Every team has a golden period that defines their club. Real Madrid have their five European Cup trophies won consecutively between 1956-60, Arsenal have the Invincibles and Manchester United have the Busby Babes. For Sampdoria, their glory years came at a time when Italian football was the toast of European club football.    Ever since…

Despite the insistences of the Nazi Party, who claimed Austria would enthusiastically embrace annexation by Germany, many Austrians were less than enamored with having their country absorbed into the greater German Reich, a feeling which was strengthened as World War II wore on.   As a result of these feelings of discontent resistance to the…

March 7, 2009, La Liga Matchday 26. It is twenty-three minutes to eight in El Derbi Madrileño, and Real Madrid have just turned over possession following an errant corner. Diego Forlán, Sergio Agüero and Simão begin to run like possessed men, as the 20-year-old Agüero exchanges a one-two with Simão and sets off on an…

The Netherlands is a country of diverse cultures. A country where you can meet people from almost every ethnic group. A country that has become home for a generation that has been born elsewhere but have found their place amongst the Oranje. A country that is famous for being home to Vincent Van Gogh, for sheltering…

Irrespective of the pandemic, the title race in Turkey’s Super Lig this season has been compelling. However, unlike recent seasons, none of the likely contenders are from the so-called “Istanbul Big Three” clubs of Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. If one of Trabzonspor, İstanbul Başakşehir or Sivasspor win the league this season, it will be just…

We had known for a while. We’d started believing them a long time ago. Before the dystopia of Project Restart, we knew it was only a matter of time. Yet, when the moment finally crystallized on Thursday at Stamford Bridge, there was an overwhelming sense of wonder. They actually did it.    Liverpool is an…

When football fans think of African success stories in the World Cup, many look towards Cameroon in Italia ’90 and Ghana in South Africa ’10. Some would think the Indomitable Lions in 1990 were the first African side to reach the World Cup knockout stages. That is not the case, for such an honour was…

When David Beckham’s newly founded Inter Miami signed Rodolfo Pizarro, many questions were raised.   Pizarro was regarded as one of the brightest talents in Liga MX, playing for Monterrey CF, who were the reigning CONCACAF Champions League holders and even reached the semi-finals of the Club World Cup at the end of 2019, losing…

Several great players have announced themselves on the international stage in youth tournaments for their country – Robert Prosinečki for Yugoslavia in the 1987 World Youth Championships, Lionel Messi in the 2005 U20 World Cup and Paul Pogba in the 2013 edition. Among such a list would be Andrea Pirlo who announced himself at the…

Consciously or unconsciously – we’re always borrowing from the past. We channel Aristotle every time we use deductive reasoning in even the most trivial of arguments. Half of the words on this page come from a single ruff-necked bard and the rest from ancient tribes in continental Europe. The false 9 had been around for…