Manuel Pellegrini: How ‘The Engineer’ quietly fixed Man City

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“Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini had two players in tears at the club’s training ground five days before the Premier League opener at Newcastle. Yes, they were only 11. And yes, they were tears of joy at being invited by Pellegrini to watch City’s first team train at close quarters. But this touching little scene at Carrington provides a small insight into the affection in which he is held and the quiet, understated but tranquil atmosphere Pellegrini has brought to City in his 14 months in England. It is all in stark contrast to the turbulence of his predecessor Roberto Mancini, whose tenure was a boom time for local photographers. Daily they pitched up with their ladders, strode down the public right of way that runs down the side of City’s training complex, climbed the steps and waited for the explosion.” BBC

Scout Report | Damjan Bohar: Maribor & Slovenia’s lightning fast winger

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“Maribor placed Slovenia on Europe’s elite football map once again. The smallest club in this year’s Champions League edition is preparing to fight the elite clubs as an underdog. Champions League football is a lifetime opportunity for the Slovenes, especially for the in-form winger Damjan Bohar, one of Maribor’s biggest prospects.” Outside of the Boot

Three Points: Portugal vs. Albania

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“Three quick points on Portugal’s 1-0 loss to Albania in their opening qualification fixture for the 2016 European Championship: 1. Finding creativity minus Cristiano. After the painful sight of seeing him strain every frayed sinew at the World Cup, it was almost a relief that the indefatigable Cristiano Ronaldo dropped out of this Euro 2016 qualification tie through injury.” ESPN

Johan Cruyff: How will ‘militaristic’ Louis van Gaal manage all the egos at Manchester United?

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Johan Cruyff
“Johan Cruyff has come home to Amsterdam and, on a cloudy day in the old city where he was born, grew up and made his professional debut for Ajax 50 years ago this November, he moves with good-humoured elegance through the crowds calling out his name and trying to touch him. At the Olympic Stadium, walking around an arena which has been taken over for the day by his Foundation, this is an exercise in the familiar art of being Johan Cruyff. The 67-year-old reacts to the adoration, and even being cuddled by a grown man dressed up as a ‘Cruyffie’ mascot, with a wry smile. This is how it feels to have been a football icon for five decades.” Guardian

Interview with footballski.fr about Polish football

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“I answered some questions for the excellent French language website Footballski.fr which deals with football in Eastern Europe. I present the English version here – it was a chance for me to clarify my views on a number of different issues, the Polish FA, fan culture in Poland and the enigmatic Zbigniew Boniek. Read on for more.” Rightbankwarsaw

Why Wayne Rooney’s world-class status is misunderstood, not rubbish

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“A decade on from Euro 2004 and England’s teenage messiah in Portgual has become a fully-fledged pariah. Wayne Rooney was an exciting blur of brutal, brilliant potential 10 years ago. Today he is cast as some tragic disappointment. But what if the problem is that perception rather than his performances? Rooney became one of Europe’s most interesting and modern forwards during the mid-to-late 00′s. Though he arrived from Everton as an already versatile and prodigious young striker, the needs of his new team led to him to progress into being an even more complete and multi-functional player.” Squawka

Time for some humble pie

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Ronald Koeman
“Sorry is the hardest word in football. It can be used as a tactical device or a timely diversion. Very occasionally, it is employed with due respect. That sombre moment has arrived, now the distraction of the international break is over. The return of the Premier League offers the opportunity to apologise to those whose powers of motivation and professionalism were prematurely written off. Here are five managers who would be forgiven for wearing ‘I told you so’ smiles when the action resumes. Sorry, chaps.” BT Sport

TPI & Transfers – Early Season Update 2014-15

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“As the transfer window closed in early September it was possible to draw the first conclusions about what could be expected for the season based on TPI (Transfer Price Index ©). All figures below are based on current values, so the the latest inflation figures have been applied (using the inflation index of all transfers in the relevant season). Amidst all of the hype in the Sky Sports studio, it was clear from an early stage that all records were about to be broken. Man City were hamstrung by FFP regulations and so were unlikely to spend significantly in an attempt to defend their title, but below them Chelsea and Liverpool had sold expensively (David Luis and Luis Suárez respectively) and so had funds to spare, whereas Arsenal wanted to cement their position in the top four, with Man United expected to spend heavily to regain after they missed out on European football for the first time since football began – as Sky Sports would have you believe. All this came with the first influx of money from the new increased television deal.”
Tomkins Times

