We’re not even ten games in, yet the Premiership had already thrown up a number of surprises. West Brom have beaten Arsenal away, Chelsea have lost at Manchester City and the fact that Fernando Torres has only scored one goal! What is even more surprising is Everton’s poor start to the season – heading into a tough game against Birmingham whilst being bottom of the league. So, why have they started so badly?
Goals
Everton just haven’t found the back of the net enough. In six games they’ve only scored four goals – all of them being at Goodison Park. Their goal scorers have been Cahill (2), Arteta and Pienaar – all of whom are midfielders that like to push forwards, but who should only be relied on to get a few additional goals to supplement their strikers. Yakubu looks to have gained weight and appears slow and sluggish up front, Jermaine Beckford has failed to find his feet in the Premier League and both Louis Saha and Victor Anichebe have struggled with injuries.
Tactics
In recent years, Everton have played with a five man midfield and a lone striker up front. This has served them well – helping them to establish themselves as a team that compete for Europe. Various forwards have played this position well under David Moyes, but it just doesn’t appear to be working for them anymore.
Squad size and lack of investment
Expectation amongst Everton fans is at the highest it has been for a long time, and irrefutably David Moyes has done a great job with a limited budget. However, other clubs have gone out and spent more money that Everton – leaving them behind. Outside of the traditional top four, the likes of Man City, Spurs and Villa are all fighting for European spaces and have spent millions strengthening their squads in a way that Everton haven’t matched. Against Brentford (a match they should have comfortably won with the squad that played) the team looked tired and need of a rest.
Joseph Yobo
The decision to let the powerful Nigerian go on loan to Fenerbahçe at the beginning of the season seemed odd at the odd time. Although he only made 17 appearances last season, he’s a senior squad member with international experience who has helped establish the club in recent seasons. Jagielka and Distin look a solid partnership, but for a squad short on players (as well as with Jagielka playing more games through England duty) – it would certainly be worth having Yobo around.
So Everton fans where is it exactly going wrong at present?
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Ryan Giggs sat down with CNN’s Alex Thomas for an enlightening interview in which the Manchester United legend talks about the past, but the Wales international is not finished yet and is still focused on bringing more trophies to Old Trafford:
Ryan Giggs: I’ve been so lucky to be part of United’s most successful time. We had it rammed down our throats and Liverpool were just winning everything and I grew up as a United fan hating that.
Alex Thomas: Can you take us back to 1990, what was it like then?
RG: Day-to-day, it was completely different, obviously we didn’t have Carrington, we didn’t have the facilities that we have, we were at the old training ground, the Cliff, which had unbelievable history, the Busby Babes trained there, Best, Charlton, Law, you could feel the history within the building but obviously time moves on. Back then, you know 17, 18 I would get to training, we would start at half ten on the pitch, I would be there at maybe ten past, quarter past, so you’d maybe spend a little bit of time in the gym, and then you’d be home for like half 12, 1 o’clock. Now it’s completely different you know, we have massages, we have pools, we have all the facilities you could think of…
AT: is it easier being a player now than back then?
RG: These days, is it harder? Probably, because of the scrutiny you’re under, one good game and you’re a world beater, and obviously then they bring the money in to it, so you have a couple of bad games, you know, should he be earning this money? It does boil down to the character of the individual, but you do need help. I had good people around me, I had the manager, I had Brian Kidd, I had Eric Harrison, all these coaches when I was a young player, I had Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce when I got in to the first team. I’ve had people to keep my feet on the ground and you do need that help you know, at 17, 18 scoring goals for the first team, you’re playing well, everyone’s patting you on the back…it is very easy to get carried away.
AT: When you look back at the career, the photos and the memories and stuff, who are your biggest friends in football?
RG: Scholesy, Nev…Nicky Butt, Paul Ince I was great friends with because he helped me in the transition of coming from youth team to first team, he helped me in that respect and we just clicked.
AT: What more do you want to win before you call it quits?
RG: You want to win everything, you want to win every game that you enter, every trophy that you compete in, you want to win. You can’t always do it but you’ve just got to try your best to win.
AT: If I said you’re only allowed one more?
RG: If I’m only allowed one more? (laughs) I would say Champions League, but it changes, tomorrow, I could say the League. The League and Champions League are obviously massive.
AT: Is it possible to win the treble again?
RG: It’s possible but it’s difficult.
AT: Harder than in ’99?
RG: I don’t know, I don’t know if it’s harder. I think it was hard then, you just need everything to go for you…You grow up watching the World Cup, European Championships and you want to be part of that, but it just wasn’t to be, but I enjoyed it, I enjoyed playing for my country, I enjoyed playing in Cardiff, I enjoyed going away and training with different players, because I’d never experienced that before obviously playing at one club, but yeah it was a major disappointment.
