APOEL – Real Madrid: A look at the economic gulf between the two

David vs Goliath – APOEL vs Real Madrid, a financial review

Since last Friday’s draw which saw Champions League underdogs APOEL pair up with 9-time winners Real Madrid, fans of the Cypriot champions have been eagerly awaiting the prospect of facing the continent’s most successful club as well as the 3,200km journey to the heart of Spain as they continue to live their European dream.

Yet, while the distance between the two capital cities is massive, the gap between the two football clubs is just as great. In this statistical review we will take a look at the respective finances of both teams which puts into perspective just how great APOEL’s accomplishments have been to get this far with the resources they have had to work with

Cyprus in desperate need of reform – end of excuses

APOEL’s success masks a growing crisis in Cypriot football

While APOEL’s run in this year’s Champions League has taken Cypriot club football to unthinkable heights, the small nation which over the last decade was showing signs of becoming a competent team at international level is slowly diminishing. The latest qualifying campaign for this summer’s European Championships saw the Mediterranean island fail to amass a single victory, and with the oldest average squad in Europe, falling to its lowest ever position in the FIFA World Rankings and the recent retirement of arguably the greatest player in the country’s history, Giannakis Okkas, there is major concern for the future.

Bale to Barcelona: A Comprehensive Study

The name on the lips of most FC Barcelona fans at the moment is that of Tottenham Hotspur sensation Gareth Bale. A recent poll in Catalonia’s top sports newspaper ‘Mundo Deportivo’ asked Barça fans who would be their preferred defensive reinforcement this summer; The Welsh wizard received 57% of the near 11,000 votes, way ahead of the likes of Valencia’s Jordi Alba (17%) and Milan’s Thiago Silva (11%). The 22-year-old has gone from a bit-part player to a world-beater in the space of just over two years and is now a primary target for the European Champions this coming summer. The club’s directors have made it no secret about their desire to bring him to the Camp Nou next season and with additional interest from their sworn enemy Real Madrid it is likely to be a heated battle for Bale’s signature.

But is it possible, both off the pitch where Barça are deep in debt and on the pitch where their innovative tactics can only accommodate specific individuals?

Champions League Preview: Can APOEL break Lyon hearts?

Today may be the day of love but the 14^th of February has been circled on football fans’ calendars across Europe a long time in advance for a very different reason. The return of the Champions League will leave many with divided loyalties as the football romantics will be casting a watchful eye over  underdogs APOEL as they look to tame French giants Lyon

The Cypriot champions have been the big surprise of this year’s competition after topping their group in just their second appearance in the Champions League and are just hours away from their first ever game in the knockout stages

Preview: Copa Clásico 2nd leg – 20 Interesting Stats

86-86 – Barcelona and Real Madrid are now level on the number of ‘Clásico’ wins with 86 each. Before Pep Guardiola joined, Madrid were leading 85-77

Real Madrid have now gone 12 matches without beating their rivals [after 90 minutes]

Neither side has kept a clean sheet in this season’s four meetings

In the first leg, only one Madrid player, Xabi Alonso (34), completed more passes than the blaugrana goalkeeper Pinto (25)

Under Guardiola, Barcelona have lost only 3 games in 27 cup games

Since April 2011, there have been 7 Clasicos that have seen a total of 46 yellow cards and 7 red cards

Technology in Football: A Comprehensive Study

The use of technology in sport has become common since the early 1990’s; cricket, rugby and tennis have implemented the use of hi-tech equipment that aid the main official to call certain decisions that the naked eye would struggle to see. Yet in the most popular sport in the world, football, the debate still goes on as to whether any form of technology should be used in the game.

This report looks at the reasons both for and against this movement, consulting the views of all the concerned parties; whether technology will improve football or simply lead to even more debate.