Dočkal celebrates Czechs’ Netherlands success

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“Bořek Dočkal, Czech Republic midfielder. It is great, of course, but we definitely expected a really difficult game. We met a team that got to the semis in Brazil, they showed their quality. So we just tried to defend well and wait for counterattacks. It is a great victory for us. [For my opening goal] I received a good ball from our striker. I didn’t want to lose the ball, so I just tried to shoot and hit the top corner, so it was one of the best goals of my life.” UEFA

English Soccer Has a Gambling Problem

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“On December 3, 2005, Harry Redknapp resigned as manager of Southampton Football Club. Five days later, he turned up some ten miles away in the city of Portsmouth, where he announced that he had become the new manager of Portsmouth Football Club. Redknapp has a reputation for courting controversy, to put it lightly, and in that sense, this move was about right. Portsmouth and Southampton are the South Coast’s two biggest clubs (historically anyway; Portsmouth is now in League Two, England’s fourth division), and they share a fierce, local rivalry. Fans weren’t thrilled by the move, but it turned out to be far more controversial than a matter of rivalries.” VICE

The 5 best soccer mascots based on cuddliness, adorability, and influence on team success

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“You would be hard-pressed to find another sport that’s had a revolution in analysis the likes of which soccer has experienced in the last few years. Where a decade ago post-match analysis began and ended with guts, determination and hustle, the modern pundit relies on an array of technical minutiae to justify their conclusions. Tactics, heat maps, possession rates, successful dribbles, aerial duels won, distribution percentages, expected goal differentials, goal impact, man-marking, zonal marking, expected goals created, inverted wingers, inverted full backs, false nines, false coaches, training methods, choice of breakfast, team selection, nominal GDPs, and even jersey tightness are just some of the tools in use to break down a team’s performance.” Fusion

The sale of Bryan Cristante: AC Milan’s moment of darkness in an otherwise brilliant transfer window

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“While AC Milan have begun their season on the tail-end of a surprisingly successful transfer campaign; acquiring the likes of Menez, Alex, and Diego Lopez, there is one piece of business which was a huge disappointment for Milan fans around the world: the sale of 19-year old Bryan Cristante. Over the past few seasons, Cristante has been the shining gem of Milan’s youth set-up and it seemed that this year would be the one where he would get the opportunity to showcase his talent. Technically he will be doing just that, but not with Milan. Cristante will be plying his trade in Portugal this season with Benfica. There was plenty of speculation regarding the future of the midfielder at the start of the transfer window, with both Benfica and Sassuolo seeking out the services of the player. However these rumors were quickly put to bed by Galliani who stated that Milan had no intention of selling Cristante, much to the relief of the fans.” Outside of the Boot

Abuse by Gremio fans highlights the fact that racism is doing just fine in Brazil

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“At first it was hard to work out what exactly was going on. The Copa do Brasil first leg tie between Grêmio and Santos at the Arena do Grêmio in Porto Alegre two weeks ago was dwindling limply to a close, with the visiting team leading 2-0, when all of a sudden Santos goalkeeper Aranha started screaming and pointing at the crowd behind his goal, visibly upset. When the TV cameras zoomed in, they revealed a group of young men, some black, some white, shouting and jumping up and down and moving their arms in imitation of monkeys. Elsewhere in the ground, a well-dressed young woman was filmed cupping her hand around her mouth and shouting ‘macaco, macaco’ (‘monkey’) in Aranha’s direction.” Fusion

The story of Robin and Debtman

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“Sitting in the Weserstadion, one can’t help but feel that Werder Bremen’s fans do have an impressive support going for their team. I was there for the match against Hoffenheim, and it was lovely to see the way Davie Selke was applauded off the pitch despite not having had the best of matches. The attitude the youngster had put on display was right though, the Under-19 European champion had worked his socks off throughout the entire match, and Werder’s fans showed him their appreciation for that. Even the people sitting behind me in the VIP lounge were getting into the match, which happens fairly seldom at other grounds.” Bundesliga Fanatic

How Jim Smith’s 3-5-2 revolution at QPR altered the face of English football

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Cov v Derby 3 Derby manager gets the poit Pix Brian Bould
“15 August 1987, Upton Park. West Ham v QPR on the opening Saturday of the season. West Ham had finished 15th in the First Division the previous season and QPR 16th; no one expected much more than the usual rough and tumble of a London derby. And yet a significant piece of English football history was about to be made. QPR lined up in a 3-5-2 system, with wing-backs, two man-to-man markers in central defence and a sweeper. It was the first time a major club side in England had opted for the formation as a first-choice strategy and, perhaps more significantly, it worked. QPR won 3-0, and went on to win six and draw one of their opening seven games. In a world that had been dominated by 4-4-2 since the 1960s, this was a radical departure and it took QPR to the top of the league.” Guardian

