Cultured Football #261

Dying Breed. Bohemians. Complete Midfielder. African Arsenal. Return of Racing.

The Dying Breed

By Luke Taylor for FORZA CALCIO

Italian football still holds a space for strikers who seem to belong to another era; not always the fastest or most complete, but who simply score goals. Yet, even here, figures like Pietro Iemmello and Joel Pohjanpalo are becoming increasingly rare, squeezed out as the modern game reshapes the role.

The Beating Heart of Phibsborough: How Bohemian FC Refuses to Sell Out

By David Shams for Around the World in Matches

Dalymount Park remains one of those rare grounds where the identity of the club who play there extends far beyond the football itself. Murals, old terraces, travelling supporters and a deeply local political culture give Bohemians a sense of place that many modern clubs spend fortunes trying to imitate. With redevelopment looming, however, there is an underlying tension: whether growth can happen without sanding away the edges that made the club matter.

Mapping the future of midfield

By Tom Curren for Scouted

Modern football increasingly asks midfielders to do everything at once. Defend space, escape pressure, carry the ball, dictate tempo, then change roles again moments later.. The discussion here centres on a difficult question: what even counts as a midfielder anymore, in a game where the best players are increasingly those capable of becoming several things at once.

Arsenal FC: The Premier League’s Black and African Club

By Sean Jacobs for Eleven Named People

Around the corner where I used to work a few years back, (in Marsa, Malta) a group of African immigrants opened an Arsenal supporters’ club. Ever since, I have wondered why so many Africans have a bond with the fresh Premier League Champions. Well, that question has now been answered.

Bonus Read: Arsenal, Clapton Orient, and a Forgotten Precedent of Multi‑Club Ownership

[Mark O'Neill]

Did Arsenal set up the first ever formal MCO arrangement?

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Most people find Cultured Football through someone else. Be that link.

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The Return of Racing

By Jordan Thomas for La Liga and Beyond

Fourteen years after relegation, Racing Santander are back in La Liga carrying the scars of everything that nearly destroyed them. Fraudulent owners, unpaid players, relegations and the genuine fear of extinction have gradually been overcome. Even better, Racing have rebuilt patiently, with a style of football and ownership model their supporters can finally believe in again.

Bonus Read: The Return of Real Racing Club

[El_Partido]

Promotion means that Racing Santander can once again dream of a repeat of the time they made it to Europe.

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

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In Case You Missed It Here’s Last Week’s Most Read: What the Football Pyramid Stands On

By Guirec Munier for Lower Block

“English football likes to describe itself as a pyramid. It’s the wrong image. A pyramid suggests order, clear lines, something fixed. This isn’t that. This is weight. Everything above depends on what happens down here, but nothing down here is built to support anything.”