Page 2 - Monthly Archives: July 2017

7th July 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
After two successful seasons at Sassuolo under the watchful eye of the newly installed AS Roma manager, Eusebio Di Francesco, Lorenzo Pellegrini's singing makes perfect sense for the Giallorossi.

Being a former Roma youth product, the move represents a return home for the 21-year-old, something Pellegrini described as the fulfilling of a dream, and a fine reward for all his hard work, improvement and persistence with the Neroverdi. Moreover, his arrival will hold extra significance to the fans, who love their homegrown players, for they now have three Rome born academy graduates to cheer on as Pellegrini joins his idol Daniele De Rossi and Alessandro Florenzi.

In addition, the fact he's worked under Di Francesco, who's been an instrumental figure in his development, and is so accustomed to his methods, should combine

5th July 2017. By Ryan Baldi.
Spain's impressive European Under-21 Championship campaign ultimately ended in disappointment, with La Roja outplayed and outthought by Germany in the final. But there are plenty of positives to be drawn from Albert Celades' side's run in the competition, not least the emergence of Real Betis midfielder Dani Ceballos as a truly elite-level talent.

The 20-year-old playmaker demonstrated the full gamut attributes desired of a player in his position: technique, vision, awareness discipline and creativity. Although Atlético Madrid star Saúl Ñíguez stole the headlines in the semi-final victory over Italy by bagging a spectacular hat-trick, it was Ceballos who stood out most, pulling the strings in midfield and putting in a men-against-boys kind of performance.

The 20-year-old's displays in Poland along with his form over the last 18 months with Betis have marked him out as one of the most promising young players in La Liga. And

3rd July 2017. By Edward Stratmann.

Fiorentina's decision not to renew Paulo Sousa's contract was probably the right decision by the club. Over his two years in charge, the fiery and often difficult to handle Portuguese tactician's relationship never seemed smooth with the club's hierarchy, with regular reports suggesting Sousa was frustrated with their unwillingness to spend money on transfers and the way they sold players he intended on keeping.

Failing to qualify for Europe by finishing in eighth place in Serie A, which the club saw as a big disappointment, in combination with their inconsistency, his aforementioned troublesome nature and exit from this term's Europa League at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach, saw the club ready to head in a different direction.

Sousa definitely deserves credit, however, for he got the team playing some of the most exciting and beautiful football in Europe, while still producing some promising results and handsomely improving