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Whether you are travelling across the country to see your beloved team or watching from home with your feet up, does it make a difference in terms of being classed a ‘true’ football fan?

Football inherits a rare capability of captivating supporters from all over the world and English football has become widely globalised.

It has become so well-known across the world that countries such as China contain fans who follow English clubs with a passion – and it is more common than you think.

Betway Soccer have produced an excellent documentary, Over Land and Sea, which tells a heart-warming story of Pan, a West Ham United supporter who was born and lives in Shanghai, China.

But can he be considered as a true fan?

In the documentary, Pan reveals how he became a fan of the Hammers and why he chose to support a mid-table English club opposed to the global giants like Manchester United or Liverpool.

The China-based follower also opens up about his love for the club and the lengths he goes to follow West Ham.

West Ham participated in the Premier League Asia Trophy in July but suffered a 4-1 defeat to Manchester City in their opening encounter, despite taking the lead in the first half. Over Land and Sea also includes contributions from two local fans who travelled from London to Shanghai to watch the Hammers participate in the pre-season tournament.

People often support a football club by following in the footsteps of their family. Times are changing, however, and millions of fans across the world are choosing to support teams from other countries – the Premier League is an excellent example of a global-supporting competition.

Despite not regularly attending matches or being involved with the match-day experience, global fans outside the UK can still inherit the same, if not more passion for the club.

Not only does the documentary unveil the life of an overseas supporter, it also contains exclusive contributions from captain Mark Noble, Declan Rice – who made his England debut in March – and former Premier League winner Pablo Zabaleta.

Pan chose to support West Ham based on a computer game, Football Manager, back in 2005. Global supporters are attracted to English clubs because of their rich history and impact on the sport. Football in China is not rifled with history and many fans look to English football to discover that.

England won the World Cup in 1966 and the team contained Hammers players such as Bobby Moore, the captain of the squad, and Geoff Hurst – who scored a hat-trick in the final against Germany. Pan saw this and decided that West Ham was a club he was passionate about and his loyalty for the London-based side is excellent, despite living so far away.

It is not just about attending matches regularly that makes you a ‘true’ fan. This documentary highlights how passion and loyalty come in different ways.

The phrase ‘true football fan’ is a strange concept where supporters attempt to place themselves above others. People support the club in different ways and in the documentary, Pan demonstrates exactly how you can be a ‘true’ fan despite being absent from the country West Ham participate in.

The summer is slowly but surely winding down and as we rapidly approach mid-August, teams are gearing up for the start of their respective domestic competitions. And as far as the Spanish clubs are concerned, there’s still some time left on the clock before it strikes midnight. La Liga will officially kick-off on Friday 16th of August with Barcelona raising the curtain against Athletic Bilbao at the iconic San Mames.

It will no doubt be a fairly interesting opener for the defending champs as the Basques’ ground has been a tricky destination for years now. The Catalans only have a 29% win ratio against Bilbao in La Liga and it’s possible that they will play that game without their talisman Lionel Messi since the Argentine has suffered a slight injury upon his return from holiday.

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And despite the Spanish league not even being underway yet, there’s a feeling in the air that it’s likely that we see a repeat of last season – Barcelona are very much in the driving seat once again.

But both Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have brought in some serious reinforcements and since neither have won La Liga in a couple of years now, they will both be eager to get their hands on the trophy. So what makes Barcelona such a straight-up favourite in the first place? First of all, it’s consistency.

If we cast our gaze back just a bit, we can see that Barcelona have won eight La Liga titles since the season of 2008/09. And more recently, they’ve won three in the last four years, only missing out on  2016/17 in the process. It’s difficult to pinpoint why exactly that dominance is so clear but it’s really difficult to compete with Blaugrana over the course of 30+ games per season.

The Champions League is a place where only the best teams meet but it’s not always the competition that sees the best ones win too. In Europe, one bad night can cost you everything and Barcelona have surely had bad nights in the last couple of seasons, last winning the trophy in 2014/15. And while that does happen to them in the odd game in La Liga as well, it’s nowhere near as often and more importantly, they can afford it because the domestic term is such a marathon.

