The first Champions League final of a new decade takes place this week in unchartered conditions. Yes, Lisbon might have hosted the showpiece twice before but not without a few genuine supporters and thousands of corporate associates, and certainly not in late-August. These finals are often, unsurprisingly, determined by goals. Sometimes maybe good goals, sometimes […]
Search Results for: tag/south-africa-2012
In Appreciation Of Franco Baresi
"There are pictures of the weeping comeback captain and Divine Ponytail consoling each other while Brazilian players dance in the background. No one did more on the pitch to drag Italy to the final than Baggio. No one did more off the pitch than Baresi." In Episode Thirty Two we look at ‘In Appreciation of […]
Issue Forty
Introduction Issue 40: Editor’s Note – Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson’s Editor’s Note from Issue Forty Politics The Years of Lead – John Irving Juventus, Torino and visiting Turin during Italy’s decade of political violence The Green Giant – Leonard Jägerskiöld Velander Sampdoria’s Morten Thorsby and changing football’s relationship with the environment The Rebels – Ewan Flynn The chaotic attempts […]
Where’s Darth Vader Gone?
International football is ceasing to be treated as a reenactment of Europe’s horrible past. Is the age of football as a substitute for war coming to an end? "A World Cup without Germany would be like Star Wars without Darth Vader," remarked David Winner, and Germany were the perfect villain: the bad guy who killed […]
The Width of a Crossbar, Ben Kosky
What if Poland had scored in the last minute of the final qualifier and England hadn’t made it to Italia 90? Gazza’s tearful night in Turin, Bobby Robson’s redemption and the origin of a national hang-up about penalty shoot-outs – for England football fans, these are the abiding memories of Italia ’90. England’s unexpected run […]
Location, Location, Location – The Blizzard Podcast Episode Ninety
Which is more important? How it looks or where a stadium is?
Algeria 1 Egypt 0, 2009 – Maher Mezahi
Maher Mezahi joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller for this week’s episode of Greatest Games to look back on the chaotic World Cup qualifying play-off between north African rivals Algeria and Egypt in 2009. The match was the third of the year between the two sides played on neutral grounds in Omdurman, Sudan. The rivalry […]
Location, Location, Location
"Colchester United, Northampton Town, Stoke City, Swansea City: outsiders have to take a detour to visit the town. If you’re looking for the stadium and come across something interesting, you’ve got lost. "It seems as if no club in England these days can build a stadium without the muscle of a major supermarket chain who […]
My Name Is Ally MacLeod And I Am A Winner
"Had Scotland contrived to bring home the World Cup, then perhaps the nationalist cause would have gathered even greater momentum. As it was, enthusiasm melted away like snow in the summer sunshine. When the government held a referendum on Scottish devolution the following March, only one in three people voted for it." In Episode Fifty […]