Posts

Showing posts from May, 2020

Inter Can Now Finally Wash Their Hands of Talented Time-Bomb Mauro Icardi & His Tiresome Circus Act

Image
Play for the name on the front of the shirt, and they'll remember the name on the back. If you remove all qualitative data from Mauro Icardi's six-year spell as Inter's talisman and  bomber , you'd be perplexed as to why a fanbase would be so relieved to see the back of a player who has contributed 124 goals in little over 200 games. FC Internazionale v AC Chievo Verona - Serie A On paper, the Argentine striker is a force who would be welcome at just about any elite club in Europe. His numbers speak for themselves. The Inter star surpassed 20 league goals in three of his six campaigns with I Nerazzurri - excelling even when the quality of his teammates fluctuated from distinctly poor to average. Icardi cemented his status as  the  big-game player during his time at San Siro, scoring clutch goals at crucial times against Serie A's big hitters, and he was the sole cause of a whole lotta pain for bitter rivals  Milan . In 2017, Icardi cooly tucked away a 90th minute pe

Premier League Restart Date Could Be Set This Week as Clubs Return to Contact Training

Image
A date for the Premier League's return could be set this week, with clubs poised to give the go ahead for phase two of training on Wednesday. Top-flight sides began to return to non-contact group training last week, as the Premier League continues to edge closer to resumption thanks to ' Project Restart '. Teams are to vote on Wednesday whether to push on with phase two, which will permit contact training sessions once more. According to  Sky Sports , the majority of clubs are to support the introduction of phase two, and this could see a proposed fixture list drafted up and a date for the return of competitive action. The date of 19 June has been targeted, but this could be pushed back a week to 26 June. Several clubs have voiced concerns about the proposed return to contact training, with the primary worry regarding what would happen should a player test positive for coronavirus. Clubs are concerned that such a scenario would result in all squad members being quarantined

Diego Milito: The Best Striker in the World in 2010 & Inter's Biggest of Big Game Players

Image
Was he the best striker in the world in 2010? Honestly, it's tough to argue a case for anyone else. The fact that his name was  nowhere near  the Ballon d'Or rankings is one of the great mysteries of the past decade. Or crimes, whichever way you look at it. Me personally, I'm going with crimes. During the 2009/10 campaign, Didier Drogba was the only player (other than the obvious two) to score more goals than Diego Milito - but to even try and suggest that the Ivorian was a better striker at the time is an argument nobody can win. Upon moving to  Inter  at the beginning of that season, Milito had already bagged 158 goals in his 367 career outings, but had just two top flight titles in Argentina to show for his troubles. Granted the chance to prove his worth at the biggest club he'd ever played for, and under the watchful eye of Jose Mourinho, the season he would go on to produce would be both iconic and, in many ways, perfect. The Portuguese's system of counterattac

The Curious Case of Owen Hargreaves - Balancing Identity & Injuries During an Incredible, Ephemeral Career

Image
Manchester United signed Owen Hargreaves in 2007 with one clear goal in mind; to win the Champions League for the first time in almost a decade. Just 12 months later, Sir Alex Ferguson was able to get his hands on Europe's most prestigious trophy for what would prove to be one final time. Hargreaves was vital in United's success that season, but little did he know it would be the penultimate time he'd ever complete a full game of football. Hargreaves' journey to the winners' podium in Moscow wasn't easy. In fact, from an early age, it was almost impossible to imagine he'd ever become a professional footballer, let alone win the Champions League with both  Bayern Munich  and  Manchester United . His upbringing was as English as it gets. Roast dinners on Sunday and cups of tea were as common for Hargreaves as they were for most families in Old Blighty, only his came 4,000 miles away in western Canada. Like almost everyone else growing up in North America, Harg