Cultured Football #119
Cultured Football #119
Bundesliga Transfer Needs. Climate Neutrality. 777 Mystery. Cost of Injuries. Rising Powers.
Welcome, two days later than usual, to Cultured Football where the best football writing of the past seven days is carefully selected, just for you.
Problem Positions: Where Does Each Bundesliga Club Need to Strengthen this Summer?
By
for
Each club in the Bundesliga analysed in depth with the key areas where they need strengthening identified. Detailed and insightful.
Here's how a soccer club can make a match climate neutral
By Chris Wright for ESPN
An experiment in the second tier of Dutch football might signal the way forward for football if it wants to help fight against climate change.
The 777 football mystery
By Paul Brown and Philippe Auclair for Josimar
No group other than the Abu Dhabi owned City Football Group has as many football clubs in its portfolio than 777 Partners who have gone on a shopping spree since 2018. That of multi-club ownership is a growing trend so there is nothing surprising in that activity. Yet a closer look into their practices reveals a lot to be worried about.
The Cost of Injuries in the Premier League
By Jason McKenna for Analytics FC
To get an understanding of the increasing demands being placed on players, one only has to look at the events of this past weekend where, as clubs began returning to kick-off pre-season for 2023-24, some of their players where playing the last game of the 2022-23 season (the final of the European Under 21 championship). Such overload (which is only going to get worse) will see more players suffering injuries and potentially disrupting their clubs’ season.
From Monchi to Murtough: rising power of football’s executive class
By John Brewin for The Guardian
Up till a decade back, the idea of an English club having a director of football was completely alien. Now, however, practically every club has one and the practise that had long been popular across Europe has now taken over England as well. And the men placed in that role becoming as famous as anyone in the sport itself.
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Last Week’s Most Read (1): This North Korean player stunned the soccer world – then disappeared
By Gawon Bae and Andrew McNicol for CNN
It is not unusual for a young player to be in the spotlight at an early age but then disappear almost completely from the scene. Few, however, do so as quickly and completely as the first North Korean player to ever score in one of Europe’s five major league.
Last Week’s Most Read (2): Liverpool's 'next Lionel Messi' now without a club after jetting in with no boots to answer SOS call
By Theo Squires for the Liverpool Echo
In 2007, Liverpool signed a young Argentine midfielder from Real Madrid who had (inevitably) been saddled by comparisons with Lionel Messi. Whilst he showed flashes of brilliance at Liverpool’s academy, he never really had much an opportunity at first team level. What followed was a career filled with making the most of any opportunity that came along.