It was at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, on 29 May 1991, that one of the most anti-climactic evenings in the history of football unfolded. It had been the most eagerly…
It seems incredible but in the space of 747 short days, Bristol City went from the First Division to the Fourth – and that only tells a part of the story
Illustration by Federico Manasse Steve McManaman: England’s greatest ever footballer? Not the obvious choice, I freely concede, but hear me out before you reach for the pitchforks and flaming torches. I believe…
Illustration by Federico Manasse The Maradona of the Carpathians, Gheorghe Hagi is a complex character. There is a dividing line between the hero of the masses he undoubtedly was in Romania, and…
Illustration by Federico Manasse Tall and rangy, socks rolled down, and with a hypnotic control of the ball that seemed at odds with his physicality, Jan Ceulemans was a footballing conundrum that…
Erwin Sánchez was, at his best, as good as most other South American playmakers in the 1990s, however, his time at the top was masked from the limelight
Illustration by Federico Manasse Peter Schmeichel frantically back-peddled as Aljoša Asanović sent a wonderfully precise diagonal pass from his own half, a pass which Davor Šuker, situated on the far left, took…
Two years ago, Hamburger SV came within seconds of a very first relegation from the Bundesliga. The Dinosaur, the only club to contest each and every Bundesliga campaign since its inception in…
Jolted by an unexpected and most unpleasant sensation, the elegant defender fell to the turf. The Wimbledon striker, John Fashanu, was the closest opponent to him as a sharp, shooting pain pierced…
I DON’T USUALLY ACCOST the footballing heroes of my 1980s childhood. At Anfield, you see plenty of them drifting past on a match-day. Many of them are afforded a degree of anonymity,…
Ron Greenwood’s England returned home from the 1982 World Cup finals an unbeaten side, having conceded just one goal in the five games they played. In the final reckoning, Sheriff Abubakar might…
Xabi Alonso’s retirement from football has loomed large for some time, but it’s only now that the end of his playing career has arrived, that the reality has sunk in for me.…
Few players become legends at Liverpool and then repeat the trick elsewhere. Fewer still did it when Liverpool dominated England. Jimmy Case did, though
WHEN IGOR VRABLIC bundled the ball over the Honduras goal-line for Canada at King George V Park in St John’s, Newfoundland one cold Saturday afternoon in September 1985, he stepped into Canadian…
Reaching the final of Euro 88 and re-forming again in 1992 after the Union’s collapse, the Soviet national team enjoyed fleeting highs in their final days
Often forgotten about within the English game, Paul Mariner – though not first pick in a park game – was a complete goalscorer for over a decade at the top
WHEN FABIO CAPELLO TOOK OVER AS ENGLAND MANAGER in succession to Steve McClaren in 2008, he largely refrained from making the sweeping changes many people felt he should have been drawn towards.…
Despite receiving more flak than perhaps any other manager in English top-flight history, Graham Taylor was a man of sheer class, talent and honesty