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3156blog entries
By Philip Micallef

Cahill poised to achieve Socceroos immortality

Some time this year goalscoring hero Timothy Filiga Cahill should score his 50th goal for Australia and make his 100th national team appearance to cement his status as a Socceroos immortal.
The man regarded by many as the greatest Socceroos star of them all should etch his name in Australia's football history with an extraordinary tally that would be almost impossible to surpass. At the moment Cahill, who at 37 has become the...
By Sebastian Hassett

In defence of the Premier League's most hated manager

Tony Pulis isn't known for producing the most entertaining football, but he deserves more respect.
Sometimes you have to consider ideas that will be about as popular as heavy policing during a Mexican wave. But occasionally it’s the right thing to do.  To talk about Tony Pulis (in any context) is a fast-track to draw scorn from pretty m...
By Philip Micallef

Kruse, Juric find form at the right time for Socceroos

Australia are poised to unleash their strongest attacking force in several months in the forthcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.
The Socceroos are chasing one of the two spots in the group that give automatic entry to the finals in Russia. Ange Postecoglou's team and the UAE are joint third in Group B a point behind leaders Saudi Arabia and Japan. They face the Iraq...
By Vitor Sobral

Salary cap gives Sydney and Melbourne the edge

Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory’s domination of the A-League this season once again raises the question, is the salary cap working?
It also provides more evidence that it gives a great advantage to teams from Australia’s biggest cities. Sydney and Melbourne have not only dominated this campaign, but along with Brisbane Roar have claimed eight out of 11 A-League champio...
By Les Murray

Blame wrongly placed for ACL flops

There was considerable media criticism of the A-League’s football standards following some humiliating Australian losses in the AFC Champions League recently.
This is good. The media commentariat has a responsibility to question and criticise and to try and find a diagnosis when things don’t go well. But sometimes they can get things wrong, way wrong, by pointing a finger at the wrong people. A ...
By Sebastian Hassett

Germany’s 'Mini-Mourinho' taking the Bundesliga by storm

Julian Nagelsmann’s attitude towards management is remarkably simple: “30 per cent of coaching is tactics, 70 per cent is social competence.”
If you haven’t heard the name yet, you soon will. Maybe you’ve even heard that statement previously. It’s already Nagelsmann’s trademark saying. And if he keeps up his current progress, the 29-year old – you read right – might just be the ...
By Tim Vickery

Can the Chinese Super League talent drain last?

With Chinese-based Paulinho and Renato Augusto garnering regular selection for Brazil, a move to the Far East no longer signifies the end of a star player's international career - but how long can the drain to China last?
When Brazil lined up against Argentina in a World Cup qualifier towards the end of last year, teenage forward Gabriel Jesus was the only home based player in the side, and he was on his way to Manchester City. The rest of the line-up was d...
By Philip Micallef

Does football still need the away-goals rule?

Football's away-goals rule has served its purpose very well but it is time for the question to be asked if the game really needs it any more.
The ruling was introduced by European governing body UEFA half a century ago and was trialled in the 1965-1966 Cup Winners' Cup. It was devised as a means of encouraging teams not to play defensively in away games. It worked a treat as the...
By Sebastian Hassett

How long can Romelu Lukaku stay at Everton?

Ponder this - could Romelu Lukaku become the first player to generate a transfer fee that breaks the mythical £100 million ($161 million) barrier?
It’s not as crazy as it sounds. And even if he doesn’t sell for that amount, there’s every chance he could go for more than Paul Pogba’s world-record fee this European summer.  For a player touted to be worth £65 million ($105 million) at ...
By Vitor Sobral

How Australia can benefit from China's football investment

China’s massive investment in football presents a golden opportunity for Australia to competitively collaborate with a nation that is determined to be a global leader, according to renowned football marketing expert Simon Chadwick.
Last week the Chinese Super League kicked off with another influx of highly-paid stars who stole the headlines in pre-season. This massive investment in the competition forms part of China’s pursuit of becoming the biggest sporting economy...
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