I am not happy with the player lineups of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, I see this season as a chance for a second title for Manchester City. They are the favorites right now and I see plenty of reasons why this is backed up by what their team is right now.
So, I am going to place a bet on Manchester city to win the 2012/2013 season, even though I am a big fan of Manchester United. Do you see this decision as being wrong? What are your predictions?

Not Financial Advice (NFA)
Warning: Wall of Text. If you hate reading just skim through the bolded/italicized
Ever since I publicized my findings on DKNG, the stock has underperformed & probably has fucked a lot of people here, especially given the overly bullish stance back in June. Unless you took my advice & got into Puts then, congrats, welcome to tendie town. For the ADHD retards, here’s what the next wall of text is going to summarize: I believe at the current price of ~$30, the stock is oversold.
A tech-focused, high-growth Company that has made sports betting easy to understand with an aesthetically pleasing interface similar to how Robinhood has neatly laid out stock market gimmicks so even high-schoolers can make sense of it I believe, is underpriced at these levels.
Let’s get into some details as to why the stock has underperformed:
First off, the news slate revolving sports with the rumored delay/cancellation of the MLB season & the NFL watching from the sidelines is in my view, just a part of why the stock has underperformed. We’ll revisit this later in this post, but I want to focus on the drivers of the stock’s recent underperformance, & why these factors are now in the rearview mirror.
Part I – The Past Has Passed – SPAC-related Equity Dilution
History lesson first: DKNG went public via a SPAC merger, which has exploded in popularity recently. Anyone serious about analyzing stocks going forward needs to do their homework on this, Google is your friend.
A feature of most SPAC merger to public listings that creates a headwind to near-term share prices are embedded equity dilution events, usually in the form of earn-outs (stock bonuses to execs, the SPAC sponsor) & conversion of Warrants.
On 5/24, the earn-outs were triggered, adding 6m shares to the share count.
On 6/26, 16.3m warrants converted to DKNG, netting them ~$188m of cash.
Stepping back a little, in addition to the above, on 6/18 DKNG launched a follow-on equity offering of 16M shares @ $40/Share [1], receiving $621M in proceeds.
The last part is tricky to understand from a dilution perspective. To simplify, historically it’s almost a coin toss whether a Company’s shares outperform on the onset of an equity offering. While issuing shares does dilute the existing shareholder base, it theoretically shouldn’t, if the proceeds from the offering are earmarked for investments/projects that yield outsized returns. This is the reality for the long term, theory for the short-term. For the short-term, the ‘reality’ isn’t that the proceeds will be used for investments/projects that yield outsized returns, it is more about how convincing management is to investors that the investments they intend to pursue with the proceeds will outweigh the dilutive effects of issuing incremental shares. That’s a mouthful, but hopefully you get what I’m trying to convey.
All of this stuff put together – the Company has increased its share count by ~39M, but now has a whopping ~$1.4Bn of cash [2]. More on this in the next section.
Part II – MLB News Should Not Fucking Matter & DKNG Is Positioned As the Leading Online/Mobile Sports Platform
DKNG should not be so tied to MLB news or any of this shit as the ongoing success of the NBA/NHL season + Soccer in Europe has effectively created a blueprint on how to regulate player behavior so that they maintain professionalism amidst the pandemic. I’m going out on a whim here, but I truly think the MLB threatening a cancellation of the season is pure posturing to get these fuckers to behave appropriately. Maybe a ‘bubble’ is what it takes to get these players to focus on their jobs instead of going out & contracting COVID, but I argue that isn’t necessarily required given Soccer in Europe. So there’s already a proven path here without the need for a bubble in Soccer, so MLB/NFL should be fine, and execs need to study how they got it done in Europe. Okay, back to some facts.
Anecdotally, I’ve kept in touch with a handful of sports bookies from California to New York & even internationally about what they’re seeing – all of them say that since the NBA season started on 7/30 & since Soccer (especially the Premier League) resumed in June, along with other leagues like La Liga & Serie A, they’ve seen massive increases in betting.
These numbers are also showing up in the official data [3]:

• Average % increase in sports betting handle from April 2020 to June 2020 (handle is the total $ wagered in sports bets) from the states that reported up to June 2020 (NJ, PA, MS, RI, WV, IA, IN, NH) of +258%!
  
  • Note: NV is left out due to the site I sourced showing a weirdly negative number – so I dug into the official filings & show specifically, Sports Mobile betting growth from June since April has growing by at least +73% [4]

REMEMBER: This is for June only! No NBA, No NHL, No MLB, just Soccer, Golf, NASCAR & UFC.
The data clearly shows that there was a ton of pent-up sports betting demand, which leads one Wall St. analyst to think that betting on the NBA/NHL could ABSORB the MLB’s sports betting handle (handle = total $ size of sports bet) [5]. Remember, the MLB season is still ongoing, with games being played. The entire focus is on the Miami Marlins & St. Louis Cardinals. Fucking retards.
Additionally, I want to remind everyone that DraftKings.com is the #1 Fantasy sports website in the U.S. [6]. Also, since April 2020 site visitations are up +86% [7] & Google Search Trends for “Draft Kings” is up ~3x compared to PRE-COVID levels [8]. What does this mean? They are piquing more people’s curiosity than prior to COVID/ongoing slate of sports.
This is important because remember that ~$1.4Bn chest full of cash I mentioned DKNG had assembled earlier? Well, that money is being put to work & results are already coming in, which is exactly what DKNG intended to do with it.
Part III – Legalization of Sports Betting in the U.S.
I could write a fucking bible on this topic alone, but for now we’ll stick to some basics. Due to COVID, it’s easy to understand that each State’s financial situation is clearly in shit. Because of this, you better believe that these guys are going to start taking a hard look at how they can extract additional tax revenues, & what’s one of the easiest ways to do this? Legalization & taxation of gambling.
The big players: CA, TX, FL & NY. First, CA pushing its legislation out to 2023 was fucked up, but here’s a twist I want to add to this: Anything that has to do with gambling in CA you better believe is lobbied against by not just the Tribal casino owners in CA, but by the deep pockets of Las Vegas money. Similar thing can be said for FL, but let’s take a look at some actions by LV/nationwide gambling companies that are starting to align financial incentives with guys like DKNG.

• MGM / GVC Holdings JV in BetMGM - $450m total invested
• PENN invests $163m into BS Sports
• Caesars has a 20% stake in William Hill plus partnership deals with The Stars Group (TSG) & our winner DKNG for operating its sports books

So it’s safe to say going forward, nationwide legalization of sports betting will reap rewards for everyone involved, & no longer be something LV money is completely focused on safeguarding.
Let’s also not forget that DKNG didn’t become the Company they are today because of their fancy app, but because their management team has a HISTORY of navigating the U.S.’s legal framework to get what they want out of it.

• The Crown Jewel – The Internet Gambling Prohibition & Enforcement Act: I said it in a previous post, but I want to emphasize that them getting Fantasy Sports to be labeled a ‘game of skill’ by FEDERAL Law as opposed to gambling is just something for the history books. Fucking genius shit. When this happened I bet every casino from LV to every Indian Tribe that has one was against it, yet DKNG & other DFS providers won.
• There’s more, but more recently: Getting into IL:
  
  • In IL, there’s an 18-month ‘penalty box’ for Companies that offer DFS to offer sports betting. Our guys at DKNG created a workaround to this situation with their partnership with Casino Queen [9]. DKNG being savvy again.

These guys are at the cutting edge of creating legal frameworks to successfully launch their products & now with more of their ‘competitors’ financially aligned with them, combined with financial deterioration of State budgets, we should see an overweighting of good news vs. bad on the legal front.
Final Part – Share Price Targets
Under-fucking priced at anything below $42.50
Near-term catalysts:
8/14: DKNG files 2Q’20 results, might be shitty, but you can bet that the Earnings Call is going to contain rhetoric on how massive the uptick in sports betting has been since late June/July.
Sometime from now until November: NY releases ‘study’ by Spectrum Gaming on online/mobile sports betting.
8/20 – 9/7: PGA Championship for FedEx Cup Title
9/5 – KY Derby
9/10: NFL KickOff Game
9/17: PGA U.S. Open Start Date
Month of October: NBA/NHL Playoffs
10/1: Estimated launch of online sports betting in TN
11/1: Estimated launch of online sports betting in VA
[1] https://draftkings.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/draftkings-announces-proposed-public-offering-class-common-stock
[2] Wall St. Research – DKNG on 6/29/20
[3] https://www.legalsportsreport.com/sports-betting/revenue/
[4] https://gaming.nv.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=16984; Note: Nevada did not break out April/May figures but from the Revenue difference of 3 month ended June 30 of 4,950 vs. month of June of 2,297 for a total difference of 2,653 spread evenly over April/May for a base case April estimate of 1,327.
[5] Wall St. Research - 7/27/20
[6] https://www.similarweb.com/top-websites/category/sports/fantasy-sports/
[7] https://www.similarweb.com/website/draftkings.com/#overview
[8] https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?geo=US&q=draft%20kings Feb 23-29, 2020 vs. Current Aug 2 – Aug 8, 2020
[9] https://www.legalsportsreport.com/42314/draftkings-illinois-sports-betting-market-access/

How and why Kocharyan & Serj sold Armenia's infrastructure to Russia

FIP writes: After independence, several strategic infrastructure objects were privatized, sold, and handed over to foreign management. The transparency and benefits of these deals were disputed.
Some of these deals are "Property in exchange for debt", "Electric Networks of Armenia", "HayGas".
 
Deal 1: Property in exchange for debt
President Robert Kocharyan, Defense Minister Serj Sargsyan, and Russia signed this controversial agreement in 2002. In exchange for the $95M debt that Armenia accumulated between 1994-1998, Armenia agreed to give Russia full ownership and control of:
 
Hrazdan thermal plant worth $32M. It became part of Inter-RAO-ES. The latter sold it to the Russian-Armenian Tashir group in 2017.
Yerevan's Automated Systems worth $3.37M.
Yerevan's Mathematical Machines Research Center worth $2.75M. Currently owned by a Russian Citronix firm.
Mars factory worth $56M. It was also sold to Citronix in 2008.
Material Research and Production Enterprise worth $350K. Later, Mars and that institute would merge and form a free trade zone built by Citronix.
 
What is Citronix? It's part of the Russian giant SISTEMA firm, one of whose board members was/is none other than Robert Kocharyan.
Besides those objects, Russia also received the surrounding lands and a tax waiver.
 
Deal 2: HayGas
HayGas was delivering gas after independence. A month before president Levon's departure, the second player HayRusGazard was created.
On April 30, 1998, the new president Kocharyan decided to give Armenia's gas network to HayRusGazard.
 
HayRusGazard's 45% was then given to Russian Gazprom, 10% to Russian Itera, while 45% remained under Armenian control.
As part of the sale, Armenia was supposed to receive $148M worth gas throughout 2.5 years. President Levon later criticized Kocharyan, saying that the fate of the money that was supposed to go into state coffers is still unknown.
 
Gazprom got another sweet deal. Hrazdan thermal's remaining energy bloc was sold to them for $248M. The latter was supposed to finish its construction.
From that $248M, Gazprom didn't have to pay the $188M portion, in exchange for not raising gas prices for Armenian consumers. (eh?)
 
By 2013, Gazprom had 80% of HayRusGazard shares, with Armenia owning 20%. Armenia then sold the rest to Gasprom and the latter owned 100%. This also guaranteed that Armenia must buy gas from Gasprom until 2043.
Gazprom also owns the gas pipeline coming from Iran. It purchased it between 2006-2015.
 
Deal 3: Electric Networks of Armenia.
Privatized in 1998-2000 through an international auction. Despite several popular bidders, the winner was an offshore firm "Midland Resources Holding" owned by a Russian businessman Alexander Shneider.
In 2002, the offshore firm and Kocharyan signed the agreement to sell the Network. It was worth $25M, but since it had accumulated debt, it was sold for $12M.
 
