theScore’s Gianluca Nesci spent five days in Catalonia ahead of the Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. You can find the complete collection of stories from the trip here. BARCELONA – What does it actually mean to be “more than a club?” The famed Barcelona slogan – “Mes que un club” – can be grating…
Report: Madrid targeting ex-Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim
Leonardo Jardim might not be out of a job for too much longer. Real Madrid is considering hiring the former AS Monaco manager as their permanent first team coach, a source close to Jardim told Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC. Los Blancos have been on the lookout for a permanent replacement for Julen Lopetegui, who…
Espanyol's plan to topple the Barca 'monster' begins, and ends, with the academy
theScore’s Gianluca Nesci spent five days in Catalonia ahead of the Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. You can find the complete collection of stories from the trip here. BARCELONA – Tucked away inside Espanyol’s Dani Jarque training complex, the walls of a modest office are lined to the ceiling with a collection of autographed…
In pictures: What it's like to eat, sleep, and train at La Masia
theScore’s Gianluca Nesci spent five days in Catalonia leading up to Sunday’s El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. You can find the complete collection of stories from the trip here. BARCELONA – It trains over 700 young athletes – 79 of which live full-time on the campus – across five different sports, and is…
Inside La Masia: Learning the 'three Ps' at Barcelona's famed academy
theScore’s Gianluca Nesci spent five days in Catalonia leading up to Sunday’s El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. You can find the complete collection of stories from the trip here. BARCELONA – Possession. Position. Pressing. The three Ps – the bedrock of Barcelona’s footballing philosophy – can be seen everywhere you turn at the…
Inside Camp Nou: Sights and sounds from an unforgettable El Clasico
theScore’s Gianluca Nesci spent five days in Catalonia leading up to Sunday’s El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. You can find the complete collection of stories from the trip here. BARCELONA – What’s it like to take a stroll through every nook and cranny of Barcelona’s famed Camp Nou, and then sit alongside over…
Party at Camp Nou: Witnessing Barca's demolition of Real Madrid live
theScore’s Gianluca Nesci spent five days in Catalonia leading up to Sunday’s El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. You can find the complete collection of stories from the trip here. BARCELONA – Gerard Pique just couldn’t help himself. Neither could anybody else inside the Camp Nou. After Arturo Vidal put the final nail in…
Sacked in the evening: 5 matches that sealed Lopetegui's fate
Julen Lopetegui’s short-lived tenure was doomed from the outset. Dismissed by the Spanish football federation days before Lopetegui’s La Roja were set to clash neighbors Portugal at the World Cup, the tactician made the move to Madrid. From the jump, it would prove to be an ill-fated appointment. If only he knew how to say…
Without Messi and Ronaldo, El Clasico takes a peek into the future
BARCELONA – “No Messi, no Cristiano.” It’s a common refrain from just about everybody you see in the days leading up to Sunday’s El Clasico at the Camp Nou. Cab drivers bring it up; you can overhear locals discussing it while waiting in line at the grocery store or eating their ham croquettes at one…