Long before the glories of recent times, Chelsea were on the brink of oblivion, on and off the pitch. Enter John Neal: the man who saved the club
Tag: england
In a nation dominated by austerity, fans, more than ever, are reliant upon their football clubs as a means of escape. Not that it means much in Sunderland
While the name Ian Rush is synonymous with goal and Liverpool glory, the David Johnson has been forgotten by a generation. It shouldn’t be
The Christmas Truce match of 1914 between warring Allied and German soldiers on the Western Front is the stuff of legend. But did it really take place?
At the end of the 1954/55 season, Chelsea had been crowned champions of England for the first time in their history, and they were invited to participate in the inaugural European Cup…
“Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in.…
Among the many changes brought along by the advent of the Premier League, the gradual increase of Italian players and managers in England has been among the most evident. From Gianfranco Zola,…
This feature is part of Virtuoso Some players go into major tournaments believing they are fated to play well, while others settle for just expecting to play at all. For some, however, there…
This feature is part of Virtuoso “Fackin’ hell,” came the unexpected salutation, uttered with the unique cadence only a cockney-imitating-Spaniard can. La Roja’s oft indomitable goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta had wasted no time…
This feature is part of Virtuoso History likes snapshots, images frozen in time that serve as an aide-mémoire for a much more significant event; emblems of grander, more comprehensive stories. The 93rd…
There is no such thing as an English footballer playing abroad at the peak of his powers today. Scour the globe in search of an Englishman plying his trade on foreign soil…
Currently residing on 99 caps, the first of which came against Russia in March 2007 as a 73rd-minute substitute, Stephanie Jayne Houghton is preparing to join an array of legends in reaching…
In March 2010, Barcelona travelled to Arsenal for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final between the two sides. Goalless at half-time, the game was dominated by the Spanish giants, the…
One look at the psychedelic maelstrom of noise and colour was enough to convince me to turn back at once. As our train pulled into Zürich Hauptbahnhof, the sight of thousands of techno-house enthusiasts crowding…
“The highs are never as high as you think and lows are never as low,” says Natasha Dowie, passing on some words of wisdom given to her by her wife and former…
This feature is part of Duology I hated Manchester United growing up. I’m an Arsenal fan, so it was easy. They were always our biggest rivals; the only team in the country…
This feature is part of Duology The heavy touch. The realisation flickers across the face; disbelief mixed with desperation to rectify the mistake. The decision to commit to winning the ball back…
The 1968 European Championship looked very different to its modern-day equivalent. Back then, rather than the bloated jamboree involving more than 20 countries, it was very much a mini-tournament. After a protracted…