Graham Hunter: Sensitive Bale on and off bench with agony of badly sprained ego
I am, at heart, a mild-mannered Bieldside boy – but Gareth Bale is doing a fine job of turning me into some sort of Victor “Mr Angry” Meldrew.
Graham Hunter
All Graham Hunter Posts
Graham Hunter: Barca star knows just how lucky he is
I deeply feel the privilege of working in a career I love.
Graham Hunter: Spain greats loving life without pressure
Iker Casillas has been a big character in my career.
Graham Hunter: The pilgrimage of Pedro says a lot
How much do you remember of Peter Beardsley?
Graham Hunter: Vinicius so good Real Madrid should rip up their plans for future
I know I wrote here recently about Vinicius.
Graham Hunter: Aberdeen legend Alex McLeish may be 60, but Real Madrid are the ones creaking
Real Madrid are on my mind, and not only because of Alex McLeish’s recent birthday.
Graham Hunter: Champions League tunnel vision offered sign that Mourinho’s time at Manchester United was almost up
The last time I saw Jose Mourinho face to face while he was still Manchester United coach it was at close range.
Graham Hunter: Eden’s dream of Real deal could be fraught with Neymar Hazards
I like Eden Hazard as a footballer. Never met him, though.
Graham Hunter: Sevilla’s pint-sized god disguised as pub player wrapped in a shell-suit
Wissam Ben Yedder can look like a pub footballer. Not on the pitch, mind.
Graham Hunter: VAR’s not perfect but it is progress and would help in Scottish football
Word reaches my royal ear (Copyright: King Louie, Jungle Book) that the Dandies desperately needed VAR at Pittodrie last week against Kilmarnock.
Graham Hunter: Messi using massive talents to max has to be best legal high
I’d be pretty sure that bookmakers across the UK took an absolute hammering at the weekend.
Graham Hunter: Atletico dangerman Diego out to win no matter what Costa
I only hope you were watching. I hope you thrilled to every last second of Atlético Madrid becoming the ninth Spanish winner of the European Supercup in the last 10 finals.
Ron could be head over heels in love with Juve
There’s substance to this summer story of Juventus not only wanting to buy Cristiano Ronaldo but Madrid being willing, at least, to talk to them about the deal.
I’m not ready for new season without my Solutions Man Iniesta
It’s only really beginning to sink in but Sunday was a personal farewell to Andrés Iniesta.
Graham Hunter: Diego Costa is finally able to enjoy a knees up in a Spain shirt
In January 2011 I got a phone call from Alan Pardew, then the Newcastle manager, who wanted to replace the aggressive, physical, aerially successful striker he’d just lost to Liverpool.
Graham Hunter: Why I’ll hope legend Iniesta can prove me wrong at World Cup
One of the least appealing elements of this profession is telling the truth.
Graham Hunter: Lift a Tequila Sunrise to Tattie – A great man and truly ‘one of us’
It’s best to start with an admission. I adored Neale Cooper, the player, the person, the voracious lover of life.
I’m going to Moscow with The King of Karaoke
By the time the dust settles in Kiev I’ll be just a few days away from my Aeroflot flight to Moscow.
Zidane and Fergie are equals so I’m putting my money on Madrid
I was working in Pizzaland in central Glasgow that blighted and cursed afternoon in 1986 when the media announced what we’d all known for weeks was true: that Alex Ferguson needed to extend his horizons and move to Manchester United.
Graham Hunter: Tears plus massive love-ins with fans as ‘kids’ leave stage
Although they are the two men of the moment one looks like a kid and the other still bears the nickname The Kid.
Baby-faced winger Dembele needs to mature
And so to the case of Ousmane Dembélé. Have you seen the French winger?
Finals reckoning for Griezmann as striker eyes his Bleus heaven
The Europa League final on Wednesday should be the ultimate “boy done good” story for Antoine Griezmann.
Graham Hunter: Tale of two cities as Clasico temperatures rise
It’s Clásico weekend. And the last time this head-on collision between Spain’s capital and the centre of Catalunya took place on a football pitch with one of the two teams already La Liga winners was exactly 10 years ago.
Even Iniesta’s departure is being done with class
If everything has gone to plan then this morning Andrés Iniesta will have announced he’s choosing not to renew his contract at Barcelona, that he’s heading off to play football in China and that a Camp Nou era has ended.
Hang on a Mo – I can explain why Roma sold fantastic Salah
If you were watching the Liverpool 5-2 Roma game on Tuesday then I bet you’re still thinking “Wow!” and trying to make sense of it.
Sevilla party will have to be extended if cup is secured this time
I reckon that few of us who’ve holidayed on Spain’s Costa del Sol would place Marbella in the category of resorts which are “a quiet haven of restraint away from the madness”.
Graham Hunter: Sorry sight for hero as goodbye seems to be the hardest word
Sport is beautiful, but sport is cruel. To some extent it’s the law of the jungle – you survive, and emerge, if you’re the fittest, the toughest, the nastiest. The “best” doesn’t always cut it. And, eventually, everyone gets gobbled up.
Graham Hunter: Ronaldo’s Turin goal something to adore – even Juve fans agree
Everybody’s talking about the beautiful thing which happened in Turin this week – Ronaldo’s goal.
Graham Hunter: Large questions being asked but Messi can still hold on to dream
Almost as iconic this week as the sight of Spain’s sixth goal fizzing past Willy Caballero to complete Isco’s hat-trick against the 2014 World Cup finalists was Leo Messi demonstrating that the pain of it all was too much.
Graham Hunter: Barcelona’s Gomes needs support after admitting to his problem with pressure
Messi would vomit. Per Mertesacker would urgently visit the loo dozens of time a day before a match.