06
Apr
2020
? At The Match: Hear the sounds from matchdays across Europe

? At The Match: Hear the sounds from matchdays across Europe

It’s safe to say we’re missing football right now. The rhythm of a matchday.

We’ve found some momentary escapism however, in Football Ramble Daily’s At The Match podcast. The pod brings you along on travels to some of Europe’s biggest matches, with the sounds from the matchday woven in throughout — the walk into the ground, the crowd chanting, lineups being read out.

Below is a taste from when they attended the Berlin Derby at Union Berlin earlier this season:

You can listen to the full episode below, as well as some of our other favourites from the series.

Even more episodes are available on the Football Ramble Daily and On The Continent podcast feeds.

Posted by Curt Baker
03
Apr
2020
This Weekend: What to Watch, Read and Follow

This Weekend: What to Watch, Read and Follow

It’s time for FotMob’s guide to another weekend without football, besides of course, that provided by our friends in Belarus. So, if you’re at a loss without your fix of the beautiful game, hopefully you’ll find something here that helps fill the void.

? What to watch

The good guys over at Football Critic have not only gone and catalogued Lionel Messi’s best 50 goals, but they’ve provided the videos too! Indulge yourself here.

One of our favourite football writers, James Montague produced a number of Football Adventures for Bleacher Report. Start with this one on Kosovo’s Euros Qualifier against Montenegro and then dive in.

This week on Twitter, we took a look at the Netflix series, The English Game. There might be a couple of spoilers in here, so maybe watch the series first – then come back to this.

✅ Test your knowledge

??????? England fan? Prove it by naming every opposition side the Three Lions have faced in a major tournament since 1990. Click here to give it a go!

?? The Show must go on in Belarus!

The determination of the last league standing in Europe to carry on in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic is now beginning to show cracks as fan groups look to boycott this weekend’s games, with the situation in the republic worsening in recent days.

Suspending the league would, of course be the sensible thing to do but whilst there are games still being played – let’s try and enjoy them. The stand out fixtures include today’s clash between unbeaten Torpedo and former-Soviet giants, Dinamo Minsk whilst Sunday sees the current top two – Energetik and FC Minsk go head-to-head.

If you still haven’t picked a team to support, you can find one by carrying out a quick survey – here!

? Something to read

We took another run through the FotMob stats to try and find the best tacklers in Europe’s top five leagues. If you admire the lost art of tackling, this might be for you – here.

We also thought this one was fun – 10 pairs of footballers you’d never remember were teammates!

And lastly, get ahead of the crowd by reading up on 7 hotly tipped coaches around Europe.

⚽️ Club Friendlies & FIFA Ultimate Team

Don’t forget to head to the club friendlies section in the Matches Tab to find a few other games going ahead this weekend – the last time we looked, there were games in Sweden, Belarus and Finland.

We’ve also added the FIFA Ultimate Quaran-Team tournament organised by English League 2 side, Leyton Orient. 128 teams officially entered, providing their best virtual player to compete in games on FIFA 20.

The semi-final stage takes place tonight and it’s all for a good cause.

? Something to listen to

This week, the two big podcasts that we sponsor have been particularly strong!

Golazzo – The Italian Football Show take a look at the career of recently retired, Roma captain Daniele de Rossi and find there’s a lot to like about the former World Cup winner. Click here to listen.

Two Girls Talk Balls once again tackle every hot topic in the women’s game, and do a pretty good job of it too, considering they’re working on these remotely whilst the UK is in lockdown! Click through the tweet below to listen.

If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.

Or join us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to discuss all the important football going on this weekend!

Posted by Bill Biss
02
Apr
2020
The Best Tacklers in Europe, according to FotMob

The Best Tacklers in Europe, according to FotMob

There seems to be an argument amongst football fans that tackling is the dying art of the modern game, that in this era of VAR and multi-angle, super slomo replays no one is allowed to go in for the old fashioned cruncher. Others may maintain that at the top level our favourite players are more skilled than ever and the cleaner the tackle, the better the standard of football.

