Introduction
Editor’s Note – Jonathan Wilson
Jonathan Wilson’s Editor’s Note from Issue Twenty
Crossword – Tifo
The cryptic crossword from Issue Twenty
Experience
Fear and Loneliness in Recife – James Young
Life, love and following Santa Cruz’s emotional return from the fourth flight
Peace Ball – Nicholas Hogg
Travelling the world with a Japanese charity, using football to bring goodwill
Senior Citizen – Dan Edwards
The 54-year-old Robert Carmona on being the world’s oldest footballer
An Aussie Swears at Selhurst – Jarrod Kimber
The cricket writer goes to a Premier League football match for the first time
Square Posts – Robin Bairner
The Hampden Park goal-frames have pride of place in St Etienne’s club museum
Fading Embers – Jake Walerius
With most of MLS booming, what’s gone wrong for Chicago Fire?
Inca Trail – Joseph Marshall
A trip across the Andes and down the Amazon for a drab draw
Interview
Total Recall – Lukas Vrablik
Barry Hulshoff on Rinus Michels and the tactical approach that underpinned Ajax
Impression: Zenit
Before They Were Rich – Igor Rabiner
The chaos and occasional glory of Zenit St Petersburg’s pre-Gazprom past
Scandal
Crime and Punishment? – James Corbett
The political ramifications of the Fenerbahçe match-fixing case
Man Over – Sergio Levinsky
A farcical election and AFA’s struggles to move on after the death of Julio Grondona
Photo Essay
A River Runs Through It – Stephen Glennon
Sheriff, Zimbru and the significance of football in Moldova
Odd Games
Shamrock Rovers v Brazil – Nick Miller
At the height of the Troubles, a united Ireland side took on the world champions and nearly won
Serie A v the Football League – Tom Collomosse
Matthäus v McMahon, Van Basten v Wright, Aldair v Rush, Galli v Southall
Dinamo Moscow v Arsenal – Jon Spurling
In 1954 Arsenal travelled to the USSR. It proved a chastening experience
The Art of Football
Behind the Scenes at the Red Lion – Alex Stewart
The playwright Patrick Marber discusses his football, drama and his football drama
The Second Game – Mircea Raianu
The Romanian New Wave director Corneliu Porumboiu discusses his film on the 1988 Bucharest derby
Greatest Games
Motherwell 4 Dundee United 3 (aet) – Paul Macdonald
Scottish Cup final, Hampden Park, Glasgow, 18 May 1991
Fiction
The Quantum of Bobby (Part Six) – Iain Macintosh
It’s 2030. Can Bobby help England win the World Cup at last?
Eight Bells
Zeman’s Prodigies – Michael Yokhin
A selection of players who were given their starts by the idiosyncratic Czech