled due to World War II. Italy, the two-time defending champions, were eliminated in the first round for the first time in history. Uruguay, who had won the inaugural competition in 1930, defeated the host nation, Brazil, in the deciding match of the four-team group of the final round, causing what is sometimes known as one of the biggest upsets in sports history, occasionally called the Maracanaço. This was the only tournament not decided by a one-match final. It was also the inaugural tournament where the trophy was referred to as the Jules Rimet Cup, to mark the 25th anniversary of Jules Rimet‘s presidency of FIFA. …”
W – 1950 FIFA World Cup
NY Times/The Athletic – How Uruguay won the 1950 World Cup: A truncated group stage, Ghiggia’s illogical finish, and an epochal clash with Brazil
YouTube: Brazil’s ‘best-ever team’ denied | Maracanazo: 1950 FIFA World Cup

