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Arteta v Alonso, part one: a desire for control and the theory behind the chaos | Jonathan Wilson
Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso prepare for an intriguing tactical battle in the first Premier League meeting between old friends
Control v chaos. On the one hand, the forces of order, regimented, playing in precise patterns and, on the other, something darker, more visceral, a method that acknowledges the imperfection of the human soul, the unknowability of football in all its randomness; better, that second way says, to attempt to ride the fury than to believe it might be harnessed.
When it began, a decade ago, that’s how the Pep Guardiola v Jürgen Klopp rivalry appeared. Apollo v Dionysius. Two fundamentally opposed ways of seeing the world. But in time, the two crept towards each other. Klopp moved away from the heavy metal of his Borussia Dortmund years to something more conservative. Guardiola experimented in multiple directions, slowly abandoning the possession-oriented idealism of his past to something less radical but also less predictable. goldparty.lat
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Ex-BioWare designer says doom and gloom about the next Mass Effect is overstated: 'I think that they can do it'
Given that Anthem and Mass Effect Andromeda were widely considered disappointments, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard had a divisive reception, there's a certain amount of skepticism about the Mass Effect game BioWare is currently working on. Some have even suggested it might not come out at all.
Armando Troisi, a cinematic designer on the Mass Effect trilogy and lead cinematic designer on Mass Effect 2, thinks it's all a bit much. "I think BioWare, when they break it down and do that singleplayer, interactive narrative-driven, deep combat, progression-driven game, really, there's nobody that can touch them," Troisi told FRVR. "It's kind of like the [Master] Chief, it's like going on a walkabout and finding themselves and coming back. I think BioWare can do it if we just leave them alone to do what they do best."
Troisi said that when he was working at BioWare the studio knew what kind of game it was best at making, and that all they need is to get back to that. "The vision was always clear," he said. "There was a BioWare formula and they were going to iterate on that formula and keep turning out best-in-class cinematic RPGs and that's basically what the mandate was. And then they had to live through the live service era—which is still happening but is maybe not as prevalent—and we're all beholden to companies and stakeholders and all the rest of that."
Anthem has become emblematic of the problems of live-service games, but Veilguard was also intended to be one until a pivot late in its development, and Andromeda is what Mass Effect looks like when development is led by the team responsible for Mass Effect 3's multiplayer.
The upcoming Mass Effect game, Troisi said, still has "a lot of people" working on it who were responsible for the original games, "and they're the OGs, you know? I don't think there's anything that I could tell them that they don't know what to do."
What they actually need, he suggested, is for people to "get out of the way" and let them get on with it. "I think that they can do it," he said. "I'm rooting for them."
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¡Viva Bayer 04 Leverkusen!
¡GOOOOOOOL! So dürfte es wohl durch argentinische Wohnzimmer und Kneipen geschallt haben, als Bayer 04 Leverkusens argentinischer Neuzugang Facundo Medina gegen Union nicht nur sein Startelfdebüt feierte, sondern mit seinem ersten Torschuss in der Bundesliga auch gleich seinen ersten Treffer im ersten Heimspiel erzielte. Bei der WM 2026 gehörte der Verteidiger über weite Strecken zum Stammpersonal der "Selección". Nach einer komplizierten vergangenen Saison bei Olympique Marseille hätte sein Einstand nun kaum besser laufen können.
"Ich bin wirklich sehr glücklich", freute sich Medina nach seinem Traumdebüt. "Ehrlich gesagt freue ich mich für die Mannschaft, für die Gruppe und für den Einsatz, den wir gezeigt haben. Es war wichtig, hier zu Hause zu gewinnen. Daran müssen wir uns gewöhnen. Jetzt geht es weiter." Dabei kam es ihm besonders auf die typische argentinische Fußballmentalität an: "Ich schätze vor allem den Einsatz, die Opferbereitschaft und das Engagement. Wir sind wirklich eine Gruppe."
Boxer Thomas Carty falls out of ring after 92 seconds in bizarre no-contest
Bout on Katie Taylor’s final undercard ends abruptly
Dave Allen baffled as opponent receives oxygen ringside
Dave Allen’s heavyweight clash with Thomas Carty at Croke Park ended in a bizarre no contest after the Irish favourite fell out of the ring in the first round.
The chief support for Katie Taylor’s final fight before her retirement was over after just one minute and 22 seconds with Carty – seeking the biggest win of his 12-bout career – unable to continue.
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