Cultured Football #248
Run of the Century. Korean Versatility. Brazilian Preview. Lyon Joy. Polish Boom.
The Run of the Century
By Leire Martinez for Football Heritage
La Liga rarely leaves room for clubs like Deportivo Alavés who live on the margins, shaped by proximity to giants and long stretches of anonymity. One spring night in 2001, that order briefly dissolved in a European final that felt both improbable and unreal. The result was an evening that remains a reminder of how far belief can carry the humble.
Bonus Read: Are we seeing the return of Malaga?
[Jordan Thomas x La Liga and Beyond]
Malaga once tasted nights of glory in the Champions League and threatened to disrupt the historical hierarchy of Spanish football. Then reality kicked in with a vengeance. After a long, dark period, however, they could be on their way back.
Is Versatility Quietly Hindering Korean Players?
By Tae Tak for The Taegukscout Notebook
In Europe’s top leagues, versatility is treated as a virtue. For a growing group of Korean players, it may also be a quiet constraint.
Brasileirão 2026 Preview: Everything you need to know
By Nathan Jones for The Copa Club
Want to know which former Crystal Palace winger will be lining up for Chapecoense in this year’s Brazilian league? Or which player looks to be next to emerge from the Palmeiras production line? A look at the stories, names and threads worth following as the Brasileirão kicks off.
Thinking of someone who might enjoy Cultured Football? Let them know.
Debt, doubt and a dancing No.9
By Matt Spiro for Inside French Football
Lyon have spent the past year staring into the financial abyss, shedding players, trust, and certainty. Survival was all that mattered. A rebuilt spine, calm leadership, and a young Brazilian scoring freely have improved their mood. After so much fear, Lyon are allowed to feel joy again.
Bonus Read: Montpellier HSC: The Rise and Fall of a Southern Underdog
[The Half Space Journal]
Montpellier were once the authors of one of French football’s great stories. Since then, life has been one of steady regression.
Passion, prospects and a thrilling title race: why Polish football is booming
By Nick Ames for the Guardian
Winter has returned to Poland, but the league feels anything but frozen. With crowds growing, money steadier, and an impossibly tight title race is impossibly tight, the Ekstraklasa is booming. And whilst the football is raw there is a sense lingers that something long dormant is finally stirring.
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: ‘Tout in Haut de Ch’Terril’: The Incredible Half-Season of RC Lens
By Luca Lamanna for The Ligue 1 Story
For once, Paris Saint-Germain aren’t running away with the French league. Instead, Lens sit atop Ligue 1, and it is hard not to fall for underdogs from a small town carried there by a blend of tactical clarity, late-career revivals, and data-smart recruitment. It might not last but, for now, it feels like something truly special is happening in Artois.
Excellent curation this week. The Polish football piece captures something that's been brewing for a while but finally getting noticed. The Ekstraklasa's attendance surge isn't just about competitive balance, it's about timing too. European leagues are getting so financialized that fans are starting to crave that raw, unpredictable energy again. Similar vibe to what happend in the Bundesliga mid-2000s before RB Leipzig arrived.