Former champions almost fell to fourth tier

19 May ~ Eintracht Braunschweig are back in Germany's Bundesliga for the first time in 28 years. One of the league's founding members in 1963, Braunschweig won the title in 1967 but since the mid-1980s have been languishing in the second and third divisions. Now the city in Lower Saxony, where football was allegedly first played in Germany, can look forward to welcoming the likes of Bayern Munich and local rivals Hannover 96 next season. From the opening-day win over favourites Cologne it has been a remarkable season for the Lions.

June issue available online and in stores

The new WSC is out now, available from all good newsagents or dispatched on the day of order from the WSC shop.

Ferguson's final season
TV dictates Cup kick-offs
FIFA corruption
Bayern & Dortmund dominate
When Villa were champions

17 May ~ José Mourinho has the chance to win what could be his last trophy as manager of Real Madrid tonight, when his team take on Atlético Madrid in the final of the Copa del Rey. The match is a repeat of the 1992 final, when Atlético beat their neighbours 2-0 at the Bernabéu. Atlético have not beaten Real in this millennium, though, so they'll need another bit of magic like this free-kick from former Real manager Bernhard Schuster if they're going to overcome Mourinho's men.

Notable kits of yesteryear

16 May ~ The 2005-06 season was a momentous one for Fleetwood. After re-forming in 1997 as Fleetwood Freeport following a deal with the local discount shopping centre, the club played in a striking white and broken-red striped kit for its first season. Promotion to the North West Counties Premier Division followed in 1999, and in 2002, the club released its first replica kit, in an unholy alliance with Prostar and the Fleetwood Weekly News.

15 May ~ St Neot is the patron saint of rural paranoia, which is like urban paranoia but with longer intervals between events. St Neot was originally an English shepherd who heard the voice of God while tending his flock, only it was the voice of God complaining about St Neot to someone else. This vexed and confused the young man and he sold his flock the next day in order to raise money for a golden cloak and sombrero. Read more

Because he jumps quite high

15 May ~ A group of Manchester United fans have taken it upon themselves to "bring Ronaldo home" to Old Trafford. They want each fan to pledge £10 as a deposit on a "Manchester United Ronaldo 7" shirt – the balance (no more than £55 for adults, £50 for kids, naturally) must then be paid if he is signed. But why Cristiano Ronaldo? "He generates 5G of G-force on take-off – this is five times the power of a cheetah in full flight," the website reads. Plus "his speed, height, technical ability will help ensure Manchester United win the 2014 Champions League Trophy". They could just ask for pledges to buy the trophy itself and make UEFA an offer. Or adopt an entire team of cheetahs from the WWF.

by Brian Greenhoff

Rarely can five years have generated as much football print as Tommy Docherty's stint at Manchester United. Although Docherty's managerial skills and style continue to polarise opinion, no one has argued he was a defensive genius. The statistics bear that out: away from home his United team always let in more than they scored, apart from their one year sabbatical in Division Two. Read more

A life in football

This is a book about life-changing moments, successful adaptations in life and survival in the football business, from player to executive. Paul Fletcher explains the title by saying that his "life and career has been magical; it's as simple as that". Fletcher's three moments of life-changing experience were seeing a small player head the ball, inspiring him to practise jumping and heading aged 16; meeting his wife-to-be at Bolton's Beachcomber Club; and attending a Dale Carnegie course in leadership training. Read more

Inside stories of Albion's 21st century odyssey

Written by West Bromwich Albion's Birmingham Mail correspondent Chris Lepkowski, this book uses in-depth interviews with 12 players to present the inside line on "Albion's amazing 21st century odyssey". While the last 12 years have delivered four promotions, three relegations and the 2004-05 "great escape", they have also seen Albion transformed from a chaotically run institution who gave Wolves fans something to joke about into one of the Premier League's most forward-thinking clubs. Read more

From Buenos Aires to Bramall Lane and back

Today, Alejandro Sabella wears an Argentinian FA baseball cap to work, and is probably the international football manager most people would like to take under their arm and cuddle. He wasn't always a softly spoken, grandfather-like figure, though. In 1978, he was part of a transfer saga which transformed British football. Read more

Atlético Mineiro's Estádio Independência is lit up by fireworks before the Brazilian club took on The Strongest, of Bolivia, in the 2013 Copa Libertadores.