AT: You’ve got such a vital role here, are we going to have to wait to hear if you’ll have any involvement with the Wales set-up?
RG: Yeah, I would love to be part of a team that took Wales to a major Championship, and whatever role it may be, I don’t know, but for the moment I’m just concentrating on playing my football and that’s all I can see at the moment, but in the future hopefully, yeah…I’ve been in football since I left school and I’ve enjoyed it so much and it’s given me so much pleasure that I want to carry on and be involved, I don’t know how and I don’t know in what sort of capacity but I’ll definitely be involved.
Interview transcript provided by CNN International.
Kenny Dalglish, a one time manager of Newcastle United, offered his opinion to the Sunday Mail about the situation at Newcastle this season. The issue is that in fact there isn’t a problem at Newcastle this season – but there should be, it’s Newcastle after all. There has been much said about Newcastle this season, enough to believe that they were sitting bottom of the table without a hope. In fact Newcastle have started the season in fine form. They taught Aston Villa a lesson in August, came from behind to beat West Ham and thrashed Sunderland on Sunday. For a club that has just been promoted, most fans surely would be happy with the start so far.
The media have brought about this saga about Newcastle this season. The problem is the media love the story of a club. With Blackpool they are the underdogs, the no hoper’s if you will. If they get a couple of points the media patronises the club with language along the lines of, ‘well done’ and ‘not going without a fight.’ Newcastle however are different. Their media story is turmoil. Newcastle United, before relegation were a club in turmoil – most fans would have to accept. As for today, the club has been stabilised by a good young English manager, Joey Barton is looking the player he was when he was called up for England and it looks as though England may have found a striker for the future in Andy Carroll.
So to what Kenny Dalglish was speaking about. First of all the managerial situation at Newcastle. Dalglish has argued that the board have put Chris Hughton’s future in limbo by not offering him an improved longer term deal. Too many times Newcastle United have offered long term deals to managers and less than a year or so later they have been fired, costing the club millions in pounds. Is it such a bad idea to put a manager on a shorter term deal and analyse situations more frequently. With shorter deals, the pressure is on the manager without a doubt but if he is thriving under it, like Chris Hughton appears to be, why change? The problem does come if Newcastle were to loose five or six games on the bounce – the manager would be under intense pressure. That is the reality of Premier League football for every club in the division, not just Newcastle.
As well as the managerial situation, Kenny Dalglish talked of the lack of funds that Chris Hughton has been given to keep the team in the Premier League. Dalglish argued, ‘At any other club, Hughton would be given a big pay hike, the stability of a long-term contract and maybe a quid or two to spend on new players to help Newcastle preserve their status in the Premier League.’ It doesn’t seem credible that Mike Ashley would be holding funds from Hughton because of a lack of trust. If that was the case Hughton would have been fired a long time ago. The issue of money arises because of the past. Newcastle have spent big in the past on Alan Shearer, Faustino Asprilla, David Ginola and Michael Owen.
The expectation was Newcastle would have to repeat this to stay in the division. Newcastle do not have the investment at the present time to be splashing cash on players. The job Hughton has done has been remarkable in this sense. He has an ability to get the best out of his players. Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Fabricio Coloccini have all thrived under Hughton. When you have a manager that offers these skills, spending money on big players isn’t the be and end all. Sure Newcastle fans would love to see big name players gracing St James’ Park again, but its the sign of the times – things are changing financially in football.
Kenny Dalglish’s worries over Newcastle United are in the main unfounded. The start to the season has been solid- however their home form could be better. Is there really that much uncertainty around St James’ Park. If there is, the manager and players have done a fantastic job in putting football first this season.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Newcastle showed on Sunday what they are all about. They have a young team mixed with a fair amount of experience. The squad is together, the manager is respected and the club is stabilising slowly. It is still too early to say where Newcastle will end up this season. That is the nature of the Premier League. However, at the start of November, would many Newcastle fans truly believe they would have just thrashed Sunderland 5-1 and be sitting in seventh position. Without a doubt it would be fantastic to see Chris Hughton be offered a new long term deal while the atmosphere at Newcastle is so positive. Very few mangers would be more deserving of such a deal. The media should be more positive about Newcastle and the job both the players and management are doing.
Like what you read? Subscribe to my RSS feed or contact me on twitter
Fancy playing your mates every week in a Premium Fantasy Football game?
Emmanuel Adebayor has put himself firmly in the frame to start against former club Arsenal after his hat-trick in Manchester City's 3-1 Europa League victory over Lech Poznan.
