This feature is part of Virtuoso As we look towards the next El Clásico tussle between Barcelona and Real Madrid, Lionel Messi approaches it as captain of the Blaugrana. The Argentine has…
Month: November 2018
This feature is part of Virtuoso Often contrary to what is seen in the modern day, Old Trafford was once a most unforgiving experience for any away side during Manchester United’s best…
This feature is part of Virtuoso If only they’d waited. In 2005, a film crew led by Philippe Parreno and Douglas Gordon decided to study Zinedine Zidane’s every movement during a game.…
This feature is part of Virtuoso It is a testament to the brilliance of Diego Maradona that, when considering his finest performances on the grandest of all stages, more than one springs to…
This feature is part of Virtuoso It was November 2005, at the Santiago Bernabéu, when Ronaldinho took Real Madrid apart with such speed and flair that at least two nervous looking Madridistas…
This feature is part of Virtuoso Within a tournament preview in The Times, on the opening day of the 1988 European Championship, Ruud Gullit assessed the talents of his Netherlands teammates. He…
This feature is part of Virtuoso For a time in the mid-1990s, Kevin Keegan’s swashbuckling Newcastle United – backed by the millions of miner’s son turned property developer Sir John Hall –…
This feature is part of Virtuoso The Arsenal career of Nicklas Bendtner is a particularly foggy quagmire. Breaking on to the scene with the winner in a north London derby, he appeared…
This feature is part of Virtuoso If “comparison”, as former United States President Theodore Roosevelt said, “is the thief of joy”, it’s a wonder that so many football fans are so obsessed…
This feature is part of Virtuoso Clive Mendonca was, just like the rest of his family, a Sunderland fan through and through. As a child he had stood on the terraces at…
This feature is part of Virtuoso Such is the money now found within football, it seems incomprehensible that Real Madrid’s Galácticos period will ever be replicated. Nowadays the presence of Manchester City,…
This feature is part of Virtuoso There are plenty more intimidating arenas on planet football than the Camp Nou. An iconic stadium that, despite its illustrious history, has often been compared to…
This feature is part of Virtuoso The sign of a good goalkeeper is they save the shots they’re supposed to save. The sign of a great goalkeeper, however, is when they save…
This feature is part of Virtuoso The feelings. They’re what I remember most when I remember Dennis Bergkamp. The feelings of wonder, with every billowing chip and defence-melting through ball. The feelings…
This feature is part of Virtuoso “The most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field,” Sir Alex Ferguson ventured. “Pounding over every blade of grass, competing as if…
This feature is part of Virtuoso The punishing Pasadena heat had taken its toll – the lactic acid had built up and no amount of fluids taken on board could address the…
This feature is part of Virtuoso “Genius is digging yourself out of the hole in which you sometimes find yourself. It’s learning from your failures that makes you succeed.” Eric Cantona’s words…
This feature is part of Virtuoso Diane Umpleby was there in 1986 when Middlesbrough nearly died. She’s been to Ayresome Park and the Riverside. She’s followed them into Europe, twice, she’s seen…