Andy van der Meyde: short skirts, drugs and alcohol

Ajax Amsterdam are one of the most successful football clubs in the world and the most famous of the Netherlands’ club sides. Famed for their highly successful youth academy, the early to…

Diego Tristán: the brilliant but tortured lizard of Galicia

The story of Diego Tristán is an all-too-common tale, one that has beset numerous players across the eras of football. Aptly nicknamed ‘The Lizard’ for his slippery style of play, most notably when dribbling,…

Pablo Escobar and the narco-fútbol years

In 1989, Pablo Escobar was ranked seventh by Forbes Magazine on the World’s Billionaires List. A man with immense power, wealth and a notoriously violent streak, Escobar ran the Medellín drug cartel in…

Antonio Cassano: an unhinged master

It was a wet December night at Stadio San Nicola in 1999 as FC Bari played host to Inter Milan in Serie A. Inter were already clear favourites prior to the game as…