When the best Algerian players in France left Ligue 1 to use football in a quest for Algerian independence, their impact changed history
Tag: france
FRENCH CULTURE has always carried an enormous weight of respect. The very foundations of the country seem to be built on romance, cuisine, fashion and stunning architecture, and the sprawling City of…
Both overrated and underrated, Claude Makélélé’s public perception changes with each passing year. Perhaps it’s the idea that we’ve already seen his upgrade in the form of the high-speed blur that is…
Illustration by Federico Manasse “Zidane is a myth,” said former France coach Raymond Domenech. “A myth capable of setting off emotions in people, and not only positive ones.” Domenech’s assessment of a player…
With Real Madrid grabbing the Champions League crown and all of Europe’s domestic leagues over, the focus shifts to the international stage. Through friendlies and qualifiers, teams test and rotate their line-ups…
MONDAY MOTIVATION carries with it a now-famous hashtag displayed across various social media feeds as individuals try to pick people up from weekend hangovers and encourage them to begin their weeks in…
“He has pneumonia,” said the bald-headed surgeon, his eyes narrowing at the patient lying prone in the bed. “He’s on a life support machine. I’m not certain how long he will live.” The…
AFTER 66 MINUTES of the last game of the season, Dennis Bergkamp did what he’d always done. Receiving the ball from the wing, the masterful Dutchman threaded an inch-perfect ball into the box…
IT WAS 23 JANUARY 2004 and Manchester United had finally got their man. Over £12 million was the eventual fee United paid Fulham for Louis Saha – brought in to lessen the…
Few football stories in recent years can match that of Evian Thonan Gaillard, the tiny club purchased by Danone who fell as quickly as they rose
There’s an old saying that everything that can be interpreted can also, by design, be misinterpreted. Which camp the oft-besieged figure of striker Nicolas Anelka falls into is a matter of opinion.…
I. Stade de France, 12 July 1998. It was a cathartic moment that struck an emotional chord across a whole nation. World Cup 98 hosts France, two goals to the good against a…
Few winners of the European Championship are as celebrated as France’s class of 2000, boasting Zidane, Henry, Trezeguet and Deschamps
For many French fans who witnessed the Carré Magique of Platini, Giresse, Fernández and Tigana, there has never been a better midfield
This feature is part of The Masterminds FOR A HORRIBLE MOMENT, Stoppila Sunzu’s foot slipped. A huge chunk of Gabonese turf was dislodged from near the penalty spot as his body slipped…
It was infamy in Paris. Ginola was distraught, Houllier apoplectic. But the Bulgarians celebrated like never before. For one night only, God was theirs
FOR A TIME HE REPRESENTED THE COLOURS of his country at the highest level in football, captaining his France team at the first ever World Cup. A decade later, he was shot dead…
THINK OF SEMI-FINALS BETWEEN FRANCE AND WEST GERMANY and the mind will stray to a balmy night of epic grandeur in the southern Spanish city of Seville in July 1982. That evening, one…