An Apology To The World’s Soccer Fans

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“It’s me, and I’m sorry. I am the nascent American soccer fan. I am the one who has rewarded the editors that fill their sites with SEO-friendly ‘New soccer fan? Start here!’ posts. I am the brand new fan who, after running out of ideas for Tim Howard memes, took the ‘Which Premier League team should you follow?’ quiz, and considered abiding by the result. I am the soccer fan who, until six weeks ago, knew three players: – Landon Donovan – Pele – Ronaldo (Without knowing that there are somewhere between two and ten important Ronaldos). I am presuming that you have been around longer than that, living through the dark years when American soccer fans had roughly the same social standing as leprosy victims and Michael Bolton enthusiasts, so I do not begrudge you your sighs and scoffs. But while you can be frustrated with this new legion of American soccer fanatics, you can’t hate us, or at least shouldn’t.” The Classical

Circumventing “Second Team” Taboos: Six Bundesliga Options

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“Within the context of any form of entertainment it is intrinsic for us, as spectators, to direct our support towards one particular camp, to root for one distinct winner, whether this be the protagonist of a film or an athlete in a race. This is how any spectacle is made to be entertaining because by investing emotionally into what we are watching we are suddenly made to feel part of it, despite playing no real part in it ourselves. This is the simple science behind the long-lasting adoration any football fan feels for their team and is also why, to some, the concept of supporting a ‘second team’ sounds nothing short of blasphemous.” Bundesliga Fanatic

Roy of the Rovers celebrates 60 years – football’s comic-book role model

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“It is a phrase embedded in the game’s vernacular, a character from a bygone age and a team that, somehow, overcame the odds on a weekly basis. Sixty years ago Roy of the Rovers was first published as a comic strip – six decades since Roy Race’s golden locks and debonair charm first enraptured youngsters and adults alike to evoke dreams of glory and unlikely tales of sporting bravura. … Say the words Roy Race and Melchester Rovers to someone of a certain generation and the eyes mist up, a reflective pause follows before a wistful smile. To many those names represent childhood, escapism and sheer joy – the weekly ritual of buying a comic, reading in rapid time before poring over the same pages again and again until the next edition hit the shelves.” Guardian, Guardian: Roy of the Rovers and other classic comics return to newsstands

Dearth of quality defenders, position’s evolution lead to overspending

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“There were two recurring themes about transfers this summer. Firstly, murmurs of doubt from people discussing Manchester United and Arsenal, asking why they haven’t signed defenders when they so clearly need them. And secondly, splutters of incredulity when Paris St.-Germain bought David Luiz for £50 million; Manchester City paid £32 million for Eliaquim Mangala; Bayern spent £21 million on Mehdi Benatia and Roma replaced him by shelling out £10.5 million on Kostas Manolas; when Liverpool bought Dejan Lovren for £20 million and Barcelona paid £16 million for Jeremy Mathieu, the same price United ending up splashing on Marcos Rojo.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Analysis: How do Mane & Alderweireld fit in at Southampton?

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“Monday’s Transfer Deadline Day business done by Ronald Koeman and Southampton was the icing on the cake of a brilliant rebound by the Saints, after it all could have turned into a catastrophic set of events that would have set the club on their way to a state of pure bedlam. Their well-documented struggles in the transfer window with losing the majority of their influential players were dealt with in a very calm and collective way.” Outside of the Boot

Powerful Radamel Falcao – El Tigre – is ready to roar for Manchester United

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“When Radamel Falcao was a child, he would watch his father toiling for a series of sides of ever-decreasing quality and it upset him. “I watched my dad play in defence and it disappointed me,” he said. “I wanted him to go up and score a goal.” Radamel García once scored a famous goal against Millonarios in Bogotá, but he was more generally known for two things: his aggression and his religious devotion. “For every foul, another prayer,” as the joke had it at the time. But his son didn’t share the joke. His son wondered why anybody would ever settle for playing at the back.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Wayne Rooney looks a source of slight sadness as his powers desert him

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“Top-level footballers often tend to generate a very specific kind of emotion. In happier times this is a simple sense of joy at seeing them capering about in pursuit of a ball. Dwight Yorke for example – even in the later years when you half expected to look down and notice he was out there running around in a leotard and a pair of plimsolls – always managed to make the basic act of playing football seem unavoidably hilarious. Similarly, the sight of David Beckham scurrying about in an England shirt like a doomed, faithful cartoon horse tended to inspire above all a desire to burst into brave, hot husky tears of moon-faced joy.” Guardian