Either way, we’ve done our own crunching by going through this season’s stats to find the best tacklers across Europe’s top five leagues.

?? Serie A

Either there’s a lot of fouling going on in Serie A, or tackling really is dying out! With the lowest average number of successful tackles across the leagues we’ll cover here, Italy’s top flight perhaps isn’t living up to its traditional defensive reputation.

Croatian international, Marko Rog currently leads our stats with an average of just 1.7 completed tackles per game, albeit at a high success rate of 68.1%. The midfielder is spending this season on loan at Cagliari, who were solidly mid-table at the time of the league’s suspension. You have to go down to the 5th best tackler in the league before you find a player from any of the clubs currently sitting in the top 4, and thats the veteran Lucas Leiva at Lazio (61.4%).

?? Bundesliga

FC Köln’s Dutch right back, Kingsley Ehizibue has enjoyed his debut season in the Bundesliga, racking up 23 appearances and a tackle success rate of 66.2%.

That’s worked out to be a league leading average of 2 per match as the club look to solidify their position back at the top table of German football. He’s not looked bad going forward either, as his first goal in Köln colours shows.

?? La Liga

Outside of Madrid, and perhaps his native Brazil, Casemiro is one of those under-appreciated players. With three Champions League medals to his name and nearly 50 caps for his country, that may be a little unfair.

Deployed in the middle of Zinedine Zidane’s midfield, he’s looked particularly strong this season – not least when the FotMob staff took a trip to the goalless El Clásico at Camp Nou back in December and witnessed him have a great game!

Over the campaign he’s averaged 2.2 successful tackles per match at a rate of 66.3%.

??????? Premier League

Famous for his tackling ability at previous club Crystal Palace where he was named player of the season last year, Aaron Wan-Bissaka hasn’t looked out of place at all following his big money move to Manchester United.

In fact, his form has been imperious and with an overall FotMob player rating of 7.2 he tops our tackle chart for the Premier League, averaging 2.5 successful challenges per match.

In terms of the straight number of challenges made this season, Wan-Bissaka is second only to Leicester’s Ricardo Pereira (99 to 119) but when you look at the percentage success of those tackles, Wan-Bissaka out strips his rival by nearly 10%.

?? Ligue 1

Going from our social media audience alone, Ligue 1 seems to be discounted by a lot of people, written off with that rather unfortunate moniker – ‘farmer’s league.’

Well it’s not just PSG and their array of riches that have been making headlines this season. The Breton side, Stade Rennais have a teen sensation on their hands – Eduardo Camavinga.

After making his debut as a 16-year-old last season, he’s become the lynchpin of the side’s midfield and since receiving his French citizenship (he was born in Angola), he’s already made his debut for France’s U21s. Now 17, he’s featured in 25 matches during the 2019/20 campaign, averaging 2.6 tackles per game – the most of anyone in the leagues we’re covering here.

We would say remember the name, but you won’t have a choice if you take note of any transfer speculation in the world’s press. We’ve seen him linked to the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and of course, PSG in the last week alone!

If you fancy a deep dive into any of the countless statistics we cover on various league around the world, simply search by country, select a league profile and swipe right to the stats tab.

For more of this kind of thing, make sure you give us a follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Posted by Bill Biss
01
Apr
2020
Quiz: EPL players with 25+ career Champions League appearances

Quiz: EPL players with 25+ career Champions League appearances

Fifty-nine current EPL players have made over 25 Champions League appearances during their career. Remember, that means many players on this list appeared in the Champions League for clubs outside of the EPL!

You have 12 minutes to name as many as you can. Tap Play below to get the clock ticking.

