Author Archive
As Justin McCurry reports, one football club is playing a small role in helping north-east Japan recover from national tragedy
For weeks after the double natural disaster that devastated Japan’s Tohoku region on March 11, it looked as if the J-League season would be brought to a premature end for the first time in its 19-year history. The earthquake badly damaged grounds belonging to three clubs, while Vegalta Sendai were counting the cost in dead or missing supporters – victims of the ensuing tsunami.
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Thursday, July 21st, 2011 - Book reviews
Football journalists were made to eat their words when a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona produced a stunning performance to beat Manchester United in the Champions League final
Opinions can change quickly in football. Only a few months ago sections of the press were berating the BBC for having the temerity to expose corruption at the top of FIFA. The broadcasting of a Panorama episode that outlined why FIFA need to reform was deemed “disgraceful”, “ridiculously unpatriotic” and “laughable” in the Sun. This month Sepp Blatter was placed beside Colonel Gaddafi on the paper’s front cover above the headline Despot the difference.
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Thursday, July 21st, 2011 - The Archive
Simon Tyers reveals the farcical pre-match build-up of the 2009 FA Cup final
Now that every ultimately meaningless mid-table game shown live on Sky gets at least three quarters of an hour of build-up, it’s odd to feel nostalgic about old FA Cup final broadcasting marathons. Yet if it hadn’t happened already, this was the year when the Cup final became self-referential.
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Thursday, July 21st, 2011 - The Archive
Chris Sanderson assesses Birmingham City’s mixed season and how a return to the Championship has affected the club’s finances and tactics
In a Premier League awash with money and abetted by a hyperbolic media, journeyman teams like Birmingham City face an impossible dilemma. How can we join the celebrity foam party when we turn up wearing M&S slacks, looking for the carvery?
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Thursday, July 21st, 2011 - Book reviews
The FA took a principled stance over the FIFA presidential election but they remain as equally flawed in their governance of the Premier League
For the England squad the season ended with the Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland. But it was to have gone on a few days longer. After the Swiss match the national team – or more likely a second-string – were due to play a friendly in Thailand. In exchange for seeing Bobby Zamora and Kyle Walker jogging around at half speed, the Thai FA chairman Worawi Makudi was expected to support England’s 2018 World Cup bid.
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Thursday, July 21st, 2011 - The Archive