Player Ratings: U.S. 1, Czech Republic 0

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“Despite missing many of its veterans, the United States men’s national team opened the cycle that will lead to the 2018 World Cup with a hard-fought exhibition win over the Czech Republic on Wednesday in Prague. The United States started strong, with a solid performance from its central midfield, composed of Alejandro Bedoya, Mix Diskerud and Joe Corona. It was through those three players that the Americans scored the game’s only goal. Through it all, the team got outstanding goalkeeping from Brad Guzan and Nick Rimando, who are seeking to supplant Tim Howard during his hiatus from international play. Central defenders John Brooks, Michael Orozco and Tim Ream played well as well.” NY Times

For U.S. youngsters, win vs. Czechs about ideology, not victory
“Future editions of U.S. Soccer’s media guide will note Alejandro Bedoya scored the only goal in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over the Czech Republic. Press reports will praise goalkeeper Nick Rimando for his stalwart second-half showing and box scores might indicate that Joe Gyau, Greg Garza and 18-year-old Emerson Hyndman made their international debuts. But that’s all it is – trivia. The performances and moments that shaped Wednesday’s friendly will have no bearing on U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann when he selects his team for the 2018 World Cup. And that’s no slight against those men. Four years can be a soccer lifetime.” SI

Five transfer window bargains

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“It was another record-breaking transfer window in terms of money spent, but sometimes the most intelligent transfers cost extremely little and clubs that take a chance on overlooked players are frequently rewarded with fine performances. Here, then, are five of the bargains of this transfer window…” ESPN – Michael Cox

Tactical Analysis: Roma 2-0 Fiorentina | Giallorossi overcome Viola

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“Roma 2-0 Fiorentina | A match that was about discipline and pressing culminated in the home side grapping their first 3 points of the Serie A 2014/15 season. With the result, Vincenzo Montella’s record in the Olympico as a coach reads an uninspiring 8 matches, 0 wins, 2 draws and 6 losses.” Outside of the Boot

Argentina takes World Cup final rematch with 4-2 win over Germany Print More

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“Angel di Maria set up three goals and scored the fourth himself as Argentina trounced Germany 4-2 in their friendly game Wednesday to get a small measure of payback after losing to the host in the World Cup final. Argentina was up 4-0 after just 50 minutes to dampen the home side’s World Cup title celebrations in its first game since winning the final 1-0 in extra time in Brazil in July. With Lionel Messi absent due to a right leg injury, Di Maria assumed the instigator’s role, setting up Sergio Aguero in the 21st minute, Erik Lamela’s outstanding volley in the 40th, and Federico Fernandez’ headed goal two minutes after the interval.” SI

Tactical Analysis: Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 Liverpool | Difference in pressing & runs from midfield

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“Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 Liverpool | Two young managers, similar systems, exciting football, insistence on ground play, hard pressing, and quick pace. Both these sides and the men in charge had similarities, which even extended to their ambitions for the season. The game was meant to be close on paper, and turned out as planned for large parts of the opening 45, but the gulf in class showed as the game wore on with Liverpool emerging the better side.” Outside of the Boot

Idiot Ruins Game? Brief Interviews With Not-So-Hideous Pitch Invaders

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“When you see someone running on the field during a sporting event, you probably think, That will never be me. Announcers shake their heads so vigorously it produces an audible rustling of their collars. The word ‘idiot’ gets tossed around a lot — ‘idiot on the field’ is often the phrase of choice. In fact, the Great American Idiot, Homer Simpson, ran onto the field once: The headline read ‘Idiot Ruins Game.’ It seems like there have been a lot of these idiots recently. There was Jordan Dunn, the man who took the free kick in West Ham’s opening match against Tottenham.” Grantland (Video)

Julian Green is walking into a mismanaged disaster club at Hamburg

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“Imagine if Chelsea, the team that ranks third in the all-time Premier League table, wasn’t challenging for the title every year, but rather was fighting to avoid relegation. That’d be strange, right? Like watching a drunken executive wallow in the gutter. Chelsea isn’t supposed to be down there. To continue this thought experiment, imagine Chelsea’s answer, because it’s a “big club” that aspires to more, and because it has some resources, was to bring back a former star–let’s say Arjen Robben–to save the team. That’d be cool right? A returning hero riding into town to set things right again? This is basically the situation in the German Bundesliga, at Hamburger SV–the hero being Rafael van der Vaart, who returned to the club in 2012 but has been unable to affect much change.” Fusion

Diego Costa: Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho’s ‘perfect kind of player’

