Cultured Football #241
Six to Watch. Restoring Panathinaikos. Rabonas are Nice. Swedish Kits. Fearless in Spain.
Six players to watch at Afcon 2025
By BBC Sport Africa
The African Cup of Nations is perhaps the last remaining continental championship that can elevate relative unknowns into bona-fide stars. And whilst you will probably know how Victor Osihmen is, I’m guessing that the other five listed here will be much less known.
Restoring the Greens: Benítez and the Search for Identity at Panathinaikos
By James Doolan - Balkan Angle for The Balkan Angle
Identity is often lost quietly, long before results make the noise. Panathinaikos drifted through a season of departures, injuries and fading conviction, leaving a squad with quality but little clarity. Into that uncertainty arrived Rafa Benítez, tasked with restoring structure, authority and belief rather than chasing instant miracles. Early signs point to greater control, tougher edges and a team relearning how to manage moments. The deeper question is whether that fragile sense of direction can harden into something lasting.
In Defence of Skipping School
By Jamie Hamilton on Medium
Everyone seems to have been awestruck by Ryan Cherki’s rabona assist against Sunderland. Everyone except his coach. What does football lose when imagination is coached out of it.
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Too Many Logos, Too Little Money: The Swedish Football Sponsorship Problem
By Kitcyclopedia for The Kit Room
A football shirt should tell a story, not list a balance sheet. Swedish clubs have filled every inch with logos yet still struggle for revenue, caught between community values, small deals and limited TV money. It is not a good look.
Elche: Fearless & Fun
By Jordan Thomas for La Liga and Beyond
Fearlessness can be a survival strategy. Elche have arrived in LaLiga playing with control, ambition and a refusal to shrink against bigger names, turning possession into authority rather than caution. With limited resources and no single star, their rise has been built on coaching clarity, collective belief and players transformed by a clear idea. Long may it continue..
Cultured Football cuts through transfer gossip and noise to share football writing worth your time. Each week, we pick five stories that inform, surprise, and remind you why the game matters.
In Case You Missed It Here’s Last Week’s Most Read: ESTAC Troyes: The Sorrowful Story of Multi-Club Ownership
By The Ligue 1 Story
Some clubs rise, fall and rise again, but few have lived through a transformation as unsettling as Troyes. Their recent revival in Ligue 2 hides a far darker stretch marked by City Football Group’s missteps, revolving-door managers, angry boycotts and a squad bent out of shape by a global network’s priorities. Even now, success sits uneasily on foundations supporters no longer trust.
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