The first of an eight-part series. Join host Jim Hart and World Cup experts Gary Thacker and Steven Scragg as they analyse the growth of the tournament, from the early powers, Uruguay…
IT MAY HAVE BEEN RONALD whose dreams to eventually coach Barcelona seemed to spectacularly combust at Goodison Park, but he wasn’t alone – his brother was also part of the journey. From…
NEVER BEFORE HAD one of English football’s great homes resounded with such natural fervour to the praise not of local heroes, but of a foreign team. “Hungary, Hungary,” yelled the crowd through…
Jonathan Wilson is the acclaimed author of Inverting The Pyramid, The Outsider and Angels With Dirty Faces, as well as the founder and editor of The Blizzard. Join host Jim Hart and…
Illustration by Federico Manasse The parameters for defining greatness are increasingly measured quantitatively. Players are judged by trophies won, goals scored and appearances amassed. But can such a mutable construct solely be…
IF YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF SÁNDOR KOCSIS, it’s likely that you’re not from Hungary or you’re not a die-hard Barcelona supporter. Held up as a cherished cult hero by both sets of fans,…
CLUTCHING FALSE PAPERS and disguised as Russian soldiers while sheltering from the bitter winter on the back of a truck, a group of Hungarian men passed through the Alps in search of…
This feature is part of The Masterminds: 10 Under 45 “Is it your birthday? No? Then you’re not getting it.” As the seven-year-old child glanced longingly at the table tennis set he…
This feature is part of The Masterminds When one thinks of the Mighty Magyars, thoughts often run to The Galloping Major Ferenc Puskás, the powerful army side Honvéd and England’s first defeat…
This feature is part of The Masterminds AS THE SMOULDERING WRECKAGE morbidly illuminated the snow-drenched gloom, one flame threatened to go out altogether. A few survivors scrabbled through the shredded shards of…
This feature is part of The Masterminds GFORE VIDAL ONCE WROTE: “Traitors who prevail are patriots; usurpers who succeed are divine emperors.” If this is the case, then Jimmy Hogan could be…
NEUER, VALDÉS, MENZO, GATTI AND JONGBLOED all mastered the art of the sweeper keeper; proactive goalkeepers that charge out of their box to intercept through balls from attacking teams, clearing the ball…
In sport, especially within the often wildly unpredictable world of football, there is rarely anything like a guaranteed winning bet. The Europa League final on May 14 2014, was, however, probably as close…
Twenty-two years ago my brother and I bought our first console, the Super Nintendo, and our first game was Super Soccer. There were only eight directions you could run or pass in –…
