The reprehensible reaction to Loris Karius’s howlers highlights the need for not only empathy and…
Culture
Witnessing Liverpool’s Reclamation of Shankly’s Vision – A front-row view
“For Liverpool it’s been the season of Peter Gabriel, Beautiful South and James; Channel 4…
Brazil and the birth of a footballing culture
Mexico 1970 was Brazil’s coronation as a footballing culture, coming 20 years since the tragedy…
The FIFA World Cup: A legacy tournament, but still a fan favourite?
The World Cup is not what Jules Rimet envisioned it as anymore: a picture of…
Edin Dzeko: From Yugoslav minefields to Champions’ League semis – Part 1
As a kid, Edin Dzeko used to play football in the fields of Sarajevo, unsure…
Total Football Evolution – From Michael Jackson to The Weeknd
Is the relationship between football and the people of the Netherlands, love or lust? Total…
Oscar Heisserer: The Footballer Who Defied the Nazis
One of the most versatile players of his generation, Frenchman Oscar Heisserer was coveted by…
Identity Crisis of Modern Fullbacks – Football’s Most Underappreciated Role
There is a new theory of football being a weak-link sport. Which is to say,…
Arigato, Arsène Wenger – The Portrait of a Sensei
Arsene Wenger is known for many things – his Japanese philosophy, his then-revolutionary training methods,…
A Love Letter to the Scissor Kick
If the answer is ”the scissor kick”, the question of course is, ”What do Chilean strawberries,…
A Barcelona Fan’s Exploration of Francisco Franco’s Fascist Real Madrid
This is a Barcelona fan’s exploration into the fascist history of Real Madrid and the…
Mahatma Gandhi’s Experiments with Football – Resistance vs Racism in South Africa
During his stint as a barrister in South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi discovered the power of…
Kindness of Strangers – A Liverpool Fan’s Postcards from South Africa
Globetrotting Liverpool fan, Pete Martin, was apprehensive of a racially-tense Cape Town, South Africa. What…
When Barca bowed to Athletic Bilbao – Giant-killing legacy of Fred Pentland
Join us as we go on a mythological exploration of the history of the Basque…
Captain, Leader, Nazi Collaborator – Alexandre Villaplane, Football’s First French Villain
Following the Nazi invasion of France, Alexandre Villaplane swapped the captain’s armband of the French…
The New York Red Bulls – How Consumerism is shortchanging Fandom
The New York Red Bulls had the best midfield in their league, then ‘team-building’ was…
Homage to Catalonia – How Guardiola’s Yellow Ribbon Reveals FA’s Hypocrisy
Pep Guardiola’s yellow ribbon homage to Catalonia reveals worrying aspects of hypocrisy and ignorance of…
“It’s Only A Game” – Why Football Matters
Have you ever been told matter-of-factly, on a miserable Monday morning, that it’s “only a…
The Lords of the Ball – J.R.R. Tolkien’s Legacy and FC Barcelona
The unlikeliest confluence of FC Barcelona with JRR Tolkien’s works of high fantasy. Join us,…
The Football Battalion – Staring Down the Barrel of World War 1 – Part 2
Part 2 of Samiran Mishra’s brilliant account of footballers who sacrificed their lives for the…