waroffutbol

  The FIFA Club World Cup predecessor, the Intercontinental Cup, was once notorious for its dark years involving real violence on the pitch. The FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) might have just been held for the first time in the new millennium back in 2000. Yet, this tournament has a long history with shocking facts on and off the pitch. Its predecessor, the Intercontinental Cup, had an unbelievable tale in the late 1960s and 1970s, once raising concern about its future before being revitalised in the 1980s.  The Intercontinental Cup, not the one with ‘FIFA’ at the front, was once not recognised by the world football governing body despite being endorsed by the two strongest regional football confederations in the world, UEFA and CONMEBOL . It was only considered ‘a friendly match’ by FIFA. Yet, its prestige was still well recognised globally, as it featured the duel of the best clubs from Europe and South America. They are undoubtedly still the ones at the top level of internat...

  A few managers have been considered unlucky during their managerial careers at the top level, as they lost more in the finals. The 2024/25 season is finally completed with the unexpected humiliation to Inter Milan in the UCL final last weekend. Nerazzurri, who managed to edge out Barcelona in a goal galore win at the semifinal, were outclassed by PSG five goals to nil. The result was so devastating that Simone Inzaghi opted to leave Giuseppe Meazza. Such a heavy loss marks Simone Inzaghi’s second defeat in the UCL final. The first one was only a narrow one to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the 2023 edition. Interestingly, Inzaghi’s men’s defeat in Munich last weekend was also the third defeat in the summit for the ex-Lazio boss. Does it mean that he tends to have misfortune in the finals? It is still too early to assume, but such may lead to it, should Inzaghi fail to deliver more trophies. As a gaffer, he mainly has clinched the Coppa Italia three times plus the Serie A ...

  Finding managers who have won three domestic titles or more with different teams in the same league proves to be quite difficult. The serial winner managers are always special. Recently, Antonio Conte has stolen the spotlight after clinching Serie A titles with Napoli, his third club in his native country. Such achievement deserves recognition, as the former Chelsea boss appears to be the only one who could do so from across the European top five leagues. Conte did lift the Serie A trophy while taking charge of his former side, Juventus. He was the one who initiated La Vecchia Signora’s dominance in 2010. Conte snatched the title in 2012 and 2014. He then did it again with Inter Milan in the 2020/21 season. His rare record makes him one of the few managers who did so. In Europe’s top to mid-level leagues, only two names made such a similar unique record, whereas in South America’s top-level competition, three names are on the list. Two of whom are from Argentina. Mustafa ...