The modern-day Old Trafford rarely escapes the eyes of those who visit the city of Manchester. It isn’t the most towering of structures in the city’s skyline, but it’s one of the most…
Month: April 2018
They say art is a subjective matter. What one person finds majestic another can find abhorrent. Tracey Emin’s Unmade Bed, Michelangelo’s statue of David and Banksy’s Raise the Drawbridge are all works of…
The English media, fans of the Three Lions, and Premier League aficionados were aghast when Pep Guardiola arrived in England in 2016 to take over at Manchester City, almost instantaneously declaring then…
AMONGST THE FURY of zLAtan deservedly gripping Major League Soccer, a few storylines went unnoticed in the country. Chicago Fire spent millions of dollars on Bastian Schweinsteiger, one of the league’s most…
WHEN THE UNHERALDED MAURIZIO SARRI was appointed as Napoli coach to replace Rafa Benítez ahead of the 2015/16 season, it was met largely with indifference. “We won’t have a winning Napoli with…
HAVE YOU HEARD the story of Sir Michael Caine and the Brazilian footballer? Understandably, it sounds ludicrous. Can you really picture Neymar hanging out with Alfred or Dani Alves dancing with Harry…
DESPITE ADMITTING THAT relocating a football club was not a good idea’ MK Dons chairman Pete Winkelman insisted, in an interview with BBC Sport in 2012, that he would not drop the…
André Schürrle stormed down the left flank, his rapid pace always his most valuable asset. During this match – in this exact moment – he couldn’t have used it more effectively, propelling…
Oriol Tort was on the sidelines again. He was always there. Every weekend, without fail, without stopping to rest. He was not seen, just another old man amongst the spectators, but he…
FOR 24 HOURS, Ahmadreza Abedzadeh was the most important man on the planet. Lyon’s Stade Gerland is an unlikely stage for geopolitical drama, but it was here on 21 June 1998 that…
THREE MONTHS INTO 2018 and Jess Fishlock has already won a league title in Melbourne – scoring a spectacular goal in the W-League final – and kick-started her National Women’s Soccer League…
Many football fans around the globe associate René Higuita’s name with one moment at Wembley in 1995, which is a great shame. The Colombian’s goalkeeping career consisted of so much more than flamboyant…
SAUDI ARABIA WERE the kings of Asian football during the 1980s. Back-to-back Asian Cups in 1984 and 1988 cemented their dominance. However, despite such regional supremacy, the Green Falcons had never been…
It’s a troubling coincidence that Schalke’s greatest years occurred during Nazism. And while they weren’t active supporters, nor were they fervent opposers
“I HOPE THAT one day I will be given the chance to coach Milan. I have a long road ahead of me, but training Milan would be incredible.” When Benevento spectacularly equalised…
If the National Football Museum were to open an exhibition entitled ‘Hat-Tricks’ then surely Geoff Hurst’s famous Wembley treble would be its showpiece; the combination of left foot, right foot, header representing perfection when…
This article is taken from the Battle of the 10s issue of These Football Times Magazine, which you can order today. “Who’s that black guy that scored three goals in 20 minutes?…
THERE IS SOMETHING about Brescia Calcio. Founded in 1911 in the quaint but industrial city that is situated in the Lombardy region of Italy, they are oft described as a yo-yo team, yet…