Sometimes, watching football leaves an indelible mark on a young boy’s imagination. In 1999, I was seven years old and my obsession with Manchester United was reaching new heights after watching them win…
Month: March 2018
“BEAUTIFUL VIEW. Magnificent desolation.” Some will recognise those, considering the circumstances, remarkably sparse words. Many others, for good reason, won’t. Buzz Aldrin’s utterance, moments after becoming the second man to step on…
When RB Leipzig were promoted to the Bundesliga in 2016 they were only the fifth club from the former East Germany to grace the Bundesliga, and the first since 2009. Of those…
FEW MANAGERS IN the history of football boast as impressive a CV as Vicente del Bosque. A largely underrated and often underestimated tactician, the former Spain boss has won it all, including…
When football clubs choose to embrace a big business approach, they often do so at the expense of their role as a focal point of the local community – a place for…
I HAVE ALWAYS loved history. Experiencing the world through the eyes of the past has been an interest for as long as I can remember, and when I was to choose a…
SO SYNONYMOUS WAS Tony Adams with Arsenal that they immortalised him in bronze outside the Emirates Stadium. The statue captures his iconic celebration following his goal against Everton in 1998, where he…
THIS SEASON the Champions League has thrilled fans, with the traditional big boys strutting their stuff bolstered by a litany of world-class stars. Teams from Eastern Europe have again fallen by the…
“WHAT DISTINGUISHES NAPLES from other large cities is something it has in common with the African kraal: each private attitude or act is permeated by streams of communal life. To exist, for…
This feature is taken from the Spain issue of These Football Times magazine. Order your copy of this beautifully crafted, timeless print edition via our online shop. In the process, you’ll support…
In the summer of 1992, Fabio Capello and AC Milan found themselves within the enviable situation of trying to improve upon perfection. The previous season, domestically at least, had been word-perfect for AC Milan.…
THE IMAGES FROM the pitch invasion and threatening chants at the end of the Lille and Montpellier game recently shocked many, but don’t come as a great surprise to most. In an increasingly…
Displaced people don’t make the headlines anymore. That’s the truth that allows human beings to rot in detention centres. That’s the reality that forces thousands to live in dangerous ghettos. The displacement of…
KOBE IS A BUSY CITY. Of course, most cities are busy, but Kobe is busy in a way that seems to morph effortlessly from one version of itself to another, almost in…
Imagine a meeting of football fans from all over Germany. They would gather in the stuffy backroom of some dive bar, have a few pints and talk about football. Perhaps talking isn’t…
WHEN A FOOTBALL FAN attempts to objectively weigh up their team’s chances for a big game, the starting line-up often seems to either boost or dampen their optimism. Such a reaction is…
Rarely has a single photograph encapsulated the quintessence of one footballer and, by extension, his team, nation and culture, with such spontaneity and artistry in equal measure. The picture in question was captured…
What happens when your world falls in? When your job, your house and your business are turned to dust? What are you left with? Detroit residents have been answering those questions for…