Cultured Football #218

Saving The Valley. Leadership Beyond Playing. UEFA Mess. Bombito Breakout Story. Dortmund Talent Model. Dortmund Talent Model. Builder in Milan

Charlton Athletic & The Battle for The Valley

By Ian King for Unexpected Delirium

There was a time when Charlton Athletic were seen as the model club. Not only did it manage to stay in the Premier League outdoing clubs with much bigger budgets but fans played a central role. Things might not be as rosy at the moment but the story of how they got there should serve as inspiration not only to current Charlton fans but those of clubs whose futures appear bleak.

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Why Leadership in Sport is About More Than Having Played the Game at the Highest Level

By Rich and Rob for Rich and Rob

If you ever spend at least a handful of minutes on Linkedin, you will undoubtedly come across someone talking about the virtues of emotional intelligence especially in leaders. And, whilst, the frequency (and, often, tone) of these posts can be cringeworthy, there is a truth to them. Even in football.

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Power, influence and Uefa's multi-club mess

By Kevin Coleman for Game Over, Ball Burst

The fear over Crystal Palace’s possible exclusion from European competition because they are partly owned by someone with other clubs in the same competition has horrified most fans beyond those of a Palace persuasion. Less public has been Drogheda’s case with the Irish side’s exclusion not theoretical but factual. Yet, at the same time, there are some multi-club structures that don’t trip off such drastic measures. All of which is a gross failure by UEFA to tackle and deal with this growing trend.

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The Man from Nowhere

By John Porter for The Crazy Dribbler

Have you ever heard of Moïse Bombito? No? Well, neither had I. Or, it seems, most people when he signed for OGC Nice last summer. But over the past eight months he has apparently emerged as one of the finest defenders in Ligue 1. Always fascinating that, in an era where there is so much information, there can be discoveries like this.

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Is Dortmund's talent-factory model succeeding, sustainable?

By Constantin Eckner for ESPN

By moving to Borussia Dortmund, Jobe Bellingham follows a very familiar path. Not simply because it is also one that his brother took but also as the German side has proven to be extremely good at identifying, getting and building up young talent. Can they keep doing this and, crucially, will the fans be happy at being ‘just’ a production line for others?

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The Builder

By Paul Grech for Cultured Football Shorts

Not every career is built on flair. Some are forged through grit, patience, and the ability to spot what others overlook. From a modest playing career to an exceptional run as Lazio’s sporting director, Igli Tare made a habit of thriving where others hesitated. Now, at a troubled AC Milan, he’s been handed his biggest challenge yet.

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 when you join.

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In Case You Missed It Here’s Last Week’s Most Read: The Third Man

By David Owen for The Blizzard

Offside was once a straitjacket that suffocated football. Then came a bold change in 1925 that handed the initiative to attackers, reshaping tactics, inflating scorelines and sparking a scramble for defensive reinvention. Yet, what followed was not chaos but a compelling tug-of-war between innovation and tradition. For all the angst that it might generate, football would be much less enjoyable had that rule change not come to be.

Bonus Read: Offside law changed after Swedish third-tier club’s pressure pays off

[Paul MacInnes x The Guardian]

This is a lovely story; that of how a small Swedish club that noticed a loophole in the offside law and eventually got FIFA to change it.