On a clear autumn’s evening in Manchester, a young midfielder trembles on the Old Trafford touchline. Hearing the rousing din of 50,000 supporters inside English club football’s biggest stadium was an immense…
Month: September 2018
It’s difficult to describe geniuses without using the adjective obsessed. It’s as if it’s a requirement of all inventors, thinkers and philosophers to stumble into the realm of obsession. So it’s no…
Jason Brown is embarking on a management career in the unlikely environment of Thailand and firmly believes there would be an extra barrier to getting such an opportunity back in Great Britain.…
The story of most world-class footballers starts at a local park, where the future star would spend hours a day kicking a ball around with friends from an early age. The standard…
You can feel that something is amiss when driving through the provincial capital of Chonburi. Despite being in a region earmarked as a cornerstone of the nation’s economic development, this town continues…
This feature is part of The Football Italia Years Ronaldo was more force of nature than footballer. He was an irrepressible dribbler, a powerful runner and an unerringly precise finisher. In Italy,…
It is late March 2002 in Athens. Not far from the centre of town, at the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, a Champions League second group phase match is unfolding between Panathinaikos and Real…
Being the subject of juvenile laughs from some English speakers for their unusual club name or past at the Wankdorf Stadium is of little concern to Young Boys of Bern. Being the…
“Whites weep. Congratulate the champions.” Enthusiastically delivered words of a similar emphasis were expelled from Luís Figo’s mouth, from his vantage point on the balcony of the Palace of the Catalan Generality…
Football is the people’s game. It’s one for the masses, easily accessible to people of all ages and classes. It can be played in parks and streets, on grass and concrete, with…
The group of middle-aged men standing and sitting around me on the subway were having a heated discussion. To the untrained ear, it might have sounded like an argument, there are plenty…
With little over 15 minutes left of the derby, Cesc Fàbregas stood beside the corner flag watching impatiently as a substitution was announced. Drawing 1-1 at home to their fiercest rivals Tottenham,…
Almost 22 years had elapsed since Everton, one of the Football League’s most successful teams, had last laid their hands on a trophy. The title had been claimed in 1939 but since…
“The highs are never as high as you think and lows are never as low,” says Natasha Dowie, passing on some words of wisdom given to her by her wife and former…
Speed, strength, accuracy and a fair amount of deception are all part of a good baseball pitcher’s arsenal. Atlanta United’s Josef Martínez displayed some of these traits as he threw a few…
For a country that’s linked so intrinsically with catenaccio, Italy has had its fair share of mavericks. From Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano to Ezio Vendrame and Paolo Rossi, calcio is rich with subversives and trendsetters.…
Football fans support the team they do for various reasons, although most usually rely on family or geography to dictate the colours that will run through their blood for the rest of…
How the 1974 European Cup final set Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid on different paths for decades
A small event, like a goal scored, can have a profound effect on the future. The butterfly effect, while a theory in physics, has come to stand as a metaphor for life…