“Can you see the floodlights yet?”, my Dad asked every-time we ventured to his spiritual home. Running to catch him up as we snuck down the side of the post office and over the train-bridge. Down to the turnstile, a nod and a wink later and I’m lifted over. Greeted by a pool of water, […]
Author : Matthew Evans
Wales’ World Cup Woes: Mistakes And Heartbreaks
Sixty years is a long time, too long for fans of the Red Dragon. Wales’ only World Cup appearance came in 1958, a spirited run to the quarterfinals halted by a certain 17-year-old from the Brazilian streets of Bauru called Pele. The 1960’s and early 70’s were campaigns to forget, a quarterfinal appearance in the […]
Roy Keane, Manager : The Dark Side
With the riches on offer in the broadcasting world, upon retirement, more and more top players are eschewing the pressure of the dugout for the relative safety of the pundit’s chair. Sir Alex Ferguson has seen many of his former charges make the switch to management with Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes, Bryan Robson and Ole […]
Muhren & Thijssen: When Ipswich Went Double Dutch
It has been 15 long years since Ipswich Town have been back in the second tier of English football. The last sojourn in the top flight began in 2000, a season bringing back memories of a time the East Anglian side rubbed shoulders with the footballing elite. Gaining a reputation as the neutrals favourite, the […]
Bora Milutinovic : The Miracle Worker
The 1986 World Cup in Mexico complete with the wave, the āspiderā of the Azteca Stadium, the āHand of Godā goal, and much more could have been so different. Originally intended to be hosted in Colombia, the South American nation was rife with economic unrest and corruption. The Colombia football governing body admitting in 1982 […]
Sergio Ramos : Spain’s Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde
The familiar grin spread across his face, the green and white flag of Andalusia tied around his waist, a crown bearing āSR4ā on his head and the European Cup in his hands. The 4-1 victory for Real Madrid against Juventus in Cardiff put the finishing touch on the season for Los Merengues. The clubs 12th […]
Small Is Beautiful: Denmark at Euro 92
Contrary to widespread belief, the squad was not assembled from the far reaches of the globe as like in a superhero movie. They were already together, preparing for a friendly with CIS (Russia and Ukraine) when the phone call came. The day before that call was made, war-torn Yugoslavia had been sanctioned by the United […]
Jordi Cruyff: A Father’s Son
He had prepared for this moment for years. He had studied, listened, watched and taken it all in. He had shrugged off the pressure, the scrutiny that came from being the son of one of the greats. āItās time for a changeā he states. Jordi Cruyff, new Maccabi Tel Aviv manager is ready for the […]
Bernard Tapie & Marseille: The Man Who Fell To Earth
An emotional Bernard Tapie hugged wife Dominique before taking to the pitch to revel in his teamās achievement. A glancing header from Basile Boli that balmy May evening in Munich had secured the first European Cup for Olympique de Marseille, inaugural winners of the renamed Champions League. Years of success had finally produced the biggest […]
Gheorghe Hagi: Maradona Of The Carpathians
As Thomas Ravelli ran, fist pumping the air, away from the swarm of his victorious teammates, their Romanian counterparts fell to the ground beneath the punishing San Francisco sun. The team that had grown together from the late eighties and suffered penalty heartache in World Cup Italia 90, failed again, this time against ten men […]