Looking at the past 11 years, Barcelona only had five losses per season at most with the goal ratio always being heavily in their favour and their overall points only dropping below 90 in three of those seasons, once being in 2018/19. But interestingly enough, only in one of those instances have they lost the crown to one of their rivals and that’s when they finished second. In fact, the last time they finished anything other than first or second was way back in 2007/08 when they were third with only 67 points under their belts.

This shows incredible consistency that not many can replicate. That much is visible from the recent standings and results. Even when we delve more into it, it becomes that much more visible. In the 38 matches Barcelona and Real Madrid played since 2008/09, the Catalans have won 19 and in 34 they played against Atletico Madrid, they’ve won 21. Being consistent overall and being consistent against your biggest rivals is what takes Barcelona over the finish line year after year.

And of course, when everything is said and done, they still have Messi. This factor may be the biggest in the whole equation. Messi has been their top goal-scorer in La Liga nine times since 2008/09 and of course, he is La Liga’s all-time top goal-scorer with 419 goals to his name. Quite frankly, it’s almost impossible to compete with him over the course of the whole season and it shows. Messi’s quiet day is not really the same as everyone else’s quiet day and these figures are proof enough of that.

When everything else fails, Messi is that cheat code to get them over the line. And then you have Barcelona’s newest signings with the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong who are looking to strengthen the squad even further.

From the looks of it, the favourites are well placed to get the treble of La Ligas with the upcoming season but as we know, anything can happen in football. Maybe a fourth competitor steps out of the shadow and makes a surprise entrance in the race for the crown.

If recent history tells us anything though, it will be another Barcelona coronation.

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يؤمن مدرب فريق مانشستر سيتي بيب جوارديولا أن أي فقدان للنقاط سيكون اختبارًا حقيقيًا لقدرة لاعبيه.

وحقق مانشستر سيتي الفوز في 16 مباراة متتالية في مختلف المسابقات.

ويلتقي السكاي بلو مساء الغد مع إيفرتون في مباراة مؤجلة من الجولة السادسة العشر، من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي.

وقال جوارديولا في تصريحات نشرها الموقع الرسمي للنادي: “أنت لا تحصل على الكمال أبدًا”.

وأضاف: “ما فعلناه بالفوز في 16 مباراة على التوالي هو نتيجة استعدادنا بأفضل ما يمكن للمباراة القادمة”.

وواصل: “قبل شهرين، لم يكن في تفكير أي شخص في عالم كرة القدم بشأن الفوز بالدوري الإنجليزي، لا يزال من الممكن حدوث الكثير من الأشياء”.

وتابع: “كل ما في رأسي الآن هو مواجهة إيفرتون، سنقوم بإهدار النقاط بكل تأكيد، هذه هي اللحظة التي أتوقع فيها رد فعل منا جميعًا”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. جوارديولا يكشف حالة دي بروين وجوندوجان وأجويرو قبل مواجهة إيفرتون

ومن جهة أخرى، أكد جوارديولا أنه سيواصل تناوب لاعبي فريقه خلال الأسابيع والأشهر المقبلة لأنه يعتقد أن لديه مجموعة من اللاعبين الذين يستحقون جميعًا المشاركة.

واستكمل: “أحاول إشراك جميع اللاعبين، أقوم بتناوب الجميع، إنها الفرصة الوحيدة لدينا للفوز بجميع البطولات، نحن بحاجة إلى الجميع”.

واختتم: “في هاتين المباراتين، ضد إيفرتون وآرسنال، سأحاول اللعب بأكبر عدد ممكن من اللاعبين، ليس من أجل مواجهة بوروسيا مونشنجلادباخ، ولكن لأنني أحب كل لاعبي فريقي”.

ويلتقي مانشستر سيتي مع آرسنال يوم الأحد القادم في الجولة الخامسة والعشرين من الدوري، قبل ملاقاة مونشنجلادباخ في ذهاب دور الـ32 من دوري أبطال أوروبا يوم الأربعاء من الأسبوع نفسه.

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Some Tottenham fans have taken to Twitter to discuss a report from The Daily Mail that states Mauricio Pochettino rejected the chance to swap contract rebel Christian Eriksen for Paulo Dybala this summer.

The north Londoners were in talks to sign the Argentina international from Juventus but the move failed to materialise after the Italian champions decided that they no longer wanted to sell the 25-year-old.

