Composite image of Lionel Messi from an article in The Athletic

One of the things that I spend a lot of my time doing every week is watching football (soccer). Yet I don’t write about it anywhere. Whether it’s watching one of our teenagers in matches every weekend, or professionals play in stadiums or on TV, there’s a reason it’s called “the beautiful game”.

As a sucker for all things Adidas, I accrue a number of points each year in their ‘Adiclub’ members area which are of a “use it or lose it” nature. Having heard good things about The Athletic, a publication created by two former Strava employees who sold it to The New York Times in 2022, I exchanged some points for a year’s subscription. I have to say I’m already hooked.

The depth is staggering and the use of images fantastic. Here, for example, are articles on the issues around redeveloping Newcastle United’s stadium, the reason that Trent Alexander-Arnold had such a poor game against Manchester United, and a wonderful article (which I sent to my daughter) about the art of ‘scanning’ for midfield players. The use of gifs in the latter is 👌

I realise that this reads like a sponsored post, and I’m not a big fan of the editorial cowardice shown by The New York Times, but this is me just pointing out the good stuff. If you consider yourself a sports fan, I’d highly recommend getting yourself access.

Source: The Athletic