The ownership changed multiple times. The offshore firm sold it to Russian Inter-RAO-ES for $73M (3x original price) in 2006.
Inter-RAO is the company that decided to raise electricity prices in 2015, which triggered the iconic Electric Yerevan protests.
 
Later in 2015, Inter-RAO sold the Network to "Liormand Holding" and "Cascade Energy", both of which are offshore firms owned by Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan (Tashir Group).
The latter agreed to co-subsidize the electricity cost to prevent a rise for 1 year, due to protests.
 
To be continued...
Source: https://fip.am/12361
Tags: #Privatizations #Infrastructure #ArmenianFactories

Treaty of Sevres / AM MFA responds to TR MFA

After the Armenian govt members reminded about Sevres treaty and how Armenia was supposed to get its lands back, Turkish govt pushed back with counter-rhetoric, saying that Severs was canceled by Lozan treaty (which was dismissed as false by president Sarkissian yesterday).
 
Armenian MFA responds: Turkish MFA has once again proven that they're incapable of facing the reality. Turkish govt brags about their Ottoman heritage yet wants to ignore Ottoman agreement [Sevres] with Armenia.
The Treaty of Sevres was, is, and will be a historic fact. [She then spoke about the Genocide and current conflicts.]
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024692.html , https://factor.am/275712.html

Beirut explosion

CivilNet reporter said: The humanitarian jet that earlier transported aid to Beirut has brought with it 37 Lebanese-Armenians who wanted to settle in Armenia.
Armenian community sustained the largest damages. [~$150M].
Now is not the right time to call for mass migration from Lebanon to Armenia. Not only it's insensitive, but you have to ask whether Armenia is capable of housing thousands of people with economic needs.
https://youtu.be/gtVmfRJNVBA
 
Aurora Armenian humanitarian organization donated $200K to Beirut.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024627.html
 
MFA Mnatsakanyan spoke with French-speaking Francophone colleagues about Beirut.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024636.html
 
Armenia will soon rebuild 2 damaged buildings in the Armenian district of Beirut.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024646.html
 
More humanitarian aid was sent from Yerevan to Beirut today. This is the third - and for now, the last - 12-ton aid.
https://hetq.am/hy/article/120414
 
Armenian charity union ՀԲԸՄ collected $2M in donations from around the world. Vache and Tamar Manukyan donated a million and will match future donations by doubling it.
Donor list: https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024712.html

Beirut explosion: Does Armenia have similar explosive ammonium?

After the Beirut explosion, the inspectors decided to audit two chemical facilities (Vanadzor and Nairit) to find if they store similar explosive materials.
 
Inspectors: // we couldn't find 90 tons of ammonium and ammonium liquid as reported by media outlets. The reserves were earlier sold. Only 1 out of 4 containers is 1/6th full with 9 tons of ammonium.
The storage contains very little materials to be dangerous. It's not enough to blow up in case of fire. This material quickly evaporates.
 
Since the factory was bankrupted earlier, the new owner will decide the fate of those 9 tons. It could be sold. (For comparison, 2,700 tons exploded in Beirut).
The factory also has very little mercury. It's properly sealed and safe.
 
However, we found fire safety code violations in the facility and asked the owner to fix it. The facility is in poor shape after being abandoned 4 years ago. More specifically, it doesn't have running water and "Stop" signs.
We'll audit Nairit factory and fireworks warehouses next. \\
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024624.html

Prosecutors reveal the total sum from corruption investigations

Across Armenia, there were 1,283 felony corruption cases and 873 suspects as of June 30th.
Prosecutors seek to recover $446M in damages done to the state.
$52M of it has been recovered. $54M assets are frozen.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024629.html

March 1st: Kocharyan & Co trial is delayed again

Co-defendant Yuri Khachaturov's lawyer couldn't be present. "Something came up. BBL". Another co-defendant's lawyer is on a vacation. The defendants asked the trial to be delayed.
 
Prosecutor and March 1st victim lawyer asked the judge to punish the defense for "intentionally delaying the trial."
The defense accused the prosecutor of themselves delaying the trial last time.
 
The judge chose to delay the trial until September 8th.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024656.html , https://youtu.be/7oju80kWxmU

Level 1 хулиган busted

The report says: Shirak prosecutors found that 5 employees of the Social Services department were taking $100 bribes from families who visited for aid-qualification evaluation. The ringleader is arrested. The 5 are facing charges.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024685.html

ex-BHK member wants a refund

Ashot Sargsyan was managing BHK's office in Yerevan's Norq-Marash district between 2007-2010.
Ashot said: // I trusted BHK chief Tsarukyan's promise about appointing me as Goom Market's director if I helped BHK, and used my own $28K to cover office expenses.
I gave $20 aid to voters. On rare occasions, I'd pay $200 towards someone's education. (nowadays it's called "bribe")
 
It is because of our payments that BHK received the most votes in Norq-Marash. (go on...)
I'm trying to get that $28K compensated by Tsarukyan. I regret spending it. He only refunded $5K. \\
 
Tsarukyan's wife and other MPs called the story "nonsense".
https://factor.am/275520.html

COVID stats & other news

+160 infections. +7 deaths. 6,399 active. 177,322 tested.
https://factor.am/275588.html
 
PM's office denied media rumors about Pashinyan participating in a wedding. The spokeswoman criticized the Hrapark outlet for publishing "unconfirmed rumors". The outlet earlier wrote that participants were told not to publish photos from the wedding.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024714.html , https://hraparak.am/post/a4ba7b14494e25c3ff70c91eccf8777b
 
LHK MP Tandilyan asked the government to provide free vacation tours to doctors who fought against COVID.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024639.html

How did COVID affect consumer spending?

3Q20: -21% (Correction: not 3Q20 but April-June)
1H20: -11% (-14% small scale trade, -8% large scale)
April was the worst because of mandatory restrictions.
Trade was growing double-digit before COVID.
Overall, the economic activity shrank -4.7% in 1H20.
More: https://hetq.am/hy/article/120402

Handle all your paperwork in one building or online

A few weeks ago the govt launched the first universal facility that houses departments from dozens of government agencies, so the citizen won't have to run around to get something done. The one in Yerevan has served 1,500 people so far.
 
"It took me 6 minutes to submit an application," said an official. "Online queue registration, friendly staff, bank terminals, parking lot," she promised.
"I needed to get a document from the Property Registration Agency. They sent me an SMS when it was ready, along with a code. I logged into the website and got it. A physical visit wasn't necessary."
 
There will be 49 such facilities in Armenia. The construction and the online document system will complete by 2022.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024641.html

Artsakh will lower the electricity cost...

.... for 30,000 residents of settlements without a gas network. It'll cost 3 cents.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024720.html

More about archaeological dragon-stones / Ancient cult?

As we learned yesterday, Armenia has hundreds of ancient Vishapaqar stones with dragon paintings. Education Ministry began reinstalling some of them in previous locations where they were found, and decided to flip the stone located in Yerevan Circular Park because it was installed sideways.
 
Expert explains what Vishapaqar is: // These 3,000 B.C. stones are unique to Armenian Highland's mountainous areas and are at least 1,300m above the ocean level.
People used to climb mountains to hold various religious rituals lasting 1-2 weeks. Vishapaqars were used during rituals.
 
They also served a purpose to unite various tribes. You can find them near Van and Urmiah lakes, too.
They resemble khachqars. Each one had to be crafted by a whole group of architects because they are big and made of tough stones.
 
They were first studied 100 years ago with a renewed interest 10 years ago. You could say that vishapaqars are the ancestors of khachqars. \\
Full: https://youtu.be/qqcQOo4RMYA
 
Here is the opening ceremony of the reinstalled vishapaqar in Yerevan park: https://youtu.be/qqcQOo4RMYA?t=833
 
https://factor.am/275579.html , https://www.reddit.com/armenia/comments/i7bigt/aug102020_news_bolola_anatolia_vs_armenian/?

How is the asphalt quality checked?

Recently, after purchasing quality-verification equipment, the govt has been forcing some construction firms to re-do the asphalt that was of poor quality. The tests are done by the govt-funded "Road Department" agency (smart name).
 
Their lab uses lasers to check if the asphalt is smooth. It takes asphalt samples to study the composition and density, water levels, thickness. They can test sand, concrete, and several other materials.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024687.html

Road repairs

10km section of Vardablur-Tashir and nearby bridges are being renovated for the first time in 40 years. Costs $2.1M.
https://youtu.be/hI68r9o6FDs

Armenian soccer league has a new name and a sponsor

Armenian soccer doesn't get much love... and money. The admins decided to attract more private funding through a partnership with VBET betting company.
VBET will give soccer federation $0.8M this year, then add 10% each year subsequently.
 
In return, the "Higher League" (where the main teams play) will officially rename into "VBET Armenian Premier League".
The "Armenian Cup" will rename to "VBET Armenian Cup".
The new logo says "Armenian Premier League" with VBET's icon below.
 
VBET is a major advertiser and sponsors many Armenian YouTube channels, websites, and shows.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1024679.html
 
You've read 1942 words.

Disclaimer & Terminology

1) The accused are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law, even if they sound guilty.
2) Currency in Armenian ֏ unless specified otherwise.
3) NSS/SIS/SOC = law enforcement agencies. QP = Civil Contract Party. LHK = Bright Armenia Party. BHK = Prosperous Armenia Party. HHK = Republican Party. ARF = Armenian Revolutionary Federation Party
4) ARCHIVE of older posts by Idontknowmuch: PART 1 ; PART 2 ; PART 3 ; PART 4 ; PART 5.
5) ARCHIVE of older posts by Armeniapedia.

Introduction

Hello, everyone. We've talked endlessly about Man United's various players and how good they really are, but something which I've seen crop up on occasion is the idea of the 'winning mentality'. In other words, it's this idea that part of the reason that this club is struggling on the pitch at the moment is attributable to the fact that most of our players have little to no experience winning trophies and so lack the required drive, desire or experience to succeed in the same way that the likes of Liverpool and Man City have.
How do we measure 'winning mentality', though? I don't think it can truly be measured objectively, but medals and trophy cabinets might give us some indication. Thus, I'll be going through every player currently at the club (with a minimum cut-off of fifty career senior appearances) and looking at all the senior trophies they've won to see how true it is that our current problems stem partially from a lack of experience at winning things.
​

David de Gea

De Gea was bought from Atlético Madrid by Sir Alex on the 29th of June 2011 for £18.9 million (which was a British record for a goalkeeper at the time) and it's fair to say that he's been among our best players in recent years. You may already know that he's one of the very few players left at the club who has won a Premier League title, but what else has he won?
Not many people talk about this, but DDG had actually won stuff with Atlético prior to joining United, namely the Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup. Not the most impressive haul, but part of Fergie's magic was instilling a winning mentality into players who otherwise might not have possessed the same mental fortitude.
At United, De Gea was of course part of Ferguson's last title-winning squad. In addition, he has won an FA Cup under van Gaal, a League Cup under Mourinho, three Community Shields (one under Ferguson, one under Moyes and one under Mourinho) and he even got a winners' medal when Mourinho won the Europa League (I checked and he did actually play a few fixtures). All-in-all, not a bad trophy haul, but considering that he was the best goalkeeper in the world at one point, he'll be disappointed to have won just one league title and no Champions Leagues in his senior career. His lack of silverware with Spain will also be an issue for him.
​

Dean Henderson

Hendo came from the youth ranks but didn't sign a senior contract until August 2015. He has since gone on loan to Stockport County, Grimsby Town, Shrewsbury Town and Sheffield United. In that time, he hasn't won a single senior trophy; the closest he came was making the EFL Trophy final with Shrewsbury and coming second in the Championship with Sheffield United. He's no doubt a solid keeper, but if we're to return to the glory days, Ole (or whoever a future manager might be) is going to need to drill him to win titles.
​

