Brendan Timmons

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Real Madrid vs Barcelona Preview – A Tale of Two Cities

December 8, 2011

The grand arena where their home games are played serves as an appropriate monument to their ubiquity. The club’s regal emblem is ostentatiously display at every possible opportunity. The trophy room is less a room and more a sizeable museum, brimming with accolades. Then there’s the pitch. Presided over by a stern looking madrileño guard, […]

Road to World Cup 2014? Or Brazil’s Road to Nowhere?

October 18, 2011

There is little more than two months remaining of 2011, and though the deadline seems arbitrary it will be a pity to conclude a year that has yielded such a rich variety of melodrama, controversy, pantomime and gritty prose. Good guys have turned bad (á la Ryan Giggs), the bad guys have turned, well, worse (Mourinho) and […]

Atlético Madrid vs Celtic – Preview

September 14, 2011

The optimism invoked by recently reaching a European final has long since subsided. Domestic bliss has proven elusive and though the exuberant support still ignites a resonant atmosphere on home-match day, apprehension has started to creep into the team. A manager well acquainted with the club has taken the reigns but has yet to establish […]

#2 – 3 Ways Footballers Can Become Better Adulterers

September 9, 2011

Marriage is a funny thing. Footballers are a funny thing. As such, it should come as little surprise that the matrimony between wag and lad so often descends into a charade resembling a peculiar social experiment. Yet, for an abundance of these eternal adolescents the domestic stability of marriage is often imperative to on pitch […]

#1 – 20 minute matches for Paddy’s Power

August 29, 2011

Shaggy hair, a beard (of sorts), and the stamina of a particularly lethargic sloth. Chances are if you’ve watched a Celtic game beyond the 80 minute mark you’re well acquainted with everyone’s favourite Northern Irish show pony, Paddy McCourt. His deft touch is complimented by an astute eye for goal and, as evidenced by his […]

The Italian Job: The Return of Juventus

August 26, 2011

The slate has not, by any stretch, been wiped clean. The reputation of the Italian club remains contaminated by the events of 2006 and the outfit’s illustrious history is cursed with an unfortunate tint. What Juventus need is a legitimate triumph to positively endorse this, the post-calciopoli side of their history but a victory to […]

Raúl Rides Again

August 4, 2011

The accolades are abundant. Numerous Don Balón awards, 3 UEFA Champions League best forward awards, an all-time leading scoring record at Real Madrid and a host of other individual honours to accompany the vast array of team trophies he garnered in his 16 year term wearing the iconic white shirt. However, at 34 years […]

The Might of Málaga’s Money

July 25, 2011

Perhaps it’s their passionate fan-base. Or maybe the enamour of that rich Andalusian culture. The weather in Spain’s south-west coast is certainly pleasant but, then again, the weather’s nice elsewhere too isn’t it? Or perhaps it’s simply that this particular team has very little to lose. Whatever the source of Sheikh Al Thani’s sudden infatuation […]

River’s Plate: Has the Argentine Giant Fallen for Good?

July 6, 2011

‘ ‘We will resist the critics. We will reformulate the club from now on.‘ These were the words uttered by River Plate president Daniel Passarella once the dust had settled on the relegation of his beloved club. An intriguing if somewhat redundant statement regarding River’s future. The harrowing reality is that ‘reformulation’ is […]

The Rojiblanco Cinderella – Whatever Happened to Atlético Madrid?

May 27, 2011

And then there were four. In truth, Madrid’s influence both socially and politically in Spain renders it somewhat unsurprising that the same region be so omniscient in sport as well, now boasting a quartet of teams in Spanish Primera División. So who are La Liga’s Madrileño representatives? Well, there’s Real Madrid, that perpetually […]