The modern football fan can be ruthless, stark and unforgiving. He or she lives in a world of instant gratification, where facts on any subject can be obtained with the merest flick of…
To a child falling in love with football right now, there’s a world of difference between FC Barcelona and Ajax Amsterdam. Barcelona play in a popular league with megastars in every position,…
FOR SOME CLUBS, PLAYING IN EUROPE IS A STRONG AMBITION. For others, it’s a cardinal necessity. Money is thrown about to ensure constant participation, as the prestige of elite competition becomes a…
THE BLOW, WHEN IT CAME, WAS DEVASTATING. Juventus, one of the world’s grandest football clubs, was plunged into squalor. Two league titles were taken away, obliterated from the record books with stunning…
The goal was scrappy. Patrick Kluivert, on as a late substitute, slipped and stumbled through the penalty area before somehow stabbing the ball home. With five minutes remaining, Ajax were ahead in the…
THE BALL LOOPED OVER A TIRED MONACO DEFENDER into the vacant fields of destiny. Dmitri Alenichev, one of many Porto predators, slithered in pursuit, before pounding it beyond the helpless goalkeeper high…