Missed any of the action around Europe this weekend? Have no fear: Gab Marcotti is here to catch you up with all the talking points in the latest Monday Musings. Jump to: Real win Supercopa | Spurs fall flat vs. Liverpool | Juve hang on vs. Roma | Putting Aguero’s goals in context | Mata
Blog – Marcotti’s Musings
De Ligt has seen limited action for Juventus as of late but there’s no need to panic about his place on the bench or his development. Last month, I grabbed a cup of coffee with a former scout and director of football who worked at several English clubs, and our conversation eventually turned to Matthijs
Welcome to 2020! Missed any of the action around Europe this weekend? Have no fear: Gab Marcotti is here to catch you up with all the talking points in the latest Monday Musings. Jump to: Another wake-up call for Barca | Everton humiliated | Balotelli abused again | Fede Valverde the key for Real |
Nearly a decade ago, LeBron James turned the next step of his career into a television spectacle. “The Decision” drew 13 million viewers at its peak and ended with James announcing he’d be “taking his talents to South Beach.” With a bit more entrepreneurial thought (some might say vulgarity) Erling Haaland might have done the
There’s a stock explanation behind Everton’s decision to pursue, and appoint, Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager. The Toffees are ambitious and willing to spend enormous amounts of money to achieve, and maintain, elite status. Given that Ancelotti has managed more elite clubs than you can shake a stick at — from Milan to Real
Missed any of the action around Europe this weekend? Have no fear: Gab Marcotti is here to catch you up with all the talking points in the latest Monday Musings. Jump to: Should teams walk off? | Lampard outsmarts Mourinho | Liverpool win Club World Cup | Juve get it wrong vs. Lazio | Barca
Vendetta? Egomania? Masochism? Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis’ decision to fire Carlo Ancelotti less than an hour after his club had qualified for the Champions League knockout round may well be a function of each of the above. Or, as those close to the club suggest, it might simply be an attempt to cut losses
Robbie Paratore was 18 years old and captain of Leicester City’s Under-18 side when he realized he was in a real, live Catch-22. His scholar contract — the two-year deal that governs most players in England between the ages of 16 and 18 — was coming to an end. And while the club offered him
Missed some of the action around Europe this weekend? Have no fear: Gab Marcotti is here to catch you up with all the talking points in the latest Monday Musings. Jump to: Bayern reboot without Kovac | Balotelli abused | Liverpool, Man City slipping? | Roma add to Napoli woes | Andre Gomes’ serious injury
Missed some of the action around Europe this weekend? Have no fear: Gab Marcotti is here to catch you up with all the talking points in the latest Monday Musings. Jump to: Breaking down LFC-Spurs | Bad weekend for Juve | We need to fix Premier League VAR | Was that David Silva’s goal? |
This was about cutting losses. This was about moving on. This was about accepting the fact that when you make tons of decisions, you will inevitably make some bad ones. And how you react to bad decisions is often as important as the good decision that you do make. What it was not about is
Another busy weekend in Europe means it’s time for another bumper edition of Monday Musings. Gab Marcotti is here to recap the big stories around soccer. Jump to: Juve too good for Inter | Man City in crisis? | Barca ride their luck again | Man United go from bad to worse | Real continue
There are different paths to beating your opponent in a football match. You can outrun them, and you can outmuscle them. You can out-will them, and you can outwit them. All of the above are probably more satisfying to a coach whose job is to prepare, condition and motivate his players. After all, it shows
Another busy weekend in Europe means it’s time for another bumper edition of Monday Musings. Gab Marcotti is here to recap the big stories around soccer. Jump to: Derby draw suits Atletico, Real | Will Liverpool’s luck run out? | Barca still lacking minus Messi | Man City’s Bernardo mess | Alexis is Inter’s hero
PARIS — The Spanish team had more Frenchmen (three) than the French team (one). The French team had more Spaniards (two) than the Spanish team (one). Real Madrid’s dark-hued kit looked, at least from a distance, like Paris Saint-Germain’s home outfit, and if you removed the vertical red-blue stripe then PSG’s retro uniform — harking
It will happen at some point this season, possibly as early as November. Chelsea will play a game with seven homegrown players in their starting XI. Thus far, we’ve seen four: Andreas Christensen and Fikayo Tomori at the back, Mason Mount in midfield, Tammy Abraham up front. With Mount doubtful for Sunday’s clash with Liverpool,
This should be about the game. About a club, Paris Saint-Germain, taking yet another crack at winning the biggest prize in club football after three straight seasons of controversial exits by wafer-thin margins. And their visitors Real Madrid, the game’s ultimate blue-bloods, halfway in rebuild mode as they pursue their 14th European Cup as an
There’s lots to talk about in this week’s Monday Musings following a wild weekend. Gab Marcotti is here to recap the big stories around soccer. Jump to: No crisis yet for Man City | End of Bayern’s dominance? | Fati masks Barca’s issues | Juventus get lucky | Neymar gets rude welcome | Arsenal woe
There’s no debate: as a standalone tournament, the Women’s World Cup is a rip-roaring, commercially viable success. The 2019 edition broke women’s football viewing records around the world. This happened not only in Europe, where the time zones were friendly and new marks were set in France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom, but also
Can’s frustration and omission from Juve’s CL squad could have been easily avoided. Instead, he’s forced to spectate. It’s one half of the transfer season, and it’s often the side that gets overlooked. Selling. And doing it well. It’s also what is making Juventus’ summer — beyond the excitement generated by Mathijs De Ligt, Merih