“He is a great goalscorer but a poor footballer.” These were supposedly the words of Dutch legend Johan Cruyff when discussing the qualities of his compatriot Ruud van Nistelrooy. The quote is…
Tag: real madrid
This feature is part of The Fleeting Fraternity What is tragedy? In modern-day usage, it is defined by an event of monumental human suffering, shrouded by pathos and disaster. In dramatic arts’…
From a simple life as the son of two Algerian migrants to the peak of football, we celebrate the genius and madness of Zinedine Zidane and his career as football’s ultimate big-game player.
It was a warm summers day in Düsseldorf on June 23, 1973. The DFB-Pokal final had entered extra time as old adversaries Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC Köln refused to be separated. Gladbach supporters…
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…
Fabio Capello appeared to be on the brink. Two victories in his last 10 games in charge of the Russia national team prompted a crisis meeting with his bosses on Wednesday, talks that…
ON 5 APRIL 2015, Venezuelan painter and sculptor Paul del Río turned a gun on his own chest and pulled the trigger. A single bullet pierced the artist’s heart, ending his life in…
The year was 1966; the month, November. American singer-songwriter Little Richard had just performed a brief but energetic gig at L’Olympia in Paris. In the surroundings of one of the French capital’s most…
ALMOST 550 APPEARANCES, 15 trophies and 25 years of loyal service; José María Gutiérrez Hernández, or ‘Guti’ to you and I, came within two twilight seasons of becoming a one-club man for the biggest…
It was a wet December night at Stadio San Nicola in 1999 as FC Bari played host to Inter Milan in Serie A. Inter were already clear favourites prior to the game as…
On 30 April 1988, one of the most remarkable El Clásico encounters to ever take place unfolded at the Camp Nou between Barcelona and Real Madrid. The game came just two days after…
Reggiolo is a rural cheese farming town in the heartlands of Italy’s north. Famous not only for its parmesan cheese, but a certain eyebrow-raising, world-class footballer and manager: Carlo Ancelotti. Born the son of…
It was the first match since being comprehensively beaten 4-0 by Fabio Capello’s Milan side in the Champions League final. A star-studded Barcelona showed up at Oosterpark Stadion in Groningen to face the…
As featured on Guardian Sport “POOR OLD PACO PAVON, an honest but not exceptional central defender, had the misfortune that his name was seconded to Perez’s scheme. The Pavones were never given…