Tonight, England face Albania in their first game under Thomas Tuchel, the first foreigner to take charge of the national side since 2010. That was the summer in which Fabio Capello, an Italian, oversaw a miserable World Cup campaign. After …
Newcastle’s poisoned chalice
The defining images of the day were those of Newcastle fans weeping, a familiar sight for those acquainted with one of football’s longest-running back-stories. Newcastle fans shed tears when they threw away a 12-point lead at the top of the …
Will Ireland ever forgive Robbie Keane?
The swathes of fans in black and green behind the goal as Ferencváros attacked in the first half had started noisy and got noisier. A win was needed to secure their spot in the Europa League play-offs, and by halftime …
In defence of the Little Englander
This was the week a German became the manager of England — or as the Daily Mail put it, a GERMAN. And it was a week of “debate” about the reaction to having a German in charge. “Anyone watching this …
The tragic life of Brian Clough
The winter of 1962-63 was bitter. So many football matches were postponed that the FA Cup final had to be put back three weeks. In Sunderland, Boxing Day was raw and cold, “the kind of day when seagulls flew backwards …
Sven-Göran Eriksson, English revolutionary
First came Carly Zucker, Joe Cole’s fitness instructor girlfriend. Then came a number of other wives and girlfriends as she led them for a run along the canal at the bottom of the park. Behind them was a security team, …
The ghosts of the Munich air disaster
The book opens with a haunting scene. As the Manchester United team file out onto the pitch, we find that they are not in their usual red strip. “They came out of the tunnel like a ghost train, all in …
Don’t blame football for the riots
If riots are an expression of masculinity, then warnings about the return of the Football League at the weekend were perhaps inevitable. The season’s first game was scheduled to the place in Middlesbrough, where marauding rioters had torched cars the …
Gareth Southgate’s ruthless reign
The strange thing about the build-up to these Euros for England is how settled everything feels. There is some doubt at left-back, but only because Luke Shaw’s fitness is uncertain, and there is debate over who should play alongside Declan …
How political is Orbán’s football obsession?
The first time I interviewed a president of Ferencváros, Hungary’s most successful football club, the taxi driver who picked me up from the stadium asked if I was a new signing. Nothing, perhaps, could have been more revealing of the …
A Euros election is a gift to Starmer
As the Sixties entered its twilight period, Britain was more than ready for change. Beleaguered by inflation, stagnant industrial output and worsening trade-union relations, the Labour Party was on course for a major defeat. By the start of 1970, The …
Can Thomas Piketty save football?
On Sunday, Bayer Leverkusen beat Werder Bremen 5-0 and, by so doing, wrapped up their first ever Bundesliga title. Five times before they had been runners-up — four times in the six seasons from 1996-97 when they drew the nickname …
War didn’t destroy Russian football – Russia did
After Zenit St Petersburg won the Uefa Cup in 2008, beating Rangers in Manchester, the team’s coach Dick Advocaat strode proudly into the press-conference room, only for his phone to start ringing. He looked at the screen, seemingly about to …
Why I never gave up on Manchester United
I wondered if we would ever do this again. Sachin, Carlo, Kier and I watching a Manchester United game in my living room. The dog barking randomly, knocking things over with its tail. Pizza on its way. Not unexpectedly, Wolves …
Ivory Coast is back from the dead
At the apex of the flyover somewhere to the north of Abidjan, crowds lined the roads, dancing, singing, blowing whistles and vuvuzelas. A shirtless man painted in the orange, white and green of the Ivorian flag tottered into the middle …