The Archive

Even bigger than the headlines about England's exit were the figures estimating its cost. Roger Titford looks at what it will really mean for sponsors, business generally and the marketability of football

Euro 2008 will be the first such tournament without an English-speaking nation since the eight-team European Championship finals in France in 1984. For the football purist, this may be a good thing. For the marketing man, it is a bit of a disaster. On Thursday November 22, Britain’s marketing community awoke to see an enormous hole blown in media plans and promotional schedules across the entire range of consumer goods. Worst affected will be the official commercial partner companies with events and activities planned around England’s summer participation. The typical, rudderless bloke in the supermarket won’t be wearing his new Umbro England shirt and loading his trolley with cases of cheap Carlsberg in anticipation of Austria v Romania. Eat Turkey! Drink Greece! Sleep Switzerland! This tournament is not going to work for the uncommitted UK target audience.

Read more…

Rioting marred a dramatic final of Africa's Champions League, a competition that struggles in comparison to its European namesake and shares some of its drawbacks. Chris Taylor reports

It was not perhaps the showpiece culmination to the year that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had hoped for. The Cairo Stadium was full to bursting, with Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak on hand to present the Champions League trophy to the winning team in the presence of massed ranks of dignitaries, and the match itself was certainly exciting. But the occasion ended in mayhem as the victorious Etoile du Sahel players were pelted with missiles and attacked by a mutinous crowd. And by the dignitaries. And the gentlemen of the press. At least no one could accuse them of not taking the competition seriously enough.

Read more…

For the second time this year, Italian football has been rocked by a violent death, but this time the killer was a policeman and the victim was a fan asleep in a car. Vanda Wilcox examines the tragedy

In the early hours of Sunday November 11, Gabriele Sandri climbed into the back of a friend’s car and went straight to sleep. A group of fans were headed for Milan, to watch Lazio take on Inter. The 28‑year-old shop manager had been up DJ‑ing all night at one of Rome’s best-known night clubs, but his nightlife never stopped him from following Lazio home and away, however far he had to travel. He was friends not only with individuals in the club’s established ultra groups – though not himself a member – but also some players.

Read more…

Try to forget the stereotypes. On one hand, a team from a much derided city with a sparkling stadium seemingly on the up. The other, historically rich perennial play-off contenders suffering a dreadful start. By Taylor Parkes

Before the opening of the Humber Bridge in 1981, Hull was near-impossible to reach from much of the rest of the country. Stuck out on the pointless curve of the East Riding, half-moated by the fat slash of the Humber estuary, reaching Hull by car required a miserable detour of many miles. With half the town smashed by Nazi bombing raids, post-war Hull offered little incentive – if you just wanted to smell a fish dock, you could go to Grimsby. So, aside from the seafood trucks, little traffic passed through for many years, and Hull became known mainly for its  lonely coastal desolation. Even today, after major redevelopment, Hull can feel slightly less than welcoming: entering the city from any angle brings a sense of gathering gloom, and the place still carries a reputation as a bleak north-easterly desert, home to hardy, wind-picked fighting boys, or incurable misanthropes thirsting for solitude (most famously, talented racist Philip Larkin)

Read more…

Robbie Meredith highlights the case of Darron Gibson, who has started a storm by choosing to play for the Republic of Ireland despite being born in the North

The Republic of Ireland’s 4-0 friendly win against Denmark at the end of August was the last of the few convincing performances during Steve Staunton’s ill-fated spell as manager. Two months later Staunton was sacked, but that ultimately inconsequential match in Aarhus may have lasting implications for Irish football.

Read more…