Month: July 2020

A wise and pensive Michael Owen once said: “Whichever team scores more goals usually wins.” He couldn't have been more right. Football is a game of goals, and no matter how good your team is, a classic centre-forward who can stick them away never goes amiss. But as football develops and managers begin to experiment and attempt to outsmart opponents with revolutionary tactics, the importance of a classic number nine is starting to wane. Much like rock and roll and the routine of a half-time bovril however, the centre-forward will never die. Robert Lewandowski is one of the world's best current centre-forwards / Alexander Hassenstein/Getty ImagesHow good is it to see one of this rare breed pop up and take such genuine pleasure in smashing a ball into a net with such ruthlessness and contemp...

There's a famous old Nike advert which features Paolo Maldini and the tagline 'Italy's goalkeeper - easiest job in Europe'.Unfortunately for England, they don't have Maldini marshalling the defence, and so it kind of matters who they have between the sticks.The race is on to secure that number one shirt ahead of the 2022 World Cup, but who are Gareth Southgate's frontrunners?Here's 90min's totally accurate ranking of England's goalkeeping options...Injury has derailed Heaton's career / Michael Regan/Getty ImagesPoor Tom Heaton would surely have more than just the three England caps he's earned if the latter end of his career wasn't so injury-riddled.He was always a reliable option for Burnley, before Nick Pope decided to stop being a non-league goalkeeper and become one of the most sprawl...

Right wingers come in all shapes and sizes. For every scheming, diminutive trickster there is a sprinter-turned-footballer who relies on speed to get past their man. Then there's the wide playmakers...or the fat bloke in your Sunday League team who's partial to a cheeky step over - but not much else.No matter what your favourite genre of right winger is, they're likely to be represented in this list. Well, maybe not the last one actually. This is the cream of the crop you see.Garrincha was one of the best dribblers in footballing history / Central Press/Getty ImagesGarrincha means little bird in Portuguese and it is not the only nickname that Manuel Francisco dos Santos went by during his illustrious career.The Brazilian icon was also called Alegria do Povo (People's Joy) and An...

Attacking midfield is the sexiest yet hardest to define position on the football pitch.Trying to find similarities between Steven Gerrard, Diego Maradona and Thomas Muller is a challenging task - and yet all three have been considered attacking midfielders at some point in their career.This elusiveness tells you a great deal about the role. It's meaning has changed over time, mutating depending on whatever tactical system was in vogue at that point in footballing history.Hakim Ziyech, who'll join Chelsea from next season, ranks at No.5️⃣ in 90min's best attacking midfielders in the world. | ✍️ @TomGott2— 90min (@90min_Football) June 29, 2020One thing has remained constant throughout the position's evolution though. It's produced some legendary players. Here are some of the very best.Diego...