Michiel Jongsma

Ludogorets, the club whose hopes of a world-record 15th straight title hang by a thread (Gift Article) Despite coming from a small city, Ludogorets have won the Bulgarian First League in each of the 14 seasons since being promoted in 2011

Ludogorets have won 14 successive league titles. 🇧🇬

Levski Sofia, who they play tonight, stand in the way of a world record.

How have Ludogorets done it? And is it good or bad for Bulgarian football?

Free to read on @theathleticfc.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...

Enjoyed that a lot Colin.

And Ruoppi at Mainz next season of course but I think his skillset should translate to a decent level. Maybe not Bundesliga starter instantly but het'll have a decent career.

But Santi Haarala did quite well initially in the Allsvenskan, Axel Kouame at AIK, Kanellopoulos at OFI, Miettinen at Istra and Jukkola ar Kairat are interesting testcases for how players fare from there.

Yeah he shows up in my data searches quite often too, had checked his footage last summer. There is definitely something there, but I have some reservations about his physique. And the Veikkausliiga is a tough read, in general it is maybe second tier of a smaller football nation level?

I bet it's Pyry.

New Vacancy - Data Engineer I am excited to share we are recruiting for a Data Engineer to join our Research team at Liverpool Football Club - this is a fantastic opportunity for someone to be a… | ... New Vacancy - Data Engineer I am excited to share we are recruiting for a Data Engineer to join our Research team at Liverpool Football Club - this is a fantastic opportunity for someone to be a par...

We’re recruiting for a Data Engineer to join our Research team at Liverpool FC. In my (perhaps biased) view, it’s a great opportunity to join an excellent team, work at the forefront of sports analytics, and have a tangible impact.
www.linkedin.com/posts/conorq...

Good for you!

A photo of a guy that has recently had his hair cut.

From @speld.nl, 'meet Ruud, the PSV fan that only goes to the barber when PSV win five games in a row'. speld.nl/2026/02/11/d...

Just sneaking up at the right time! Whenever you see him they score!

Very excited to see if John Heitinga has rightplacerighttime'd himself into a temporary head coach job again.

Ha, well in the Netherlands it's now Jake Paul's fiancee/supermodel/diva that does not talk to Dutch press oh yes and she can also skate.

Yeah it holds up really well.

Still a banger.

Strand Larsen in the green and white of FC Groningen.

He has too.

Think lack of distance shots under Wenger hurt Arsenal as their shot profile became too predictable, so yeah, I think turning it into a team trait should open things up. If a team tends to get 3, 4 shots on target extra because they settle for long distance shots they like you'd want to limit that.

Ha, I was thinking this exact thing yesterday too. But I guess the distances are easier to cover, a good shot from distance from say 18-20 metres has a way lower xG than the FG% scored for (far) threes, even if you have great shooters, and getting 'wide open' shots from distance is even tougher.

Er is gewoon heel veel top down journalistiek tegenwoordig, waarbij management meer bezig is met zo weinig mogelijk mensen schofferen om de brand overeind te houden. Heel schadelijk voor de functie van de sector.

I mean, there is a place and team called Montana to make you feel right at home!

He did really well at Hammarby before as well, really interesting coach! Glad to see him doing that too at Boro.

@talkhoops.bsky.social Hi Zach! Avid Bounce reader here! Didn't Norman Powell join the Jamaica Basketball team last year? Surely he should be considered as an international selection if he wants to!

Lovely signing, he really made strides last season.

Yeah there was that club legend(ish) bounce, I am not sure he could galvanize those at a club he is not so familiar with, but who knows! Otherwise, time for...

Tbf he was helped with a very soft schedule to start at Ajax. facing only one team in that seven win stretch that was in the top-8 at the time of playing and that team was sixth, followed by W4 D2 L3 in the league. I don't think anyone thought he was more than an average manager at that point.

FC Groningen, Attacking and Defending Radars 24-25 vs 25-26.

Significant upgrades in output, but why?

Amazing isn't it. Hjalmar Ekdal to Burnley (was a loan) and Luciano Valente to Feyenoord and have handed starts to just three new players, with one guy starting just thrice. Youth! Good management! But still feels like a remarkable performance by their technical staff.

Yeah 100%, the fee for what his output was and how he looked physically (albeit not too explosive, but big for a winger) was really quite justifiable, but quite cool how they did not really waste any time on trying to transfer the whole package but just the more transferrable skills.

At PSV, at times he was basically at a standstill, free to take initiative with the ball with a fullback refusing to press as teams retreated so much. What he's become felt like the most positive possible outcome as it didn't feel like his processing speed with ball to feet was that high.

If you take late requests, a team comparison between FC Groningen 2024-25 & 2025-26 would be great given the relative lack of squad turnover, but either way, happy holidays to you.

Vincent Kompany wint Trofee Raymond Goethals, Nathan De Cat verkozen als beste debutant in onze competitie Bayern-coach Vincent Kompany is de winnaar van de Trofee Raymond Goethals. Kompany haalde het voor Nicky Hayen en Sébastien Pocognoli. Anderlecht-talent Nathan De Cat kaapte de prijs voor beste debutant in de Belgische competitie weg.

He's just won the prize for Best Debutant of the Year in the Jupiler Pro League. www.nieuwsblad.be/sport/voetba...