Known for the lake it shares its name with, the city of Como in northern Italy is a tourist attraction and a place where celebrities have their holiday houses, none more famous than American actor George Clooney.   Photo: Hello Magazine   From a footballing perspective, Como does not resonate a lot. The Lariani were…

It’s the dawn of a new era at Loftus Road. In the next few minutes, the navy and white-hooped Wimbledon Rangers will kick off the first game in their history. The club is desperate to move on from the summer of controversy and focus on the future and promotion to the Premier League.   Wimbledon…

An idol in Spain and a champion in Nigeria, ex Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Wilfred Agbonavbare faced racism and prejudice throughout his seven years in Spain, before retiring at 31 years old due to a lack of teams that were willing to take a chance on him. After his retirement, the Lagos native settled in Madrid…

When sifting through the history of African football, rich in its moments of liberated passion and glory, there are many great unforgettable stories that come to mind. However, for many football fans, even those with an interest for football in a continent where these singular stories of splendour; so anomalous, so exhilarating, the story of…

At a time where the topic of racism in sport is more prevalent than ever before, it’s worth remembering some of the heroes who made football more acceptable and open than it was several decades ago.   While the game is still marred by racism, even in England, it would’ve been worse had it not…

Considered to be one of Europe’s greatest ever strikers, Henrik Larsson enjoyed a dazzling career that saw him play for some of the biggest clubs in the world. With stints at Feyenoord, Celtic, Barcelona and Manchester United to his name, his career as a world-class, well-rounded striker is common knowledge to most football fans. However,…

Russian football has enjoyed several notable moments on the international stage such as winning Euro 1960 and Lev Yashin being awarded the Ballon D’or in 1963. Despite this, Russian clubs in the second half of the 20th Century struggled to progress in European club competitions. However, the 21st Century has led to improving fortunes for…

  “We are ashamed of everyone who screams at us.”   This quote was painted across the walls of Eintracht Frankfurt’s stadium in 2014, in homage to their former Ghanaian striker Anthony Yeboah. It was extracted from an “open letter to racism” published 20 years prior by several African footballers who were playing in the…

Empires have been a constant through human history, but there eventually comes a time when the empire falls. Whilst the Byzantine Empire, which now encompasses present-day Greece, fell at the hands of the Ottoman Empire in 1453, Greece’s footballing empire Olympiakos was toppled by their bitter rivals Panathinaikos in 2004.   Since the Greek football…

As France lay in a state of shock following several high-brow terrorist attacks, Dimitri Payet reinvigorated the nation by propelling Les Bleus to the final of Euro 2016. By way of his immense trickery and illustrious set-pieces, Payet produced a plethora of fantastic moments to inspire a nation in what has been described as arguably…