Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 88 i Soccer 360 Magazine

At first glance there was something rather depressing about the semi-final line-up for this strangest of Champions League campaigns. Perennial German champions Bayern Munich were joined by RB Leipzig, a team founded 11 years ago and bankrolled by a soft drink brand. Completing the line-up were Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, the former backed by the government of Qatar and the latter causing an upset by eliminating Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City. If you wanted a distillation of 2020, it was PSG bringing on Kylian Mbappe (€180m), Julian Draxler (€42m) and Leandro Paredes (€40m) to get the better of an Atalanta side who were forced to turn to 19-year-old Jacopo Da Riva (one minute of first team football) when legs began to tire after a long season. The financial imbalance in modern…

"QUOTES" "Today, begins a new chapter of his career in the world of football, as it was said almost a week ago: from Maestro to Mister. From today he will be THE coach for people of Juventus, as the club has decided to entrust him with the technical leadership of the First Team, after having already selected him for the Juventus Under 23." -Buffon’s reaction to his former teammate Andrea Pirlo becoming Juventus manager. "If you put Celtic and Rangers down in England, you’re talking about the top six. Those two clubs, if they got the money that the English clubs have coming in, they would spend it… I don’t think about Man City or Livepool, I think they’re way ahead – but I think the rest below that, Man…

Juventus clinched a ninth successive Serie A title at the end of the 2019-20 campaign but it was far from vintage. The Bianconeri lost more games than Inter and Atalanta and also conceded more goals than the Nerazzurri. Nevertheless, the champions will deservedly start the new season as favourites and are expected to be active in the transfer market, led by new coach Andrea Pirlo, with a number of incomings and exits. Once a foregone conclusion for the championship, the chasing pack are quickly catching up with the Bianconeri. Antonio Conte’s squad will pose the biggest challenge to the Turin outfit’s near decadelong dominance. Inter signed Romelu Lukaku to partner Lautaro Martinez but also brought in Diego Godin, Stefano Sensi, Ashley Young, Nicolo Barella and Christian Eriksen at the request…

“IN THE FIGHT FOR THE TITLE, THE USUAL SUSPECTS OF REAL MADRID AND BARCELONA WILL LOCK HORNS ONCE AGAIN” La Liga gave a welcome boost to the world when it resumed in June, preceding a thrilling finish to the league with competition at the top and bottom until the very last round of fixtures. The new season, starting the weekend of September 12, promises more of the same – with a number of unanswered questions on the agenda too. In terms of the fight for the title, the usual suspects of current kings Real Madrid and Barcelona will lock horns once again. Zinedine Zidane’s Los Blancos produced an impressive end to last season beating all in their way with 10 straight victories. Key to their success was club captain and…

It’s pretty straightforward in the Bundesliga: Bayern Munich are the obvious frontrunners and everyone else will have to play catch-up. That’s how it has been for the past eight seasons and counting. Although this past campaign saw die Roten suffer an uncharacteristic wobble, Niko Kovac was soon jettisoned in lieu of Hans-Dieter Flick, and the Bavarian machine was roaring once again. So, it will be the same routine in 2020-21: Bayern will seek to make it an impressive ninth straight title as they continue to smash records. Borussia Dortmund will again be one of the usual suspects valiantly trying to knock the champions off their perch, but whether they will actually succeed this time remains to be seen. Die Schwargzelben have developed an unfortunate knack for choking at the worst…

Arthur FC Barcelona to Juventus $85m Victor Osimhen Lille to Napoli $83m Miralem Pjanic Juventus to Barcelona $71m Timo Werner RB Leipzig to Chelsea $63m Nathan Aké Bournemouth to Man City $54m Leroy Sané Man City to Bayern Munich $53m Hakim Ziyech Ajax to Chelsea $47m Jonathan David KAA Gent to Lille $38m Trincão Braga to FC Barcelona $37m Gabriel Magalhães Lille to Arsenal $35m Jude Bellingham Birmingham City to B.Dortmund $31m Nicolò Barella Cagliari to Inter $30m Ferran Torres Valencia to Man City $28m Suso AC Milan to Sevilla FC $25m Aaron Ramsdale Bournemouth to Sheffield Utd $25m Éverton Grêmio to Benfica $24m Pedrinho Corinthians to Benfica $21m Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg Southampton to Spurs $20m Antony São Paulo to Ajax $18m Luca Waldschmidt SC Freiburg to Benfica $17m Kyle Walker-Peters…

"BUT TREBLEWINNING GOAL KING ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI WILL BE THE UNCROWNED BALLON D’OR WINNER." The Ballon d’Or is widely regarded as the most prestigious individual award in the game. Organised by France Football, voting is compiled from journalists all over the world. It’s history, dating back to 1956, and global voting format add to the honour of its recipient. Over recent years, it has unsurprisingly been dominated by the generational exploits of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. In fact, Luka Modric, in 2018, is the only player to break the Messi/Ronaldo stranglehold of the past 12 years. Had France Football not opted to cancel this year’s award due to Covid-19, Robert Lewandowski would have almost certainly been a new name on the coveted trophy. Lewandowski scoring goals is nothing new, but…

We may not know how long the 2020-21 Premier League season is set to be played out in front of empty stadiums, but TV screens around the world will be fired up in huge anticipation at the dawn of the new campaign. There are some great stories building right across the league, not least at the top. Newly-crowned champions Liverpool are bidding to make it back-to-back title wins after securing their first in 30 years last time out, and their maiden crown in the Premier League era. Jurgen Klopp’s side destroyed the rest of the division and are the favourites to defend the title after falling just one point short of the magical 100-point mark. Manchester City finished a full 18 points behind the Reds, as Pep Guardiola’s men surrendered…

