Iconic Duos: Shevchenko and Rebrov – Dynamo Kyiv’s devastating double-act
Dynamo Kyiv carried a fearsome reputation in European football during the late nineties, with the Ukrainian side emerging to pose a genuine challenge to…
Iconic duos
31 articles
Iconic duos
Iconic Duos: Chelsea’s impregnable pairing made of steel and silk, Terry and Carvalho
Chelsea’s drought-breaking title success in 2005 was built on a defence as impregnable as any in recent memory, a championship coronation for the watertight…
Iconic Duos: Robben and Ribery – The wing wizards who defined a decade
For a decade full-backs often travelled to Bavaria with a sense of dread and trepidation, faced with arguably their most difficult assignment of the…
Iconic Duos: Raul and Morientes, a perfect pairing separated too soon
Real Madrid’s illustrious history has been built by a number of era-defining strike partnerships, from Di Stefano and Puskás to Butragueño and Sanchez. Among…
Iconic Duos: Baby Aguero and peak Forlan ripping up La Liga for Atletico
Atlético Madrid’s return to the summit of Spanish football has been one of the most fascinating revivals in recent memory. The roots of Los…
Iconic Duos: Desailly and Blanc, The Rock and the President
“He was a monster! Let me tell you, an absolute monster! He could play in defence or midfield, but I think he was better…
Iconic duos: Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips, the classic ‘little and large’ twosome that terrorised the Premier League
A reasonable argument can be made for Kevin Phillips being the most underrated British striker in the modern era, even if all the caveats…
Iconic Duos: Campbell and Toure, Arsenal’s immovable Turbo Trains
At the turn of the century, the passing of the torch – from The Gunners’ old guard to the new – was eased by…
Iconic Duos: Hasselbaink and Gudjohnsen – Fire and Ice
As Gianluca Vialli set about overhauling his frontline at Chelsea in the summer of 2000, even the former fans’ favourite could not have expected…
Iconic Duos: Striking synergy perfected, Cole and Yorke
Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole are arguably the Premier League’s most fondly remembered partnership, one in which two footballers worked in sublime synchronisation to…
Iconic Duos: Real Madrid’s notorious bad cop/worse cop, Pepe and Ramos
Real Madrid is often a daunting trip for opposition sides, a clash in the famed Santiago Bernabéu Stadium against a team steeped in rich…
Iconic Duos: Shearer and Sutton – Blackburn’s ‘SAS’
In the early nineties, Jack Walker oversaw a revolution at his beloved Blackburn Rovers. The industrialist took charge of the Lancashire side and dared…
Iconic Duos: Tiki-Taka’s royal pair, Xavi and Iniesta
The mastering of the midfield has been a fascination for managers past and present, the centre-piece of a successful side and the area where…
Iconic Duos: The ‘chalk and cheese’ of Gattuso and Pirlo in the Milan midfield
AC Milan pulled off a major coup when they signed Andrea Pirlo from rivals Inter in June 2001. His arrival marked the start of…
Iconic Duos: Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, and contemporary Catenaccio
Catenaccio has long been associated with Italian football. Translating as ‘door-bolt’, it is a tactical approach in which defence ranks above all else, the…
Iconic Duos: Lampard and Drogba – Chelsea’s relentless history makers
Chelsea’s rapid rise as a footballing force remains one of the most defining images in Premier League history. The west Londoners, fuelled by the…
Iconic Duos: Suarez and Sturridge – Liverpool’s ‘SAS’
Liverpool’s failed charge towards the Premier League title in 2013/14 remains one of the most captivating near-misses in the division’s history. A side that…
Iconic Duos: Bebeto and Romario, the polar opposites who brought stunning synergy to the Selecao
Romario and Bebeto’s sensational synchronisation during the 1994 World Cup ensured their place in the pantheon of Selecao superstars. Brazil’s history with world football’s…