Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
Barcelona may take pride in giving youth a chance but the story isn’t as simple as some people make out. Ian Farrell reports
After three of their graduates made the shortlist for World Player of the Year, Barcelona’s academy was widely hailed as the role model for these turbulent times of recession and chequebook team-building. But while the quality of its best players is not in question, the exact quantity “produced” is open to debate.
While their footballing principles may stop West Brom repeating 2005’s great escape from relegation, their fans remain steadfastly positive. The visit of the unpopular yet enduringly effective Bolton provides another opportunity to showcase their faith and fragility, and David Stubbs was there
As the West Brom fans enter by the Jeff Astle gate into The Hawthorns, many of them, young and old, male and female, pay tribute to painted images, fastened to the railings, of the hero of 1968’s FA Cup victory that look like they were commissioned by the same artist who does those mirror likenesses of Elvis Presley you get at fairgrounds. One by one, they come up and pat Astle, as if rubbing a rabbit’s paw for good luck. It’s a genuinely moving collective gesture of footballing faith – I’m reminded of the stream of newlyweds who come and pay tribute to the eternal flame dedicated to the Second World War fallen in Moscow’s Red Square.
With a familiar name and ambitious backers, Mike Woitalla finds the MLS’s latest team are already winning over the locals
The city known for Boeing, Starbucks, Microsoft and grunge rock is giving Major League Soccer a welcome boost as it copes with David Beckham’s jilt and a tanking economy. And if the Seattle Sounders ring familiar, it’s because they’re the reincarnation of a North American Soccer League (NASL) team that popularized the sport in the Pacific Northwest.
Martin del Palacio Langer reports on a Mexican defender whose family ties always make him the first name on the teamsheet
“How can a player say something when his team-mate misses a chance if he’s the one signing the pay cheques at the end of the month?” So did a former coach explain the awkward circumstances that exist inside a football club in Mexico’s second largest city. He’s talking about Juan Carlos Leaño, team captain and son of the president and owner of Tecos (Owls), officially known as Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara. For generations, both club and institution – an ultra-conservative college – have been the personal fiefdoms of the Leaño family, one of the richest in the Jalisco region, whose influence goes way beyond the educational and football environments (Tecos players are not required to be students).
Arash Haghighi reports on how discussion of alleged corruption has led to the Iranian Match of the Day almost being taken off air
Broadcast nationally on Monday evenings, 90 is the Iranian version of Match of the Day. Until recently the only controversies it concerned itself with were decisions about borderline penalties and sendings off. Recently, however, officials from the Ministry of Sport became so enraged by the programme that they attempted to cancel it altogether. The cause of their resentment was the show’s producer and main presenter, Adel Ferdosipour, who has not been afraid to ask awkward questions about alleged corruption in Iranian football.