Rob Hughes
16 February 2023
Monk in a Fiat is steering Napoli to glory
Luciano Spalletti could have retired. Yet not only is he back on the touchline, he is thriving
Read the full article09 February 2023
Should Kane leave the Lane for Germany?
After overtaking his goalscoring record, the England captain could follow Jimmy Greaves to the continent
Read the full article02 February 2023
Big Mick knows the heart of a smaller club
Why Luton Town's chief recruitment officer is the antithesis of state-sponsored moneyball
Read the full article26 January 2023
A late tackle on ill effects of heading
Football officialdom may be finally acknowledging that the brain is vulnerable to repeated knocks, even with their precious ball
Read the full article19 January 2023
Real and Barça openly crave a closed shop
The Spanish giants are still determined to force a breakaway European Super League on us
Read the full article12 January 2023
A man of indescribable emotion
Gianluca Vialli was a man who chose his own paths and could articulate the reasons why
Read the full article29 December 2022
Why Pelé, not Messi, was simply the greatest
The game of football, and the world, has lost one of its very finest
Read the full article22 December 2022
Fifa won’t give the next Messi room to bloom
Gianni Infantino ignores the evidence that footballers’ bodies need to rest like any other athletes
Read the full article15 December 2022
Where beauty without battle means nothing
Morocco's World Cup success has come through faith, committed defence and seemingly impenetrable will
Read the full article08 December 2022
A century of not being given our ball back
More than a century ago scholars and businessmen went to South America to build railways or set up colleges. They introduced Argentines and Brazilians to football
Read the full article01 December 2022
Foundation of youth helps desert bloom
Teenage exploits at the World Cup are once again making a mockery of the notion you can't win anything with kids
Read the full article24 November 2022
Pushing bodies to the edge in the name of sport
Son Heung-min is the perfect case study for a game pushing players past acceptable limits by saturated schedules
Read the full article17 November 2022
Tainted love: Qatar’s overshadowed World Cup
The World Cup should spark anticipation and joy. But, says one reporter who has covered 12 tournaments, the prospect of Qatar brings only corruption and misery
Read the full article10 November 2022
The sacrifice that’s one last feat of Piqué
Gerard Piqué has played his final match for Barcelona. He may not have been blessed with athletic pace but he always played instinctively
Read the full article03 November 2022
Men of iron hope to break Bayern’s grip
Is Union Berlin a German Leicester City in the making? Unlikely. But, this won't stop them trying
Read the full article27 October 2022
Mocked man who got the last laugh
Ridiculed by Jack Grealish, "playing like Miguel Ángel Almirón" suddenly looks like something to be envied
Read the full article20 October 2022
The beach boys creating good vibrations
Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso are on a mission to manage at the top
Read the full article13 October 2022
The selfish genius with ego on his face
Kylian Mbappé is becoming such a prima donna that he risks destabilising the clubs that pay his fortune
Read the full article06 October 2022
When football history repeats as tragedy
The tragedy is Indonesia is not remotely incomprehensible. They recur with dreadful regularity
Read the full article29 September 2022
The new oasis of Cruyff’s total football
This weekend's Manchester derby is a reminder how, six years after his death, the Dutch master's vision still dominates the game
Read the full article22 September 2022
The hypnotic blossoming of Kvaradona
The sporting talents of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, nicknamed Kvaradona, are surprising and thrilling
Read the full article15 September 2022
Ageless and peerless, The Body kicks on
Robert Lewandowski embarks on a new chapter in his striking career
Read the full article08 September 2022
Football loses sight of the real world
Another transfer window shows a sport increasingly at wild odds with the lives of those who follow it
Read the full article01 September 2022
Storm clouds gather again over France
Not for the first time, France's national football squad is going into a major tournament facing internal strife
Read the full article25 August 2022
Beauty and bling in the city of light
After so many false starts, will this be the season Paris Saint-Germain finally attain their Holy Grail of the Champions League?
Read the full article18 August 2022
Ten Hag chases shadows of past glories
The Dutchman is just the latest Manchester United manager to struggle to shake off the ghost of Alex Ferguson
Read the full article11 August 2022
Mes que un club in more than a mess
Barcelona, heavily in debt, have managed to go on a summer spending spree
Read the full article01 August 2022
How going Dutch brought football home to England
Sarina Wiegman, the mastermind of that Euros win, is steeped in a rich coaching tradition
Read the full article28 July 2022
Football in the wilderness
We should have just enjoyed a World Cup, but money means this year's will take place in winter
Read the full article16 June 2022
Want sporting talent? Then look to Lisbon
The Portuguese capital is fast becoming the go-to place for elite football clubs looking for the world's best young talent
Read the full article09 June 2022
Final twist for talisman from dictator’s city
Ukraine's captain, Andriy Yarmolenko, epitomises his team's cause but a play-off against Wales had a sting in the tale
Read the full article02 June 2022
Last puff of the cigar for Italy’s old guard
Zlatan Ibrahimović could be forced to draw the curtain on an epic career. Meanwhile Italian football more generally is finding its place in Europe's ecosystem
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