In Eriksen’s case, the Dane is refusing to sign a new contract with Spurs and could still leave before the window for European clubs ends on September 2nd.

Pochettino reportedly declined the transfer proposal as he was hoping Eriksen would sign a new deal, although that now looks extremely unlikely.

The former Southampton boss may well have made a big mistake.

Juventus are now plotting to snatch the former Ajax playmaker on a free transfer next summer, as too are Barcelona.

Let’s see how some Spurs fans on Twitter reacted to the news…

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كشف محمد جابر أبو الوفا، سفير مصر في تنزانيا، موافقة الاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم “كاف” على حضور الجماهير مباراة الأهلي أمام سيمبا بشرط واحد.

الأهلي يحل ضيفاً على سيمبا في تنزانيا، غدًا الثلاثاء، في إطار الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات لدوري أبطال إفريقيا.

وقال أبو الوفا خلال تصريحات لبرنامج “الماتش” على قناة “صدى البلد”: “سيمبا تقدم بطلب لحضور 30 ألف مشجع لمباراة الأهلي، والتي تمثل نصف سعة الملعب الرسمية، وكاف وافق على ذلك بشرط الالتزام بالإجراءات الاحترازية”.

وأضاف: “الأهلي أجرى مرانين أساسيين على الملاعب الفرعية للتعود على الأجواء المناخية لأنها صعبة ومختلفة تمامًا عن مصر، وهناك ارتفاع في درجات الحرارة والرطوبة”.

طالع | مران الأهلي | موسيماني يؤخر انطلاق التدريبات بسبب الملعب.. ويجتمع مع اللاعبين

ويحتل الأهلي صدارة ترتيب المجموعة الأولي بـ3 نقاط، متساويًا مع سيمبا التنزاني صاحب المركز الثاني بنفس الرصيد، ولكن متخطيًا بفارق الأهداف، ويأتي في المركزين الثالث والرابع فيتا كلوب الكونغولي والمريخ السوداني بدون نقاط.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles.

18 points from 18? You certainly wouldn’t put it past them. Manchester City’s Midas-like touch with the Champions League draw continues to amaze, and this time, they really did outdo themselves.

Some big hitters like Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund were eerily waiting for Pep Guardiola’s side in pot two, but instead, out came Shakhtar Donetsk. How the Ukrainians must be sick of the sight of the Etihad side.

After that piece of luck, pots three and four didn’t bring out any potential banana skins, and it all makes it look relatively straightforward for a safe passage into the last 16 for the Manchester side.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

But perhaps City should not start celebrating too soon. They were handed favourable-looking draws in the past couple of seasons too, but have yet to see it all the way through in the Champions League. Guardiola will undoubtedly point to many factors as being the cause for their failed runs in the competition, but perhaps a lack of competition may be the underlying reason behind it. Indeed, even some City fans appear to think so too.

As the saying goes in football, sometimes you learn more from a difficult defeat than a comprehensive victory. Beating the likes of Shakhtar, Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta 5-0 may boost the egos and feeling of invincibility, but does it actually help prepare City for the business stages of the tournament, when defensive resiliency is just as important as attacking verve?

Having breezed through the group phase and knocking out Schalke 10-2 on aggregate in the last 16 last season, City came unstuck at the first real hurdle. Mauricio Pochettino’s side clinched an all-important 1-0 victory at home, before scoring three away goals at the Etihad to knock them out in the quarter-finals.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

Guardiola’s men may rue the intervention of VAR, but in the grand scheme of things, they folded against the first ‘big’ team they faced in the competition. The season before that, they waltzed on through to the last eight and then were comprehensively beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Liverpool.

Again there was a feeling amongst some that they were hard done by, but you can’t complain when you give up goals at home in two-legged ties.

So whilst the initial feeling may be one of relief that they once again avoided a potentially troublesome group, City may just be looking back in a few months time with a feeling of regret that they weren’t sufficiently tested.

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أكد الإنجليزي جيسي لينجارد، جناح وست هام يونايتد، أن فريقه سيلعب بشكل هجومي أمام مانشستر سيتي في البريميرليج.

