Arsenal, PSG, Galatasaray and the Long Memory of European Heartbreak
Budapest was supposed to be the night Arsenal finally grew out of their European history. Instead, it became another chapter
Turkish Football’s Greatest Football Nerd
Outside Turkey, Hikmet Karaman is probably unknown to most football fans. Inside Turkey, though, he’s been around forever. Gaziantepspor. Kocaelispor.
From Beşiktaş Hero to Villa Glory: Tammy Abraham’s Strange Istanbul Full Circle
There’s something beautifully absurd about football sometimes. On the very pitch where Beşiktaş J.K. supporters spent the first half of
Turkish Delight for Villa: Emery’s Men Paint the Bosphorus Claret and Blue
There are certain cities in football that feel cursed, blessed, haunted and romantic all at once. Istanbul is one of
Nihat Kahveci and the La Liga Fever Dream
There are football careers that age gracefully, and then there are football careers that begin to feel fictional after enough
The Basque Bet: When Nihat Saved Beşiktaş by Leaving Them
In the early 2000s, the blueprint for a Turkish wonderkid was simple: stay in Istanbul, enjoy the adulation, drIn the
Hami Mandıralı and the Lost Art of Absolute Thunderbastards
Long before YouTube compilations and “knuckleball tutorials,” Hami Mandıralı was essentially conducting his own ballistic research project in Trabzon. The
Emre Asik, The Last Gladiator
There are defenders who tackle. Then there are defenders who arrive at your kneecaps like a tax audit from the
Rapaić Didn’t Do Sports Science
There are footballers who leave behind trophies. Others leave behind goals. Milan Rapaić somehow left behind cigarette smoke in the
Diego Lugano; The Last Great Bastard Centre-Back
There are defenders who tackle and there are defenders who organise. And then there was Diego Lugano, who approached football
