The Fußball Chatter

When Manchester United won the treble in 1999, Manchester City were in a different world despite the two teams being in the same city. At the time, they were competing in the third tier of English football, gaining promotion to the second tier after beating Gillingham in the play-off final via a penalty shootout. Now, they are the top dog of English football. Winning the Premier League for the third successive season, and could wrap up their season by winning the biggest of them all, the Champions League trophy. Manchester City's reputation is one of appreciation, concern and fear. Appreciation for their attacking football, which has gained them, numerous admirers. Thanks to manager Pep Guardiola. Concern for what they represent in the modern game. Bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008 , Manchester City, in the eyes of many, represents the concerning nature of countries getting involved with financial resources that are close to bottomless and increasing the ever-growing gap...

Whenever a shock result occurs, there is a feeling of disbelief, trying to comprehend the unexplainable. An example is Liverpool's Champions League win in 2005 against a stacked AC Milan. Coming from 3-0 down to tie the game 3-3 and win on penalties. Ironically, that game took place at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul, which will stage the Champions League final on June 10th, where Football Club Internazionale de Milano or Inter Milan could shock the world if they can pull it off against Manchester City. Knowing that they are the underdogs, Inter would relish the opportunity to create their own history and deny Manchester City a historic treble by denying them the trophy they have craved. One of the most recognisable and storied clubs in European football, their famous black and blue jersey has been worn by Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso, Diego Milito, Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldo de Lima, Lothar Matthaus, Wesley Sneijder and Christan Vieri. They won the Champions League three times...

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...

So there we have it, the 2021/2022 football season is sealed into the history books. From the joy of winning silverware, the despair of relegation and the hope of better things to come, the past football season had a lot of moments and memories that we will talk about for years to come. Here are the ten stories from the 2021/2022 football season. AC Milan winning the Scudetto The 2021/2022 Serie A season had one of the best title races in recent years. With no standout favourite from the beginning, it was a real tussle on who will win the Scudetto this season. Earlier on, it looks like a three-horse race between Inter Milan, AC Milan and Napoli. With Juventus' poor start to the season and Napoli falling away later on, the Scudetto will go to Milan, but with it be in Red or Blue? Inter Milan had the upper hand in the last ten leagues. However, dropped points against Torino, Fiorentina, and Bologna opened the opportunity for AC Milan to win Serie A for the first time in 11 years. The...

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...

The UEFA Champions League is now in the quarterfinals stage with the path to the Final in Istanbul clear for the eight teams remaining. As we are now in the final end of the season, it is now crunch time for these teams and we will see who will be crowned Champions of Europe. Here's the thoughts of the quarterfinals match-ups.  Real Madrid v Liverpool  A recap of the 2018 Final which saw Madrid win it, this is probably the most 50-50 of any of the other quarterfinal games as both teams have strengths but very noticeable flaws. Despite their struggles this season, Madrid are still in the race to win La Liga again and have improved after a indifferent start to the season, which almost saw them eliminated from the group stages, including a strong performance against Atalanta in the Round of 16. Liverpool look to have gone through their worst of not just this season but under Klopp's time at Anfield with six home defeats in a row, dropping them drop to sixth in the Premier Le...