وست هام يحل ضيفًا على مانشستر سيتي ظهر السبت على ملعب “الاتحاد”، ضمن لقاءات الجولة السادسة والعشرين من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

اقرأ أيضًا.. بجانب هالاند.. مانشستر سيتي يستهدف لاعب آخر من بوروسيا دورتموند

وقال لينجارد في تصريحات نقلتها شبكة “تريبال فوتبول” البريطانية: “نحن فريق يُحب المُضي قدمًا واللعب بشكل هجومي، ولا نحب اللعب بطريقة دفاعية”.

وأضاف: “نحن فريق يحب الضغط أيضًا، سنضغط عليهم وسنلعب بشكل هجومي أمام مانشستر سيتي”.

وأتم تصريحاته قائلًا: “نحن لدينا لاعبون رائعون، وسنلعب بشكل ضاغط ونُجبر الخصوم على ارتكاب الأخطاء”.

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So the Christian Eriksen transfer saga continues to rumble on. Despite the transfer window officially slamming shut across Europe earlier this week, rumours of potential exits and signings haven’t stopped.

Eriksen was the subject of intense transfer speculation over the course of the summer, and there were suggestions Manchester United were contemplating making a late bid for the Denmark international.

Despite a move failing to materialise, The Daily Mail claim the Red Devils are set to make a bid for the 27-year-old in January after seeing Eriksen fail to join Real Madrid.

After hearing the news the club could be set for a winter swoop for the Tottenham star, United fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts about the matter.

Many supporters of the Manchester side hailed the Dane for his proven qualities, and insisted that quite frankly, “anyone is a massive improvement on (Jesse) Lingard”.

Others however urged the Red Devils to simply move on to other transfer targets, and pointed back to reports that he had supposedly turned down the chance to move to Old Trafford this summer.

Check out some of the mixed reaction of United fans below:

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يأمل فريق يوفنتوس في تعافي نجمه الأرجنتيني باولو ديبالا من إصابته، في تلك المرحلة المهمة من الموسم الجاري.

لعب ديبالا 11 مرة فقط في الدوري الإيطالي هذا الموسم، وغاب عن آخر 8 مباريات في الدوري، بسبب إصابة في الرباط الجانبي للركبة.

وذكرت صحيفة “توتوسبورت”، أن مهاجم يوفنتوس باولو ديبالا لن يعود إلى بورتو في دوري أبطال أوروبا، ويمكن أن يسافر إلى النمسا لإجراء استشارة أخرى في الركبة.

وكان ديبالا سافر إلى برشلونة مؤخرًا لاستشارة جراح الركبة رامون كوجات، وأكد مدربه أندريا بيرلو أن الأرجنتيني لن يحتاج لتدخل جراحي.

اقرأ أيضًا.. وكيل أعمال أليجري يثير الشكوك حول وجهته التدريبية المقبلة

ويرغب بيرلو في عودة ديبالا قريبًا، لكن لا يبدو أن اللاعب البالغ من العمر 27 عامًا لن يكون جاهزًا لمباراة الإياب بدور الـ16 ضد بورتو في دوري أبطال أوروبا المقرر لها الثلاثاء المقبل.

وتزعم الصحيفة أن بإمكانه السفر للقاء البروفيسور فينك في النمسا المتخصص والمستشار، لمعرفة تطورات حالته.

يذكر أن يوفنتوس سيواجه لاتسيو يوم السبت المقبل ضمن منافسات الدوري الإيطالي.

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After a clip of Crystal Palace defender Gary Cahill passionately celebrating Jordan Ayew’s goal against Aston Villa at the weekend emerged, Eagles supporters have been quick to react on Twitter.

The south London outfit’s official account on the social media platform provided a video of the Ghanaian’s winner from a behind-the-goal angle, before then picking up on the former Chelsea captain’s strong reaction.

The 33-year-old was only making his third appearance for Roy Hodgson’s men having joined them on a free last month, but it appears as though he is already making a big impression among the Selhurst Park faithful if the comments below are anything to go by.

Watch Crystal Palace Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It has certainly been an impressive baptism of fire for the former England international in the red and blue stripes, with his introduction to the team in the Premier League leading to two successive wins – including one at Old Trafford.

While one fan has even suggested that Cahill is a Palace supporter, another has said that he should be handed the armband that Luka Milivojevic currently holds onto.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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