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The Rise and Fall of Girondins de Bordeaux
It was the 30th of March, 2010. Girondins de Bordeaux had a date with destiny, a chance to make their second ever Champions League semi final and their first in 25 years. Juventus had been the team to deny them a final appearance on that occasion in 1985, beating them 3-0 in the first leg…
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Juan Roman Riquelme: The Last of His Kind
If you were to ask an Argentinian who their greatest ever footballer was, you would expect to hear 2 names – Lionel Messi and Diego Armando Maradona. However, fixed between these two footballing Gods, there is a 3rd, under-appreciated name that would be uttered – Juan Roman Riquelme. Juan Roman Riquelme is an incredibly…
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Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima and the Riddle of a God Amongst Men
I would never have written this piece; after all, it concerns a god, and with gods, there is nothing truly needing to be told. Their wonders precede them, their acts follow, leaving awe and sometimes a mess in their wake. However, when the gods are slighted by mere mortals, the heavens do not remain silent,…
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Did the KGB Frame Russia’s Best-ever Footballer?
Any story coming out of the era of Soviet football might seem alien to many audiences and could be filled with tons of “In Soviet Russia” jokes but such levity doesn’t really have the place in a case like this one. Then again, how do you introduce the Soviet league to Western audiences? Whilst…
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The Four Best Players to Play for Both Arsenal and Tottenham
The North London Derby, Arsenal vs Tottenham, man vs man, streamer vs streamer, Twitter meme account vs Twitter meme account. A derby, that was mostly overlooked until the mid-2010s, or at least that’s how it felt to me. For Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, Chelsea’s might after their acquisition by Roman Abramovich were arguably the biggest local…
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Teofilo Cubillas: Part 3 – Trials And Tribulations
Fresh from being top scorer in the 1972 Copa Libertadores, as well as winning South American Footballer Of The Year, the question was now which big European club would Teofilo Cubillas sign for? The smart money was on Italy, others said Spain, where fellow Peruvian Hugo Sotil had signed for Barcelona, or Portugal. Which…
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The Biggest Controversies in the History of the Euros
We all love a good footballing controversy, don’t we? Except of course when the controversy involves your team losing out on something. Famously invented by and named after Andrea Del Contro Verso, a Florentine donkey merchant in 1526, controversies have usually found their place in World Cup folklore. From the fat Italian dictator arranging…
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The Biggest Controversies in the History of the Champions League Final
Every football fan has probably felt robbed by referees at least once in their lives. Some, even make a career out of moaning about refereeing decisions from 20 years ago. And even though I think that refereeing mistakes are part and parcel of football, I can’t help but wonder how the all-time Champions League standings…
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Cândido de Oliveira: Portuguese Football’s James Bond?
If you’re a fan of Portuguese football or have just taken a look at their Super Cup results on your score app, you might have noticed that the Portuguese Super Cup is called the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. Apart from being one of the only tournaments in world football to bear the name of a…
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The British Players That Reached Champions League Finals with Foreign Teams
When people generally think of Brits abroad, they either picture drunk Liverpudlians vomiting on strippers somewhere in Spain or David Beckham bringing British glamour and good looks to places like Los Angeles, Miami, Madrid, Milan or indeed the best stopover to buy some spices in the world. The old adage that British players don’t play…