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“Ruthless, hard-working and able to wind up the opposition – new Chelsea striker Diego Costa is turning out to be what you might perceive as being Blues boss Jose Mourinho’s perfect kind of player. The £32m summer signing from Atletico Madrid scored twice in Saturday’s thrilling 6-3 win over Everton and managed to annoy the Toffees players and their boss Roberto Martinez in the process. Costa’s goal tally stands at four in his first three Premier League games, which is some start for any striker at a new club in a new country.” BBC

What Happens To Those Lost On the Road To Stardom

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“There is a question I would love to ask – but every time the opportunity presents itself I am too scared to do it. The question, you see, could well be taken badly, as an insult, though I mean no disrespect. The question is this; when, as a young player, you have grown up with justified dreams of global stardom, how do you cope with mediocrity? The question is uppermost in my mind at the moment. I’m currently back in London, where I just performed the happy ritual of going along to White Hart Lane to watch Tottenham Hotspur in its Europa League tie against AEL Limassol of Cyprus.” The World Game – Tim Vickery

Tottenham Hotspur 0 Liverpool 3: Raheem Sterling, Steven Gerrard and Alberto Moreno secure victory

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“Brendan Rodgers celebrated his 100th game in charge of Liverpool with a good win against Tottenham Hotspur and a very good joke about Raheem Sterling’s astonishing second-half miss: ‘Raheem ran into the box like Ricky Villa and finished it like Ricky Gervais.’ This was more than another day at the office for Liverpool. This was Rodgers’s side back in business. After Liverpool’s defeat at Man­chester City last Monday, a few dark clouds of doubt scurried across the Melwood skyline. But Rodgers calmly trained his players well all week, setting them up tactically to outwit Spurs and particularly expose their high-pressing tactics. Liverpool moved the ball quickly, occasionally over the top, catching Spurs out.” Telegraph – Henry Winter

For World Cup Heroes, Back to the Day Job

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“There are times when it seems as if the World Cup never ended, and that it is being played out every weekend in England’s Premier League. That was the impression at Turf Moor, where Burnley’s underdog spirit prevented Manchester United from getting either a goal or a win, despite United’s fielding its new purchase, the Argentine winger Ángel di María, whose annual salary (let alone his $100 million transfer fee) exceeds what it cost to assemble Burnley’s entire roster.” NY Times

Southampton: A wind of change is blowing through the south coast

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“Southampton have been through a lot over this summer. Losing four of their key first team players to Liverpool and Manchester United along with their manager Mauricio Pochettino to Spurs. Add to that a promising young lad coming through the ranks in the form of Chambers being snapped up by Arsenal. All this in a single transfer window. People thought they were done and dusted. It would have been the case if Saints hierarchy had made a blunder in choosing a wrong coach for their first team. But with Ronald Koeman the team seems to be in safe pair of hands.” Outside of the Boot

Look on the Bright Side: Reasons for Arsenal, Everton, Tottenham, and Man United to Be Optimistic

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“It was a weekend that will be known throughout the ages as ‘Black Match Day 3.’ That’s provided we define ‘the ages’ as ‘the next two weeks,’ as the world suffers through the most pointless FIFA international break of the Word Cup cycle. A month from now, nobody will remember the points dropped by a bevy of teams this weekend. But for the next two weeks, it’s going to feel like the end is nigh. This is not the end, though. It’s just the suspended animation of a two-week international break. And even for those teams in the darkest of places, there are reasons for optimism. Here are reasons for all the teams that dropped points this week to feel good about themselves.” Grantland

Dynamo Moscow looking to rise again in the Russian Premier League

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“As the characteristic cold air engulfs the stadium and snow relentlessly falls onto the names on the back of shirts, the hazardous weather continuously threatens to disrupt the natural flow of a game. The severity of the climate change is a stark reality check for those who bravely attempt to forge out a footballing career in the unforgiving terrain of Eastern Europe. The difficulties involved in adapting to this harsh footballing environment pertain to more than just the extremities of the weather conditions. Political imbalances and power struggles have long been associated with sport in this corner of the earth. Despite these negative perceptions the potential ceiling is relatively high.” Outside of the Boot

Why is Louis van Gaal so hell-bent on using 3-5-2 at Manchester United?

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“The question, often, is not the what or the how but the why. On Sunday, after Manchester United had staggered to a 1-1 draw against Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers had been hammered 4-0 by Tottenham, there was much carping about 3-5-2, the formation United had used in taking one point from their first two Premier League games of the season, and QPR in losing both their opening matches.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

The smallest team in the Bundesliga employs an ex-con and plays in a tin box and you should root for them

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“Of all the storylines poised to develop during the 2014-15 Bundesliga season — Is Dortmund’s spending spree enough to bring them level with Bayern? (No.) Will Robert Lewandowski come back to haunt his former team? (Yes.) Can Borussia Mönchengladbach or VfL Wolfsburg push for the Champions League? (No.) Will Hamburger SV remain terrible? (Yes.) — the one I’m most excited about is the promotion of little SC Paderborn 07. Can the mouse roar? (Maybe!)” Fusion

Brits or Foreigners: Who Are Better Buys?

