Mention the words ‘Bayern Munich’ and what comes to mind? A teutonic powerhouse? One of Europe’s elite? Serial winners? The Bavarians are, after all, a team that has won the Bundesliga 31 times – when the first was only 55 years ago. It is
The word “skullduggery” is defined as “underhanded or unscrupulous behaviour; trickery”. It has been intertwined with football since time immemorial, exhibited in various degrees. It has been employed by the greats, not least Diego Maradona…
Many bands have penned odes to their hometowns over time, singing the praises of their local streets and parks. The Beatles waxed lyrical over Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields; The Kinks invited us to enjoy a Waterloo Sunset; while Gerry Ra…
Six-time European Cup winners; three-time UEFA Cup winners; a club synonymous with continental glory and famous nights under the floodlights: when it comes to European competition and experiences, you can safely say that Liverpool have been…
The year is 1872. Ulysses S. Grant is elected president of the US, Yellowstone becomes the world’s first national park, and the first case of Horse Flu is reported in Toronto, Canada, which will substantially disrupt life in North America b…
The wind blows hard and cold across East Anglia during the winter. With barely a hill in sight, there is nothing to stop the progress of the icy chill in this south east corner of England. An agricultural region, it is home to two principal…
On the west coast of Norway, spread across the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, Nørvøya and Uksenøya, at the mouth of the Geirangerfjord, lies Ålesund. It is not a large town, or by in the native Norwegian, but it is a place brimming with appeal.
Every four years, strikers from a host of countries converge on that ultimate festival of football: the World Cup. For many, this represents the pinnacle of their careers to date, the chance to prove themselves against the best and to write…
With the exception of Prato, whose digits have been greatly inflated by Far East Asian immigration in recent decades, there’s just one name amongst the 23 most populous cities in Italy never to have been linked to a Serie A team: Taranto. T…
Even Pellerud is one of a select amount of head coaches who can say he won both a European Championship and a World Cup. He can also say he coached in a further two European finals and won an Olympic bronze medal. Not bad. The 68-year-old i…
One of football’s feel-good stories in recent years has been the success of one-time minnows Brentford and Danish head coach Thomas Frank. Since being promoted from assistant manager to the hot seat in 2018, Frank has taken Brentford to new…
Originally featured in the sold-out Brazil magazine, support high-quality, wholly independent journalism by ordering our magazine. It’s what keeps everything online free. A cauldron full of seething excitations: that’s how Sigmund Freud des…