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Plucky Alaves performing against all odds in La Liga

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Plucky Alaves performing against all odds in La Liga It may have been a decade ago when Deportivo Alaves last featured in La Liga, but the Basque club are looking back at home already. Monday saw the promoted side record their first goals at home since rejoining the Spanish top-flight, in a comfortable 3-1 win against Granada. Six match days in, Mauri...

Nelson Vivas’ Estudiantes setting the pace in Argentina

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Nelson Vivas’ Estudiantes setting the pace in Argentina For a regular Argentina international it is fair to say that Nelson Vivas’ spell under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal between 1998 and 2001 was underwhelming. Rash in the tackle and a tad too aggressive, it looked as though his coaching career might follow suit after he was forced to resign from his...

Formidable Benfica brush aside forward crisis

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Formidable Benfica brush aside forward crisis “There will be games in which we play better than here and, maybe, don’t take the three points.” Rui Vitória is a very distinct personality from his Benfica predecessor, Jorge Jesus, but sometimes shares his penchant for directness. Vitória didn’t mince his word...

Leicester battling to implement more proactive approach

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Leicester battling to implement more proactive approach They were the team that cost Jose Mourinho his job at Chelsea, and could yet convert the growing concerns about the new Manchester United manager into a full-blown crisis. Certainly, if Leicester City were to make it four consecutive league defeats for the Portuguese boss on Saturday, it would be di...

Feyenoord thriving thanks to leadership of Van Bronkhorst & Kuyt

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Feyenoord thriving  thanks to leadership of Van Bronkhorst & Kuyt When visiting De Kuip, the home of Feyenoord Rotterdam, you can't escape the smell of history; everywhere stories of their glorious past are being told, but more importantly, there are signs of a prosperous future. The club's de facto mantra – Kein geloel, fussball spielen! loosely translating...

'Ricardiola' conquers hearts & minds as Flamengo sniff title glory

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'Ricardiola' conquers hearts & minds as Flamengo sniff title glory They arrived in their droves, some from the neighbouring bairros, pleased to have a game on their doorstep, others from further afield. It was 11am on Sunday - no time for football, really - but already the sun was beating down; by the time the game kicked off, a good number of them had abandoned th...

Can hugely exciting Dortmund put Bayern under genuine pressure?

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Can hugely exciting Dortmund put Bayern under genuine pressure? With the Bundesliga just two games old there was already a sinking feeling of same old, same old with regards to the dominance of Bayern Munich.Whilst incredibly early days, the Bavarians had picked up two wins, scoring 8 goals and conceding none. Their closest rivals Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile - ...

How Napoli are coping just fine without hitman Higuain

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How Napoli are coping just fine without hitman Higuain It was a Freudian slip. Nothing more. But an amusing one nonetheless. Every time Gianluca Vialli discussed Maurizio Sarri on Sky Italia at the weekend, he accidentally called him Maurizio Sacchi. His colleague, the commentator, Fabio Caressa did the same. Napoli had impressed again on Saturday night...

Stoke's defensive struggles has Hughes under pressure

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Stoke's defensive struggles has Hughes under pressure And then there were two. Southampton’s 1-0 win over Swansea on Sunday afternoon means Stoke and Sunderland are the only teams yet to win a Premier League game this season. The top-flight’s bottom two have very much struggled in the opening weeks of the campaign having taken a point apiec...

Will Conte's Late Subs Affect Chelsea in the Long Run?

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Will Conte's Late Subs Affect Chelsea in the Long Run? As Chelsea fell to a 2-1 home defeat to old adversaries Liverpool on Friday night, the main gripe from home fans came in Antonio Conte’s late subs. It took until the 83rd minute for the Italian to make changes to his side, a decision he defended once the match had ended. “We scored the g...