Posted by Curt Baker
01
Apr
2020
? The Passion Of These Spanish Ultras Will Blow Your Mind

? The Passion Of These Spanish Ultras Will Blow Your Mind

COPA90‘s Doc of the Day: Spanish Ultras are the heart of Spanish football. The Clasico is far from the most passionate fixture in the country. In reality Spanish supporter culture is known across the world for having some incredibly unique traditions, and passionate chants. This is our roundup of the best Ultras groups, and what makes fan culture in España absolutely magical.

Posted by Curt Baker
01
Apr
2020
? Daniele de Rossi: Captain Future

? Daniele de Rossi: Captain Future

James Richardson, James Horncastle & Gab Marcotti take a look back at the career of a Roma icon, midfield legend and World Cup winner – Daniele De Rossi. Immortalised in Italian pop culture and in the hearts of fans at the Stadio Olimpico, we examine a man of impeccable integrity and character.

Listen below, or subscribe to Golazzo here.

Posted by Curt Baker
01
Apr
2020
??????? The EPL Team of the Season, Bottom 5 Edition.

??????? The EPL Team of the Season, Bottom 5 Edition.

As you’ll know by now, we’ve been spending a lot of time deeply engrossed in the statistics for the 2019/20 season so far and whilst football remains on pause – we’ve been putting together different XIs based on various criteria.

Today we’re looking at the best Premier League players at the sides currently sat in the bottom 5, according to our average player ratings. So that’s a Best XI from West Ham United, Watford, AFC Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City.

With apologies to fans of those clubs, for the reminder. ?

GK – ??????? Aaron Ramsdale, AFC Bournemouth

Only elevated to first choice at Bournemouth at the start of the season, the 21-year-old has matured fast and is now the youngest regular starting goalkeeper in the division. Asmir Begović has even had to go out on loan to AC Milan just to get games!

He keeps out two other English keepers who’ve had fine seasons themselves, with a rating of 6.56 to Ben Foster’s 6.33 and Tom Heaton’s 6.19.

LB – ?? Diego Rico, AFC Bournemouth

After putting a difficult first season in the Premier League behind him, Rico has impressed down the left in Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth side – even providing two assists in his 21 starts.

CB – ?? Nathan Aké, AFC Bournemouth

Aké has had a fight on his hands for a spot in this side, with Norwich City’s Christophe Zimmermann registering the exact same average rating of 6.64, across the season. In the end, we went for the Dutchman thanks to his significant threat at both ends of the park.

CB – ?? Christian Kabasele, Watford

Now in his fourth season with Watford, Kabasele’s reliability sees him slot in here as our highest rated centre-back at any of the sides currently residing in the bottom five of the EPL. He has notched up 99 clearances and 32 interceptions across his 19 appearances.

RB – ??????? Ryan Fredericks, West Ham United

Like his Bournemouth counterpart on the opposite flank, Fredericks was enjoying a strong second season in the Premier League with West Ham United until injury struck in February. The good news is, should this season ever restart – Fredericks will be back to full fitness!

LM – ?? Philip Billing, AFC Bournemouth

Another of Bournemouth’s surprise Scandinavians (see also Josh King!), Billing moved to the club at the start of the season and has been on the fringes of our Premier League teams of the week, on a reasonably regular basis ever since.

CM – ?? Abdoulaye Doucouré, Watford

Always reliable for a few goals a season, each one seemingly following a late lung-busting run in to the box, Doucouré should be a popular inclusion for any Watford fans reading. He’s contributed 4 goals and 2 assists from his usual spot in attacking midfield, but he’ll have to settle for the central spot in our basic 4-3-3.

RM – ??????? John McGinn, Aston Villa

Aston Villa have won just three games since McGinn was forced out of the side by an unfortunate ankle injury just before Christmas. We’re not saying he’s the only reason for that disappointing points return, but his return might just feel like a new signing whenever the season does resume!

LW – ??????? Jack Grealish, Aston Villa

Probably in need of a crumb of comforting news after his UK lockdown appearance in the press this week, Grealish is the highest rated player in the XI. In fact, with an overall average rating of 7.44 he is second only to Sadio Mané, for his position in the division as a whole.

