All Miguel Delaney posts on WhoScored.com Articles RSS

Player Focus: Copa America Superstars in Fine Form Ahead of Chile 2015

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Player Focus: Copa America Superstars in Fine Form Ahead of Chile 2015 Back when he was manager of Barcelona, Johan Cruyff used to have a theory about the season after a World Cup. He claimed such campaigns could throw up more surprises and unexpected results because of the effect of fatigue on the top players. “Everyone in the squad who played in the World Cup -...

Match Focus: Allegri Requires a Touch of Luck to Halt Messi & Co. in Saturday's Final

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Match Focus: Allegri Requires a Touch of Luck to Halt Messi & Co. in Saturday's Final Ahead of the biggest game in club football, Max Allegri faces the biggest conundrum in all football. It is the issue that has defined the entire season, and the question that so many managers have failed to answer, leaving Barcelona on the brink of a second treble in their history as they face Juven...

Player Focus: Could In Demand Grealish Inspire Villa to FA Cup Glory?

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Player Focus: Could In Demand Grealish Inspire Villa to FA Cup Glory? Jack Grealish’s senior career may be only a few months old but he’s set to face a few weeks that, in terms of scale, will be difficult to match for several years.They are also a few weeks that will aptly hark back to the past, and perhaps set his future.First of all, the Aston Villa youn...

League Focus: Analysing the Apparent Truisms of the 2014/15 Premier League Season

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League Focus: Analysing the Apparent Truisms of the 2014/15 Premier League Season Now that the season is coming to a close, it’s remarkable to reflect on some of the debates that opened throughout its course. Things that were supposedly cast-iron truth in November now seem so wrong, or so irrelevant.It is not just about the crises that always must engulf at least one gu...

Match Focus: Collective Strength Overcomes Individuals as Juve Dethrone Madrid

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Match Focus: Collective Strength Overcomes Individuals as Juve Dethrone Madrid There will now be no Clasico final, and that is because Juventus’ ultimate victory in the Bernabeu came down to many classical elements of the sport. It remains remarkable how these are still overlooked, not least by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.Here, a true team were able to overcom...

Match Focus: Masterful Messi Leaves Guardiola & Bayern Hopes in Tatters

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Match Focus: Masterful Messi Leaves Guardiola & Bayern Hopes in Tatters By now, there are no new words to describe him, apparently no new ways to stop him and - as a consequence of all that - no realistic hope for Bayern Munich.Leo Messi levelled the Germans, somehow lifting himself up to even greater heights at the same time. After all the build-up, all the history, al...

Team Focus: Written Off Foxes Turning Season Around in Survival Hunt

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Team Focus: Written Off Foxes Turning Season Around in Survival Hunt Leicester City may not be able to spoil Chelsea’s party tonight, but they can delay it, and potentially set up celebrations of their own. The challenge of facing Nigel Pearson’s team certainly can’t be dismissed in the way it might have been a few weeks ago, especially since the mi...

Match Focus: Bayern Respond in Style to Punish Porto

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Match Focus: Bayern Respond in Style to Punish Porto Whatever has been said about coming apart at the seams, or doctor’s orders, it was one throwaway line from a thrilled Pep Guardiola that summed up the mood around Bayern Munich now better than anything. “We can play even better!”That may be true of the second half against FC Porto,...

Match Focus: Ancelotti Frustrated as Madrid Champions League Tie Remains in Balance

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Match Focus: Ancelotti Frustrated as Madrid Champions League Tie Remains in Balance There were no goals at the Vicente Calderon, but that left one big question following this Champions League quarter-final first leg: who does the 0-0 actually favour?The answers given to that question revealed a lot. Carlo Ancelotti leant towards the negative. He described it as “not so good&r...

Player Focus: Adapting Ander Key to Improved Attacking Approach from United

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Player Focus: Adapting Ander Key to Improved Attacking Approach from United There was one point during the season, when Ander Herrera was at a particularly low ebb, that a Premier League player who appeared against him privately expressed some surprise at the Spaniard’s progress. The figure claimed that, although you could clearly see Herrera’s talent, this oppo...