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“A couple of years ago, with the aid of Graeme Riley’s immense database, I devised the Transfer Price Index Coefficient (TPIC), as a means of measuring transfer success rates. Our work together with TPI – which converts all transfer fees to ‘current day money’ with an index-based inflation model – led to so many possibilities beyond its initial aim, as it evens up the most expensive signings of, say, 1994 with 2003 and 2014; so that rather than £5m – which was the transfer record 20 years ago – you can ‘see’ it as a value that makes sense in today’s market. (Chris Sutton’s move to Blackburn now equates to £28.7m.)” Tomkins Times

Serie A preview: Juventus face new challenges for fourth straight title

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“Last season, Juventus won Serie A by 17 points. The season before, Juventus won Serie A by nine points. The season before that, Juventus won Serie A by four points. Juventus is the best-placed Italian club (ninth overall) in the 2014 Deloitte Money League, a ranking of Europe’s top-earning clubs. It’s Italy’s biggest club and recent record suggests it has the best squad. The only question in Serie A is whether anybody can prevent Juve making it four in a row.” SI – Jonathan Wilson (Video)

Season of firsts lays ahead for Gibraltar

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“Since May 24th, 2013, the Gibraltar national football team have achieved many firsts, and have written their names into the history books. On November 19th of that year, Allen Bula’s squad represented the British colony in their first official UEFA fixture against Slovakia, earning a commendable 0-0 draw. Against the Faroe Islands in March of the following year, Roy Chipolina scored their first official goal in a 4-1 loss and three months later a strike from Kyle Casciaro earned Gibraltar a first official win against Malta. Next month, the national team will reach another milestone when they line up against Poland for their first official qualifier for Euro 2016 in France.” backpagefootball

The end of the Rafa Benitez revolution at Napoli?

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“At the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao there’s an olive tree. Tourists write down their wishes on pieces of paper and tie them to its branches. Before the second leg of his team’s Champions League play-off on Wednesday night, Napoli owner Aurelio de Laurentiis made one of his own. His wish? ‘That Napoli win against Athletic.’ No Italian team had ever claimed victory at San Mames but Napoli coach Rafa Benitez was defiant before the game: ‘We aren’t here to be the victim,’ he said on the eve of the game, which began with the two sides level 1-1 on aggregate.” ESPN

Florentino Perez sold the two players who held Real Madrid together, is an idiot

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“Florentino Perez is an idiot. In a span of two days Real Madrid sold Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso, arguably the two most important players (outside of Cristiano Ronaldo, of course) in last year’s historic Champions League and Copa del Rey double. It’s just the latest depressing sign that, at the Bernabeu and especially in President Florentino Perez’s mind, splashy headlines and #marketing always trump the on-the-field necessities of the team. If you took a time machine way back to Oct. 26, 2013 you would be surprised to see that as Real Madrid visited Barcelona for the first Clasico of the season, the team was mired in doubts and confusion.” Fusion

Five things we learned from Manchester City v Liverpool

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“A fully fit Stevan Jovetic will be exciting to watch. Those who knew Stevan Jovetic before he joined Manchester City in the summer of 2013 would have been fully aware of the reasons why he commanded a fee of £22 million. However, his first season at the Etihad Stadium was badly interrupted by injury with the Montenegrin forward playing just 16 times in all competitions, mostly as a substitute. It didn’t take long for the gutter press to label Jovetic a flop but the 24-year-old worked hard to get back to full fitness and was arguably City’s standout performer during preseason. With Sergio Aguero still overcoming his own niggles, Jovetic has been given the nod to play alongside Edin Dzeko up front to start the season and, after a strong showing against Newcastle United in City’s opening game, he showed exactly what he is capable of against Liverpool.” backpagefootball

Tactical Analysis: Manchester City 3-1 Liverpool | Efficient champions pounce on errors
“Manchester City 3-1 Liverpool | The top two from the previous campaign met for the first time this season. The two fixtures between them in 2013/14 were at crucial moments of the season. This result doesn’t mean much at the moment, but could be a potential 6 point winner for City come the end of the season.” Outside of the Boot