CF – ?? Teemu Pukki, Norwich City

Every team deserves a real goalscorer, and in Teemu Pukki this side has one. The Finn started the season in blistering form, bagging 6 in the opening 5 games and despite only adding another 5 since then he still rates at an average of 6.67 per match.

And now Finland’s long awaited debut at a major tournament has been put off until 2021, perhaps Pukki can get his shooting boots back on in the Prem, whenever we re-start.

RW – ?? Anwar El Ghazi, Aston Villa

After a year on loan with the club whilst they were in the Championship, El Ghazi has quietly adapted to life in the Premier League albeit perhaps with Villa fans left wanting more from their Dutch international? So far, he has scored 4 and provided 4 more for his teammates.

[interaction id=”5e83699164e183c420597681″]

If you fancy a deep dive into any of the countless statistics we cover on various league around the world, simply search by country, select a league profile and swipe right to the stats tab.

For more of this kind of thing, make sure you give us a follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Posted by Curt Baker
31
Mar
2020
? Stadio: The Ultimate Superhero XI

? Stadio: The Ultimate Superhero XI

What makes a hero? After picking their squad of supervillains in the last Stadio podcast episode, Musa and Ryan now assemble a squad of footballing superheroes.

Listen below, or search for Stadio in your favourite podcast app.

Below, Stadio co-founder, Musa Okwonga, takes us through the Superhero XI.

What makes a hero? Well, first of all, it is someone who saves their most memorable feat for the most daunting of stages. A superhero is someone who conjures these feats so often that they become the norm; to them, saving the day seems as routine as brushing their teeth. For them, greatness appears mundane.

Though football is a team sport, its defining moments often come when players act by themselves. There has arguably been no major footballer more exposed than Iker Casillas when Arjen Robben was through on goal against him in the 2010 World Cup Final; and yet that was when, in diving at Robben’s feet, Casillas stood taller in history than ever. Later that evening his team-mate Andres Iniesta had his own appointment with immortality, waiting for a lofted pass to fall from the Rio sky, and he showed the same grace under pressure. He could almost have earned a place in this line-up for his goal celebration alone, a uniquely moving tribute to his late friend Dani Jarque.

Casillas and Iniesta both feature in this team of superheroes; not only because of what they won, but because of how they won it. Being a superhero isn’t just about claiming a trophy. It’s about how inspiring your journey was on the way there. Javier Zanetti, John Charles, Lilian Thuram and Paolo Maldini excelled in a league often criticised for the cynicism of its defending, but each have reputations beyond reproach. It’s one thing to be part of one of the most fearsome rear-guards in your sport’s history: it’s quite another to be called a gentleman while doing it.

The true superheroes are always ready to lead. In 1950, Uruguay’s Obdulio Varela faced down a quarter of a million supporters against Brazil at the Maracanã; a crowd about as intimidating as any that Russell Crowe’s character encountered in Gladiator. In three different eras and contexts, Leo Messi, Alfredo di Stefano and Johan Cruyff strolled about the Bernabéu as if it were their living-room. And, most importantly of all, no greatness comes without profound struggle. The career of this team’s centre-forward follows a trajectory as grand as any classic Greek drama: from glory, to crisis, to glory again.

There may be sadness and even disbelief at those names we have omitted. Hopefully, though, the overwhelming sense will be of a team so glorious that to watch them gives the same contentment as a sumptuous meal. They would be coached by a genius and hosted by perhaps the most passionate fan base on Earth; their bench would be composed of the game’s greatest philosophers and ambassadors; and their bond would be as strong as the squad of supervillains they would oppose. Regardless of the outcome between these sides, the resultant battle would be epic; and it would be at least as much fun as it has been to select these two teams.

Posted by Curt Baker
31
Mar
2020
??????? The EPL Team of the Season, Bottom 5 Edition.

??????? The EPL Team of the Season, Bottom 5 Edition.

