Will Sharp

Sub-Editor

Hakan Şükür: Turkey’s undisputed goal king

He may not be revered as much as he deserves outside of Turkey, but Hakan Şükür’s goalscoring record stacks up against most of the 20th century’s greats

Terry Cooke: the Class of ‘92’s long lost graduate

On the day that legendary Manchester United youth coach Eric Harrison was formally honoured for his extraordinary developmental work with young footballers – most notably his discovery and nurturing of the Class of…

Xavi: the humble composer

THE EXPERT, THE ARCHITECT, THE SCIENTIST; the heartbeat, the metronome, the brain. Endless adjectives, analogies and appellations have been summoned by fellow professionals in sincere yet scant attempts to describe exactly what…

How Hummel are changing the world through football

A REVERED AFGAN REFUGEE, a spliff-wielding Danish anarchist and an exiled Tibetan monk walk into a bar, all wearing shirts made for them by the same brand. It isn’t the start of…

Vítor Oliveira: Portugal’s undisputed king of promotions

HAVING HELD 22 separate managerial positions across 17 different Portuguese football clubs throughout his long and continuing career as a manager, Vítor Manuel Oliveira has proven himself to have an extraordinary and…

Jimmy Bullard: laughing all the way to the top

Football is a serious business – don’t let anybody fool you into thinking otherwise. Even without touching upon the desperate and very real need for vindication felt by those sat watching nervously…

Football, family and fate: the shaping of Granit Xhaka

THE YEAR WAS 1993. Across Britain, radio stations juggled the eclectic sounds of Meat Loaf, Haddaway, Pet Shop Boys, and UB40, cult comedy Groundhog Day arrived in cinemas, Irvine Welsh’s breakthrough novel…

Jens Lehmann: a lasting marriage of greatness and chaos

HELD IN THE FELICITOUS WARMTH that blessed the afternoon of 15 May 2004, as Arsenal came from behind to defeat Leicester City 2-1 at Highbury, many thousands lined the stands of the…

Would the real Adel Taarabt please stand up

Blessed with more ability than most professional footballers could ever dream of, Adel Taarabt has spent more time believing his hype than generating it

The fans finding their voices against oppressive ownership

As the hours on match day ebb by, kick-off slowly drawing ever closer, terraced streets surrounding countless football stadiums across the country buzz with activity as supporters seek to reach their sacred…

The Battle of Nuremberg at World Cup 2006

On any occasion that a player’s participation in a major tournament is cut short courtesy of an accumulation of yellows, the empathetic aftermath often unites the watching world in a way unlike…