Get Familiar: Manchester City Crush Liverpool With Continuity
“Big games this early are weird. Does anybody remember last year, when José Mourinho went into Old Trafford and turned the game into mud in Week 2? He was happy to walk away with a road point against mighty Manchester United. A month later, United lost to West Bromwich Albion at home, and the wheels started to come off. It’s August. The transfer window is still open, pieces are still coming together, or falling apart. Mario Balotelli is still sitting in the stands showing off his scarf game.” Grantland

Van Gaal’s tactical evolution

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“Louis van Gaal has begun his time in charge of Manchester United by playing a 3-4-1-2 formation, an alignment with which he enjoyed success as Netherlands manager at the World Cup. ‘Success’ must be qualified, of course — the Netherlands came third. However, it was a dramatically better performance than was expected, as many tipped them to finish behind Chile and Spain in the group stage. In the end, only a defeat to Argentina on penalties denied them a second consecutive appearance in the final.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Commercialisation, PR stunts & bullying. Are Barcelona still ‘more than a club’?

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“Translated to English to mean ‘more than a club’, Mes Que Un Club is a phrase proudly printed across the seats in the middle tier of the Nou Camp stadium, and one that has become globally renowned as Barcelona’s mantra. In the era of modern football where money has become an increasingly key factor in whether a team is successful, Barcelona certainly were deserving of this ‘more than a club’ tag.” Outside of the Boot

10 Potential Olivier Giroud Replacements – It Ain’t Pretty

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“Olivier Giroud is likely out for three months with a hairline fracture. Yaya Sanogo has often been injured in his short spell at the club, but might just be healthy enough to participate in the midweek Champions League Qualifier. The entire world is on the fence about whether or not Alexis Sanchez can succeed playing through the middle in the Premier League. This leaves Arsene Wenger in a huge bind. He has zero healthy, recognized center forwards in his squad right now, Olivier Giroud is probably out for a minimum of three months, and the transfer window closes in under a week. This is a better situation than if the transfer window had already closed, but there is some desperate shopping to be done.” Statsbomb

Eight Talking Points from Match Day 1

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“The Bundesliga is back for a new season and there was already plenty to talk about after the first round of matches. Bayern München unsurprisingly started the season off with a tricky victory against Wolfsburg while Borussia Dortmund disappointed after losing at home to a promising Leverkusen side. Meanwhile, SC Paderborn recorded their first ever Bundesliga point with a draw against Mainz. Here are eight talking points from match day One. The Bundesliga is back!” Bundesliga Fanatic

Five things we learned from Ligue 1 this week

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“Sagnol’s Bordeaux make it three wins out of three. It appears that a complete turnaround is on the cards at Girondins de Bordeaux, thanks to the changes ex-France under-21 coach Willy Sagnol has brought to the club since his appointment. The 2013-2014 season was at times completely dismal for the six-time French league champions, with the club winning just over a third of their matches and suffering the most embarrassing of Coupe de France exits when they went out on penalties against CFA 2 (French football’s fifth tier) side FB Île-Rousse on penalties after a stalemate.” backpagefootball

Dortmund building Arsenal-like empire

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“It would be an exaggeration to describe 2014-15 as a genuinely new era for Borussia Dortmund, but they’re set to embark upon another phase in their exciting adventure as one of Europe’s most revered sides. To be specific, this is the third phase — and potentially the most interesting so far. The first phase was simple — it was Dortmund’s sudden transformation into Germany’s most complete side. In 2010-11, Dortmund took a huge leap from fifth the previous campaign and become the Bundesliga’s best team almost overnight, without much warning or a significant intermediary step.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Tactical Analysis: Everton 2-2 Arsenal | Giroud adds final third efficiency

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“Everton 2-2 Arsenal | Everton have had the edge against the North Londoners in recent times, with their last meeting at Goodison ending in a comfortable 3-0 win for the Toffees. Martinez and co. looked for an encore, but Arsene Wenger and his team showed a new resolve to claw back from 2 down, and rescue a point.” Outside of the Boot

Borussia Dortmund, Atlético Madrid, and the Art of Talent Scavenging

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“Spain and Germany kick off their seasons this weekend. The two leagues have a tremendous amount in common. They’re both top-heavy, frequently dominated by clubs with deep pockets (Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, Bayern Munich in Germany). But in both La Liga and the Bundesliga, two teams have emerged from the middle class to consistently challenge the hierarchy.” Grantland

The Racist, Homophobic, Xenophobic Text-Message Scandal Rocking English Football

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“A few days ago, the contents of two letters sent to the English Football Association — detailing offensive text messages between Malcolm ‘Malky’ Mackay and Crystal Palace executive Iain Moody — hit the news. The inflammatory nature of the texts throws Crystal Palace’s already rocky season into a chaotic jumble and threatens the future employment prospects of Mackay and Moody. It is a ragged and roiling shit show. So, let’s talk about it.” Grantland

