The free-kick is always a thrill to witness. They can be a piece of fine craftsmanship, curved around the defensive wall; a big dipper struck over the line of defenders; the falling…
Month: July 2018
In February 2018 a State Championship game in Brazil between Vitória and Bahia was abandoned after a mass brawl resulted in 10 red cards and six cautions. The melee ensued after Bahia’s Vinicius…
The presence of loyalty is scarce in modern football, but often you get a glimpse of genuine adoration from a player towards a club. Cologne was the home away from home for…
The number seven shirt has a long history at Manchester United. Despite the lack of pedigree in recent years, it has grown to become one of the most prominent sights in football,…
It is 8 July 1990 in Rome, and West Germany and Argentina are contesting the World Cup final. The match is a turgid affair in a tournament which on the whole has…
I was seven years old and driving my mum mad. My younger brother had been born just over 18 months earlier and was occupying most of her time. Match days always followed…
Football didn’t come home this summer but, in truth, it was never supposed to. For a while it felt like it just might – the entire nation suddenly and inexplicably gripped by…
Nuances and small details that paint a bigger picture can be lost amidst the intensity and emotion of derby day. For every full-blooded challenge, contested refereeing call and off-field incident, the result…
It’s 9:45pm on a Tuesday in April, and a terrace in Kent is filled with Wrexham fans facing an arduous four-hour journey back to North Wales. Children goad the departing visitors by…
In the minds of many, contemporary football kits just aren’t what they used to be. Often baggy, homely, experimental, and cherished as a result, they just don’t make them like they used…
Few managerial stints have been as engrossing as José Mourinho three years at Real Madrid, a period that displayed all the complexities of his psyche
Now a 33-year-old winding down his career with Al Ahli, in 2010 Nigel de Jong was responsible for a moment that is as memorable as any associated with the World Cup final.…
Provincial sides rarely achieve glory in Serie A, and though Perugia fell agonisingly short of the title in 1979, their names are atched into history
Last season saw Juventus win the Scudetto for a seventh consecutive season, setting a new record in the process. As the Milan clubs continued to underwhelm and Roma failed to challenge domestically,…
Being a full-back isn’t the most stylish of positions within the game of football, and it requires an overwhelming amount of selflessness. They’ll never dominate the accolades or be recognised for the…
Illustration by Sachin Sing. View more on Instagram and Behance. A fleet of Lamborghinis and Porches line up on a tarmac alongside a grounded private jet. Cut from a scene out of…
“I often tell people I have the best job in the world.” Justin McMinn has every reason to be boastful. In the course of an interview with These Football Times, however, the founder of Street…
In preparation for the 2012/13 Premier League season, Swansea City’s kit manufacturers Adidas opted to make a slight deviation from the club’s most traditional colour combination, choosing to partner their invariant white…