Whether you are a top-level professional or a keen amateur player, mastering the art of taking free-kicks is a tremendous skill to acquire. The best free-kick exponents spend endless hours honing their craft on the training pitch to give themselves a crucial edge in competitive games. Although you may not have the same time available if you ply your trade at grassroots level, there are still some drills you can utilise to improve your free-kick skills. With that in mind, read on as we offer several valuable tips for free-kick training sessions, starting with the acquisition of some essential ..read more

Following a short break after four completely crazy days of last-16 action, the European Championship was back in action for the quarter-finals, where the eight teams played out their games on Friday and Sunday to leave us with four on the other side. From a showstopper between Belgium and Italy to a completely unexpected appearance from the Czech Republic, there is lots to unpack from the second knockout stage of the Euros, so let’s get right into it: Switzerland vs Spain The first quarter-final was held in Russia, where Switzerland (who had knocked their French neighbours out in the round o ..read more

Going into the European Championship, most fans’ realistic favourites were either France or Portugal, maybe even England. Italy were nowhere near that discussion, and given the fact that the 2018 World Cup was the first time that they failed to qualify for a major tournament since 1992, it is understandable that not many expected them to go all the way. Their recent record, however, paints a very different picture. Going into the tournament, Italy had not been beaten in 26 matches in a run that went back to June 2018, while the last time they conceded a goal was in October 2020. Something had ..read more

Manchester City and Chelsea are set to meet each other for the fourth time this season, with this unquestionably set to be their biggest clash yet with the Champions League trophy on the line. Pep Guardiola debuted his false nine and inverted full-back formula against Frank Lampard’s Chelsea in his first match of the new year, but Thomas Tuchel has since got the better of his Catalan counterpart in both the FA Cup and league. None of the clashes between Guardiola and Tuchel in England featured all of their big guns, though, as many players were rested with the tight schedule in mind. However ..read more

It might not be the most prestigious trophy in all of club football, but the Europa League final is still quite a big deal. This season, one-time winners Manchester United are set to face first-time finalists Villarreal, with the Spanish side also fighting for a spot in next season’s Champions League as they have only managed to qualify for the new European Conference League through La Liga. Three-time competition winner Unai Emery will be in his fifth Europa League final against Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who will be leading United into a final for the first time in his managerial career. Villarre ..read more