Dennis Bergkamp is my favourite footballer (or organism) of all time. From watching the calm, measured way he played, to reading about his thought processes while on the field, he gives me the picture of...

On the 16th of July, 1950, a great crowd surged into a seatless, concrete grandstand in Rio to watch a football match. It was supposed to be a trivial impediment that would be easily overcome,...

The word ‘myth’ comes from the Greek ‘mythos’ which has a range of meanings—word, saying, story, fiction—and is defined as a “symbolic narrative, usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional, that ostensibly relates...

Illicit Activities, Champagne Football, and a Three-Way Title Race – let us convince you that Serie A is the place to be, especially this season. To attempt to quantify what makes a league more exciting,...

Football touches on every aspect of life, which means you can put a book about the game in most sections of a library: politics, economics and social science; languages and geography, when dealing with world...

The word “passion” has become a bit of a joke. It’s the kind of superficial thing you throw into a job application to be a shelf stacker at ASDA. Its watered-down nature is at odds...

I’m holding these old boots in my hands. Nike Tiempos. Leather. White with lime green highlights. Top-of-the-range boots that cost a small fortune back in the day. Battered now, though. They’re starting to flap open...

The Trinidad and Tobago football team of the late 1980s, nicknamed the Strike Squad, was but a single point away from qualification to the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Needing only a draw and playing...

In football, Europe has cultivated an international export in a way that no other continent or nation has been able to produce. Outside of the World Cup, the Champions League final is the most viewed...

BBIN has become the ‘Official iGaming Supplier Partner’ for Atletico Madrid in Asia, as part of a new agreement with the La Liga giants. The two parties will use their image to symbolise ‘that their...

First came Joe Cole. Then there was Wayne Rooney. Then Jack Wilshire. Soon after, Ravel Morrison. Next Ross Barley. Most recently Dele Ali, and now Jack Grealish. These current or former boy marvels of English...

This is a weird one. In a lot of ways, fans from my generation are not qualified to talk about Diego Maradona. He was a comet that lit up the sky and left well before...

This year has been defined, naturally, by the coronavirus pandemic sweeping our globe. The same can be said of football. Fans are barred from stadiums and many places of congregation, with authorities hedging their bets...

As the sun set over Soligorsk in early August, it looked as if Shaktar Soligorsk vs. Dinamo Brest was heading towards a drab 0 – 0. However, with ten minutes left on the clock, Shakhtar...

Ballet, Bites, Brazil The year was 2014 and the FIFA World Cup in Brazil had already worked its magic and captivated the eyes and ears of the world. As had been the case for years,...

The 1-6 scoreline was flattering to Manchester United. It is rare to feel any relief after such a defeat, but somewhere deep within, United’s coaches and players would know they got off easier than their...

There is no place for the Dialectical Method in football. The rabidly tribal football fanatic will, however, engage lustily in argument and lose many hours in vociferous debate. But she is, more often than not,...

I’m a cultural goods aficionado, including that of classical cinema. Imagine a world where Alfred Hitchcock and Marilyn Monroe made a documentary about zebras together, with Hitchcock doing the directing and Monroe as the narrator....

“He never told me until I stumbled upon it!” Charlie Davies came home from school one day with a permission slip for his parents to sign. The six year old thought this would allow him...

There’s no denying that Frank Lampard has received mixed reviews regarding his first year in charge of his beloved Chelsea. Some argue that, considering the circumstances – including a transfer ban, the loss of Eden...

“Protesting and I lost my sign/ standing up ‘cause they crossed my line” speaks Open Mike Eagle on his 2018 song “Happy Wasteland Day,” a ballad about a post-apocalyptic wasteland – the result of “elites”...

It must be 5:00 PM somewhere in the world. That’s what I tell myself as I pour a stiff glass of whiskey over ice before the sun sets on a gloomy day in my city....

In the last article I wrote, I started by shooting the bull about actor Marlon Brando, so I fancy, “Hey, what if I do that exact same thing this time as well?” But what could...

It may seem hard to believe that Colombia used to be football minnows. Nowadays, we are used to seeing Colombians of the stature of James Rodríguez, Falcao, Juan Cuadrado and Duván Zapata starring in the...