Today, we are taking a trip to the banks of the River Colne and examining a 142-year-old club in Hertfordshire, a team that is nicknamed the Hornets despite having a male deer in its logo. I am talking about, of course, Watford Football Club.   Watford were languishing in the fourth tier when lifelong fan and…

The 68th season of Europe’s premier club competition will come to an end on June 10, as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City face off against Simone Inzaghi’s Inter in Istanbul. Today, we’re going to take a look back at the early years of the Champions League — back when it was still known as the European…

With a name like Pompey, you’d expect Portsmouth FC to have a dramatic rise followed by a swift downfall, akin to their triumvir namesake. However, the fortunes of the coastal club are much closer to the ebbing and flowing of the tide. With not one but two tired attempts at picturesque introductions, let’s take a…

Napoli have claimed their third Scudetto and first in 33 years, and they’ve done so in stellar fashion with 26 wins, 5 draws, 4 losses, 70 goals scored and 25 conceded. They have obliterated the competition and claimed their place atop Italian football’s totem pole, with the likes of Victor Osimhen and Stanislav Lobotka playing…

Today, Hellas Verona find themselves in the relegation zone, one point away from safety. They have lost three of their last four, and they need to get positive results against Empoli and Milan as they look to avoid dropping down to the second tier for the first time since 2018/19. However, in 1984/85, they were…

“Halle takes it… Oh, Wetherall’s free! Fantastic header! Bradford City lead Liverpool by one goal to nil! Unbridled joy at Valley Parade!” Those were the words of Martin Tyler, as Bradford City pulled off the great escape in 2000 to stave off relegation from the Premier League.   It was ‘great’ in more ways than…

Despite producing talented players like Just Fontaine and Raymond Kopa, France had reached the 1970s without any major trophies, in stark contrast to other big European nations, like Germany or Italy. To combat this perceived inferiority French football federation president Fernand Sastre started plans to create a bespoke academy in 1976.   Romanian manager Ștefan…

Over the past two decades, Croatia has reached a World Cup Final as well as finished third in another World Cup, but their nation of 4 million has also delivered a variety of footballers who have impressed in European football’s premier club competition. Since 2012, a Croatian player has appeared in every UEFA Champions League…

Today, Italian football is inherently connected to the likes of Juventus, AC Milan or Inter, but one team that could have been alongside is Torino. Nowadays they are firmly in the shadow of their next door neighbors, but after World War Two they fielded a team that won 5 consecutive championships. La Grande Torino, as…