As you’ll know by now, we’ve been spending a lot of time deeply engrossed in the statistics for the 2019/20 season so far and whilst football remains on pause – we’ve been putting together different XIs based on various criteria.

Today we’re looking at the best Premier League players at the sides currently sat in the bottom 5, according to our average player ratings. So that’s a Best XI from West Ham United, Watford, AFC Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City.

With apologies to fans of those clubs, for the reminder. ?

GK – ??????? Aaron Ramsdale, AFC Bournemouth

Only elevated to first choice at Bournemouth at the start of the season, the 21-year-old has matured fast and is now the youngest regular starting goalkeeper in the division. Asmir Begović has even had to go out on loan to AC Milan just to get games!

He keeps out two other English keepers who’ve had fine seasons themselves, with a rating of 6.56 to Ben Foster’s 6.33 and Tom Heaton’s 6.19.

LB – ?? Diego Rico, AFC Bournemouth

After putting a difficult first season in the Premier League behind him, Rico has impressed down the left in Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth side – even providing two assists in his 21 starts.

CB – ?? Nathan Aké, AFC Bournemouth

Aké has had a fight on his hands for a spot in this side, with Norwich City’s Christophe Zimmermann registering the exact same average rating of 6.64, across the season. In the end, we went for the Dutchman thanks to his significant threat at both ends of the park.

CB – ?? Christian Kabasele, Watford

Now in his fourth season with Watford, Kabasele’s reliability sees him slot in here as our highest rated centre-back at any of the sides currently residing in the bottom five of the EPL. He has notched up 99 clearances and 32 interceptions across his 19 appearances.

RB – ??????? Ryan Fredericks, West Ham United

Like his Bournemouth counterpart on the opposite flank, Fredericks was enjoying a strong second season in the Premier League with West Ham United until injury struck in February. The good news is, should this season ever restart – Fredericks will be back to full fitness!

LM – ?? Philip Billing, AFC Bournemouth

Another of Bournemouth’s surprise Scandinavians (see also Josh King!), Billing moved to the club at the start of the season and has been on the fringes of our Premier League teams of the week, on a reasonably regular basis ever since.

CM – ?? Abdoulaye Doucouré, Watford

Always reliable for a few goals a season, each one seemingly following a late lung-busting run in to the box, Doucouré should be a popular inclusion for any Watford fans reading. He’s contributed 4 goals and 2 assists from his usual spot in attacking midfield, but he’ll have to settle for the central spot in our basic 4-3-3.

RM – ??????? John McGinn, Aston Villa

Aston Villa have won just three games since McGinn was forced out of the side by an unfortunate ankle injury just before Christmas. We’re not saying he’s the only reason for that disappointing points return, but his return might just feel like a new signing whenever the season does resume!

LW – ??????? Jack Grealish, Aston Villa

Probably in need of a crumb of comforting news after his UK lockdown appearance in the press this week, Grealish is the highest rated player in the XI. In fact, with an overall average rating of 7.44 he is second only to Sadio Mané, for his position in the division as a whole.

CF – ?? Teemu Pukki, Norwich City

Every team deserves a real goalscorer, and in Teemu Pukki this side has one. The Finn started the season in blistering form, bagging 6 in the opening 5 games and despite only adding another 5 since then he still rates at an average of 6.67 per match.

And now Finland’s long awaited debut at a major tournament has been put off until 2021, perhaps Pukki can get his shooting boots back on in the Prem, whenever we re-start.

RW – ?? Anwar El Ghazi, Aston Villa

After a year on loan with the club whilst they were in the Championship, El Ghazi has quietly adapted to life in the Premier League albeit perhaps with Villa fans left wanting more from their Dutch international? So far, he has scored 4 and provided 4 more for his teammates.

[interaction id=”5e83699164e183c420597681″]

If you fancy a deep dive into any of the countless statistics we cover on various league around the world, simply search by country, select a league profile and swipe right to the stats tab.

For more of this kind of thing, make sure you give us a follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Posted by Bill Biss