Say the letters PSG and immediately people think of the several superstars they, currently have in their squad – Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi and Sergio Ramos to name but a few. Under Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) since 2011, European glory has been the main objective of the owners irrespective of…

Belgian football clubs have enjoyed memorable European nights with Anderlecht and Standard Liege leading the way for Belgium. Yet it was an unfancied club just 25km south of Antwerp that would upset the odds in Europe during Belgium’s first golden generation of the 1980s.    Founded in 1904, KV Mechelen are one of Belgium’s oldest…

In recent years it has been Shakhtar Donetsk that has led the way for Ukraine in European club competitions when they won the UEFA Cup in 2009. But it was Dynamo Kiev that put Ukrainian football on the map throughout the 20th Century.    Dynamo’s memorable journey to the 1998 Champions League semi-final showcased Ukrainian…

The words East Germany throws up understandable connotations to people such as the Berlin Wall and the infamous Stasi. When it comes to sport in East Germany the main connotation is to do with underhand tactics like their doping program mainly targeting their Olympic athletes from the 1960s onwards to the fall of the Berlin…

This is part two of a series on Brazil’s 1998 FIFA World Cup. To read part one, “Brazil’s Summer of 1998: Defending Champions, Favourites and the Best Forward in the World,” click here.   Awaiting them were the hosts, France, who had gotten better as the tournament progressed. Inspired by the greatness of Zidane and…

This is part one of a series on Brazil’s 1998 FIFA World Cup. To read part two, “Brazil’s Summer of 1998: The Final, Confusion and Chaos,” click here.   “Why did we not win? Because we let in three goals. Because we lost.”    Speaking to a flurry of reporters two years after losing a…

This is the six installation of a six-part series on Olympique de Marseille. You can read “Part 1: L’homme d’affairs,” here, and  “Part 2: La Nuit Les Projecteurs Se Sont Éteints,” here. You can read “Part 3: Nuits Blanches Et Thés Frelatés,” here. You can read “Part 4: La Balance,” here. You can read “Part 5: Les Retombées,”…

This is the fifth installation of a six-part series on Olympique de Marseille. You can read “Part 1: L’homme d’affairs,” here, and  “Part 2: La Nuit Les Projecteurs Se Sont Éteints,” here. You can read “Part 3: Nuits Blanches Et Thés Frelatés,” here. You can read “Part 4: La Balance,” here. You can read “Part…

With the return of a third-tier competition in European football next season, the UEFA Europa Conference League has been met with the usual snobbery from those who see it as an unnecessary burden. However, the Conference League does bring back memories of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.    Lasting for 39 years between 1960-1999, the…