Cultured Football #246

Klopp In Charge. Behind The Firewall. Impossible Madrid Job. Maritimo. Football In Berlin.

Klopp’s Red Bull role has grown much bigger than first anticipated

By Constantin Ecker for ESPN

What was assumed to be a ceremonial Red Bull role for Jurgen Klopp has evolved into deep involvement and hard decisions across a sprawling multi club network. Influence now stretches from transfer calls to sackings, blurring lines between coach, executive, and fixer. Stepping away from the touchline clearly did not mean stepping back.

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Behind the Great Firewall, the Beautiful Game is Far From Dead

By David Shams for Dispatches from an Iranian American Expat

Perhaps football’s obituary in China has been written far too early. The era of vanity signings and thinly disguised policy project has passed, yet the game itself survives. And what remains looks more like football again.

Xabi Alonso Discovered Real Madrid Is the Impossible Job for All But Two People

By Henry Winter for Sports Illustrated

At Real Madrid, time is a luxury almost no one is afforded. Xabi Alonso arrived with pedigree, promise, and goodwill, yet quickly discovered that history, ego, and expectation form an unforgiving trap. When winning is the minimum requirement and patience does not exist, the job ends up being a test few are meant to survive.

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The resurgence of Club Sport Marítimo

By Kevin Fernandes for PortuGoal

Marítimo are one of the few clubs to have edged out Portugal’s big three to win a league title. Yet their story is also one of distance, delay, and stubborn survival, shaped as much by geography and politics as by results. Now, with a revived identity, modern ideas, and a fanbase pulling in one direction again, the Madeiran club feels ready to make a return to the big time.

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In search of Berlin football

By Tom Ritchie for Bundesletter — German football culture

Football in Berlin hides in plain sight. Overshadowed by clubs, galleries, politics, and constant reinvention, football does not announce itself as Berlin’s defining culture. Yet beneath the surface, through amateur pitches, immigrant teams, and stubborn communities, the game quietly mirrors Berlin itself. Football in Berlin may hide in plain sight but this brilliant three part series reveals how the game thrives in the city’s margins.

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Each week on Cultured Football we pick the five great football stories from the previous seven days.

In Case You Missed It Here’s Last Week’s Most Read: The Football Tourism Paradox

By Josh Bland for Against the Run of Play

Football travel promises connection but can also deliver contradiction when it exposes tensions between locals and visitors. Hard though it might be to admit, there exists the reality that it quietly dilutes the very cultures it seeks to celebrate.