Football content with substance and depth. Explainers, essays, player profiles, and current events. Business: aljosa@stride-social.com
14:55119K views · 3d ago · 14:55
Kylian Mbappé laughed at one of the “dictator Mbappé” memes, his face on Mao Zedong, in a clip filmed back in April. When it was published on 26 October, China responded fast: CCTV pulled LaLiga off state TV, Chinese brands Dongpeng and Mengniu cut ties, his RedNote and Weibo accounts were restricted, and Real Madrid were told there was nothing to discuss until they apologised.
14:0669K views · 4d ago · 14:06
Who will be Manchester United’s next manager? With Michael Carrick under pressure, Eddie Howe is the favourite, but Antonio Conte is the manager I think they should hire. In this deep dive I explain why United’s board will likely go for Howe anyway: record revenue whether the team wins or loses, a hierarchy that reportedly sees Conte as a risk, and Howe’s track record of doing a lot with little at Bournemouth and Newcastle.
16:15303K views · 6d ago · 16:15
Real Madrid handed Vinícius Jr a new contract to 2032 this summer, after an 18-month standoff, a reported dressing-room split under Xabi Alonso and serious interest from Arsenal. Since then: one goal in 11 games, a hair-pull red card and a four-game ban, while €125m signing Yan Diomande wins over the Bernabéu on the left wing.
10:11507K views · 1w ago · 10:11
Why does the Ballon d’Or, an award created by French magazine France Football in 1956, still matter more than FIFA’s The Best? Ahead of the 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony in London, I break down the full history of football’s biggest individual prize: how the journalists behind the European Cup created it, the FIFA Ballon d’Or merger and the 2013 Ronaldo vs Ribéry controversy, who votes for the Ballon d’Or vs The Best, and why Lewandowski’s two FIFA trophies never settled the…
16:0737K views · 1w ago · 16:07
Champions League Matchday 3 recap! PSG beat Barcelona 4 - 2 in the battle of the unbeatens, Como thrashed Manchester United 4-1, and Bayern vs Arsenal finished 2 - 2 as Harry Kane moved within one game of Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring-streak record. Plus, Real Madrid’s record signing Yan Diomande punishing his old club Leipzig, Phil Foden’s hat-trick, Liverpool’s comeback against Villarreal and LASK’s first ever Champions League win.
13:04117K views · 1w ago · 13:04
Manchester United have made their worst league start since 1986, and Michael Carrick is already under pressure. Sound familiar? In this Rabona TV deep dive, we break down how Erik ten Hag, Ruben Amorim and Carrick each came apart at Man United: when results turned, how long it took, and what the form looked like when the sackings came.
Topics: The Deja Vu of Manchester United's Struggles · Measuring the Depth of the Crisis · The Pattern of Ten Hag's Tenure · The Science of Why Clubs Sack Managers · The Boardroom Shadow Over the Pitch
14:4282K views · 1w ago · 14:42
Man City are being dragged through the mud over the 115 charges, so why isn’t anyone coming after PSG? Paris Saint-Germain have been punished by UEFA under Financial Fair Play (FFP) twice, in 2014 and 2022, and escaped a third case in 2019 when UEFA missed a 10-day deadline at CAS. Football Leaks reported that Gianni Infantino helped negotiate PSG’s 2014 settlement, and Rui Pinto recently reignited those claims.
12:0644K views · 2w ago · 12:06
Niklas Sule won the Champions League and five Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich, became a Germany regular, and then retired at just 30. In April, a knee injury left him convinced he’d torn his cruciate ligament for a third time. The scan came back clean... and he retired anyway. Now he’s playing in the eighth tier of German football with his friends at SV Tiefenbach, even going in goal when their keeper broke his hand.
18:0647K views · 2w ago · 18:06
PSG went to the Etihad and brushed aside Manchester City with Pep Guardiola in the stands. Despite that, City’s second half performance was fantastic. Real Madrid’s performance in Rome was overall not stupendous, but a late, late comeback saw Mourinho snatch a win against his former club. That and much more from this week's Champions League matches!
13:06136K views · 2w ago · 13:06
Manchester City’s relegation chances seem to be increasing by the day. With news of their own evidence undermining their case, things are looking grim for the club.
15:1392K views · 3w ago · 15:13
The Negreira Case has taken a hold of Spanish football with alleged referee corruption. At least, it certainly has for the two biggest clubs in the league, Real Madrid and Barcelona. Here is over two decades of events condensed into 15 minutes, explaining why it hasn’t resolved yet, and what could happen to Barcelona if they are found guilty, now that UEFA has received a dossier from Real Madrid.
16:59114K views · 3w ago · 16:59
Olympiacos vs Panathinaikos is the most heated rivalry in all of Greece, and a rivalry that affects basketball, volleyball and water polo. The reason for this divide between the capital cities high society and the more modest dock-workers from the port?
13:2853K views · 3w ago · 13:28
Klopp signing for the German national team was incredibly exciting, given it seems like a match made in heaven: Klopp’s style of football is the perfect fit for a team that needs total rejuvenation. However, things didn’t go as well as they could have in their first matches in the Nations League. A win over Serbia, a draw with the Netherlands, a draw with Greece and a loss against Greece sees Klopp’s Germany currently sitting in a relegation ply-off position.
16:48100K views · 3w ago · 16:48
After playing 3 matches without Cristiano Ronaldo, it is safe to say that the Portuguese national team hasn’t collapsed completely as some would have lead you to believe. Portugal has already qualified for the Nations League quarterfinals with two matches to go in their group. Ronaldo still hasn’t mentioned why he left the national team, but he left promptly for Saudi Arabia before Portugal had even wrapped up their international window.
16:37160K views · 1mo ago · 16:37
Cristiano Ronaldo has left the Portuguese national team during their UEFA Nations League campaign, with no mention of if or when he will return. There’s a feeling of inevitability with this drama, as well as massive disappointment. Why did Ronaldo leave Jorge Jesus’ team, and was he right to do so?
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