The Togo striker had been a peripheral figure at Eastlands during the opening months of the campaign but opened his account for the season with a treble against the Polish side.
Speaking afterwards, City boss Roberto Mancini suggested the former Arsenal striker is likely to retain his place when the Gunners arrive for a Premier League clash on Sunday.
"He's scored a hat-trick and he has a good chance of playing against Arsenal," he admitted.
"He gave an excellent performance. It was very important for us and for him. A striker needs to score goals and he scored three, so I'm happy for him."
City are now top of Group A and Mancini is happy with their unbeaten start in Europe.
"This was a good victory for us because we are first in the group now," he added.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
"I watched Poznan four or five times, they are a good team. But we played very well in the first half. In the second half we started so-so.
"I thought they could be a problem but the third goal finished the game."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Midweek England debutant Andy Carroll has admitted he wants a lengthy career in the national set-up following a promising showing against France on Wednesday.
Although the Three Lions crashed to a disappointing 2-1 setback against France at Wembley, Carroll was one of only a few positives in the capital as he played 70 minutes.
The bulldozing attacker was selected by head coach Fabio Capello after scoring seven Premier League goals and the Newcastle United man is hoping to win a place in the squad for years to come.
"I was happy with my performance on the night and it obviously leaves you wanting to experience a bit more," he told the Evening Chronicle.
"For me, it was a great experience to be out there and playing with top international players. I've really enjoyed it.
"The atmosphere in front of 86,000 people was a real buzz and it's something I'll never forget.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
"Now I'm just looking forward to Bolton wanderers on Saturday."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
You have to hand it to Newcastle, they always manage to keep us talking. Jermaine Jenas once described life in Tyneside as like living in a gold-fish bowl and it’s not hard to see why. Once again the focus of everybody’s attention is now on the Toon as the clubs owner, Mike Ashley, has yet again tried his best to confirm himself as the most hated chairman in the business by sacking manager Chris Hughton.
The fallout, as expected, has been volatile. Everybody connected with football sympathises with a man who brought Newcastle United back into the Premier League after the nightmare scenario of relegation became a reality the previous, disastrous season. The club found themselves in turmoil on and off the pitch and many did not fancy the Magpies to make such a swift return to the top tier of English football. Hughton not only masterminded a stunning Championship campaign, he went one further. As it stands his former side sit 12th in the table. Results have been erratic, but the stabilising process is firmly in place. All things considered, surely Hughton deserved more than this?
Some may argue that Newcastle sense they have steadied themselves as a Premier League club once again and that they are now planning for the next stage, a stage in which Hughton isn’t ready to manage. But surely the man deserves the chance to turn Newcastle into a team capable of challenging for a Europa League spot, seeing as he was the one that has made everyone forget about the embarrassment of relegation?
The Toon army must be wondering what to expect next. The circus surrounding St James Park since Ashley took over have seen greats like Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer come and go in equally acrimonious circumstances, where as Dennis Wise’s short stint at the club wasn’t exactly warmly received by fans.
Newcastle finally found themselves a manager capable of controlling his team and laying the foundations to make sure they stay a top flight side, and the sensible option to Ashley was to sack him and bring about more change. But you have to ask who is going to fancy taking this job on now? There is obviously a limit to the amount of control the manager has under Ashley’s regime and the chances are Alan Pardew could quite as easily be shown the door if he does not turn Newcastle into a top four side overnight.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Another concern for the Geordie faithful is the amount of people connected with the club who have come out at admitted that it was only a matter of time. Colin Calderwood, Hughton’s assistant at St James’ before taking the managers post at Hibernian, suggested that under the current regime, Hughton was on borrowed time. Alan Shearer also declared himself out of the initial running to become boss for a second time, which can only point to his distain at the way the club is ran.
It all points to another laughable chapter in the story of Newcastle United. Hughton’s record alone should have rewarded him with the time to build on his success the way he felt would benefit the club. Was he the man to take Newcastle on? Who knows, but he certainly should have been given the opportunity to try. Relegation seems unlikely given the quality in the squad but Ashley could come to regret sacking the man who has already spared his blushes once before.
Holy Crap – it’s live fantasy football! Become part of Newcastle v Liverpool on Saturday and play Picklive for FREE Watch and bet live – spices up any game!
It’s clear for all to see that things did not quite go according to plan for Roy Hodgson at Liverpool. His signings, Raul Meireles aside, have been poor, the club have suffered 9 defeats this season, most notably to the likes of Northampton, Blackpool and Wolves and there seemed to be real dressing room unrest at times, but one thing is for certain, the disinterest and lack of effort shown from the club’s big name stars, Fernando Torres included, only served to hasten Roy’s path toward the Anfield exit door.
