Michael Laudrup and the death of a once-great ambassador

Few individuals have managed to become universally loved in the history of football. These are people who managed to stay above petty fights and rivalries to become respected by everybody, despite club…

The early years of Roman Abramovich and his legacy in Russia

This feature is part of The Tsars of Football The all-important name when discussing Russian football in a European context is Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich. Since buying a controlling stake in Chelsea in 2003…

Igor Netto: the forgotten legend of Russian football

This feature is part of The Tsars of Football Nowadays the term ‘fair play’ has degenerated into kicking the ball out of the pitch when a player is faking an injury while…

Gazprom, Zenit and European football

This feature is part of The Tsars of Football YOU HAVE JUST TURNED on your television to watch your favourite team play in the Champions League. Before the match start, you are…

Andrey Arshavin: a contradictory Russian talent

This feature is part of The Tsars of Football ON 23 APRIL 2016, Andrey Arshavin celebrated his first goal in 18 months. These days, the Russian wizard is 35-year-old and he is…

How Richard Møller Nielsen fought his way into legend

Over the years, several artists have had to wait until after their death to receive the recognition they deserved, the most famous being Vincent van Gogh. The Dutch impressionist painter committed suicide…

Daniel Agger and the embodiment of Brøndby IF

In a football world where multi-million dollar contracts are signed every day and every half-decent player seem to either be the poster boy for underwear or design their own jewellery, there is a…

Eduard Streltsov: the boy from the land of wonder

IT’S NO SECRET THAT BIG TOURNAMENTS CREATE BIG PLAYERS. To this day football fans all over the world still talk about how a 17-year-old Pelé dazzled spectators during the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. While…

Spartak Moscow and the Physical Culture Day of 1936

A WAGON WITH A PORTRAIT OF VLADIMIR LENIN on the front and a huge, white statue of the Soviet Union’s leader Joseph Stalin on the top is rolling through the Red Square. Behind…