Cultured Football #28
Cultured Football #28
Bielsa’s 2002 World Cup Argentinian team: Its failure and the legacy it left behind
Can you believe that the new season is just a matter of days away? I can’t and was surprised when someone mentioned it to me yesterday. Next week I’ll look for any good previews of the season – which I love, especially for the lower leagues and major European ones – but for this one you’ll have to make do with five stories about individuals at different levels of ascendency in their careers.
It ain’t over till it’s Auba
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang excels at doing what is arguably the hardest job in football: scoring goals. He has done plenty of that throughout his career. Between 2011 and 2020 he only scored less than 15 goals in a season twice, in 2013-14 (13 goals) when he was new to the Bundesliga and last season when he scored ‘just’ 10 goals. This sudden decrease in goal tally, along with the evolution of modern football where there are more demands on a striker than scoring goals, has led to questions being asked as to whether Arsenal is the right club for him and he the right player for Arsenal.
Reading time: 9 minutes
‘Something I’ll never forget’: Brereton on Chile and his Copa adventure
Now this is quite a story. Ben Brereton had played and won a European U17 title with England but when a fan spotted that he had a Chilean mother, a social media campaign led to a call-up for Chile. It is fair to say that went pretty well with Brereton – or Brereton-Diaz as he is now known – ending up being his country’s new poster boy.
Reading time: 8 minutes
José Mourinho eager to prove he can rediscover art of winning at Roma
Unsurprising given his phenomenal success in the early part of his career, Jose’ Mourinho has found it quite easy to land prestigious new jobs regardless of how poorly he had done in previous ones. Yet, for all of his pulling power, that of Roma must surely be one of his last opportunities to show that he is still a coach capable of delivering success. It won’t be easy, however, as he is taking over a club where expectations are high and the gap with the reality of what his playing squad can deliver is considerable.
Reading time: 4 minutes
‘Climbing fast’ – Scott Cooper and the football revolution in the Philippines
That of managing the Philippines might not be widely seen as a dream job yet, if every opportunity is what you make of it, then Scott Cooper has certainly made the most of the breaks he has had in South Asia. His vision promises a bright future for his adoptive country, one that he hopes leads to the World Cup.
Reading time: 7 minutes
Bielsa’s 2002 World Cup Argentinian team: Its failure and the legacy it left behind
In England, and pretty much elsewhere, there is widespread admiration of Marcelo Bielsa’s work as manager. What he has achieved at Leeds, just as he had done previously with Chile and Athletic Bilbao, is nothing short of phenomenal especially as much of it has been delivered through pure coaching rather than by ‘merely’ buying better players. Only in one country will you find fans who aren’t as generous in their admiration: his native Argentina.
Reading time: 17 minutes
Last week’s most read
For the first time ever, there was a tie among last week’s articles as the most read. Some of you opted to read the story about how Watford FC came to the rescue of a group of survivors off a shipwreck. Others were instead drawn to the story of Bruno Berner who swapped a career as a footballer for one in marketing.
Reading time: 5 – 7 minutes