Optimism springs eternal as club football rolls back into town

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SV Werder Bremen v FC Chelsea - Pre Season Friendly
“I confess that it has not been easy to put the 2014 World Cup behind me and focus once more on club football. Part of that, of course, is that the party happened on my (adopted) doorstep, and I had a grandstand view. But there is something else. Nationalism can be a dangerous force. But in the heat of a giant tournament there is so much to celebrate in national team football. It is not so much ‘my country is always right.’ It is more a case of ‘my country fitting into a global context’ – a much more healthy way of looking at the world. I enjoy the power of representation that national team football engenders, and love the fact that this is a forum where the likes of Uruguay and Costa Rica can be competitive. It is striking how in the world of national teams the playing field is levelled. True, the last two World Cups were won by Germany and Spain, countries with powerful domestic leagues. The same, though, is not really true of Algeria, which pushed the Germans hard in that second round match in Porto Alegre. Many of the Algerian squad, though, have grown up in France, where they have benefited from a welfare state and from local facilities and coaching.” The World Game – Tim Vickery

A new team taking on their manager’s identity

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“With a host of new managers getting ready to lead their charges into a new Premier League season with new signings, the memories of departed players and plenty of new tactics and ambition, the hope is that each club selected their new leader wisely. From Ronald Koeman at Southampton to Louis van Gaal at Manchester United, these coaches will be looking to stamp their authority as soon as possible, and some already have.” backpagefootball

In Belo Horizonte, Cruzeiro fans turn to their club to forget World Cup rout

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No other graveyard in the world could be this festive, this crowded, this loud. The Estádio Mineirão, where Brazil’s World Cup hopes were cut to pieces—seven, to be precise, one for each German goal—and buried without honor, is ablaze with life. A crowd that will swell to 42,000 is on its feet, waving huge blue-and-white flags and chanting to the insistent beat of bass drums. And the game hasn’t even started. Barely five weeks after the most humiliating home loss ever suffered by a World Cup contender, soccer fans here are again finding hope and joy in the game. That’s partly because, in a fine bit of redemptive irony, the Mineirão is the home pitch of Brazil’s best football club: Cruzeiro, the defending first-division champion and a favorite to repeat. And on this overcast Sunday afternoon it’s hosting a solid side from Santos, Pelé’s old team, newly fortified by the return to Brazil of Robinho.” SI

Has Rojo fixed Man United’s defensive woes?

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“In the lull between the World Cup and the new Premier League season, Manchester United were linked with moves for centre-backs Mats Hummels and Mehdi Benatia. On Wednesday evening, however, the former champions secured the signature of Marcos Rojo from Sporting Club, but some may feel he was not quite the household name supporters were pining for.” Pitchside Europe

Celtic manager Ronny Deila urges authorities to look at Scandinavian model when scheduling league calendar

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“As Ronny Deila prepares his Celtic side for Tuesday’s crucial return leg of the Champions League play-off against Maribor – at stake is a place in the group stage for the third successive season – the Parkhead manager called for Scottish football to give itself a better chance of European success by moving the domestic season into line with the Scandinavian leagues. Deila has made plain his concern about Celtic’s pre-season commitments – he claimed that they contributed to player fatigue in the 6-1 qualifying defeat against Legia Warsaw, which was overturned because the Poles fielded an ineligible player – and he expanded the theme when musing upon the implications of success against Maribor.” Telegraph

Balotelli: A Bold Move, Or Virtual Insanity?

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“Wow, I genuinely didn’t see this coming. The first word I associate with Mario Balotelli is bargepole. As in, don’t go near him with one. That said, £16m for his talent is a steal. But why are AC Milan letting him go quite so cheaply? Once penalties are excluded he has a very good goalscoring record there in a poor team (with penalties it’s an excellent record, but Steven Gerrard still takes Liverpool’s spot-kicks). Why do people keep offloading him? Why always him? Obviously he may now be starting to grow up; but frankly, he needs to.” Tomkins Times

Balotelli is good business for Liverpool
“Few things polarize social media like the terms “Liverpool” and “Mario Balotelli.” So when news broke Thursday that the Italy striker appeared to be on his way to Anfield, the subsequent Twitterstorm was predictable. On Monday, I made the point that Liverpool didn’t need another high-profile striker, that Brendan Rodgers likely felt he’d be best served with the one-forward system he used for most of his managerial career and that, if he were going to add an option up front, it made sense for it to be a youngster or a mid-range squad player, rather than someone in the Edinson Cavani/Radamel Falcao bracket.” ESPN