The return to club football didn’t disappoint after a two-week layoff. Here’s Gab Marcotti to get you up to speed with the latest edition of Monday Musings. Jump to: Man United rattle Liverpool | Alarm bells for Real Madrid? | Man City avoid Palace trap | Barca’s front three in sync | Juve hold their
Blog – Marcotti’s Musings
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
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,
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
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
One day, we might look back upon the 2019 summer transfer window and view it as a turning point. Maybe it will be the moment that clubs woke up to the reality of inflated contracts and fees, or perhaps realized that adding talent for the sake of it is only worthwhile if the price is
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
Gab Marcotti is here to recap another busy, dramatic weekend in soccer. Welcome to Monday Musings. Jump to: North London derby lessons | Juve, Napoli show flaws | Barca drop points | Lukaku abused | Man United’s transition | Bale back for Real? | Dortmund’s wake-up call | Salah, Mane drama? | Super Simeone and
Gab Marcotti is here to recap a busy, dramatic weekend in soccer. Welcome to Monday Musings. Jump to: Arsenal’s errors at Liverpool | Real still a mess | Spurs’ Eriksen problem | Refs wreck Fiorentina vs. Napoli? | PSG need Neymar | More Man United woe | Mihajlovic is inspiring | Lewandowski carries Bayern |
It’s back! After a summer of international soccer, Gab Marcotti returns with his weekly column reflecting on the big talking points. It’s the first edition of Monday Musings for the 2019-20 season. Jump to: Is Neymar really on the move? | Man United vs. Chelsea | Juve’s squad issues | Stop complaining about VAR | Are
Sometimes things take a 180-degree turn. Up becomes down. White is now black. Thor turns out to be Loki. Your certainties end up being replaced by what you thought was heresy. Welcome to the Maurizio Sarri experience at Chelsea, which officially came to an end on Sunday. It’s hard to tell what would have seemed
The post-Arsene Wenger rebuild is likely to continue at Arsenal following a season that saw them reach the Europa League final and narrowly finish fifth, albeit without hitting any particular heights in the Premier League. For most of the season, they were outside the top four, save for a brief run at the end. One
Rocco Commisso believes in the resurgence of Serie A and as the new owner of Fiorentina, he’s ready to dive in. Rocco Commisso was twelve years old when he emigrated from his native Calabria, locating in the toe of the Italian boot, to New York City. His quickly became an immigrant success story: Academic excellence
Andrea Agnelli, president of the ECA and chairman of Juventus, is hoping to get his way over time regarding big reforms and guarantees for big clubs in European competitions. SAINT JULIAN, MALTA — The European Clubs Association (ECA) met in Malta over two days to discuss what is bound to be one of the most
Bayern may have finished the season with a Bundesliga/DFB Pokal Double but that hasn’t quite lifted the skepticism surrounding manager Nico Kovac. This team looks headed for a rebuild and a revamp in the summer and there are plenty of resources available. Rafinha, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben are all leaving, freeing up space on