The Fußball Chatter

Napoli has finally reached football heaven. They are now Italian champions for the first time since 1990. Naples erupted with wild celebrations across the city when it was finally confirmed after a 1-1 draw against Udinese on May 4th , and the celebrations are not ending anytime soon. Napoli, the club heavily associated with Diego Maradona, now has new heroes from Nigeria, Georgia, South Korea and Kosovo.  For some, it is a surprise. For others, it is not, as Napoli has been one of the best-performing teams in Serie A over the past decade, with quality players and coaches coming to the Diego Armando Maradona stadium. They have been close to winning it on various occasions but failed. Now, it has finally happened. This is the story of Napoli's rise to become Italian champions again. DECLINE, RELEGATION AND BANKRUPTCY The Maradona years at Napoli were the most successful period in the club's history. They became the first team from Southern Italy to win Serie A in 1987; when Ser...

We are already at the halfway point of the group stages in this season's Champions League. With little time for recovery and reflection, each game now is vital. Whether it is going through to the next round or staying in Europe by qualifying for the Europa League, the next three Champions League games will determine the feat of all 32 teams involved. Here are five takeaways from the group stages so far. BRUGGE ON THE BRINK Club Brugge remains the only Belgian side to have played in a European Cup/Champions League Final. Losing to Liverpool in 1978. Since then, Belgian sides have been an afterthought in the Champions League, as no Belgian side has ever reached the Round of 16 in its current format as Brugge's close rivals Anderlecht reached the Second group stage of the Champions League in the 2000/2001 season. This makes Club Brugge's exploits in the Champions League this season, even more remarkable. Though they avoided any big hitters, they still got experienced sides Atl...

The UEFA Champions League makes its return as the first round of group games taking place on the 6th and 7th of September. This season's Champions League is going to be very different. Due to the World Cup taking place in November, all group games will be held from the 6th-7th of September to the 1st-2nd of November. Within the space of just two months, congesting the fixture list. Here is a preview of all eight groups and where they will likely finish by November. GROUP A: AJAX, LIVERPOOL, NAPOLI & RANGERS Group A would be interesting given all four teams' changes during the off-season. Ajax retained their Eredivisie title but many of their key players and manager Erik ten Hag have all left the Johan Cruyff Arena. Now, they have Alfred Schreuder as their new manager and had their biggest transfer spree ever . Despite experiencing these situations occasionally, the heavy turnover plus the change of manager could hamper their chances of making out of the group but Ajax wil...

The Italian Serie A returns this coming weekend as the defending champions AC Milan host Udinese at the San Siro to kickstart the new season. Last season produced an exciting season from the Italian top flight we have seen in a while as Milan edged city rivals Inter Milan to win the title on the season's final day. This season looks no different as up to four teams have a shot of winning the Scudetto, following years of dominance from Juventus. As we celebrate the return of Calcio , how have the major sides prepared for the new season? AC MILAN & INTER MILAN: WHO GETS THE SECOND STAR? Despite numerous metrics stating they were the best performer in Serie A last season, Inter Milan could not defend the Scudetto for the first time since 2010 as city rivals AC Milan beat them to win their first league title since 2011. An achievement for coach Stefano Pioli and the Rossoneri. Following years of being in the wilderness for the past five to six years. A big reason for Milan's s...

The UEFA Champions League is back for another exciting season as the heavyweights of European football battle it out to become Champions of Europe with the Final taking place on the 28th of May at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This Champions League season will be the first after UEFA scrapped the away goal rule in the summer, meaning games in the knockout stages that remain level will go into extra time. The season also sees the return of football supporters in stadiums after last season when fans did not attend games due to the pandemic. With big business done during the transfer window, expectations are quite high for this season. So, here are the eight groups in the competition and which teams have higher chances of going through to the knockout stages. GROUP A: MANCHESTER CITY, PSG, RB LEIPZIG & CLUB BRUGGE Pep Guardiola managed to get Manchester City to their first-ever appearance in the Champions League Final. However, they left empty-handed losing 1-0 t...

Bundesliga  It's getting to crunch time with seven games remaining in the Bundesliga, as 19 goals were scored from the past weekend. The biggest tie was the title race clash between Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena on Saturday. Bayern, who were playing without Robert Lewandowski, saw off Leipzig with a 1-0 win courtesy of Leon Goretzka. Probably the tie that decides the title. There was the Berlin Derby between Union Berlin and Hertha Berlin, which ended 1-1 which boosted Hertha's chances of staying up. André Silva scored the winner for Eintracht Frankfurt against Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalonstadion as Die Alder won 2-1, hurting Dortmund's chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season. Mainz and Arminia Bielefeld played out a 1-1 draw which keeps Arminia in the relegation zone. FC Köln are now in the relegation/playoff spot, losing 1-0 to Wolfsburg, two points behind Mainz, who are away from the relegation places. Bayer Leverkusen starte...

  La Liga 26 goals were scored in the Spanish top flight this past weekend as we are approaching the business end of the season, with only ten games remaining. Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and, Real Madrid all won their games this past weekend, as the title race drags on. Barcelona got the biggest win of the three, beating Real Sociedad 6-1 at the Anoeta with Lionel Messi and American right-back Sergino Dest both scoring braces in a big win for the Blaugrana. Atletico Madrid kept their four-point lead at the summit of the league table, beating Alaves 1-0 at home. Luis Suarez scored the only goal of the game, which was his 500th career goal, a milestone for the Uruguayan. Real Madrid went away to Celta Vigo and, got a 3-1 win thanks to Karim Benzema, who scored two goals. As well as Marco Asensio, who continued off his cameo performance in the Champions League from mid-week. In the relegation dogfight, everybody failed to win their games to get some breathing space. Cadiz lost 2-1 awa...