Introduction
Editor’s Note – Jonathan Wilson
Jonathan Wilson’s Editor’s Note from Issue Nine
Iran
The Vacant Lot – Gwendolyn Oxenham
The search for a kickabout in Iran is complicated by religion and gender politics
Conflict Management – Noah Davis
Dan Gaspar is a key part of Iran’s qualifying campaign for Brazil 2014 despite holding a US passport
Interview
Zbigniew Boniek – Maciej Iwanski
The Polish great discusses Juventus, the modern game and his friendship with Michel Platini
For the Good of the Game
The Only Way is Ethics – Philippe Auclair
Fifa’s super-cop Michael J Garcia explains his mission to wash the corruption out of football
Power Play – James Corbett
The Asian Football Confederation’s presidential elections highlight football’s murky governance
Genesis – Davidde Corran
How a tournament in China in 1988 changed women’s football for ever
Theory
The Weight of the Armband – Joel Richards
The Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella explains why he made Lionel Messi national captain
Pep’s Four Golden Rules – Simon Kuper
How Guardiola made Barcelona the masters of the pressing game
Taking the Initiative – Nick Ames
Andy Roxburgh, the former Uefa technical director, on how football tactics are changing
The North
City and the City – David Conn
What does Sheikh Mansour’s investment mean for the city of Manchester?
Meanwhile Back in Sunderland – Jon Spurling
How a Tyne Tees documentary on Cup final day 1973 captured the spirit of the town
That Grandish Pile of Swank – Anthony Clavane
Tracing Leeds United’s place in the tradition of Northern Realism
Lev Yashin
The Jersey That Wasn’t Black – Igor Rabiner
Lev Yashin’s widow and Eusébio remember the great Soviet goalkeeper
Polemics
Partisans and Purists – Charlie Robinson
Do fans experience football differently to those who watch without a vested interest?
The Lager of Life – Tim Vickery
Football is haunted by violence, but can it be blamed for it?
Past Glories
The Nearly Men – Ian Hawkey
Zimbabwe’s nostalgia for the Dream Team of Bruce Grobbelaar and the Ndlovu brothers
The Grand Griguol – Dan Colasimone
How El Viejo defied accusations of boringness to inspire the golden age of Ferro Carril Oeste
A Dream Denied – Antonis Oikonomidis
But for the politics of Greek football, Ferenc Puskás might have ended up in Athens not Madrid
Fiction
In Search of Punditaria – Scott Oliver
An anthropologist heads into the jungle to discover a society founded by stranded football journalists
Greatest Games
Bari 4 Internazionale 1 – Rory Smith
Serie A, Stadio San Nicola, Bari, 6 January 1996
Eight Bells
Goalless Draws – Jonathan Wilson
A selection of the best 0-0s in history