Thread by @ZachLowy

It’s been a great year for football writing, both on a personal level and a general level, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next decade brings in terms of analysis.

Here are my 10 favorite articles that I wrote this year:

Chris Richards’s parents scraped together paychecks to afford his equipment, drove him to tournaments across the U.S, and never stopped supporting his dream to become a footballer.

In 2019, he joined Bayern and blossomed in the U-20 World Cup.

@FloFC_ ✍🏻
flofc.com/articles/65252…

France are currently the best team in the world, but that wasn’t always the case.

I wrote about how the Clairefontaine academy changed the course of French football for the better, and why France produces talents at an unparalleled rate.

✍🏻 @betcoza
central.bet.co.za/2019/10/07/cla…

Marcel Brands estableció una dinastía en Holanda gracias a su scouting en Latinoamérica y sobre todo su facilidad de gestionar fichajes y encontrar gangas.

En @el9ymedio, os explico por que Brands es el rey de las negociaciones ✍🏻

el9ymedio.com/2019/08/13/mar…

South Africa began the decade with a bang, hosting to the World Cup & advancing to the U20 World Cup knockout round.

10 years later, it’s been a decade of unfulfilled promise for the Bafana Bafana.

A piece on the current state of South African football. qoo.ly/zzsze8

In 2.5 years, chief scout Ben Manga took Eintracht Frankfurt from relegation scrappers to top four contenders, uncovering talents like Luka Jović and taking them within touching distance of a Europa Final.

I wrote on Manga’s strategies for @BTLvid ✍🏻 breakingthelines.com/transfer-analy…

I wrote about how David Beckham, McDonalds’ pancakes, and Texas hospitality made the Dallas Cup into one of the premier youth tournaments in football.

For @FloFC_ ✍🏻 flofc.com/articles/64377…

All his life, Alan Mozo only had one dream: to become a professional footballer for Pumas.

Following several rejections, he’s currently thriving under Míchel, and he’ll be in high demand next year.

A piece on a right back who isn’t really a right back: flofc.com/articles/65728…

FC Dallas made the playoffs this year with the youngest squad in MLS, a squad that was heavily composed of academy talents.

For @FloFC_, I wrote about how FC Dallas built one of the most productive, extensive academies in the United States. flofc.com/articles/64259…

In 2015, Crystal Dunn was the last player to be cut from Jill Ellis’s squad for the Women’s World Cup.

Four years later, after emerging as one of the best forwards in NWSL, she flourished in the USWNT’s victorious campaign—as a left back.

For @FloFC_ ✍🏻
flofc.com/articles/65256…

Without De Gea or Martial, Manchester United still wiped the floor with Chelsea thanks to a masterclass from Paul Pogba.

I analyzed every aspect of Pogba’s performance for @BTLvid ✍🏻 breakingthelines.com/player-analysi…

@BTLvid Honorable mentions:

-Scouting report on Ibrahim Sangaré breakingthelines.com/player-analysi…

-Analyzing Sergio Ramos vs. Ajax breakingthelines.com/tactical-analy…

-Analyzing Dušan Tadić vs. RM breakingthelines.com/player-analysi…

-Africa's best XI qoo.ly/zz95v9

-JJ Macías's rise flofc.com/articles/65783…

When Amadou Diawara finally revealed his secret dream of becoming a footballer to his father, he got a beating.

When he got his first paycheck in Europe, he spent it on a pair of cleats.

This is the story of a boy who refused to quit.
news.footballindex.co.uk/weekly-wonderk…