Author: Ritam Dey

In a moment that will be etched in Indian grassroots football history, St. Xavier’s Collegiate School (SXCS), Kolkata, proudly represented India at the MADCUP 2025 — one of the largest youth football tournaments in the world, held in Madrid, Spain. Hosted jointly by Atlético de Madrid, the Municipality of Madrid, and the United Nations, this year’s edition saw participation from top academies across the globe — including Real Madrid, Botafogo, Marseille, and elite sides from Japan, Korea, Argentina, and the USA. Making their mark in the U-16 Boys’ category, SXCS became the first-ever Indian school team…

St. Xavier’s Collegiate School from Park Street, Calcutta, has made history by becoming the first-ever Indian youth team to take part in MADCUP Football 2025—the fifth edition of the largest federated international tournament for grassroots football. The tournament will be held in Madrid, Spain, in June 2025. The young Kolkata side will compete against some of the biggest names in world football, facing youth teams from Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Juventus, Sevilla, River Plate, Valencia CF, Leganés, and other global academies. MADCUP is one of the largest federated youth football tournaments in the world, organiSed by Atlético de Madrid,…

By Ritam Dey in Madrid, Spain St. Xavier’s Collegiate School from Park Street, Calcutta, has made history by becoming the first-ever Indian youth team to take part in MADCUP Football 2025—the fifth edition of the largest federated international tournament for grassroots football. The tournament will be held in Madrid, Spain, in June 2025. The young Kolkata side will compete against some of the biggest names in world football, facing youth teams from Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Juventus, Sevilla, Sporting CP, Leganés, and other global academies. The tournament, hosted by Atlético Madrid in association with the Government of the Community…

Ritam Dey in Madrid As the 2024 Ballon d’Or drama reignited in the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League, Manchester welcomed Vinicius Jr with a tifo featuring Rodri that quoted the famous Oasis song: “Stop crying your heart out.” Vinicius, mocked by City’s fans for “crying” on the Internet after seeing Rodri scoop the award, was out on the pitch. City’s midfield maestro, on the other hand, is still out with an ACL tear, and was seen in the stands photographing the tifo and cheering for his team. But the last laugh on the night went the way of…

-Ritam Dey in Madrid The winners of the last two Champions League trophies will battle it out for survival in the knockout rounds for the Round of 16 this season, after both failed to manage automatic qualification for the latter stages. In a fixture that has now become a recurring occurrence, Manchester City and Real Madrid face each other for the third straight season, only the fourth such instance in seven decades. But this time feels different, mainly because of what’s at stake. Two past champions couldn’t finish in the top eight of the competition in the newly introduced format,…

By Ritam Dey in Madrid, Spain In a heated encounter at the Bernabéu, with the top spot in La Liga at stake, Cholo Simeone’s Atlético Madrid seemed to have an answer for everything Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid had to offer early on. In his pre-match press conference, Ancelotti described the situation as an emergency, missing his entire first-choice back four—Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rüdiger, Éder Militão, and David Alaba. This forced him to field a makeshift central pairing of midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni and Raúl Asencio, who was playing in his first Madrid Derby. Injury woes continue to haunt Madrid this season,…

Ritam Dey from Madrid, Spain Kylian Mbappe’s best game for Los Blancos arguably came on Sunday as he almost scored a first-half hat-trick against Las Palmas, helping Real Madrid breeze past after an early setback in the game. But then the question arises, a sudden burst of form by him emerges the moment Vinicius is out of the picture. Is it coincidental or has it to do with the balance of the team? There is no definite answer, but two of the best players of the world might be on the radar of possibly having a bite of each other’s…

By Ritam Dey in Madrid In the bustling streets of Madrid’s suburbs, few stories resonate like that of Sergio González, a man whose journey mirrors the resilience and passion of the city itself. Today, as the captain of CD Leganés, he is a symbol of tenacity, a player who has risen from obscurity to the grandeur of La Liga. But his path to the top was anything but conventional—it was forged in grit, sacrifice, and a relentless drive to defy the odds. From once being a player in the lower tiers of Spanish football to climbing the ladder up to…

Ritam Dey at Santiago Bernabeu ‘Nuestro Corona, Nuestro Copa’ is what the Madrid faithful ‘Merengues’ put on display at the start of the game and true to the name, in vintage Real Madrid fashion, Carlo Ancelotti’s ‘hungry’ men crushed the hopes of an injury-ridden Borussia Dortmund squad, waking up late to the party. Covering the game from the press tribune for the first time, Bernabeu did not disappoint me. Neither did the travelling ‘Yellow Wall’. In fact, nothing matched the loudness the travelling fans brought with, almost overpowering a filled Bernabeu of Madridistas. Nuri Sahin began the match with their…