This feature is part of A Tale of One City Are you sitting comfortable? Then I’ll begin. Today I’m going to tell you tale of darkness and wonder, inspiration and heartache. We…
Month: September 2015
THE WEATHER IN ICELAND CAN BE HUGELY UNPREDICTABLE and changes the way training is conducted. The obvious drive in Iceland toward the building of better sporting facilities has altered that reality dramatically.…
There is one man who towers above the rest when it comes to the uncomfortable entwining of football and politics: Zvonimir Boban. The former AC Milan midfielder enjoyed a richly successful club career,…
MY FIRST FORAY INTO A TRUE BRAWL DISGUISED AS A FOOTBALL GAME was when I was 16-years-old. I had been “recruited” by a group of stockyard workers from Eastern Europe to play in…
This feature is part of A Tale of One City IF YOU WANT AN ALTERNATIVE, exhilarating, football experience, then visit Hamburg. There, in northern Germany’s major port city, you will find the Reeperbahn; more…
SPAIN, GERMANY AND BELGIUM are countries that the rest of the world have looked to regarding the production of players in recent years. Iceland, however, has started to make similar waves in their…
NEUER, VALDÉS, MENZO, GATTI AND JONGBLOED all mastered the art of the sweeper keeper; proactive goalkeepers that charge out of their box to intercept through balls from attacking teams, clearing the ball…
Kenny Dalglish wasn’t the most skilful player, nor was he blessed with blinding pace or immense strength, but scenes of a stealthy and intelligent Scot with straw-like hair and ice-blue eyes cutting defences…
This feature is part of The Fleeting Fraternity What is tragedy? In modern-day usage, it is defined by an event of monumental human suffering, shrouded by pathos and disaster. In dramatic arts’…
Stylish, flamboyant and a free-kick master. A wonderful range of passing, a quick decision maker, creative, patient and composed. Such superlatives could be about any number of brilliant players throughout football’s history. Perhaps reading…
One of England’s most passionate derbies, is the rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham beginning to stagnate with a lack of success on the field?
The summer of 2008 was Andrey Arshavin’s summer of ’69. The fabulously gifted midfielder was approaching his peak age as a professional footballer, his club side Zenit Saint Petersburg had battled their…
“I was 16, very young, and very scared.” Fabrice (not his real name) found himself in a shoddy hotel room near Charles de Gaulle airport, where he had arrived from Cameroon a…
Football would be such a dull thing if everyone played by the rules. As much as the sport needs admirable professionalism, loyalty and players with an unwavering devotion to a clean lifestyle,…
In 1987, Peru lost its number one ranked club side and biggest hope for the future of the national team. We look back at the nation’s greatest footballing tragedy.
How intelligent spending, long-term thinking and fan power transformed the club from the brink of extinction to Premier League powerhouse.
FOLLOWING ON FROM OUR RECENT INTERVIEW with former Liverpool, Wigan and Watford academy coach Tim Lees, we talk to the young trainer about tactics, formations and countering threats on a football pitch. *…
TO THE OUTSIDERS LOOKING IN, the sight of a teary 34-year-old, with his right forearm and two of his fingers hastily wrapped in a plaster cast must have appeared bemusing and bewildering. Indeed,…