Cultured Football #211

Brighton Transfer Limits. Dijon Mastermind. Carlito Finito. Ronaldo Saudi Letdown. Anfield Evolution.

Is there a limit to Brighton's transfer strategy?

By Stefan Bienkowski for Bienkowski's Bletherings

Brighton & Hove Albion's much-lauded recruitment model - identifying undervalued talent, developing it, and selling at a premium - has been wildly successful and transformed them into a side no one takes lightly. Yet is there a limit to this model? Can they keep repeating the trick? Evidence elsewhere suggests not.

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The mastermind behind Dijon FCO's rapid rise

By Rich Laverty for Women's Football Chronicles

In most instances, the women’s football team rides in the men’s team slipstream. Look throughout Europe and you won’t find many elite women’s teams that don’t have a strong men’s side backing them. Dijon FCO are one of those rarities.

Bonus Read: Let Women’s Football Lead. Not Catch Up.

[Jordan Wise x GAMEPLAYER]

Not sure I agree with all that is being argued for here, but I’m definitely in sync with the overall sentiment: the women’s game needs to innovate, not imitate.

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Carlito... Finito

By Chirag Sharatkumar for More Than A Game

Is Carlo Ancelotti finished as a manager? Given that he was being hailed as a genius less than twelve months ago when he won yet another Champions League, that is unlikely. But it seems that he is finished as Real Madrid manager where all it took was a season of transition and the rise of Barcelona to edge him out. Whatever comes next for him, Ancelotti will always be one of the greatest ever to manage the game. And this is a brilliant ode to that career.

Bonus Read: Kindness Can Still Win

[Chirag Sharatkumar x Sideline Stories]

Ancelotti has certainly been on Chirag’s mind this week as he penned another brilliant take on the Real Madrid manager, this one zooming in on how good guys can still win.

Bonus Read: Should Xabi Alonso take over at Real Madrid this summer?

[David Turner x The Stadium Whisperer]

Xabi Alonso is widely expected to take over from Ancelotti at Real. But, is it the right move for a managerial career that has had not mis-steps so far?

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Asian exit sums up Ronaldo's Saudi time

By John Duerden for How Football Explains Asia

There’s no doubting that, like it or not, Cristiano Ronaldo has elevated the profile of Saudi Arabian football. The number of kids wearing yellow Al-Nassr shirts is proof of that. Yet on the pitch he has yet to win anything in his time there. The Asian Champions Cup was seen as an opportunity to change all of that but, for all their stars, Al-Nassr ended up flattering to deceive.

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How Arne Slot's Liverpool won the Premier League title in 2024-25

By Beth Lindop and Alain van Hilten for ESPN

Arne Slot’s Liverpool won the Premier League with a fresh imprint that somehow honoured the past while at the same time breaking from it. Slot took the emotional residue of Klopp’s era and, rather than mimicking it, channeled it into something sleeker, more controlled. Crucially, Liverpool adapted better than their rivals to a season of chaos transforming it into a statement that this version of Liverpool isn’t just surviving the post-Klopp transition but thriving in it.

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.

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In Case You Missed It Here’s Last Week’s Most Read: Love the Game - Hate the Industry

By Phil Derbyshire for Modern Football is Rubbish

I’m pretty sure that whilst many reading this still love the game of football, they are far less enamoured with the industry surrounding it. The thrill of the matchday remains, but it’s wrapped in layers of greed, detachment, and cold corporate polish. Romance is dead. But the game? Still beating, even if buried under the branding.