On Thursday morning, Atletico Madrid received the news they had feared: an appeal against their transfer ban had been rejected and the punishment would be upheld for the duration of the summer transfer window. This means that Los Colchoneros are unable to register new players until January 1st 2018 as was the case with Barcelona
Barcelona’s failure to retain their La Liga title came about because of a multitude of different factors, including a lack of consistency throughout the campaign as well as the disruption caused by Luis Enrique announcing his upcoming departure midway through the season. With that being said it must also be accepted that Real Madrid have
It’s a well documented saying in the salary-cap driven NFL that once you gather a group of extremely talented players, you simply can’t pay everybody and a similar situation is unfolding at Real Madrid with Zinedine Zidane simply finding it a case of not being able to play everybody. Los Blancos are on the cusp
The truly great sporting teams throughout the ages have been remembered for their star performers; Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Ronaldo and Zidane have all left their mark on great teams that they have achieved incredible victories with. The current front three at Barcelona are as impressive a trio as any era has witnessed but their place
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. There are less and less players like Javier Mascherano in today’s modern game. Few who are prepared to play in different positions for club and country and fewer have ever made the transition look so seamless. Having moved to Barcelona on the back of impressing as a defensive midfielder,
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. It was a fitting way to start 2017 at the Bernabeu on Saturday afternoon as Cristiano Ronaldo was presented with his fourth Ballon D’Or trophy and Real Madrid trounced Granada by five goals to nil. Even though the Portuguese only scored one goal in the rout, there was no
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. It is always better to work out weaknesses before being presented with an opponent who can exploit them. Last Wednesday night Sergio Busquet’s rather maligned start to the season was fully exposed by Pep Guardiola, the manager who first put him in Barcelona’s first team eight years ago, and
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. With great power comes great responsibility as Stan Lee famously penned in one of his many Spiderman comics. Being the head coach of Real Madrid, one of the most influential, powerful and successful sides in world football, Zinedine Zidane is learning that this quote is undeniably true. Less than
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. It is always difficult moving to a club that has just won everything there is possible to win. When you also throw in the fact that your new club is serving a transfer ban which will mean that you cannot play for the club for the first six months
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. In two months’ time, Diego Simeone will celebrate his fifth anniversary as Atletico Madrid coach. In that time, he has established them as a force both domestically and in Europe with his cleverly organised defence and intense physical game. However, just as it seems we are adjusting to his
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. It has been a strange start to the season for Real Madrid. After five straight wins, four domestically and one in Europe, the club have contrived to draw their last two games against, on paper anyway, inferior opposition. Whilst much of the attention in Spain has revolved around Cristiano
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. Johan Cruyff famously told Pep Guardiola that ‘the second season is harder than the first season and the third season is harder than the second season.’ As Luis Enrique embarks on his third season at Barcelona the summer additions to the squad along with early team selections suggest that
There is something about adversity that makes certain people thrive. With the news last week that Atletico Madrid would be unable to sign any new players during the next two transfer windows the club face an uncertain year ahead. However, with their head coach Diego Simeone never afraid of confronting a challenge head on it
Player power has become a modern buzzword in football. With the huge sums of money involved in the game anyone in demand has the power to command the highest fee they possibly can. With Real Madrid looking to sign Gareth Bale to a new long term contract this exact thing is being played out at
The debut installment of a new column about everything related to the two elite Madrid sides and FC Barcelona titled, “The Madrid-Barca Axis”, by O-Posts veteran and La Liga expert Andy Hunter. Whilst the English press clamour over Joe Hart’s future at Manchester City, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s has finally been resolved at Barcelona. Following a