Real Sociedad were one of the most entertaining teams in all of Europe in 2019/20, playing an attacking and winning brand of football. Not resting on their laurels, they’ve added yet another creative spark to their squad by signing David Silva. The 34-year-old attacking midfielder is leaving Manchester City after 10 years with the English club and is returning to LaLiga, where he previously played for Valencia CF, SD Eibar and RC Celta. Born and raised on the south coast of Gran Canaria, Silva made a move to the Spanish mainland at the age of 14 after his talents were spotted by Valencia. After coming through Los Che’s academy, he was sent on loan to Eibar in LaLiga SmartBank in 2004/05 and then on loan to Celta in the top…

Barcelona recently unveiled their new kits for the 2020/21 season, creating quite a stir amongst the Blaugrana faithful. The home jersey certainly has similarities with Barca’s 2010/11 shirt, the year in which Messi and company went on to conquer Europe at the Wembley Stadium. However, it is the classy black away kit that has received special attention. In their Instagram account, the club posted images of Lionel Messi and his colleagues donning the gorgeous black shirt. The post with Messi has received 3.2 million likes and more than 19,000 comments. In the picture, Messi can be seen sporting his beard and looking on earnestly. Although it all may look gorgeous on the surface, the picture with Messi isespecially telling. Now 33 years of age, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner is…

Italy’s most successful club has dominated the division in recent years owing largely to their ability to manoeuvre in the transfer market, the club’s savvy recruitment team moving quickly whenever spotting a cost-efficient opportunity to strengthen. Their continued success has led to an abundance of silverware over the course of the past decade, the Bianconeri the envy of many sides who have invested millions without close to their return. ANDREA PIRLO – 2011 AC Milan’s decision to allow Andrea Pirlo to leave for rivals Juventus on a free transfer must surely still rankle amongst the club’s hierarchy, the midfielder’s switch to Turin amongst the catalysts for the current sustained period of success for the Old Lady. Pirlo had established himself as one of the finest midfielders in Italian football during…

Hart arrived in north London on a two-year deal following the expiry of his contract at Burnley, with the former England international set to boost Spurs‘ goalkeeping options following the departure of Michel Vorm, as well as helping the club fulfil its homegrown player quota. The 33-year-old has suffered a stark downturn in his career since being forced out of Manchester City following the arrival of Pep Guardiola, the experienced star having endured disappointing fortunes during spells at Torino, West Ham and Burnley. Hart, however, admits he is relishing the prospect of a new start and working alongside Jose Mourinho and Spurs’ goalkeeping options as he bids to reignite his career this season, admitting he is ‘excited’ by the challenge ahead and the prospect of playing European football at the…

French domestic titles have piled up in that time but Europe’s most glittering of prizes has eluded them. But this year Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and co came closer than ever to achieving that aim. Winning the Champions League has always been seen as being able to justify the club’s position at the top table - but there is an argument that just getting to the final this season has turned the ‘project’ into a success. Critics will refer to PSG’s ownership as ‘sportswashing’ for Qatar’s leaders accused of running an authoritarian regime. But now that it can be accepted that the club will regularly compete at the highest level, the original idea behind taking over a football club in one of Europe’s most desirable cities has come…

Ayo Akinola may not have been the most hyped player heading into the MLS is Back tournament, but he was all anyone could talk about once he arrived in Orlando with Toronto FC. The youngster was left to fill the void up top, with Jozy Altidore suffering from injuries and not being ready to play straight away. While Toronto fans were initially concerned about their side’s chances with the American’s absence from the start of the tournament, after two games and five goals from Akinola those fears quickly dissipated. Ultimately, the Reds were eliminated from the tournament much earlier than they would have liked, losing to New York City FC in the Round of 16, but will be pleased with what they saw from their young striker. If the tournament…

Greenwood has enjoyed a hugely promising debut season since being handed his first-team opportunity, scoring 13 goals in all competitions including netting his sixth Premier League goal of the campaign against Brighton in mid-week. The 18-year-old’s natural finishing ability has caused great excitement amongst Manchester United supporters this term, and Solskjaer believes there is no limit on the youngster’s potential as he bids to become a key figure at Old Trafford in the coming seasons. “He could still play in this seasons FA Youth Cup team, so he is a young boy who we have to look after,” Solskjaer said at his pre-match press conference ahead of United’s clash with Bournemouth. “But he’s performing from the bench or when he starts. “Mason has developed fantastically well and the sky is…

It helps to have a number of stars capable of playing at the highest-level week in week out, with this list of players able to play consistently despite knocks, niggles and the dreaded risk of rotation. We’ve decided to look at the Premier League names to have played the most football throughout the past season, here are the five players to play the most minutes in all competitions in 2019/20: VIRGIL VAN DIJK – LIVERPOOL (4590 MINUTES) Virgil van Dijk’s importance to Liverpool has been well-documented since his big-money arrival on Merseyside, the Dutch defender having established himself as a cornerstone of Jurgen Klopp’s formidable outfit. Regarded by many as the best centre-back in world football at present, Van Dijk is amongst the first names on the Reds’ team sheet…

From tears in Turin to dentist chairs at Wembley and wrecked hotel rooms in La Manga, it’s fair to say, of all the British sporting sagas that could conceivably make the jump to the big screen, none would be more suitable than the Paul Gascoigne story. The tale of a working-class boy from Gateshead who became a national icon, before well-publicised personal issues somewhat tainted his reputation, is brimming with the same tragic heroism often found at the heart of many fictional screen dramas. And, sure enough, a Gazza biopic is indeed in the works, confirmed as much by the former Newcastle, Spurs and England playmaker speaking with the Daily Mirror. “There are backers looking at a film and trying to find someone to play me” he revealed. The movie…