Sergio Romero

The Argentinian international was signed on a free transfer (his most recent club being Sampdoria) by Louis van Gaal on the 27th of July 2015. Prior to joining United, he had already won the Eredivisie and the Johan Cruyff Shield (which is basically the Dutch Super Cup) with AZ Alkmaar, so he had experience winning league titles. He had also recently featured in the World Cup Final for Argentina, but failed to win.
Since joining United, he has won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Community Shield and, most notably, the Europa League. He has failed to win anything with Argentina despite reaching two Copa América finals. Considering he's essentially a backup, his trophy cabinet isn't too shabby. Plus, he absolutely earned that Europa League title under José considering he played both in the semi-final and the final (take notes, Ole).
​

Lee Grant

Manchester United's GOAT goalkeeper has had quite the career. Signed from Stoke City on the 3rd of July 2018 for a reported fee of £1.5 million, it's fair to say that he's a bit of a veteran, having made his senior debut all the way back in 2002. In that time, he has won absolutely nothing. I mean, I guess there's no obligation for the third-choice goalie to have won anything, but still, it's a little odd.
​

Joel Pereira

A youth player, Joel Pereira has spent most of his time on loan. He has yet to win anything.
​

Victor Lindelof

Lindelof was signed from Benfica by Mourinho in June 2017 for a fee of €35 million, and his list of honours is bigger than you might expect (granted, not quite playing at the same level). His first trophy was the Swedish Division 1 title with Vasteras SK, before winning three Primeira Liga titles, two Taca de Portugal titles, one Taca de Liga and one Supertaca Candido de Oliveira with Benfica. In other words, prior to joining United, he had won four league titles, two cups, a league cup and a super cup. He has yet to win anything with Sweden, however, or with Manchester United for that matter.
​

Eric Bailly

Bailly was the first player to be signed by Mourinho on the 8th of June 2016 for £30 million; he had previously been at Villareal. Bailly is a rather unusual case in that he hadn't won any domestic trophies prior to joining United but he's also the first person on this list to have won international silverware, more specifically the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with Cote d'Ivoire. At United, he has won the Community Shield, the League Cup and the Europa League, all under José Mourinho.
​

Phil Jones

Now we come to none other than Jonesta himself. When he was first signed by Fergie from Blackburn Rovers on the 13th of June 2011 for £16.5 million, he was genuinely seen as one of the hottest young talents at the time despite not having won anything. It's a shame that hasn't really lived up to his potential, but right now, we're focussed only on trophies, and I have to say that he hasn't done too badly for himself on that front.
He's one of the few players at this club who has won the Premier League, more specifically Ferguson's last title (which is still one more than Steven Gerrard). He has also won the Community Shield under both Ferguson and Moyes (not under Mourinho, however), the FA Cup under van Gaal and the Europa League under Mourinho. At international level, he of course hasn't won anything with England.
​

Harry Maguire

Maguire was infamously signed for £80 million (a world record fee for a defender) from Leicester City on the 5th of August 2019. The only silverware he's ever won, though, is a Championship play-off trophy with Hull City, which is somehow still more than some of our other players. Of course, he's also reached two semi-finals with England (the World Cup and the Nations League) but he's yet to bring football home. With his record in mind, it's easy to see why some fans are sceptical of Slabhead's captaincy.
​

Marcos Rojo

Like Cristiano, Rojo came from Sporting, having been signed for £16 million by Louis van Gaal on the 19th of August 2014. He has been much-maligned by United fans for a while now (I bet most of you forgot he was still at the club), but his trophy cabinet, compared to most of our players, is actually relatively impressive.
While at Estudiantes de La Plata (which is not one of the Argentinian 'Big Two' of River Plate and Boca Juniors), Rojo won the 2010 Apertura (which I think counts as a league title?) and the 2009 Copa Libertadores. That makes him the first player on this list to have won a continental title. At United, he has won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Europa League and the Community Shield. I have to say, if the problem is players who lack a winning mentality then I'm not sure Rojo should be the first to go (though he's still deadwood IMO).
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Axel Tuanzebe

Somehow, he actually makes the cut-off; I didn't realise how much he's actually played. Another youth player, most of Tuanzebe's appearances have come while on loan to Aston Villa, and he actually won the Championship play-off with them, so he already has a trophy in his cabinet. He also supposedly has a Europa League to his name, but I'm not sure how considering he hadn't made his debut yet, so I'll be cautious and exclude it.
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Luke Shaw

Louis van Gaal signed Luke Shaw from Southampton on the 27th of June 2014 for a reported fee of £30 million (making him the most expensive teenager in world football at the time). What had he won at that point? Nothing. Still, he was considered a generational talent and he has since won a couple of stuff at Manchester United: the Community Shield and the Europa League, both under José. Yeah, his trophy cabinet is pretty barebones.
Interestingly enough, Chelsea were in for him at the same time United were, but backed out due to his wage demands. Perhaps Shaw would have won more trophies had he gone to Chelsea instead? More interesting is that José Mourinho was Chelsea manager at the time, so it's quite ironic that after refusing to sign Shaw, he'd end up managing him anyway.
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Timothy Fosu-Mensah

I'm not sure what position TFM plays, but fullback seems most appropriate. Anyway, he came through our academy and didn't win anything on his various loan deals. However, he has won both the FA Cup and the Europa League at United, like most of our players, it seems.
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Alex Telles

Signed from Porto for £15 million in this transfer window, I'm happy to say that he's actually won a lot of stuff in various leagues, which is hopefully a good sign.
Firstly, he has won the Copa FGF (a regional Brazilian cup competition) twice with Juventude. Secondly, he has won a league title with Galatasaray, as well as two Turkish Cups and a Turkish Super Cup. Finally, he has won two Primeira Liga titles, a Taca de Portugal and a Supertaca Candido de Oliveira with Porto. He has won trophies at every club which he's spent more than a season with, so hopefully, he'll help United to our first piece of silverware since the Europa League under José.
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Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Signed from Crystal Palace for £50 million on the 29th of June 2019, he hasn't got the greatest pedigree, winning nothing. How much he's expected to win at the age of 22, I don't know, but certainly, there's still plenty of time. What's needed is for someone to instil that winning mentality into him like Sir Alex would have done with his young signings.
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Diogo Dalot

Dalot was supposedly considered a huge talent before signing for us, but really, it seems to me as if he should be a winger rather than a fullback. Anyway, we signed him from Porto on the 6th of June 2018 for £19 million, but went out on loan this transfer window to A.C. Milan. Believe it or not, he's actually got a trophy to his name, and it's not some minor super cup either; he's actually won the Primeira Liga with Porto. Dude has won more trophies than Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
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Paul Pogba

Depending on who you ask, Pogba is a fantastic midfielder who is United's best player, a talented midfielder who has been too inconsistent or a waste of money who has cared only for himself (in José Mourinho's words, a 'virus'). This isn't too surprising considering we signed him for £89 million from Juventus on the 8th of August 2016, which was a world record for any player at the time; of course expectations were going to be high.
At Juventus, Pogba was a trophy-winning machine, having to his name four Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. The lack of European success was his only weak spot in that regard. Since joining United, however, he's been restricted to a League Cup and a Europa League, which must feel like quite the stepdown (at least he's got a European trophy now, though probably not the one he wanted).
That's only counting club trophies, of course. His greatest achievement by far has to be his 2018 World Cup win for France; it's not as if he was a passenger either, being praised during the tournament for boosting France's midfield significantly. This, to me, shows that he can absolutely be motivated to win titles, but it doesn't seem to happening for him at United for whatever reason.
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Juan Mata

The only David Moyes signing still at the club, Mata was signed from Chelsea in January 2014 for £37 million, which was a club record at the time. He had an illustrious career prior to joining United, and looking at his trophy cabinet, one could argue that he has effectively wasted his prime years at this club.
Even prior to joining Chelsea, he had won a Copa del Rey with Valencia and the 2010 World Cup with Spain. He then proceeded to win a Champions League, a Europa League and an FA Cup with Chelsea (as well as reaching the final of the FIFA Club World Cup), in addition to winning the 2012 European Championship with Spain. When United signed him at the age of 25, he had already won pretty much every major trophy barring a top-flight title and he hadn't even hit his prime, so the signing must have felt like an absolute steal.
Unfortunately, this is where Mata's success began to fade. At Manchester United, he has won a Europa League, an FA Cup, a League Cup and a Community Shield, but still no league title. At the age of 32, it seems unlikely that he'll win any more major trophies, which is a shame for a player who won so much at a tender age.
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Jesse Lingard

Although he made several appearances as an unused sub under Fergie, Lingard didn't make his competitive debut for the club until the 2014-15 season under van Gaal (who loved to use youth players). How much has won, then? Not more than most other players, it should be said. None of his loan spells garnered him any trophies, but he has won the Europa League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Community Shield for Man United.
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Fred

When United signed the Brazilian midfielder for £47 million from Shakhtar Donetsk on the 5th of June 2018, there were no doubt a few eyebrows raised. However, he has actually won a boatload of trophies at club level despite his lack of international success.
While at Internacional, Fred won the Campeonato Gaúcho (the top division of the Rio Grande do Sul regional leagues) twice and then proceeded to win three Ukrainian Premier League titles, three Ukrainian Cups and four Ukrainian Super Cups at Shakhtar Donetsk. That's actually not a bad trophy haul at all.
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Bruno Fernandes

Ah, the Portuguese Magnifico himself; when United fans talk about the 'winning mentality', Bruno is often the first player that is pointed to as an example of a player who possesses this mentality. The question is, though, has Bruno actually won anything?
As a matter of fact, he has, but no league titles, unfortunately. While at Sporting, he has won a Taca de Portugal and two Taca da Liga titles, so a cup and two league cups. His most prestigious trophy is arguably the 2018-19 Nations League with Portugal, though time will tell if the Nations League successfully establishes itself as a premier competition. That being said, based solely on his trophy haul, there is little to suggest that Bruno has what it takes to win a league title (of course, anyone can see from his performances and demeanour on the pitch that he hates losing).
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Nemanja Matic

The best Nemanja since Vidic, Matic has won a lot of trophies over his career. When he was first signed from Chelsea by Man United on the 31st of July 2017 for £40 million, he had already won the incredibly prestigious Slovak Cup with Kosice, before winning two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup during his two stints at Chelsea as well as a Primeira Liga and a Taca de Liga with Benfica. At United, he has won...nothing. In fact, if you discount his season-long loan at Vitesse, this is so far the only club in which Matic hasn't won anything.
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Donny van de Beek

For Ajax, DvdB won an Eredivisie title, a Dutch Cup and a Johan Cruyff Shield. He also reached a Nations League final with the Netherlands. Time will tell if he can add to his trophy cabinet at Manchester United.
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Scott McTominay

McSauce came through the youth ranks, made his debut at the end of the 2016-17 season and has yet to win anything.
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Andreas Pereira

Pereira made his senior debut in the 2015-16 season before being loaned to Granada, Valencia and now Lazio. He has yet to win anything at senior level.
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Edinson Cavani

The signing of Cavani has divided opinion. Some feel that he'll be the next Bastian Schweinsteiger or Radamel Falcao, while others feel that he could be the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, one thing that can't be denied is his massive trophy cabinet; whether a player who has achieved as much as he has is precisely what United needs is another matter.
The Uruguayan started his career by winning the Primera División with his boyhood club Danubio before winning a Coppa Italia with Napoli. However, it was at PSG where he really shone, winning six Ligue 1 titles, the Coupe de France four times, the Coupe de la Ligue five times and the Trophée des Champions four times. Yes, it's PSG and yes, he hasn't won any continental competitions, but he's still a proven winner. Add in the 2011 Copa América (which he won with Uruguay) and I don't think Man United have a more decorated player in their squad at the moment. The real question is whether Cavani is past it or whether he still possesses the class that he had in his prime.
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Anthony Martial