I think most fans, even ones of Liverpool’s biggest rivals, wouldn’t have begrudged Hodgson achieving a modicum of success at the club. That is not to say tensions have eased at all among Liverpool‘s biggest rivals, just that Hodgson is himself such a tremendously nice man, a rarity in today’s game and the fact that he sounds like a Dickensian fruit and veg seller only adds to his appeal. He’s everyone’s favourite uncle.
It is very easy to blame a manager in such circumstances as the ones Liverpool find themselves in this season. They are the ones who make most of the decisions and the buck ultimately stops with them, but despite all of this, not enough blame has been attributed to the players this term.
The nucleus of the Liverpool side that finished 2nd only two seasons ago by just 4 points from eventual winners Man Utd is essentially the same. The big difference, and I mean huge, is the departure of influential midfielder Xabi Alonso, a player alienated towards the end of his Liverpool career by Rafa Benitez’s obvious pursuit of Gareth Barry and willingness to listen to offers for the Spaniard.
Liverpool’s style of play was based solely around Alonso and it’s only in his absence that you realise quite how much he affected their play. The sale of Javier Mascherano was disappointing and his exit acrimonious, and although I’d count him as probably the best defensive midfielder in the world at the minute, the club would not be in the dire straits it now finds itself in if it had been just Mascherano that had left the club in the past couple of seasons.
The main problem when such big name players leave and the spine of your side is weakened, is that it places extra emphasis and pressure onto the ones that remain, which in this case are Pepe Reina, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, to perform each and every week. During Hodgson’s reign as manager, sadly this was not always the case.
Pepe Reina has shown the kind of loyalty that fans love to see. Reina clearly holds genuine affection for the club and despite the error in the opening game against Arsenal this term that led to a 1-1 draw (oh, how different things would have been had Liverpool won that game), he’s a calm, reassuring presence at the back and he regularly keeps the club in games almost single-handedly at times.
Steven Gerrard looks a shadow of the his former self, like Gerrard-lite, a slightly lazier, flashier version of himself 3-4 years ago. But he still has the drive to inspire when the mood takes him, and a shift further forward once more to an attacking midfield role, as opposed to the deep lying central midfielder of the Hodgson era may get the best out of him once more. The prospect of him playing under his hero Dalglish cannot be underestimated either, and it may inspire a rich vein of form from him. But it’s fair to say, despite his numerous niggling injuries this season, when fit, he’s disappointed on the whole.
[divider]
Which brings me to Fernando Torres. There’s a growing feeling now among fans that if the club was offered between £40-50m for his services, that you’d bite the suitor’s arm off. It’s not that anyone could doubt his talent, but his attitude can be called into question and far too often his body language has portrayed a player less than happy with the situation he finds himself in.
Numerous excuses have been made for Torres this term. Understandably, he was short on fitness after coming back injured from this summer’s World Cup and Torres, much like Michael Owen during his time at Anfield, needs a prolonged run of games to get fully match sharp. But when do the allowances for match fitness subside and the realisation dawn that he’s just not that interested any more begin?
Torres has become ever more injury prone the last few seasons and has scored just 6 times in 19 appearances this term. A major criticism levelled at Benitez, and to a much lesser extent seeing as he only had one transfer window to rectify things, Roy Hodgson, is that there is simply way too much burden placed upon Torres to deliver every game and that this downturn was inevitable. The fact of the matter remains though, he’s not living up to the standards that he’s set himself during his time at Liverpool.
To me at least, he looks to have lost a yard of pace, and his first touch, possibly due to the amount of time spent on the treatment table, is not what it once was. He still probably ranks among the top 3 strikers in the world, and as the saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent, but Dalglish’s biggest task in his first few weeks in charge is to get Torres back somewhere close to his best, as he looks desperately short on confidence at the minute, which is inevitable when you’re a predatory striker starved of service.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The news from the man himself just after the defeat to Man Utd, that he looks set to honour his deal which currently runs through to 2013, will have been music to most Liverpool fans’ ears. The return of a club legend in the form of Dalglish to help inspire, and maybe even pass on a few tricks to the beleaguered Spaniard may be the just the timely and welcome boost the player was looking for.
If Liverpool are to succeed during Dalglish’s time in charge, however long it will be, Torres needs to step up to the plate and perform like the Torres of old, not the Torres of the Hodgson era.
Would you advocate the sale of Torres in the summer if the club was offered between £40-50m? Will Dalglish get the best out of him? Or is it just a temporary blip?
