Current Barcelona manager Xavi is under intense pressure, and the club is contemplating replacing him with another of their legendary former players. There has been much conjecture over the future of the Spanish manager due to his poor performance this season at the Camp Nou. Following his appointment as manager in November 2021, Xavi led […]

Growing up, I played soccer religiously. Practice happened three times a week, and then there was a game on Saturday. Oftentimes, there was a tournament at the weekend, so that took up all of my time. You would see teams sponsored by clubs from Europe. Everton and Celtic are two teams that stood out as […]

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has signed a new contract keeping him in the position until June 2025. It was discussed and confirmed informally by the Blaugrana board, although progress was slow. However, now everything is set in stone and made public. His previous contract was to expire in the summer of 2024. After some back-and-forth […]

It was always going to happen at some point – Barcelona is getting old. Xavi is now 33 years old, Dani Alves is now 30 and they recently had to part with the legendary Carlos Puyol. The 'tiki-taka' team of five years ago is certainly long gone, with new Barcelona manager Luis Enrique brought in […]

Schone Shines Ajax are going to be hard pressed to outpace either FC Barcelona or Paris St Germain. However, they look comfortable for the Europa League spot at the moment. If they do drop into that competition, I fancy them to do well. The star man for them through the first two fixtures has been […]

Spain limps into their second Euro 2012 qualifiers against Lithuania, as injuries forced five of their usual call-ups from participating in La Furia Roja's two upcoming fixtures. Cèsc Fabregas, Fernando Torres, Pedro Rodríguez, and Jesús Navas all have different knocks and nicks, but the man that Vicente del Bosque will miss the most is the […]

When Spain fell to the hands of Switzerland in the opening match of World Cup 2010, the vultures suddenly appeared from the sky and circled around their "dying" carcass. No team has ever won the World Cup after losing its first match. The ghosts from yesteryear are rising from the dead and haunting this current […]

Yesterday, the goalkeeping and the defense were discussed, and while the three goalkeepers contending for the final goalkeeping spot will state their cases to Vicente del Bosque on and off the pitch, they will have little to no chance of participating in the World Cup. The players who will compete for the final midfield spots, […]

Throughout Barcelona's two-year run of groundbreaking excellence, Josep Guardiola i Sala role as a tactician tended to be undervalued. He reinstituted the "Total Football" concept that Johan Cruyff, Guardiola's former manager at FC Barcelona, instilled when he was a player and a manager at the club, and he changed the culture inside the dressing room. […]

The Congress Hall of the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland held the draw for UEFA Euro 2012 on Sunday afternoon, and while there is no clear consensus about a "group of death" among the nine groups, Spain's group would not be considered in contention for that infamous moniker. Spain was chosen in […]

After a workmanlike 1-0 victory against Almería and a mediocre showing in their 0-0 draw at the Mestalla against Valencia CF on Saturday, FC Barcelona looked to reverse their form in the Champions League against a supposed weaker team in FK Rubin Kazan. To their credit, Barça did not make any excuses about their performance […]

The theory is that because of the low amount of scoring in football, using particularly protective and cynical tactics ruins the sport whose nature inhibits a high amount of goals per match. Football's common nickname is "The Beautiful Game," but from where did that phrase initially originate? Credit is usually given to 50's and 60's […]