The False Nine’s David Dodds previews Group D in the African Cup of Nations…
Ivory Coast
This is the so-called Golden Generation of Ivorian football, and it’s little surprise that this is the case given how stacked their squad is with players who have European pedigree. Continue reading
False Nine Russian correspondent, Andy Shenk, looks at the problems facing Russian clubs in their efforts to persuade fans to come to games ahead of major improvements being made to stadiums all over the country, with one eye on the 2018 World Cup Russia hosts…
Russia is on the cusp of a football stadium boom. The new venues are sorely needed: 12 of the country’s 16 Premier League teams play in Soviet-era arenas with minimal comfort, poor lighting, and inadequate drainage on the pitch.
The False Nine’s David Dodds previews Group B in the African Cup of Nations…
Ghana
Ghana will go into the tournament as one of the favourites. The Black Stars have moved up four places in the latest FIFA rankings and have beaten Egypt and Tunisia in pre-AFCON friendlies. Continue reading
Simon Smith takes a look at some of the major talking points in Groups A and C of the 2013 African Cup of Nations…
With a sense of déjà-vu the African Cup of Nations returns. It seems like it was only last year Zambia ran out as unlikely champions, largely because the Confederation of African Football’s decision to switch the tournament from even to odd years means it was only last year. With so little time to get over arguably the underdog story of 2012, can we really get excited all over again so soon? Continue reading
The False Nine’s David Dodds takes a look at the burgeoning amount of foreign talent in the Ukrainian Premier League…
In recent years, Ukrainian teams have been able to entice some real quality from abroad. No one has benefited from foreign players more than Shakhtar Donetsk, who last season won the league for the third year in a row. Shakhtar were nowhere near as prominent in the old Soviet system as arch-rivals Dynamo Kiev, and spent much of the first decade in the new Ukrainian league playing second-fiddle to their auspicious rivals. Continue reading
The False Nine’s David Dodds believes that the superiority of the Bundesliga’s financial model should be a point of discussion, not accepted wisdom…
As Pep Guardiola prepares to take over from Jupp Heynckes at Bayern Munich in the summer, Bayern’s fellow Munich club TSV 1860 Munich are also welcoming new coaching staff, or at least trying to. Continue reading
The words might change, but the chant stays the same. False Nine editor James Dutton bemoans Sloop John B – the terrace chant that just won’t go away…
Pet Sounds is one of the most influential and recognisable albums of all time. Utterly timeless, charming and ground-breaking it features regularly on countdowns of the greatest albums in history.