Cultured Football #183

Barca Risking It. Klopp Wings It. Next Generation. Modern Football. Carroll's Bordeaux Rebirth.

Are Barcelona building their next great team — or jeopardising it?

By Ben Wylie for Plot the Ball

Watching the likes of Lamine Yamal and Pedri when they first got their chance at Barcelona shirt, it was easy to forget that they were so young such was the maturity of their play. Yet, the reality is that they were unusually young to be playing at such a high and intense level. And whilst Barca seem more than willing to build around them, you have to wonder whether it is in the players’ best interest.

Bonus Pick: Barcelona are not the only club in Spain that is putting their faith in youth. Celta Viga have been equally trusting and results are paying off for them as well. [Mark Sochon x La Liga Expert]

---

Jürgen Klopp and Red Bull are a perfect match made in compromise

By Chris Nee for High Protein Beef Paste

Jürgen Klopp's appointment as Red Bull's new Global Head of Soccer has caused debate amongst fans albeit more in Germany than in England. For football purists, this is something of a betrayal from a manager who has often said the right things. Yet Klopp himself is unlikely to see it that way; for him this is truly the perfect job for right now.

---

Next Generation 2024: 60 of the best young talents in world football

By Marcus Christenson, Steven Bloor and Garry Blight for The Guardian

Each year, the Guardian pick the 60 best young 17 year-olds on the planet. Each year it is a delight to go through it. Not sure what to make of the fact that, each year, an increasing number of those selected is already something of a familiar name.

Bonus Pick: Also each year, the Guardian pick the best young player at each Premier League Club. These are the names people will be talking about very, very soon.

Thinking of someone who might enjoy Cultured Football? Let them know.

Love your club, but despair sometimes about football?

By Hayley Davinson for The Good Football

Football’s seemingly endless growth in popularity has brought with it equally endless commercialisation. Sadly, the impact of profit-driven growth on traditional fans has largely been a negative, putting their sense of belonging in stadiums at risk.

---

A 'chaotic new reality' - Bordeaux's life in French fourth tier

By Raphael Jucobin for the BBC

For those of a certain age, who remember Bordeaux winning French league titles and getting to finals of European competition, their collapse - slow at first but then rapid all of a sudden - has been stupefying. Things are looking a little bit better now, thanks to widespread support that included the return of former players and the arrival of an English knight in the form of Andy Carroll. Yet the road back is a long one and that’s without considering the ruins left by their financial collapse.

Bonus Pick: Carroll is not the only Englishman who has found his way to France this season; plenty of others have made Ligue 1 their new home. [Liam Scahill x The Ligue1 Essential ] .

---

My promise to all readers is that Cultured Football will always be free. However, encouragement is always welcome. If you’re looking for ideas on how to do that, here are five:

• Share the newsletter: tell people about Cultured Football either on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit or directly through email.

• Contribute to community: read a great article that you think others would enjoy? Or written one? Reach out to us on Notes / DMs or else Twitter.

• Buy my books: I’ve written a few books but two that I am particularly proud of are Echoes of an Italian Summer - a collection of little known stories from Italia 90 - and Il Re Calcio - a collection of stories from Italian football in the 90s.

• Buy us a Coffee: got some spare cash and want to thank us for the work we do? Well, you can make a donation on KoFi.

• Leave a Comment: Are there any articles you particularly enjoyed? Anything I missed? Other thoughts? Let me know!

Every Saturday, Cultured Football brings you five great football articles you will enjoy reading. And you get a free copy of the book Master of the Azzurri.

Last Week’s Most Read: Should other Premier League teams copy Brentford's tactics?

By Ryan O'Hanlon for ESPN

Brentford have scored very early on - within the first two minutes - in four of their seven games so far this season. Too often for it to be a fluke. How are they doing it? And why don’t others copy them?