European Heavyweights Set to Spar – AC Milan v Barcelona

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Kyle Hulme previews the Champions League clash between two heavyweights of the European game…

The San Siro has hosted some of the greatest European football nights the world has ever seen, yet perhaps none where the home team is as unfancied as Milan are on Tuesday.

Despite both teams finishing second in their leagues last season, Milan and Barcelona couldn’t have had more contrasting starts to this one. Continue reading

Wesley Sneijder and the Problem of 10

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Following Wesley Sneijder’s move to Turkey, The False Nine’s Simon Smith looks at the multidimensional position of the ‘number 10’…

As Wesley Sneijder completes his move to Galatasaray, Internazionale – and perhaps world football in general – need to take stock and ask why a player once revered as a magician of his generation has been allowed to leave for a paltry fee rumoured to be as little as £8 million. Continue reading

TFN Looks Back at 2012: Part 2

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Here’s the second part of our 2012 Q and A. Happy New Year!

1. Favourite moment
2. Favourite player
3. Favourite Euro 2012 moment
4. Favourite goal
5. Favourite match
6. Young player
7. Breakthrough team
8. Joey Barton moment
9. Favourite album
10. Favourite gig

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The Year of The False Nine

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In the latest of The False Nine’s series looking back the events of 2012, James Dutton reflects on the the most in vogue tactical trend of the year and the marvellous Spanish…

Taking to his platform on the Guardian, Jonathan Wilson, author of ‘Inverting the Pyramid’ discussed some of the tactical trends of the past 12 months. Unsurprisingly possession football and the example of Spain and Barcelona was high up the list.

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TFN Meets Steve Graves

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Continuing The False Nine’s look back at 2012, we spoke to Steve Graves of The Anfield Wrap…

Favourite moment

For drama, Sergio Aguero’s winner to seal the Premier League title. For football and society as a whole, the announcement that the hugely flawed Hillsborough inquest verdicts would be quashed surpassed anything to happen on the pitch.

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TFN Meets Futbol Intellect’s Maxi Rodriguez

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The False Nine talks to Maxi Rodriguez from the excellent Futbol Intellect about his highlights from 2012…

Favourite Moment:

The wonderful thing about soccer (football) and sport in general, is that despite the decades of history, and the way in which every event is somehow linked to a larger contextual background, is that there are still moments which are so unexpected and unique that you don’t quite know how to respond to them, other than with a sort of mindless jubilation. Continue reading

Euro 2012: The Last of Its Kind

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In the first of a series of reviews of the 2012 football calendar, editor James Dutton looks back at that thrilling June in Poland and Ukraine and a tournament likely to be fondly remembered as the last of its kind…

Viva España

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