FOOTBALL IS ALL ABOUT INCLUSIVITY. The most beautiful element of the sport is that it is available to anyone, and holds no regard for creed, colour or ability. This applies to players…
Tag: newcastle
It is the sign of a true footballing great when they are revered long after they have departed this world. Their legacy transcends barriers, overcomes criticism, and ultimately manifests itself in every…
Illustration by Federico Manasse “MY BIGGEST DREAM is to play for the national team, to play for 40,000 spectators and to score a lot of goals.” Jon Dahl Tomasson’s words, spoken in his…
Football songs seemed to reach a peak in the 1990s. At the start of the decade came Italia 90, which spoilt us with Luciano Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma and World in Motion by…
ENGLISH TEAMS ARE OFTEN CRITICISED FOR THE LACK OF A SOLID GAME-PLAN. There’s sometimes a dearth of continuity caused by the constant culling of managers, leading to confusion as players have to…
It’s around 4:20pm on 14 May 1995. The sunlight is beaming across the packed terraces at a gloriously electric Anfield on a fine summer’s day as 22 players drift this way and…
As featured on Guardian Sport THE BUILD-UP TO THE FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON is always accompanied by a febrile sense of anticipation for the campaign ahead. Although the presence of Euro…
‘Boring James Milner’: as nicknames go, it’s not the worst dished out in England over the last few decades. He could have been called Shrek, or likened to a vegetable. His style…
Few players have split opinion amongst football fans as much as Craig Bellamy. The former Welsh international striker was the epitome of a Marmite footballer. Born and raised in a working-class area…
“Commitment, aggression, goals, leadership and, yes, maybe a bit of devilment. And even the ability to intimidate. Evertonians loved him for that. The Gwladys Street would have followed the big man everywhere. He…
This feature is part of The Fleeting Fraternity ROBERTO AYALA WAS an outstanding, imposing presence at centre-back for Argentina. During his decorated career, Ayala impressed at Napoli and Valencia, as well as River…
THERE IS AN EVOCATIVE PHOTOGRAPH of Terry McDermott which was caught on camera in the aftermath of the 1974 FA Cup final. In this photograph McDermott is stood on the Wembley turf,…
As a shell-shocked Nottingham Forest team trudged off the Anfield pitch that heady April night in 1988, they knew they had been beaten by a special side. Liverpool’s new attacking trio of Peter…
Few men have won the adulation and love of the Newcastle faithful quite like Kevin Keegan. This is the love-affair between a city and its Messiah
Bobby Robson was what is a known as a true football man. True football men are a rare breed. Their names and faces are etched in the memory of football’s illustrious and chaotic history,…