On the 1st of September 2015, Manchester United famously threw £50 million down the drain to sign a 19-year-old Anthony Martial (who came from France) from AS Monaco. The English press declared that he had no chance; he went on to score 71 goals in 225 competitive games for United.
It should be said that Martial hadn't won anything when we signed him, but considering his age, that's forgivable. He has since won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Community Shield and the Europa League, but still no Ballon d'Or. As for the French national team, Martial came close to winning Euro 2016 but he (and France) fell at the final hurdle, while he wasn't included in the squad for the 2018 World Cup.
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Dr. Marcus Rashford MBE

The future Prime Minister and part-time Manchester United forward came through the academy ranks before making his debut under Louis van Gaal following an injury to Martial. Rashford during his time at Man United has won an FA Cup, a League Cup, a Community Shield, a Europa League, a Member of the Order of the British Empire and an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester.
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Mason Greenwood

The best finisher at the club since Robin van Persie, Greenwood also came through the academy ranks. Given his young age and lack of experience, he of course hasn't won anything yet.
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Daniel James

The Welsh winger was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first signing as manager, being bought from Swansea City on the 6th of June 2019 for £15 million. Given his previous club (Swansea) and his national team (Wales), it's no surprise that he's yet to win anything.
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Odion Ighalo

Unlike the rest of the players here, Ighalo was loaned to us in January 2020 from Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. He may won just the one trophy, but when that trophy is none other than the coveted Chinese FA Cup, you can already tell that he's a natural born winner (Chinese FA Cup-winning centre-forward, you'll never sing that!). He also came second place in the Championship with Watford, but second place is first place for losers, so that doesn't really matter.
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Jadon Sancho

Bought on deadline day for £120 million, Sancho has won the DFL-Supercup with Borussia Dortmund.
...screw Ed Woodward. At least we have Facundo Pellistri, eh?
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Conclusion

This whole thing is turning into a bit of a mess, so let's standardise it with some numerical values. Note that these are just arbitrary numbers that I've assigned for comparison purposes, so don't take them as gospel.
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World Cup, confederation cup (e.g. Euros), Champions League, Copa Libertadores = 20 points
Top-flight title in 'Big Five' leagues = 16 points
Europa League, national cup competition in 'Big Five' leagues = 10 points
UEFA Nations League = 6 points
Other top-flight title = 5 points
Other national cup competition = 3 points
Other cup (e.g. league cups, super cups) = 1 point
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With this system, here are all the current Man United players (min. 50 senior appearances) ranked by trophy haul.
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Cavani: 180
Pogba: 117
Mata: 112
Matic: 52
De Gea: 51
Rojo: 47
Jones: 38
Fred: 33
Bailly: 32
Lindelof: 28
Romero: 28
Telles: 27
Lingard: 22
Martial: 22
Rashford: 22
Fosu-Mensah: 20
Fernandes: 11
Shaw: 11
Van de Beek: 9
Dalot: 5
Ighalo: 3
Maguire: 1
Tuanzebe: 1
Grant: 0
Greenwood: 0
Henderson: 0
James: 0
McTominay: 0
Pereira (both of them): 0
Wan-Bissaka: 0
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Obviously, trophies aren't everything (I am not seriously suggesting that Phil Jones has a stronger mentality than Bruno Fernandes) but this might be interesting. For reference, here's the list for all of Man United's players who played in at least five league games in the 2012-13 season (our last league title) up to and including the beginning of that season (so trophies won after the start of the 2012-13 season, including the league title, aren't counted).
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Ryan Giggs: 291\*
Paul Scholes: 244*
Rio Ferdinand: 113*+
Anderson: 111*
Nemanja Vidic: 108*
Michael Carrick: 98*+
Patrice Evra: 97*
Wayne Rooney: 95*
Nani: 83*
Shinji Kagawa: 62
Jonny Evans: 44*^
Chicharito: 42
Rafael: 41*
Antonio Valencia: 23
Robin van Persie: 21
Chris Smalling: 18
David de Gea: 12
Danny Welbeck: 9*
Anders Lindegaard: 4
Tom Cleverley: 2
Ashley Young: 2
Phil Jones: 1
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*Player won the Club World Cup, which I've assigned 6 points
+Player won the Intertoto Cup, which I've assigned 3 points
^Player won the second division of a 'Big Five' league, which I've assigned 3 points
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OK, firstly, jeez, calm down, Giggsy. Secondly, LOL at Anderson being ahead of Vidic, Carrick, Ferdinand, Evra and Rooney. Thirdly, that 2012-13 squad contained 10 players who had a score greater than 52 at the time (and of course, several of them saw a jump after the title win). The current squad has 3. Obviously, it's much easier when you've been winning titles left, right and centre for the past twenty years, but make no mistake: Fergie drilled his teams to win at all costs.

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https://preview.redd.it/it6vqxvxzci51.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d5ba4c7f80a1439c4283f4b30e3514629fcf504b
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Now that we have passed the opt-out deadline and are only about three weeks away from the Chiefs and Texans kicking off the 2020 NFL season, I wanted to put together my pre-season power rankings and put all 32 teams in separate tiers, to give you an idea of where I see them at this point.
When putting together this list, I considered the talent on the roster, coaching staff and what will be a more important factor coming into this season than it has been in previous – the continuity as a franchise, since the COVID situation has limited the amount of preparation and ability to build chemistry as a team. That will be especially tough for new head coaches and inexperienced teams.
With that being said, this is how I would group them:
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Super Bowl contenders:

This group of four represents what I think are the four elite teams in the NFL. They all feature complete rosters, excellent coaching and continuity as a franchise. I think these are the franchises that will most likely square up against each other in the conference championship games on either side of the bracket.
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1. Kansas City Chiefs
We have heard this many times over the course of the offseason – the reigning Super Bowl champs bring back 20 of 22 starters (actually 19 now) on offense and defense combined. They have the best player in the league, the most dangerous receiving corp, above-average O-line play and a still improving defense, that just added some much-needed speed at the second level, which will allow DC Steve Spagnuolo to even more versatile. So at this point I can not have anybody unseat them. I think Clyde Edwards-Helaire (LSU) will be a star in that offense, they get a couple of guys back that missed their playoff run and there are plenty of young, developing players on that roster. What general manager Brett Veach has done this offseason in terms of securing Patrick Mahomes for the next decade and still opening up cap room to also sign their best defensive player in Chris Jones is amazing to me. My only two concerns for Kansas City at this point are a lack of depth in the secondary and the fact they will have to go on the road when they face the four best teams on their schedule – Baltimore, Buffalo, Tampa Bay and New Orleans, which has me favoring the second team on my list for the number one seed in the AFC and which this year means having one more game in the playoffs on their road to another Super Bowl for Andy Reid’s troops.
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2. Baltimore Ravens
Right behind the Chiefs, as the biggest competitor for the AFC is Baltimore. They were the best team in the regular season from this past year, but the Titans handed them only their third loss of the season in the Divisional Round at home. While they did lose what to me is a first-ballot Hall of Fame guard in Marshal Yanda, outside of that the Ravens to me have an even better roster. The reigning MVP Lamar Jackson is only entering his third season in the league, the Ravens just added a top prospect in J.K. Dobbins (Ohio State) to a backfield that set a league-record in rushing yards and some of these young receivers will continue to develop. On defense, they addressed the two areas that needed some help, when they brought in Calais Campbell to boost their pass-rush and two top-six linebackers on my board in the draft (Patrick Queen & Malik Harrison). They may not have as many superstar names as some other teams, but without a full offseason to prepare for it, that Greg Roman offense could be even tougher to stop if Marquise Brown becomes a more dependable deep threat (now fully healthy) and I love how multiple Wink Martindale is with his defense, combining the different pressure looks to go along with more versatile pieces up front and one of the elite secondaries in the game. You combine that with a rising young special teams coordinator in Chris Horton and a great motivator and in-game decision-maker in John Harbaugh – I just can’t find a lot of L’s on their schedule.
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3. San Francisco 49ers
Obviously the Super Bowl hangover will be brought up a lot of times with the loser of that contest, but unlike a lot of these teams coming off the big game – yet similar to the actual winners in the Chiefs – John Lynch did a great job re-tooling for the few losses they did have and didn’t overspend on some of their talented guys. Kyle Shanahan to me is the best offensive play-caller and game-designer in football, with a diverse rushing attack and the type of personnel to match it, while Jimmy G, despite some issues, is coming off his first 16-game season in his career. Defensively, they are losing what I thought was their best player in DeForest Buckner, but they did replace him with a top ten prospect in Javon Kinlaw (South Carolina) and Fred Warner is an emerging superstar. Their Seattle-based scheme under Robert Salah may not be very complex, but the Niners have a ferocious pass-rush, fast-flowing linebackers and a great safety tandem to be very sound in their execution. The Deebo Samuel injury is definitely a concern for me and if he doesn’t get back a few weeks into the season, I might drop San Fran a spot or two, plus I don’t love what they have at that second cornerback spot, but as for now I see the recipe that made me predict them winning the NFC West ahead of 2019 and what allowed them to be up double-digits in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.
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4. New Orleans Saints
One of the themes this offseason for me has been how loaded this Saints roster is and that they just need to win this year. This is the final season with Drew Brees at the helm, they are already in a horrible place with the cap – before that even goes down in 2021 – and to be honest, a lot of their key contributors are getting pretty old now. While I have seen a significant drop-off in the arm-strength of Brees, other than that I don’t see any offense with this Sean Payton-led offense – the front-five is elite, Alvin Kamara should be back to 100 percent as a dynamic dual-threat back and they finally found a number two receiver in Emmanuel Sanders. When healthy, that defensive line is a dominant unit, I think third-round pick Zack Baun (Wisconsin) gives that linebacker group some versatility and they have a lot of experience in the secondary, including a guy I thought would be a future star on the outside in Marshon Lattimore. Before anything else, they need to take care of divisional-rival Tampa Bay – which is a very tough challenge already – but if they can do that, they are fairly in the hunt for the NFC’s top seed. There’s a lot of pressure on this group because of the cap situation, their all-time great QB having his “Last Dance” and brutal playoff losses in recent years, but they have all it takes to finally break through all the way.
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Playoff contenders:

This second tier consists of eight teams that to me have only or two holes on their roster, while their coaching gives them an advantage over the majority of teams in the league and they bring back most of their pieces from a year or at least improved in those areas. I expect all but one of these squads to make the playoffs in 2020, as long as they don’t suffer significant injuries along the way.
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5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Number five in the entire league seems pretty high for a team that finished below .500 last season, but this is not just about Tom Brady coming in, but rather the roster Tampa Bay has built around him. To me Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are the top receiver duo in the league, the Bucs arguably have the best tight-end room in the league and the offensive line only got better with superhuman Tristan Wirfs (Iowa) playing one of those spots on the right side. I have talked about this a lot over the offseason, looking at the match between Bruce Arians’ vertical-based passing attack and what Brady is used to, in terms of spreading the field and getting the ball out of his hands quickly. My bet is they go to a bit of hybrid and figure things out. Maybe more importantly, I don’t think people realize what they have put together on defense. Last season the Bucs finished number one against the run, they forced the fifth-most turnovers (28) and tied for sixth with yards per play (5.1) in the league. Todd Bowles is excellent defensive mind, who now enters his second season with as much talent as he has had since his Arizona days. Jameis turned it over 35 times last year (12 more than any other player in the league), while Tom didn’t even crack double-digits once again, and he immediately improves their situational football awareness and overall execution. This is a very dangerous squad.
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6. Dallas Cowboys
When you talk about some of the most talented rosters in the league, the Dallas Cowboys come to mind right away – especially on the offensive side of the ball. Dak Prescott now has one of the premiere receiver trios with the selection of Ceedee Lamb (Oklahoma) in the draft, still probably a top-five offensive line and Zeke looking to re-establish himself as a top-tier back, after looking a step slow for most of last season. Defensively they are getting back Leighton Vander Esch, whose energy they desperately missed for stretches last season, and they have a very deep rotation at the defensive line (even though nobody knows what we’ll get from a couple of guys that were out of the league), while Mike Nolan will change things up a little more and get his guys into the face of opposing receivers. We have yet to see how much Mike McCarthy will want to have say in the offensive play-calling, but I like that they retained a young and creative OC in Kellen Moore, and as far as in-game control and CEO duties go, I certainly believe McCarthy is an upgrade. There are some questions with the secondary after the loss of Byron Jones and losing Travis Frederick to retirement hurts, but I think those are things that can be overcome. Something that I think should not be overlooked is the signing of former Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein and his special teams coordinator John Fassel, after converting only 75 percent of their field goal attempts last season (6th-lowest in the league) and missing a couple of crucial kicks.
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7. Philadelphia Eagles
Right behind the Cowboys, I have their division rivals from Philadelphia. I think the Eagles actually have a better quarterback, the best defensive player among the two teams in Fletcher Cox and a more experienced secondary. However, with Brandon Brooks out for the season and maybe the worst group of linebackers in the NFL, I could not put this group ahead of Dallas, even though they have come up victorious against them in the big games recently. Last year Carson Wentz carried a group of skill-position players from the practice squad and a banged-up O-line to a division title. This upcoming season he will go from already wasn’t an overly dynamic receiving crew to a group of track stars, most notably with first-round pick Jalen Reagor (TCU) and a hopefully healthy DeSean Jackson, plus Miles Sanders I think is ready to emerge as a star back for Philly. The defense did lose some long-time stalwarts like Malcolm Jenkins and Nigel Bradham, but I loved the addition of Javon Hargreave in the middle to free up the other guys to attack upfield and with Darius Slay as their new CB1, not only does that move everybody one spot lower on the depth chart, but it also finally makes more sense for Jim Schwartz to be as aggressive with those zero-blitzes, since he has the guys to cover. Those two newcomers also fit perfectly when matching up against Dallas, because of an improvement interior run defense and having a guy who can match up with Amari Cooper, after the other guys got toasted for the most part.
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8. Buffalo Bills
For the first time in about twenty years, a team not named the Patriots will enter a season as favorites in the AFC East – and it’s actually not that close for me. Buffalo made a switch last season offensively to more 11 personnel and quick-tempo with Brian Daboll moving to the booth. This offseason they finally got the big-armed Josh Allen a dependable deep threat in Stefon Diggs, who averaged 12.0 yards per target last season (second-highest in the league), which – similar to what I just talked about with the corners in Philadelphia – moves everybody else down one spot in the food chain. And I love what they do defensively, with Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier’s game-plan specific zone pattern coverages, with a versatile secondary to execute those, to go with a deep D-line and two super-rangy linebackers. Even outside the Diggs trade, Buffalo has made some sneaky-good deals since losing that Wildcard game at Houston in such heart-breaking fashion. Whether that is Mario Addison as double-digit sack guy in four straight years, added depth on the O-line or a really solid draft class to complement what they already had. I don’t want to crown them at this point, but to me they are the favorites for the AFC’s number three seed as for right now, since I think the South doesn’t have that clear front-runner to win the majority of their divisional games.
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9. Seattle Seahawks
I would have probably had the Hawks as the final team of this group or right at the top of the next one a couple of weeks ago, but after acquiring Jamal Adams, I think they have re-established themselves as that second team in the NFC West, since I had them very close with Arizona originally, I did not love what they did in the first two days of the draft (somewhat of a trend with them), they lost their second-best defensive player at that point in Jadeveon Clowney, I’m not sure if they upgraded on the offensive line and we don’t even if know if Quinton Dunbar will be suspended at this point. With that being said, Seattle has finished above .500 every single year with Russell Wilson under center and while I’m not a fan of their conservative approach offensively, where they don’t allow Russ to throw the ball on first downs and push the tempo a little at times, they are one of the most effective rushing teams and they have two lethal weapons to catch those trademark rainbow balls from the Seahawks QB. Defensively there are still some questions about the edge rush and at second corner spot, but Pete Carroll at least has what he wants most in a team at those positions – competition – and you already saw them go to more two-high looks in coverage than we are used to, telling me they utilize Jamal’s versatile skill-set more than what that strong safety mostly does in that system.
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10. Green Bay Packers
The whole Aaron Rodgers-Jordan Love drama has been looming large over the offseason and that has brought us some interesting discussions, but let’s not allow this to take away from the fact Green Bay just had a first-round bye in the playoffs and made it to the NFC title game. While they were 8-1 in one-score games and should regress more towards the mean in terms of the success rate in those close games, the North is still wide open and they have a few things going for themselves – they have the best quarterback in the division, the best offensive line, the most versatile and effective pass rush and a lot of young talent in the secondary. The first-round selection of a future signal-caller aside, I wasn’t too fond of what they did in the draft. Even though I liked Cincinnati’s Josiah Deguara and can see what they want to do with him as H-back/move guy in this offense, I thought they did not get Aaron Rodgers help in the receiving corp, which has no proven commodity outside of Davante Adams. Their defense got absolutely steamrolled in two games against the eventual conference champion 49ers, but I hope to see Rashan Gary develop in his second season and I think Christian Kirksey was a very under-the-radar signing as a run-stopping linebacker. I think schematically with Matt LaFleur’s offense based on what they did under Sean McVay and Mike Pettine being very creative himself they are one of the better coaching staffs in the NFC, but I would like to see them open up the offense more for Rodgers and break tendencies more often with their coverage calls.
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11. Pittsburgh Steelers
Another very dangerous squad for me is the Steelers. I have talked many times about how bad the Steelers quarterback situations was last season, as both Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges finished near the bottom in air yards per attempt, percentage of throws beyond the marker and many others. We have only seen Big Ben throw in some short clips on the internet, but if he is just 70-80 percent of what he was in 2018, this team is bound for a playoff berth. There are some question marks with this group of skill-position players, but I expect Juju to bounce back in a major way with a capable QB and being healthy himself, I have already picked Diontae Johnson as a breakout candidate for this season and I like the diversity of this group of backs. Pittsburgh’s defense was already elite last year, finishing top five in both yards and points allowed, tied for first in yards per play (4.7), the most takeaways (38) and sacks (54). If former Raven Chris Wormley can replace Javon Hargreave as a two-down run-stopper at least and rookie Antoine Brooks Jr. (Maryland) can fill a very specific role as their second sub-package linebacker in place of Mark Barron, I think they will one of the scariest units in the NFL once again. So the best all-around defense for my money and an offense who I would say has top ten potential at the very least is a tough match-up. Maybe not quite battling with the Ravens for the North, but the top Wildcard spot for sure.
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12. Indianapolis Colts
If there is one team in the AFC that could go from finishing sub-.500 to making it all the way to the conference championship game, the Colts would be my pick. I thought Philip Rivers had a really rough 2019 campaign, in which his arm looked rather weak and his decision-making hurt the Chargers on multiple occasions, but he will play behind by far the best offensive line he has ever had and they will run the heck out of the ball. Indy already had a pretty good back in Marlon Mack, but Wisconsin superstar Jonathan Taylor, who they selected in the second round, will be one of the front-runners for Offensive Rookie of the Year if given the chances in combination with what I believe is the best front-five in the entire league, plus their other second-rounder Michael Pittman Jr. (USC) will be that Vincent Jackson/Mike Williams type target for Rivers. More importantly, with the trade for a top 50 player in the league in DeForest Buckner, this entire Colts D immediately takes a step forward, since he is a perfect fit as that 3-technique in their front and help them disrupt plays at a much higher rate, to go with range in zone coverage behind that, including the “Maniac” Darius Leonard chasing people down. I’m a big fan of Frank Reich and the coaching staff he is has put together, in terms of in-game decision-making, offensive gameplans and just the intensity his team plays him.
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Fringe playoff teams:

This middle tier is made up from all those teams who I expect to be at .500 or above, firmly in contention for a Wildcard spot at least. They can be some areas of concern, but overall they have the roster ready to compete with the big dogs and/or feature above-average coaching. With a couple of these there is a change at quarterback and head coach respectively, but they have enough around those to overcome that.
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13. Tennessee Titans
This definitely seems a little low for a team that is coming off an AFC Championship game appearance, but people seem to forget the Titans were 8-7 ahead of week 17 and if it wasn’t for the Steelers losing their final three games, this group wouldn’t have even been in position to lock down the six seed. Things were also made a lot easier by their division rival Texans, who sat most of their starters after beating Tennessee two weeks prior. So as impressive as their playoff run was, you have to think of what happened before that and put it into perspective a little. With one more playoff spot in each conference, their chances of making it to the tournament should be at least equally as good, but I believe the Colts are the favorites to win the South and for me the Steelers are the favorites for the fifth seed. With all that being said, there is plenty to like about this team still – they can pound you with the Derrick Henry and the run game, Ryan Tannehill at least gives them the threat of pulling the ball and going deep off play-action, they have some young weapons catching the ball and defensively they are very versatile in how they set up gameplans. I also like the mind-set Mike Vrabel installs in these guys and I was impressed with what OC Arthur Smith did in 2019. If there are two spots that could decide if this group is fighting for a division title or that final playoff berth, it will be their rookie right tackle Isaiah Wilson (Georgia) and recently signed edge rusher Vic Beasley.
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14. Cleveland Browns
While I don’t see them competing for the AFC North – just because of how loaded the Ravens are – the Browns are pretty clearly the most talented team that is considered to be third in their division. In terms of their group of starting skill-position players at least, they are near the top of the NFL, the O-line to me already just made my top ten ranking with room to move up, if healthy they are at least in the conversation for that with the D-line as well, with a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Myles Garrett, and I like how they have assembled their secondary. Now, they have some unproven guys at the linebacker level and Cleveland’s potential is largely dependent on which Baker Mayfield we will get. With Kevin Stefanski coming and installing an offense that will be built on the zone run game and bootlegs off that, where his quarterback is put on the move, I could see much more efficient play and more comfort in that system. Something that really jumped out to me on tape was how many times Baker seemed to not be “on the same page” with his receivers, expecting routes to break off differently and unfortunate drops in certain situations. Even though the preparation for the season does look a lot different and QB & WRs haven’t been able to spend too much time together, I expect this to improve and more suitable roles for those pass-catchers overall. And if they are ahead in more games, that pass rush will be a problem.
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15. Arizona Cardinals
There are certainly still some issues here, but the Cardinals are probably the most exciting young team in all of the NFL. Kyler Murray was a one-man show last season and is due for a big jump, with DeAndre Hopkins being added to a receiving corp that severely lacked dependable weapons, to go with some other youngsters fully healthy, Kenyan Drake looked like a different player once he came over from Miami and the O-line should at least be marginally better. Defensively they transitioned a little up front, with big gap-pluggers on the line and Isaiah Simmons being that ultra-rangy player on the second level, who can run guys down on the edges, if those ball-carriers forced to bounce outside, plus they have maybe the most underappreciated edge rusher over the last four years in Chandler Jones. I don’t think they are very deep in the secondary, but Budda Baker is an absolute baller, Jalen Thompson emerged late last season and I already predicted Byron Murphy would have a breakout second season. With Kliff Kingsbury and Vance Joseph, Arizona has creative play-calling on both sides of the ball and they now have the personnel to execute at the needed level as well. Like I mentioned, I was ready to have the Cardinals at least go toe-to-toe with Seattle for a playoff spot, but the addition of Jamal Adams has shifted the balance again to some degree. And if you just go based off my rankings, two NFC Wildcard spots already go to teams from five to seven.
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16. Denver Broncos
A team that has been getting a lot of love this offseason is the Broncos. They have pretty much all the pieces that you usually see with those rising squads – a promising second-year quarterback with a lot of weapons surrounding him, a ferocious defensive front and having shown signs late last season. My belief in them has taken a bit of a dump unfortunately since I thought they did well to improve the offensive line, with Garrett Bolles on the left end being the only weak-spot, but now that Ja’Wuan James won’t be available at right tackle for the second straight year (injury last season and now opting out), their duo of OTs is a concern for me. Defensively you have to love what they have in the front seven, with Von Miller and now again Bradley Chubb coming off the edges, Jurrell Casey added to the interior to go with Shelby Harris and Alexander Johnson being an under-the-radar standout at linebacker. I’ve always been a big fan of Justin Simmons, but that second corner spot is still up in the air. I like Vic Fangio and that coaching staff they have put together in Denver, with Pat Shurmur providing a QB-friendly offense, the game’s best O-line coach in Mike Munchak and most of the people that have helped Fangio put out elite defenses at multiple stops before. So the Broncos are still the most dangerous opponent of the Chiefs in the AFC West, but now I’m not sure if they can add some drama over the fourth quarter of the season.
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17. Minnesota Vikings
At the same time, a team that has been a little overhyped to me this offseason is Minnesota. While I don’t love how the Packers have operated since February, what have the Vikings done to really improve? They traded away the best deep threat in the league last season in Stefon Diggs, stalwarts on the D-line in Everson Griffen and Linval Joseph are now gone, their entire group of corners has combined for less than 1500 career snaps and their offensive coordinator is now in Cleveland. I’m intrigued by the combination of Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson, who could be pretty interchangeable in their roles and I like their 12 and 21 personnel groupings, but they lack depth at the receiver position. And the defense will be relying on several inexperienced pieces to step in. I mean their three starting corners from last year are off the team now. So I don’t really get how most people all of a sudden put them ahead of the Packers. With that being said, I like the offensive scheme and always thought Gary Kubiak was a huge factor in their success on the ground at least. On defense there are certainly question marks – especially in the secondary – but Minnesota could easily have a top five player at their respective position at all three levels, with Danielle Hunter, Eric Kendricks and Anthony Harris, plus they still have some promising young guys like Ifeadi Odenigbo, Mike Hughes and a deep rookie class. Their only true shade nose Michael Pierce opting out hurts though.
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18. New England Patriots
This offseason must have been a rollercoaster for Patriots fans. First, Tom Brady leaves and everybody goes crazy. Then people start getting onto the Jarrett Stidham hype train and talk about how good the rest of this team still is. Out of nowhere they sign Cam Newton for the veteran minimum basically and they are back in the conversation for the top teams in the AFC all of sudden. And now, they lead the league in players opting out of the season, with key defensive pieces like Dont’a Hightower and Patrick Chung, to go with a couple of role players on offense at least. So now they are right at the bottom of these fringe playoff teams for me, because purely based on the roster, they are not even in the top 20 league-wide, but they still have maybe the greatest defensive mind in NFL history in Bill Belichick and one of the best offensive play-callers right now in Josh McDaniels. Obviously a lot of this will come down to what version of Cam Newton we will get and even if he is and can stay totally healthy. Not only is New England the most adaptable team in terms of how they can adjust to personnel and how flexible they are with their game-plans, but Cam is a great fit in that offense, where he can spread the field and make decisions based on defenses adjusting. The one area that took the biggest bump – outside of quarterback I’m guessing – is the offensive line, because they lost a legendary position coach in Dante Scarnecchia and their probable starter at right tackle in Marcus Cannon. While the Pats do have some young players, who can replace part of the losses, they were already more in plan for the pieces that left before there was any virus outbreak.
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Around .500:

This broad group of seven teams represents all those franchises who will be dancing around .500 mark in the win-loss column. A couple of teams have the potential to win nine or ten games, while others could see those numbers on the wrong side of the column as well. There are obvious question marks in certain areas, even though they might feature top-tier players and/or coaches.
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19. Houston Texans
It’s kind of tough to put a team here that has won its division the last two years, but I think the Texans are pretty clearly number three in the South now. I love Deshaun Watson and I think he has fairly established himself as a top five quarterback in the NFL, but Bill O’Brien just took away an elite wide receiver in DeAndre Hopkins and replaced him with an injury-prone Brandin Cooks to go with another always banged up Will Fuller and a declining Randall Cobb, to go with a David Johnson in the backfield, who was unrecognizable last season. I think the O-line is improving, but outside of Laremy Tunsil maybe, they don’t have anybody other than Deshaun who is clearly above-average in their role. And defensively they finished in the bottom five in yards allowed and tied with Cincinnati (who picked first overall in the draft) for an NFL-high 6.1 yards allowed per play. Hopefully having J.J. Watt back for a full season should help, I like the selection of Ross Blacklock (TCU) on the inside and there are some talented young corners on this roster, who could be better much in 2020. I would not be surprised if they are that .500 team at heart and their quarterback carried them to a couple of wins that they weren’t supposed to get – which we have seen him do many times before – but it’s more likely to me that they are fighting for one of the two bottom Wildcard spots.
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20. Atlanta Falcons
Very rarely do you have a team that was among the worst over the first half of the season and among the best over the second half. The Falcons started out 2019 with a 1-7 record, but would go on to win six of the final eight games. Their defense was absolutely atrocious early on last season, with no pass-rush impacting the opposing quarterback and several miscues in coverage. With Raheem Morris taking over the defensive play-calling, they showed a lot of improvement already and there are signs that trend will continue. While there are some questions about the back-end and if they can get consistent production from their rush outside the top two guys, I think Dante Fowler is an upgrade over Vic Beasley, I like Marlon Davidson (Auburn) as a guy with inside-out flexibility on sub-packages and Keanu Neal is back healthy, as that Kam Chancellor-type, who can be that extra defender in the box in their system and punish receivers when catching the ball over the middle or in the flats. Offensively I believe this is still a team that can move the ball – they just have to start doing so earlier in games. While the top NFL receiver duo is in their own division with the guys in Tampa Bay, Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley could easily be that next one. They lost a very productive tight-end in Austin Hooper, but I believe Hayden Hurst can replace at least 80 percent of that production, and while we have no idea what we get from Todd Gurley and his knees at this point, last year the Falcons had one of the least effective per-touch backs in Devonta Freeman. Plus, the O-line should take a step forward with former first-round pick Chris Lindstrom returning from injury.
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21. Las Vegas Raiders
To me the Raiders are still in transition, not only moving to Las Vegas, but also in terms of roster construction and the culture Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock are trying to establish. Outside of Tyrell Williams, that entire group of receivers was overhauled, they have a lot of young pieces on the defensive line and the secondary, plus they will have at least two new starters on the second level of their defense. By far the biggest thing they have going for them is the offensive line and second-year back Josh Jacobs running behind it. When I did my top ten offensive lines in the NFL a couple of weeks ago, I had the Silver & Black at number five, and Jacobs was already a top 100 player in the league for me, with how physical and elusive a runner as he is. I could easily see the Raiders finish near the top in terms of ground production, and I also like the young guys they brought in around that, with Henry Ruggs III (Alabama) keeping the defense honest with his speed, Bryan Edwards (South Carolina) as a physical receiver, who will get hands after the catch, and Lynn Bowden Jr. (Kentucky) as that chess-piece potentially, that you can use in a multitude of way. My bigger question here is if Derek Carr is willing to push the ball down the field. Defensively I like the rotation they have on the interior D-line and the two linebackers they brought in via free agency, most notably Corey Littleton. There are still some questions about how snaps will be split between their corner group, but I’m excited to see a full season of Jonathan Abram hopefully. These guys have some attitude and an energetic head coach.
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22. Los Angeles Rams
Oh, how far we have come. Just one-and-a-half years ago the Rams were officially 20 spots higher basically, when they lost the Super Bowl to New England. Ahead of last season, I predicted them to miss the playoffs and while they made a bit of a run at it late, that’s what ended up happening. Now I see them as the fourth team in their own division – even though that says more about the competition they face rather than them. I still believe in Sean McVay and his ability to win on paper with play-design and game-planning, but Jared Goff has turned out to be an average quarterback, they don’t have a prime Todd Gurley setting the table anymore and the offensive line had some major issues, for large stretches of last season, especially in the run game. I was very high on Cam Akers, who they selected in the second round out of Florida State, but he will obviously be a rookie with shortened preparation, rather than an Offensive Player of the Year like Gurley was for them. Defensively, they have two elite players in Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey and I like some of the other guys in their roles, but overall the high-end talent beyond the two biggest names isn’t overly impressive. Leonard Floyd might be their top edge rusher and he has always been more of a Robin, they have no proven commodity as stand-up linebacker and I have yet to see if Brandon Staley can actually be an upgrade over Wade Phillips as their defensive coordinator.
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23. Detroit Lions
While I was going back and forth with putting the Lions third or fourth in the NFC North, I recently said they are among the top two teams that could go from worst to first in their division and I would not be surprised if they were in the hunt for a Wildcard spot in the last couple of weeks of the season. His second year in a system under Darrell Bevell – where he wasn’t just going in shotgun 40 times a game and asked to make magic happen – Matthew Stafford looked like an MVP candidate as long as he was healthy in 2019. That duo of Kerryon Johnson and my top-ranked running back in the draft D’Andre Swift (Georgia) could be one of the most dynamic ones in the league, the receiving corp is highly underrated and I like those rookies competing for the two guard spots. Defensively, they seem to finally look like what Matt Patricia wanted, when he came over from New England, in terms being versatile with their fronts and having guys who can take on receivers in man-coverage. With that being said, there is also a good chance that the Patricia experiment could go to shambles, if some of the veterans get turned off by his style of coaching without having established that winning culture, and this team has simply been dealing with too many injuries to key players. I don’t think there is much of a gap between the Lions and Vikings for example, but Detroit has not shown the stability of some other organizations.
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24. Chicago Bears
A franchise that I don’t really hear anybody talk about – unless it’s their quarterback competition – is that team from the Windy City. I understand that the Bears aren’t really sexy because they lack those superstars on offense that people will recognize, but I’m higher on some of the guys they do have on that side of the ball and on defense they could be much closer to 2018, when they led the league in points allowed and turnovers forced, rather than being just inside the top in most categories last season. A guy I already predicted to break out for Chicago this upcoming season with a bigger workload is running back David Montgomery, to go with Anthony Miller as a gadget player and developing young pass-catcher and one of the more underappreciated receivers out there in Allen Robinson. Defensively, I thought the biggest issue last season was Akiem Hicks missing double-digit games, as a table-setter with his ability to disrupt plays from the interior, and Leonard Floyd didn’t provide much on the opposite side of Khalil Mack, who they upgrade from with Robert Quinn, who just had his best season since the Rams were still in St. Louis. Now, I don’t love what they have at that second safety spot to complement Eddie Jackson, someone will have to fill that second corner spot – even though I’m a fan of second-round pick Jaylon Johnson (Utah) – and nose tackle Eddie Goldman opting out is a huge loss. If the quarterback position can just complement the rushing attack and the defense plays up to their potential, this group could be competing for second in the North, but Foles or Trubisky could still hold them back.
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https://preview.redd.it/aep6uj385di51.png?width=1060&format=png&auto=webp&s=07674898e4de7d73699c065907983e69612c56a4
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The final tier is in the comments!!
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If you enjoyed this breakdown, I would really appreciate if you could visit the original piece - https://halilsrealfootballtalk.com/2020/08/18/ranking-all-32-nfl-teams-in-tiers-pre-season/
You can also listen to my analysis on the Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz7WE0epZw8

Previous episodes: Flamengo, Vasco, Fluminense, Grêmio, Botafogo, Atlético Mineiro, Internacional, Corinthians
In this series I will present each of the 12 Brazilian teams that together compose the "Big 12". My point is to make them more knowledgeable to you, since each one of these teams have their share of the Brazil national team success and of Brazilian club football accomplishments as a whole. I'll try to be as smooth, efficient and non-boring as I can. If the feedback is positive, I'll keep bringing more to this series. So ok, let's do this!
Method: I'll present the teams in a chronological order, from the oldest foundation (Flamengo-1895) to the latest one (São Paulo-1930). The order will be: Flamengo, Vasco, Fluminense, Grêmio, Botafogo, Atlético Mineiro, Internacional, Corinthians, Santos, Palmeiras, Cruzeiro, São Paulo. How many of these have you heard of?
Extra clubs: Due to a high number of requests, I'll also present 3 teams who don't belong to the Big12, but are also considered big clubs in Brazil: Bahia, Athletico Paranaense and Coritiba. Welcome to the club!
Geographical reference: Before we start, I'd like to ask something very simple from you. I want you to keep in mind that these 12 teams are spread in 4 different States in Brazil. The club's State name is written below, next to the club's name. It has a direct link to Google Maps, so that you can check it out to make this experience more accurate.

