The Footy Tales

 There are a few things that are certain in life...death, taxes and Cristiano Ronaldo rescuing his team again and again. At the ripe age of 37, when most players hang up their boots, here we have one of the most decorated footballers of all time pulling his team out of the mud week in week out. Sure, the match was against a less fancied Norwich, sure it was against side who have lost all their matches to the top 7 this season...but don't you dare say it was an easy win for Manchester United. As it has been the case this season, United let go a two goal lead thanks to some dreadful defending at the back, but once again it was that Portuguese messiah who brought the valuable three points for the team. The match was marked with protest both in and out of the stadium against the gross mismanagement of the club by the Glazers spanning over decades of ownership. Rangnick started with a 4-1-4-1 formation which essentially transformed into his preferred 4-2-2-2 as the game went on. Elanga ...

 Manchester United take on Leeds in a crucial Premier League fixture away at Elland road with the hope of maintaining their top four position this season. United have been far from consistent this season, but a win against the struggling Leeds would surely lift the spirits ahead of a crucial Champions League match against Atletico Madrid. United, as one may remember won 5-1 on the opening day of the new season at home against the very same opponents. A lot has changed since then, a this match is crucial for both teams now, for entirely different reasons. Leeds are 15th in the table on 23 points, just five off 18th placed Watford. A win will take them over Brentford upto 14th. Leeds have been awful to say the least this season, with defensive liabilities playing a huge role in their problems. Only Norwich have conceded more goals(50) than Leeds this season(46). They haven't kept a clean sheet since November last year, and have conceded an astonishing 26 goals in just 9 Premier Leagu...

  It's February, the shortest month of the calendar, the month which marks the gradual transition of winter to summer, via the spring. The beautiful flowers, the blue sky, the songs of the birds are enough to stir the soul of even the most rock hearted men and women. Add to that, this is the month which celebrates love, the passionate and intimate bond which has captivated mankind since the dawn if the human civilization. Yet, this month has something to offer for others too, the single people out there who haven't yet been charmed by the beauty of a fellow human being, but are fiercely attracted to a game, a sport loved all over the globe. Yes, the pinnacle of club football, the UEFA Champion's League returns in February, and its safe to say that it has already captivated the masses pretty well. So, who's gonna win the Champion's League this season? Well your guess is as good as mine. The unpredictability of the Champion's League, the swift nature with which th...

 League leaders Hyderabad FC were beaten by two goals to one when they faced ATK Mohun Bagan in the ongoing Hero Indian Super League 2021-22. Manvir Singh and Liston Colaco were both on target as ATKMB eked out a narrow win to get back into top four. The teams played out an entertaining end to end match dominated by both teams in certain phases of the game. ATKMB manager Juan Ferrando opted for a 4-2-3-1 with Lenny Rodrigues and Carl McHugh starting as the holding midfielders. Williams started again in absence of Roy Krishna, while Manvir, Hugo Boumos and Liston were playing just behind Williams. The game started with ATKMB on the offense, but that rhythm was soon disturbed due to the subsequent injuries to Hugo Boumos and Carl McHugh. In came Finnish Joni Kauko and young star Kiyan Nassiri. Kiyan provided much needed support upfront for Williams while Kauko generally played box to box and was solid in the defense too. He contributed one assist for the team, during the second goal ...

 I love watching football, be it club football, age specific tournaments, or even international football. Truth is football came into my life at a time I was really down bad and it sort of became my savior, my motivator, my source for happiness. As someone who watches most matches live, it was obvious for me to tune into the 33rd AFCON going on at the moment in Cameroon (if you wanna know more about the AFCON read my blog). When I started watching I was full of excitement and hope, after all I was going to watch a new tournament, new countries, new players of whom I had never heard of, new styles of play and the new tactics I was gonna get exposed to....it was like a wet dream for me. But since I've watched a few matches, I'll be totally honest here.....I really didn't enjoy it that much. I mean, sure I wasn't foolish enough to expect European level of football, but still a part of me was really hoping for real entertainment. That not being the case, here are my thought...

 Modern football is a tactical game. For the spectators, it might be just another game of football, but for the manager and his players, it is nothing short of a game of chess. The players are the pawns, with some being as powerful as the queen, and the manager is the one controlling every movement and decision. The goalkeeper protecting the king, that is the goal. This battle for supremacy has spiraled down the ages through the brilliant minds of genius coaches who revolutionized the game with their uniqueness. Today I'll be discussing about some of the most popular formations throughout the world in this day and age. If you are already familiar with these formations, you still might want to read on. I will only be talking about the formations here, and not the different styles of play which is unique to each manager. So sit back and enjoy; The 4-3-3 The 4-3-3 is by far the most popular formation and is used by a number of coaches throughout the world, both for its simplicity and ...

  Manchester United is by far the most popular English club in the world. Add to that, the addition of global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo this summer boosted their popularity to even higher levels. The net spending of the team in 2021/22 season was 126 million euros which saw players like Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho, Tom Heaton and Cristiano Ronaldo arrive at Old Trafford. The onus was on the then manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to make a team out of these brilliant world class individuals. He failed, and following a string of poor results, he was sacked. In came German coaching great and the so called "Godfather of modern day geggen pressing" Ralf Rangnick. Rangnick has had a reputation of stabilizing small clubs, building them up from scratch and giving them a young, fearless and attacking identity. Well that has not been the case at United so far, and by the looks of it, the players are getting fed up. Recent news coming in that almost 11 players want to leave the club is a ...