English Clubs

The outside back position, where Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellarin play for Arsenal, could be considered the black swan of soccer. It’s a position known to see lots of 1v1 action, where there’s a fine line between being a hero or an Internet GIF.

However, sometimes a duo comes along that changes not only how a team defends, but how they attack as well.

Left back Nacho Monreal and right back Hector Bellerin are two of the biggest reasons Arsenal have made their claim that they will be in the hunt for the Premier League title early this season.

We are not privy to every single one of Manchester United's training sessions, nor are we insiders on the German National Team, but we have not received any reports of Bastian Schweinsteiger goose-stepping across the practice pitch or in any way else insinuating that he is a Nazi. Enter the Bastian Schweinsteiger Nazi doll.

Blue vs. Red. Pride vs. Pedigree. Rooney vs. Hart. Sterling vs. Martial. Noel Gallagher vs. Chevrolet. The Manchester Derby. 

Sunday is derby day in Manchester, England and the stakes are huge. Manchester City sits atop the English Premier League with Manchester United two points behind and looking to overtake their neighbors with a win on their home grounds as the clubs meet for the 170th time. 

Separated by a three-mile stretch on the A57 road, a 15 minute drive southwest will take you from the Etihad Stadium to Old Trafford, the site of this Sunday’s Manchester derby between Manchester United and Manchester City.

A top of the table clash between United and City, rarely seen throughout the course of the Manchester derby’s illustrious history, has heightened the drama beyond its normal magnitude. This is a fixture that will go a long way towards deciding who will be crowned Premier League champion come May.

You're abroad: a different language, a new culture and altogether different customs. You've been gathering up courage, repeating the appropriate local phrase over and over again in your head. 

This is what traveling is all about. You make eye contact with the waiter and let that silver tongue loose. You're a cosmopolitan now. 

Suddenly, the momentary pride you feel is replaced with a sinking sense of horror as the curveball arrives. Your prepared statement is returned back to you in the form of some unintelligible question. 

I like to imagine somewhere in Merseyside this week, Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp met at Liverpool Lime Street, at the train station, and had a cup of coffee. In my head the conversation was light and mostly not about soccer. Something like this:

Klopp laughs a shushed laugh at one of Rodgers’s stories about Jose Mourinho from his time at Chelsea, and then there’s a natural pause in the smooth, flowing conversation. This is uncomfortable for both men.

Rodgers: “This is a really good club, you know.”