Episode 9/12: Santos (State: São Paulo), founded in 1912

State rivals: São Paulo, Palmeiras, Corinthians

Stadium: Vila Belmiro

Mascot: Whale

Major achievements: 2 Intercontinental Cup (1962, 1963), 3 Copa Libertadores (1962, 1963, 2011), 8 Brazilian Leagues (1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 2002, 2004), 1 Copa do Brasil (2010)

State League titles: 22 (Against Corinthians' 30, Palmeiras' 23, São Paulo's 21)

PLAY AND LISTEN TO SANTOS ANTHEM WHILE READING - Click here
The Football Kingdom
There's an urban legend that says that a lightning never strikes the same place twice. But apparently this legend doesn't apply to the physics of Santos, a humble and small port city on the coast of São Paulo. There, a young kid named Pelé, would come up to become football's greatest legend, a man that could stop a war with his foot, a man that transcended all sports combined. In that same city of Santos - with a probable electromagnetic sequel caused by the lightning of Pelé - were raised the raw talents of the princes Robinho and Neymar. Curiously enough, Marta, the Queen of Football, and Falcão, the King of Futsal, also stepped foot and left a legacy at Santos, the football kingdom of the world. Let the story begin!
The early years and the 100-goal team at 1929 São Paulo State League
Santos was founded in 1912, but only on the late 1920s the team would become a threat to the State League teams from the state capital, São Paulo. Indeed, in 1927, the team led by Araken Patusca and Feitiço scored 100 goals in 16 matches, an average of 6,25 goals/match, a world record in official competitions until today. However, they lost the title in the last round to Palmeiras. These two players would make history in Santos: Feitiço scored 214 goals and is the Santos 5th top goalscorer of all time, while Araken Patusca scored 184, and is the 7th.
In 1935, Santos would win their first State League title, after beating Corinthians 2-0.
The Pelé Era: the greatest team in the world, the team that stopped a war in Africa, Os Santásticos
Before Pelé arrived, Santos had recently won the 1955 and 1956 State Leagues, with a great team led by Brazil NT forwards Del Vecchio, Pepe, Pagão, Jair, and the midfielder Zito.
After Pelé left, Santos had added 25 more trophies to their cabinet: 2 Intercontinental Cups, 2 Copa Libertadores, 6 Brazilian Leagues, 10 State Leagues, 3 Rio-São Paulo Tournament, 1 Supercopa Sudamericana and 1 Recopa Intercontinental.
During Pelé's time in the 1960s, Santos scored around 3000 goals, with more than 1000 scored by the king, in both official competitions (643 goals) and friendlies (448 goals) for Santos. Actually, counting only teams from Europe big6, Pelé scored 103 goals in those high-level friendlies, as you can see here. If we count all European clubs and National Teams, Pelé scored 163 goals. He also scored 87 goals against 1st division Brazilian teams, 116 goals against South American teams and National Teams, 44 goals against African/Asian/Central American National Teams, totalizing 410 goals in high-level friendlies - all data details here. At that time, friendlies were highly hyped, and there were more Europeans attending friendlies vs. Santos than attending their own national leagues matches - attendance data here.

League	1960s League att. average	Friendlies vs Santos att. average
England	29.180	34.800 (10 matches)
Spain	???	48.100 (9 matches)
Italy	21.056	39.620 (33 matches)
Germany	24.160	31.700 (15 matches)
Portugal	???	34.000 (3 matches)
France	8.400	32.300 (8 matches)
Overall	20.700	36.750 (78 matches)

• Sources: England, Italy, Germany, France, Santos

Pelé arrived at Santos in 1956, at the age of 15. In that same year arrived the right-wing Dorval, aged 21. In 1958 arrived the centre-forward Coutinho, aged 14, and in 1960 the attacking midfielder, Mengálvio, aged 20. They all joined the left-wing Pepe, at Santos since 1954, to form the famous quintet that dominated the world: Dorval, Mengálvio, Coutinho, Pelé and Pepe.

Player	Apps	Goals	Brazil NT Caps	Goals	World Cup titles
Dorval (1956-67)	612	198	7	-	-
Mengálvio (1960-68)	371	28	14	1	1 (1962)
Coutinho (1958-68)	457	368	15	6	1 (1962)
Pelé (1956-74)	1116	1091	92	77	3 (1958, 1962, 1970)
Pepe (1954-69)	750	405	40	22	2 (1958, 1962)

But everything started in the 1957 São Paulo State League, when Pelé was topscorer with 36 goals, at the age of 16. There wasn't a National League until 1959, due to Brazil's huge size and weak infrastructure, so the players would shine in the State Leagues, which lasted the entire year. Pelé, at 17, broke the São Paulo State League record (until today), scoring 58 goals in 38 matches, in 1958 - which brought him to the Brazil NT and to the 1958 World Cup. After winning it, him and Santos started travelling in exhibition tours to make cash and challenge the best teams around the world in "friendly" matches.
In 1959, Santos took part in the 1st Brazilian League edition, qualifying as São Paulo State League champions. However, they lost the final to Bahia (2-3, 2-0, 1-3).
As Santos lost the 1959 São Paulo State League finals to Palmeiras, they didn't qualify to the 1960 Brazilian League.
However, they won the 1960 São Paulo State League and qualified to the 1961 Brazilian League. From 1961 to 1965, Santos won 5 consecutive Brazilian Leagues, a record until today. However, Santos would always enter in the semi-finals and only play 4-5 matches to be crowned champions - this rule would only be modified from the 1967 Brazilian League.

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Results
1961 Brazilian League	Santos	Bahia	1-1, 5-1
1962 Brazilian League	Santos	Botafogo	4-3, 1-3, 5-0
1963 Brazilian League	Santos	Bahia	6-0, 2-0
1964 Brazilian League	Santos	Flamengo	4-1, 0-0
1965 Brazilian League	Santos	Vasco	5-1, 1-0

Highlights to the 1962 final between Santos and Botafogo, which had 11 players from the 1962 World Cup won by Brazil: Gylmar, Mauro, Zito, Mengálvio, Coutinho, Pelé, Pepe (Santos), Nilton Santos, Garrincha, Amarildo, Zagallo (Botafogo). Santos won the decisive match 5-0 at the Maracanã, with this goal from Pelé.
In 1962, Santos also participated in their first Copa Libertadores, qualified as the 1961 Brazilian League champions. Santos topped their group stage against Cerro Porteño (Paraguay) (9-1, 1-1) and Municipal (Bolivia) (6-1, 4-3). In the semis against Universidad Católica (Chile), Santos tied 1-1 away, and won 1-0 at home. The final would be against Peñarol (Uruguay). Santos won the first leg 2-1 in Uruguay, with two goals from Coutinho, in a great comeback. In the 2nd leg in Brazil, a crazy story: after a big and violent confusion, the match was restarted and Peñarol scored the third goal at '51 (2-3). Santos only needed a tie and scored it at '67, the match ended 3-3 and Santos celebrated the title. However, the referee wrote down in the match report that the match was over at '51 - he was scared to really end it, so he kept the match going until the end, but it wasn't counting for him, so he (and CONMEBOL) declared Peñarol the winners. This forced a third match, in neutral Argentina, which Santos dominated and won 3-0, with two goals from Pelé and one own goal from Peñarol. Santos were for the first time, and the first Brazilian team, crowned South American champions.
This title qualified Santos to the 1962 Intercontinental Cup, against the European champions, Benfica. The 1st leg at the Maracanã ended 3-2 for Santos, with 2 goals from Pelé and one from Coutinho. Before the 2nd match in Lisbon, Benfica announced that they were selling tickets for the third match, certain that they would win at home. However, Pelé destroyed the match with a splendid hat-trick, an assist, nutmegs and dribbling past the entire Benfica defense to score one of his goals. The match ended 5-2 before a crowd of 73.000 portuguese fans, and Pelé proved once again he was still football's king, as he and Santos were crowned club world champions for the first time. Highlights of the match here (4mn56 video).
The next year, in 1963, Santos would once again win the Copa Libertadores. Being the current champions, they entered in the semi-final stage against the legendary Botafogo of Garrincha, Didi and Nilton Santos. The 1st leg ended 1-1, with Pelé scoring a tie at '90. The 2nd match at the Maracanã ended 4-0 to Santos, with Pelé scoring the first goal, also the second goal from a header, and the third from a penalty kick. Lima scored the fourth, with an assist from Pepe. Santos were once again qualified to the Copa Libertadores final.
They would meet Boca Juniors, from Argentina. In the 1st leg at the Maracanã, Santos opened 3-0 with two goals from Coutinho - notably this one - and one from Lima. Boca, however, scored twice with Sanfilippo and the match ended 3-2.
The atmosphere at La Bombonera for the 2nd leg was intense. 50.000 Argentine kept singing "Pelé hijo de puta, macaquitos del Brasil" (Pelé son of a b., little monkeys from Brazil). Then Boca opened the score at '46 with Sanfilippo. However, 4 minutes later, Pelé assisted Coutinho to score the tie. Later, Pelé mocked the Boca team by playing with the ball at Boca's GK hand. And at '82, Pelé scored the winning goal and celebrated with euphory and anger: Santos were back-to-back Copa Libertadores champions.
Santos were once again qualified to the Intercontinental Cup, and would face Milan. Santos lost the 1st leg 2-4, at San Siro, in Milan. In the 2nd leg at the Maracanã, Milan went to half-time winning 2-0. A heavy rain began and the pitch became a mud. Santos, without Pelé, counted on Pepe's free-kick to score their first goal. Almir and Lima scored Santos second and third goals, at '54 and '65. Pepe, again from a free-kick, scored the fourth at '68, forcing a third match.
In the third and final match, at the Maracanã again, Maldini committed a penalty and was sent off. Still without Pelé, Dalmo scored the 1-0 winning goal, crowning Santos once again club world champions.
Santos wouldn't win the Copa Libertadores again in the 1960s. They reached the semis in 1964 and 1965, and refused to play it in 1966, 1967 and 1969 - not only it was financially unattractive, but also too violent and with tendencious refereeing. So Santos prefered to travel around the globe and make cash to pay their expensive team.
The "Santos Globetrotters", would tour the world and smash whoever and wherever. 7-1 Internazionale, 5-0 Roma, 6-2 Napoli, 3-0 Lazio, 5-1 Lecce, 5-1 Barcelona, 6-0 Hamburg, 9-1 TSV München 1860, 6-3 Wolfsburg, 5-2 Eintracht Frankfurt, 4-2 Hertha Berlin, 6-4 Fortuna Düsseldorf, 5-0 Arminia Bielefield, 6-3 Benfica, 4-2 Sheffield Wednesday, 4-2 Newcastle, 5-3 Reims, 6-1 Racing, 6-2 Lyon, 3-0 Toulouse, 3-0 Feyenoord, 5-0 Enschede, 3-0 Peñarol, 8-3 Racing (Argentina), 4-0 Independiente, 4-1 Boca Juniors, 4-0 River Plate...
In official competitions, Pelé's Santos played 6 matches against Europeans, with 5W-1L:

Competition	Result	Goals
1962 Intercontinental Cup	Santos 3-2 Benfica	Pelé (2x), Santana (2x), Coutinho
1962 Intercontinental Cup	Santos 5-2 Benfica	Pelé (3x), Eusébio, Coutinho, Pepe, Santana
1963 Intercontinental Cup	Santos 2-4 Milan	Pelé (2x), Amarildo (2x), Trapattoni, Mora
1963 Intercontinental Cup	Santos 4-2 Milan	Pepe (2x), Mazzola, Almir, Lima, Mora
1963 Intercontinental Cup	Santos 1-0 Milan	Dalmo
1968 Recopa Intercontinental	Santos 1-0 Internazionale	Toninho Guerreiro

