The story of a city with a distinctive, strong heritage and the ups and downs of its football club; with top division years followed by relegations and financial turmoil, disintegration – and then rebirth. All of this, always with a backdrop of passionate support, loyal players and strong identity.   On Italy’s west coast in…

  Chapter 1: A Generational Talent     The buzz around Wayne Rooney started well before his debut against Spurs at the start of the 02/03  season. After scoring 8 goals in 8 games on the way to the 2001/02 FA Youth Cup final, Rooney was finally named as an unused sub against Southampton and crucially…

“Who?” Was the reaction from many when Sheriff Tiraspol were drawn from pot four into a group surrounded by Champions League heavyweights. The question, in this instance, is probably a fair one. Even the most dedicated Football Manager players and self-proclaimed European football experts would be hard-pressed for knowledge on these Champions League debutants. The…

Today, the voice of fans can be heard loud and clear through social media channels or via reaction videos. But, 20 years ago there was no camera lens for them to eye up. Instead, the power of the fans was much more literal, and this was felt most strongly in Italy. Most of the major…

The 1999/2000 season in the Primeira Liga finished in a similar fashion to all the previous campaigns. Sporting Lisbon won the league, four points ahead of Porto, and eight points clear of Benfica. It seemed evident that for the next season the top of the league would paint a similar picture- only differing if the…

Thomas Gravesen was born in Vejle, Denmark, in 1976 and has become something of a legend in world football. His career took him to Everton, Real Madrid and Celtic, and brought him 66 caps for his country. Even today, in a world where footballers are accessible and relatable, he remains an enigma, someone few can…

It was a brutal exit from Euro 2020 for Switzerland. Spain scraped through on penalties after a game where, I think it’s fair to say, almost nothing went the way of the Swiss. For starters, Captain and talisman Granit Xhaka, who had been so influential in the previous round, was suspended. Things quickly got more…

The first European Cup was held in 1955 and the European Championships followed five years later, yet only nine players have ever won both tournaments in the same year. However, today, Italy’s Jorginho or Mason Mount, Recce James or Ben Chilwell of England have the opportunity to add their names to the list.    To…

Since 2015, Syria have jumped from 155th to 78th in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s Rankings…   Little over a year ago, FIFA visited Syria for the first time since 2012. They combined this visit with the mission to “assess the country’s footballing situation” for the first time in eight years. Additionally, when FIFA announced this on…

Many facts about the men’s European Championships are well-known, like that it started in 1960 and Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time top-scorer with 14 goals. However, you may not be aware of the individual Golden Boot winners in each edition since the European Nations Cup as it was initially known started 60 years ago with…