Lionel Messi was 22 when I first saw him wearing the Blaugrana colours and weaving mazes around defenders all over Europe and hoodwinking goalkeepers with the minutest shifts in bodyweight. I’m 22 now and just when I was a few months away from living one of my life’s biggest dreams of climbing the Camp Nou […] The post In your eternal debt, Leo appeared first on Footy Analyst ..read more

There is a running joke whenever fans catch sight of a team bus parking in a stadium garage – especially if it is one carrying a Jose Mourinho team – that this is a preview of the tactics that the team itself will be adopting during the game. It is not a particularly funny joke, […] The post Winning Vs Not Losing: The difference in approach that could make or break a football team appeared first on Footy Analyst ..read more

In 1962, The World Cup jamboree travelled to Chile on the west coast of South America, that narrow strip of a country squashed between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean. Four years earlier, in Sweden, a teenage Pelé had introduced himself to the world and, along with his team-mates, had taken Brazil to the world […] The post Amarildo Tavares da Silveira: The man who replaced Pelé, and no one noticed appeared first on Footy Analyst ..read more

In May 1996, Robson was enjoying the fruits of his work at Porto when he took a phone call from the president of FC Barcelona. Ostensibly, it was to discuss a potential transfer target from the Portuguese club, but the conversation moved on to another target that the Catalans had focused on. At the time, […] The post Sir Bobby Robson and the almost perfect season at Barcelona appeared first on Footy Analyst ..read more

It is hard not to be impressed by Billy Gilmour. Despite being just nineteen, he seems to take control of midfield with a precocious awareness of what is happening around him and vision on what to do whatever the situation. His technique is fantastic and always seems to find space either with a pass or […] The post Brexit and the influx of Scottish talent in English football appeared first on Footy Analyst ..read more

After Robson was harshly sacked by Sporting president Sousa Cintra, with the club top of the league and heading towards their first Portuguese championship title for a decade, the out of work Englishman was quickly snapped up by Porto, and the former Three Lions manager continued his European sojourn with a move to the Estádio […] The post Sir Bobby Robson at Porto: Cult status, glory and triumph over adversity appeared first on Footy Analyst ..read more

Watching Jurgen Klopp on the touchline is often a spectacle in itself. He is energetic – occasionally borderline aggressive – as he stands on his feet for the full ninety minutes, hardly allowing himself the luxury of sitting down. Not even when the referee blows for half time does he slow down, opting instead to […] The post Emotional Intelligence: How emotions are managed to achieve success in football coaching appeared first on Footy Analyst ..read more

Following his dismissal at PSV, Bobby Robson joined Sporting Clube de Portugal. In a number of ways, the move would be a milestone in Robson’s career, although his time in Lisbon would only last a shade over seventeen months. Portuguese football had traditionally been dominated by the big three clubs in the Primeira Divisão, Benfica, […] The post Sir Bobby Robson: The Sporting Clube de Portugal seasons appeared first on Footy Analyst ..read more

For young players, it has become something of a rite of passage. Of the hundreds of players in the academy system very, very few now get an opportunity at the clubs where they were schooled. Instead, for most the first steps in the professional game get made on loan at some club of a lower […] The post Loan Strategies: How some clubs are aiming to win at player development appeared first on Footy Analyst ..read more

After enduring a dismal qualifying campaign for the 1984 European Championships, a crestfallen Bobby Robson spoke with Sir Bert Millichip, Chairman of The Football Association. Conceding that he had failed, Robson offered to resign from his post as England manager, and recommended that The FA should approach Brian Clough to be his successor. Millichip refused […] The post Sir Bobby Robson: The PSV Years appeared first on Footy Analyst ..read more