20th century football writing and nostalgia in a skilled and cultured groove
Over three games and 270 minutes against the venerated Italian superstars of Internazionale, a little-known Bulgarian club side alerted the footballing world to the growing strength of the game in that dark corner of the Balkans. Just a single goal was enough to prevent CSKA Sofia (then known as CSKA Red Flag) from reaching an [ ]
Our latest Through The Lens With Henk Blansjaar post features an unusually conventional set of player portrait studies shot by the great man back in 1963. The players involved were the first team of Be Quick 1887 from Groningen. The images are simple head shots rich in small period details from the brylcreamed 1960s quiffs [ ]
While Sergio Clerici is a name more likely to conjure up blank looks than emotive images of great goalscoring moments from the past, this low-profile Brazilian striker of Italian heritage was a mainstay in glamorous Serie A for nearly two decades during the 1960s and 70s. His aggressive, defender-baiting style was popular with coaches and he played [ ]
With a current world FIFA ranking of 19th, Japan enters World Cup year with hopes of replicating its Quarter-Final appearance at the 2002 tournament they co-hosted. The nation s modern status in the contemporary game and the level of expectation that accompanies it speaks volumes of the seismic changes the game in Japan has undertaken in [ ]
This final post of 2025 is our annual tribute to the footballers we have lost over the past 12 months. If you are new to our Deceased Eleven feature, each year end I assemble an imagined team featuring the very best of these footballers and attempt to justify their selections. Any player who passes away [ ]
Peter Ollerton wasn’t initially impressed by his first sight of Wembley Park in 1971. In fact, he was so disappointed he wanted to go straight home. This particular Wembley was the home of Melbourne club Wilhelmina, whom the Lancashire-born Englishman had just signed for. With the very name of Wembley synonymous with pomp and ceremony, [ ]