The Archive

Celtic and Rangers finally break away from the SPL – well, on the television at least, writes Colin Armstrong

In keeping with a recent tradition of making joint statements, the Old Firm recently came together at Hampden Park to announce that they were joining the ranks of the super-power clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid in launching their own television channels. Both clubs were brimming with glee at the announcement. “Rangers Television is an exciting concept and one we have considered for a number of years,” beamed Martin Bain, Rangers’ director of football business. Celtic’s official line on the day was no less positive.

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Expectations were low for Colombians Once Caldas going into July's Copa Libertadores final. Jake Lagnado explains how they pulled off one of the biggest shock in South American football history

When Colombia’s Once Caldas beat Boca Juniors 2-0 on penalties in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores final on July 1, it wasn’t just the quality of both sides’ penalties that shocked South Americans. Few had expected a team who in just two previous attempts had never made it past the first round, to beat the illustrious victors of three of the past four finals. Boca manager Carlos Bianchi was so aggrieved he did not even lead his team up the podium afterwards claiming unconvincingly that he was so used to winning he was unaware that losing teams got medals too.

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As the divisions change names again, Tom Davies listened to those championing the Championship and came away unimpressed

 S  o goodbye Nationwide League Divisions One, Two and Three, hello Coca-Cola Championship and Leagues One and Two. The Football League’s name changes have attracted so much ridicule that to deride them already feels too much like indulging in a fish-in-a-barrel shooting contest.

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With Atlético Madrid plumbing new depths of design disaster, David Wangerin traces the history of kit advertising from Kettering Tyres to Spiderman 2 and wonders if club identity has been lost along the way

Look at any football photograph from the mid-Seventies. The glue-pot pitch, the plain white ball and the wild sideburns of some of the players certainly call to mind an almost primitive era, as does the enor­mous terrace of fans crammed into the background. Yet one anachronism in particular reveals just how the visual elements of British football have changed: the remarkable austerity of the playing strips. There are no manufacturer trademarks and no league logos or appeals for fair play on the sleeves. Most conspicuously of all, nothing is displayed across the chest. It’s undeniably an outdated image, yet one that happily draws the eye closer to the tiny club crest, instead of toward some gargantuan commercial mes­sage. An age of marketing innocence, some will bewail, but one certainly to be admired for its aesthetic appeal, to say nothing of its integrity.

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As Raymond Domenech steps up from the Under-21s, some believe the national team just don't pay enough to lure the country's top coaches, writes Ben Lyttleton

In a rare moment of candour, France’s football federation president Claude Simonet recently admitted that, in an ideal world, Arsène Wenger would have replaced Jacques Santini as France’s national coach. “He would be the perfect choice but he is light years away from the job,” Simonet said. “There’s no way we could get him, not only because of his club but also because of his salary.” Santini was paid a basic annual salary of £300,000 and Raymond Domenech, the new coach who was promoted from his post as Under-21 boss on the sixth anniversary of France winning the 1998 World Cup, will earn the same. “For me it’s not a question of money,” said Domenech. “I work for the federation and have done for the past 11 years. They’re just offering me a different post.”

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