Cultured Football #63
Cultured Football #63
Taranto's Dream. Brexitball. Robert Lewandowski. Darwin Nunez. Erik Ten Hag.
You have to be a special kind of stupid to believe that playing poorly in a game of football deserves sending a bomb threat to a player. Sadly, there are many who seem to think that a special kind of stupid is a good thing. Sigh. Anyway, as usual the only thing that I’m sending people is this week’s Cultured Football and these great articles to check out.
The Tragic Legend of Erasmo Iacovone, The Man Who Made Taranto Dream
By Franco Ficetola for These Football Times
I have to admit that I love stories like this one; little known nuggets that are lovingly told in a manner that goes beyond the game and delves into the humanity of the individuals. So, even though he wasn’t a world famous footballer, I do urge you to read the story of Erasmo Iacovone. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
10 minute read
Brexitball: The Women’s Game
By Andy Watson for Analytics FC
This is the latest in quite a long series about the impacts of Brexit on English football but, for me, it was also the most intriguing: how will the changes impact the women’s game?
7 minute read
What does Robert Lewandowski do next?
By Grace Robertson for Grace on Football
There have been a lot of rumours over the past few days over the future destination of Erling Haaland (i.e. Manchester City) so I was a bit surprised to find out that Robert Lewandowski - arguably the finest ‘pure’ striker of the past five years - is about to enter the final year of his contract. Having won all that he could at Bayern Munich, it will be interesting to see what he opts to do next.
5 minute read
The Evolution of Darwin Nuñez
By Tom Mortimer for The Analyst
Speaking of strikers who might be moving in the summer, expect a lot of clubs to be linked to Benfica’s Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez. There have never been any doubts about his potential but this season he has been performing exceptionally well on a regular basis. His reputation was further enhanced with two energetic displays against Liverpool in the Champions League - which also earned Jurgen Klopp’s praise - but if you didn’t catch those here’s why everyone will soon be talking about him.
7 minute read
Can Ten Hag turn Man United around? Biggest questions around his impending hiring
By Ryan O’Hanlon for ESPN
The big non-played-football news this week was the announcement of Erik Ten Hag as the new Manchester United manager, an announcement that in no way was sped up to counter a week of bad week that saw fan protests and a trashing at Anfield….
Seriously though, this seems like an exciting appointment and one cannot fail to appreciate the great things that Ten Hag has achieved at Ajax. Whether he has what it takes to succeed where others have failed at Old Trafford is another matter altogether.
9 minute read.
And Another Thing…
If you’re subscribed to Cultured Football then I’m assuming you enjoy reading in-depth stories about football. So, on a monthly basis I’ll be suggesting a recently published football book that you might want to look up. For April, that book is Radical Football by Steve Fleming.
“Football can do more, so it must.” That has long been the philosophy driving Jürgen Griesbeck, a social entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to identify ways how the game can do more for those who are being left behind. Radical Football tells his inspiring story and shows how the game can truly make lives better.
If you want to know more about Jürgen Griesbeck, check out this interview by Adam Bate. Radical Football can be bought from all leading bookshops as well as from Pitch Publishing.
Last Week’s Most Read
By David Dawkins for Forbes
Much has been said about Chelsea’s forced sale but a lot of the more in-depth stuff tends to be behind paywalls. So, if you want to read something with real substance about how the deals are coming along, this is your best bet. An interesting read even if (like me) you aren’t a Chelsea fan.