However, Santos wasn't invincible, and Palmeiras stopped them from winning 12 consecutive State Leagues (1958-69), by beating Santos in 1959, 1963 and 1966.
1969: the year that Santos stopped a war in Africa and that Pelé scored his 1000th goal
On the 4th February 1969, Pelé's Santos stopped an ongoing war in Nigeria. The civil war had been going on in the Biafra region since March 1967, and it lasted until January 1970, with the separatists' defeat. 2 million people died in the conflict.
There was a global effort trying to stop the violent repression of the Nigerian government against the Biafras. Artists like Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon, authorities like the Pope Paul VI and the United Nations tried do contain the conflict, without success.
But Santos did. As the team was touring in Africa, they were invited by the Nigerian government to play in Benin. A first and only cease-fire was declared so Santos could move from the hotel to the stadium and then back to the hotel. Santos won the match 2-1, and left the country the next day, as the war restarted as soon as they were gone, lasting 11 more months.
On the 19th November 1969, Pelé scored his 1000th goal, against Vasco, the team he supported as a child, at the Maracanã. Journalists from all over the world had been following Santos matches, waiting for the 1000th goal to happen, which he did on his 912th career match.
By the end of the decade, Santos team had changed, but was still strong, notably counting with the right-back Carlos Alberto Torres, the midfielder Clodoaldo and the forwards Edu and Toninho Guerreiro, all of them champions in the 1970 World Cup, except for the latter. They notably won the 1968 Brazilian League, the 1968 Supercopa Sudamericana and the 1968 Recopa Intercontinental.
My personal favorite goal of this era is this one by Toninho Guerreiro, after a rainbow flick assist by Kaneko, in 1968.
The Pelé Era last title was the São Paulo State League title of 1973. Pelé left in October 1974, having scored 1091 goals in 1116 matches for Santos.
1978-1984: the Meninos da Vila (Vila Boys) and the last title before the drought
In 1978, a new term was coined to the players produced by Santos youth system, or just young players that were bought: the Meninos da Vila (Vila Boys), that won the 1978 State League. The 1st generation counted with Juary, João Paulo, Pita, Nilton Batata and Ailton Lira.

Meninos da Vila	Apps	Goals
Juary	229	101
João Paulo	412	103
Pita	408	55
Nilton Batata	249	36
Ailton Lira	182	37

In the 1980s, Santos built a good team that reached the final of the 1983 Brazilian League, and won the 1984 State League - Santos last title before the drought.
1984-2002: 18-year title drought
In this period, Santos reached the 1995 Brazilian League final - led by the idol Giovanni -, as well as the 2000 State League final. Santos won the 1997 Rio-São Paulo Tournament and the 1998 Copa Conmebol, but they were minor trophies and didn't count as the end of the drought, that would last until 2002.
Nevertheless, Santos became the first team in the world to score 10.000 goals - the record took place in January 1998, with a goal scored by Jorginho.
In December 2000, Santos was elected by FIFA the Club of the Century in South America, and placed 5th in the world, behind Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern and Barcelona.
2002: Diego & Robinho and the 2nd Meninos da Vila generation
In the last season of the Brazilian League with knock-out stages (round-robin were introduced in 2003), Santos were broken and bet once again on their own DNA: youth system and offensive football. Led by 17-year-old Diego and 18-year-old Robinho, and with great young players Maurinho (24), Alex (20), Renato (23) and Elano (21), as well as great experienced players like Fábio Costa (25), Léo (27) and Alberto (27), Santos qualified on the 8th and last spot to the quarter-finals - after an exciting 1st stage, even leading the league at some point, but dropping a lot in quality towards the end.
In the knock-out stage, Santos won 5 of the 6 matches before becoming champions. In the quarter-finals, against the scary São Paulo of Kaká and Luís Fabiano, Santos won both legs: 3-1 at home and then a 2-1 comeback away, with Diego scoring twice, one of them the winning goal on the 2nd leg.
In the semi-finals, Santos defeated Grêmio 3-0 at home, with a great show from Robinho, who got Grêmio's CB sent off and then scored this great goal. Alberto scored twice, notably this backheel one. In the 2nd leg, a 0-1 defeat was enough to put Santos in the league final.
The final would be against Parreira's Corinthians. In the first leg, Diego brilliantly assisted Alberto to open the score, and then Robinho at '88 also brilliantly assissted Renato to close the 2-0 score.
The final 2nd leg was monumental. Corinthians needed to win by a 2-goal difference to be the champions. It started badly for Santos, with Diego leaving injured with less than five minutes. But at '35, Robinho produced one of the most iconic moves of the football world in 2002, the 8 Pedaladas (8 Stepovers), after which he suffered a penalty, which he himself converted into a goal dedicated to Diego. Corinthians now needed 3 goals, and at '75 they scored the first, then at '84 they scored the second. Total fear in Santos supporters. But 4 minutes later at '88, the heir of the king, the prince Robinho carried the ball from the midfield until the right side of the box to assist Elano in Santos second goal. But it wasn't over yet, and at '92, him again, the prince Robinho left two Corinthians' CB completely lost in a quick body turnaround to assist Léo to score the 3rd and winning goal. The perfect match was over, Santos won 3-2, and were crowned Brazilian League champions. Highlights to Santos goalkeeper Fabio Costa who had this absurd performance (2mn33s video) and to Santos coach Emerson Leão, the man who chose to bet in these young players.
2003-2004: the show must go on
In 2003, Santos, Diego and Robinho were the Brazilian trend. They kept their high-level football with the addition of Ricardo Oliveira in the attack, and finished 2nd in the Copa Libertadores - losing to Boca Juniors - and 2nd in the Brazilian League - dominated by Cruzeiro.
In 2004, Santos won the Brazilian League again, their 8th and most recent Brazilian League title. With the departures of Renato, Diego and Ricardo Oliveira to Europe, Santos brought Ricardinho and Deivid from Middlesbrough and Bordeaux, and the international coach Luxemburgo from Cruzeiro.
It worked greatly, and led by Robinho and Elano, they won the league on the 46th and last round, after beating Vasco 2-1. It was a very dramatic league in all possible ways, and against everything and everyone, Santos were once again Brazilian Champions.

Meninos da Vila	Apps (Santos)	Goals (Santos)	Clubs in Europe
Diego	133	38	Porto, Werder Bremen, Atlético Madrid
Robinho	253	111	Real Madrid, Milan, Man. City
Elano	322	68	Shakhtar, Man. City
Renato	424	33	Sevilla
Alex	103	20	Chelsea, Milan, PSG

2009-2013: Neymar & Ganso, the 3rd Meninos da Vila generation
After the 2004 team was dismantled, Santos won two State League titles in 2006 and 2007, besides finishing 2nd in the 2007 Brazilian League and reaching the semi-finals in the 2007 Copa Libertadores, led by international star Zé Roberto.
In March 2009, Neymar made his debut at the age of 17. With midfielder Ganso (aged 19), they finished 2nd in the State League, losing to Ronaldo Nazário's Corinthians.
In 2010, the Cirque du Soleil Santos show began. With the addition of Robinho (on a 6-month loan from Man. City) to the front line, the team reached a historical mark of 111 goals in 34 matches on the title campaigns of the 2010 State League and 2010 Copa do Brasil. Overall in the year, Santos scored 176 goals, and Neymar 42 goals. The team played for fun and brilliant goals were a constant, notably: Robinho's backheel goal against Rogério Ceni's São Paulo, Ganso finesse assist to Robinho against Grêmio, Neymar's little-stop penalty goal against Ceni's São Paulo, Ganso's lob against Monte Azul, Robinho's lob against Bragantino, Ganso's backheel assist to Neymar's goal against Santo André, Alex Sandro's goal against Cruzeiro, Wesley's goal against Grêmio, Ganso long distance goal against Grêmio, Neymar dribbling past the whole Santo André defense goal, Neymar's assist to André against São Paulo, and obviously, Robinho air backheel assist to Neymar against Santo André.
However, the epic 2010 team only lasted 6 months: Wesley, André and Robinho left to Europe, and Ganso got severely injured. With the team dismantled, they ended on the 8th position in the league.
2011 Copa Libertadores: the third continental dream title
Santos started the season with the 2011 State League title, beating Corinthians in the final (0-0, 2-1).
Santos also counted with the return of Elano for the 2011 Copa Libertadores, but the team started badly: 2 draws and 1 loss, so Santos needed to win all the next 3 matches to advance. And they did, without much problems: 3-2 Colo-Colo (Chile), 2-1 Cerro Porteño (Paraguay) and 3-1 Táchira (Venezuela). Highlights to Neymar's dribbling-goal against Colo-Colo and Danilo's long-distance goal against Cerro Porteño.
In the round of 16, Santos met América (Mexico) and beat them 1-0 at home in the 1st leg. The 2nd leg, in Mexico, was a 0-0 tie, with goalkeeper Rafael Cabral having an exceptional match.
In the quarter-finals, against Once Caldas (Colombia), Santos had no problem beating them 1-0 in Colombia, and then tying 1-1 at home, with this great goal from Neymar.
In the semi-finals, Santos beat Cerro Porteño 1-0 at home, with this great assist from Neymar to Edu Dracena, and had a restful 2nd leg after opening 2-0 and leaving Paraguay with a 3-3 tie and qualified to the finals.
In the big final against Peñarol, Santos left the 1st leg with a 0-0 tie in Uruguay, with Peñarol having this goal bravely disallowed at '85. In the final 2nd leg, Santos pressured Peñarol at home, until Neymar opened the score at '46 with a brilliant shot, after a fine backheel-play by Ganso and ball-conducting by Arouca. At '68, Danilo scored one more, but Santos centre-back Durval scored an own goal at '79. On the last minute, Neymar almost scored the third, but the ball hit the post. At '93, the match ended, and after 48 years, Santos were the Copa Libertadores Champions, for the third time in their history.
Neymar was the MVP and second topscorer with 6 goals, at the age of 19. He was also elected the 2011 Brazilian League MVP, but Santos finished on the 10th place.
With this title, Santos qualified to the 2011 Club World Cup in Japan. They beat Kashiwa Reysol 3-1 in the semi-final, with this splendid goal from Neymar. However, they were completely dominated by Messi's Barcelona in the final, losing it 0-4.
In 2012, Santos had another great year, led by Neymar, Ganso and Elano. They started the season with the 2012 State League title, beating Guarani in the final (3-0, 4-2). They also reached the 2012 Copa Libertadores semi-finals, but got eliminated by Corinthians.
They also won the 2012 Recopa Sudamericana and finished 8th on the league.

Meninos da Vila	Apps (Santos)	Goals (Santos)	Clubs in Europe
Neymar	230	138	Barcelona, PSG
Ganso	162	36	Sevilla, Amiens
André	94	41	Sporting
Rafael Cabral	190	-	Napoli, Reading
Danilo	80	10	Porto, Real Madrid, Man. City, Juventus
Wesley	63	10	Werder Bremen

2013-today
Since the Neymar & Ganso Era ended in 2013, Santos has won 2 State League titles (2015, 2016), finished 2nd in the Brazilian League twice (2016, 2019) and in the Copa do Brasil once (2015), as well as revealing Rodrygo in 2018.
Santos represents the essence of Brazilian football DNA, which is offensive and beautiful football, a philosophy which made their youth system one of the most respected in the world. You can watch here some rare Pelé highlights, here some 2002-2005 Robinho's and here some 2009-2013 Neymar's.
Santos is one of the 3 Brazilian teams that has never been relegated.
To this day, Santos has a fanbase of 6 million supporters, and a stadium attendance average of 10.300, as of 2019.
If you have any questions about Brazilian football, feel free to join us at futebol, where you'll be very welcomed!