There was a sense of hope rather than expectation among Chileans when it came to the national team’s chances in the 1962 World Cup. La Roja had been managed by Fernando Riera since 1958 and the 42 year old was relatively new to management. He had been appointed manager of Portuguese club Belenenses shortly after…

The opportunity to host a World Cup is a prestigious achievement that elicits pride amongst its citizens. Understandably, countries routinely face obstacles when preparing to stage a World Cup, testing their resolve. Yet few countries faced such adversity as a World Cup host than Chile.    FROM DELIGHT TO DEATH    Chile’s preparations to host…

Diego, Diego, Diego surrounded the streets of Naples during 1984 to 1991. Known as a god-like figure, Diego Maradona brought the city together with filled hearts. Napoli, the biggest club in the south of Italy, secured the signature of Maradona from Spanish giants FC Barcelona, for what was then a world record fee £6.9m in…

As we get set for another couple of rounds of qualifying for the Euro 2020 finals, and Italy prepare to face Armenia and Finland, time to look back at the first, and so far, only time the Azzurri were European champions. The pre-cursor to what is now known as the European Championships, was the Central…