The Archive

A change of attitudes in Italy could provide some useful lessons for football's oldest tournament. Matthew Barker explains

Much has been made in the press recently about falling attendances in the FA Cup, with concerned reports warning that the grand old competition is on the wane, its status increasingly devalued as an unloved irritant for clubs who prize the Premier League above all else. The temptation is to draw a parallel with its continental counterparts, the Coppa Italia and Copa del Rey.

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John Chapman looks at how enduring financial problems have finally bankrupted a top-flight Belgian club

The francophone Belgian city of Mouscron is close to both the country’s border with France and the linguistic boundary with Dutch-speaking Flanders. Its football club, Royal Excelsior Mouscron, has drawn fans from all three communities. Entering the First Division in 1996, Mouscron never challenged for the title but introduced some useful players, most notably the Mpenza brothers, Émile and Mbo.

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Most of the controversy in the Portuguese season so far has happened on the sidelines. Phil Town reports

It’s been a vintage season for punch-ups in Portuguese football, with tunnels featuring strongly. In October, Benfica’s top-scoring Paraguayan striker Óscar Cardozo and Sporting Braga’s Brazilian defender André Leone were sent off at half time at Braga and subsequently suspended after the referee reported that they had been having a go at each other in the tunnel.

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A big striker who relied on physical presence rather than technical ability never lived up to his early promise. Steve Quick explains

Being hailed as Leicester City’s “next Emile Heskey” does not quite carry the same burden of expectation as those saddled with the tag of France’s “new Zidane”. Expectations were high nonetheless when 21-year-old Trevor Benjamin moved from Division Two Cambridge Utd to Premier League Leicester City in the summer of 2000.

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Football in New Zealand is being threatened by the demands of the Asian Confederation. Ed Jackson explains

In December, with New Zealand still celebrating World Cup qualification, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced a move which may spell the end of the Wellington Phoenix – the country’s representatives in the Australian-based A-League.

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