Soccer Analysis

Upon his return to West Ham, Slaven Bilic observed that the club have "something special about them." With the EPL as tumultuous as it's been in years, this season represents the best chance for Bilic to unveil just enough tactical nous to claim a Champions League spot. Read more »

If Bayern Munich find Champions League success this season, through the right foot of center back Xabi Alonso, it won't only end in a trophy, but perhaps signal a new direction in soccer tactics - the counter to the counter-press. Read more »

Anthony Martial and Raheem Sterling have been highly productive at a young age, but they remain unproven which brings a great deal of financial risk for the two Manchester clubs. Read more »

Sami Khedira, Juan Cuadrado and Hernanes are exactly the type of low risk, high reward deals that Andrea Agnelli hit time and time again to rebuild Juventus the first time around. Read more »

For a manager who came to Liverpool with expectations of building another "Swanselona", the emphasis on physicality could be interpreted as an admission of a failed ideology. Maybe you can have it all - the nastiness and the passing. Read more »

We've never seen Diego Simeone mold a player from a young age outside of Koke. In the upcoming years, we will get to see what a Simeone player truly looks like with this new generation, which may end up being a different Atleti paradigm altogether. Read more »

How can a soccer team embody the Immigrant Experience? We traveled to Boise, home of 15,000 Basque residents, to cover a very important Athletic Bilbao friendly. Read more »

City spent a lot of money to get Raheem Sterling, but he makes them much better, while it is all about how that money is spent for a Liverpool club that can't afford to stay average for much longer. Read more »

Bielsa and Sampaoli's revolution occurred on the fly, molding the small, technical, quick attackers the country already produced into results. The Copa America side represents the middle ground where tactics and players meet to overcome the trivialities of never having won in 99 years. Read more »

The Manchester derby last April showed both sides at their best, even if with City, it was only a glimpse - and a blueprint for this summer. Read more »

Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar became a shatterer of worlds this season, slowly developing the chemistry to form an attacking trio unlike any we've ever seen. Read more »

Examining how Barcelona and Juventus were built, how they reached the Final and how each club can win the ultimate prize in Berlin. Read more »

The 14-15 Premier League title chase had very little intrigue, Jose Mourinho and Chelsea made sure of that. But here's how the top-7 compared statistically. Read more »

Pep Guardiola was hired at Bayern with an intellectual and monetary blank check, free to let his mind wander. He's delivered the Bundesliga with ease, but his legacy will be defined by how he builds his roster for Europe. Read more »

Thomas Tuchel arrives with Jurgen Klopp’s innovative approach to crowding space in the midfield, an emphasis on youth players, and perhaps most importantly, high hipster ratings. Read more »

For Barcelona to win the Champions League, they will have to defeat their former legendary manager and then very possibly their biggest rival in what would be a Clasico in Berlin. Read more »

While Manuel Pellegrini showed he can manage a big club to success, he’s more interesting as the restless indie filmmaker forced to experiment on a small budget. Maybe the blip this season, and potentially his third season managing the club, never mattered in the big scheme of Manchester City. Read more »

Manchester United is in third place in the EPL a year after being crisis, showing money and a little flexibility will always carry more currency than a well-considered plan. Read more »

In an unexpected move, Monaco ran like a club with a fraction its means in its frugality and youth development, featuring buzzwords like sustainability. As a result, Dmitry Rybolovlev found something money can’t buy – an European identity. Read more »

If Brendan Rodgers’ breakthrough with the 3-4-3 came from the day-to-day desire to keep his job, Pep Guardiola only explores the largest questions. Read more »