Cultured Football #38
Is the Bundesliga an easy league?
Proper football is back and I, for one, am thankful for it. Despite my apathy towards international football, I do understand why it matters so much to the players themselves. Which is why in this issue of Cultured Football I’ve included the interview with Steven Caulker, someone who is to be admired for facing his personal problems and doing his utmost to overcome them and who has been rewarded with his second international debut.
Steven Caulker opens up on the end of his Scotland hopes, not signing for Celtic, saying sorry to Neil McCann and feeling humbled in a church in Kinross
Steven Caulker has certainly enjoyed an unconventional career. Stardom seemed to beckon when he anchored Swansea’s defence during their maiden season in the Premier League back in 2011 but just five years later he found himself without a club with most managers having decided that the personal demons that he was struggling with were too much of an issue. Admirably, he has managed to rebuild both his life and his career from that low-point; with a debut for Sierra Leone being the latest success story for the big defender.
Reading Time: 11 minutes
The typewriter seller who helped make Hungary a football giant
Hungarian football’s golden is long gone but so big was the revolution that the Mighty Magyars brought about that people remain endlessly fascinated by that team and how it came to play that way. Hardly surprising, given this fascinating story of a typewriter seller who helped pave the way for a coach who proved to be fundamental for Hungarian football to make it there in the first place.
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Jadon Sancho is struggling, but he can still transform Man Utd
I can’t believe that there are people doubting Jadon Sancho because of a slow start at Manchester United. This is a player who blew away the Bundesliga with his talent and who has done brilliantly every time a new challenge has been placed in front of him. He is also just 21 years old. So it should go without saying that there is plenty to come from him. But perhaps it bears laying out just why that is.
Reading Time: 9 minutes
Harvest Festival for Haaland and Lewandowski
The doubts around Sancho are partly driven by where he made his name. There is the belief among some people that the Bundesliga is a weak league where it is very easy to scored goals. This statistically fuelled article shows that there are indeed more goals scored in Germany then elsewhere but the best players there would still be great players elsewhere.
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Craig Bellamy opens up on his mental health battle, why he left his dream job at Anderlecht and dealing with life in the aftermath of a pandemic
It is difficult to align the picture built of Craig Bellamy during his playing career – opinionated, determined and verging on the obnoxious – with the one that emerges during this powerful and emotionally charged interview. Yet that is precisely what makes it such an important read. For it shows that anyone can struggle with mental problems no matter how tough they look and there is no shame in asking for help.
Reading Time: 10 minutes
Last Week’s Most Read
The phrase ‘expected goals’ is everywhere these days but how many people truly know what it means? For those who are still unclear of what this is all about – and even those who know what it means but want to learn more – this piece explains it all, from how expected goals are calculated to how they can be used.
Reading Time: 3 minutes