[divider]
Love fantasy football? Love live footy? You’ll love live fantasy football! Take part in the West Ham v Birmingham match and play Picklive for FREE Go on, give it a go!
I think it’s fairly certain that the 2022 World Cup will be held during Winter. So certain that if I were a gambling man, I’d place a bet on it. If I’m wrong, so be it. Come back to me in 12 years time and berate me all you like.
This may have some football purists up at arms – as if having the World Cup during the summer is an essential and integral part of the tournament’s makeup. The fact is when the World Cup is being hosted in a Nation like Qatar, you have to make some compromises.
To be clear, I in no way endorse the decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but that is our lot, and we might as well get behind it and make the most of it.
On a realistic level, you can’t help but feel that a traditional June/July tournament would fail given the Qatar climate. Summer temperatures are said to rocket to an incredible 50 degrees Celsius. The heat gets so bad during the Summer months that Qatar regularly requests that tourists do not travel to their country. If you’re a fan of slow, sluggish, football and don’t mind seeing most of the players burnt out before the end of the group stages, go ahead and get behind a summer world cup. If you’re hoping to see some decent football, pledge your support to a winter World Cup.
It’s not surprising that the World Player’s Union is behind the change. Heat like this causes a serious risk to the health and safety of players. I have a feeling that the only people to benefit would be the manufacturers of sunblock.
The trouble is, despite the support of the Player’s Union, for FIFA to start considering a winter World Cup, the Qatar Football Association has to send in a request.
Beyond the risk to players and fan’s health alike, there are a couple more benefits to a holding a winter tournament. The first benefit is that the football itself is likely to be more exciting. Given that a winter World Cup would take place mid-season, players will turn up fitter than they would at the start of a Summer World Cup and would thus be less likely to burn out over the course of a game. In other words there would be no excuse for another lazy and lachrymose England performance.
Another benefit is that the winter schedule is often disrupted by weather conditions. By introducing a Winter World Cup, fan’s, players and schedulers will no longer have to worry about playing football in difficult conditions.
In short, there’s no need to view a Winter World Cup as a disadvantage. It’s time that we start to consider each and every option.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
If you’re a footballing fan and want more debate and discussion, please feel free to follow me on Twitter @ThePerfectPass.
[divider]
Holy Crap – it’s live fantasy football! Become part of Liverpool v Wolves and play Picklive for FREE Watch and bet live – spices up any game!
West Bromwich Albion manager Roberto di Matteo was fuming his side was not awarded a penalty in their 2-0 defeat at Blackburn on Sunday.
Rovers’ Jermaine Jones fouled Peter Odemwingie close to the edge of the penalty box on 68 minutes, but referee Mark Clattenburg adjudged that the Hawthorns striker was felled outside of the area.
Di Matteo disagreed.
“Yeah absolutely (it was a penalty), it was quite clear from where I was standing that the foul was inside (the box),” the Italian told Sky Sports.
The Albion boss said his side did not deserve to trail at half-time by a Gabriel Tamas own-goal, but conceded Albion did not maintain their form following the break and some poor defending allowed Junior Hoilett to score Rovers’ second.
“Before we conceded the first I thought we defended quite well, we were quite solid,” he said.
“At 1-0 down at half-time we were still in the game, but the way we came out in the second half was very disappointing.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Blackburn manager Steve Kean heaped praise on goalkeeper Paul Robinson for keeping a clean sheet at Ewood Park.
“He was outstanding, absolutely outstanding. He’s a top class goalie. He’s really at the top of his game at the moment,” Kean said.
Former Ajax and Holland great Johan Cruyff has returned to the Dutch club in an advisory capacity.
Ajax, who are third on the Eredivisie table and a mere three points from leaders PSV Eindhoven, have set up three ‘sounding board’ groups in an effort to help them recapture their world-beating glory.
Cruyff, who won eight league titles and three European Cups with Ajax as a player, will serve as a technical advisor.
The other boards will focus on financial and association matters.
The former Holland international also led Ajax to four league titles, a Cup Winners’ Cup and a European Cup as a manager before leaving Amsterdam Arena in 1988, and has since been critical of the club’s move away from attacking, technical football.
Ajax are also believed to be discussing the possibility of expanding Cruyff’s role into the future, with the aim of ending their decade-long European trophy drought.
Ajax’s last international title was the 1995 Champions League, won over AC Milan in Vienna.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Cruyff was famously discovered by Ajax as a teenager kicking a football in the streets of Amsterdam.
He is equally revered at Barcelona, where he won the 1974 La Liga crown as a player and guided the Catalan club to four Spanish titles and their first European Cup as a coach.