Few Irishman have ever possessed more ability than Paddy McCourt. The magical winger, however, failed to turn that ability into a lasting career at the top
It was an unlikely move, that of Roy Hodgson to Inter. With the enigmatic Massimo Moratti at the helm, Hodgson embarked on a fateful spell in Milan
In Kevin Keegan’s three seasons in the Bundesliga he managed to win the Ballon d’Or twice, play in the European Cup final and release a top-10 smash hit
Chris Waddle, in stark contrast to much of his England career – like Glenn Hoddle – became one of Europe’s finest players at Bernard Tapie’s Marseille
“They were big,” wrote Sid Lowe of Deportivo de La Coruña in 2011. “For a while, they were amongst the biggest.” How quickly we forget. We forget a team from the provincial north-west of…
Back in April 2004, London-born Billy Mehmet was lining up for the Republic of Ireland Under 21s against Poland. Mehmet’s appearance in green was made possible via his maternal grandmother, who had followed…
The summer of 2000 produced two transfer fees that broke and re-broke the world record within the space of a month. Hernán Crespo’s £35.5m move from Parma to Lazio and Luís Figo’s infamous…
Having retired from refereeing two years ago, Per-Anders Blind now divides his time between looking after his herd of reindeer and serving as the President of the Confederation of Independent Football Associations…
On May 31, the third CONIFA Football World Cup will get underway in London. Participation in the tournament is limited to teams representing what the organisation calls “nations, de-facto nations, regions, minority…
“The worst thing about Manx people is that they don’t like change,” according to Chris Bass, manager of the Isle of Man’s international football team. “At least, they say they don’t –…
THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC) is the second-largest country in Africa, and its fourth-most populated. It’s also a place as much enamoured with football as any other African nation, which, given…
Given the thousand of words dedicated to Mesut Özil, adding another 800 or so to the conversation seems rather trite. Yet the German is such a charismatic, divisive figure it’s hard to avoid…
Mark Lawrenson wasn’t always a dour, moustachioed TV pundit. Many years ago, he was a dour, moustachioed centre-back. And, briefly, he even found time to become a dour, moustachioed football manager.
Wolfgang-Felix Magath wasn’t always the sadistic, cheese-toting crank he’s now portrayed as being. A long time ago, before Fulham, Hangeland and the Quarkwickel, he was a footballer. And a very good one at…
UNLIKE THE LANGUAGES of the other major Italian islands, the Venetian dialect considers the word for the sea, mar, to be feminine. Each year, on Ascension Day, the Venetians marry the sea, symbolically…