Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
If you missed the 1978 World Cup final and don’t want to know the score, look away now. Al Needham's dad preferred the seaside to the match and didn't know the etiquette
The film Field of Dreams is about the sacred bond between father and son and the perverse ways they express their love – namely, by chucking a ball at each other. It’s deep. It’s meaningful. It’s absolute bollocks.
Luke Gosset reports on a disturbing trend of kidnapping players and their families in Argentina, which is persuading stars to leave the country or not return from abroad
Leonardo Astrada, one of Argentina’s best loved footballing sons, was due to announce offic-ially his retirement on the day River Plate clinched the title against Olimpo on the penultimate weekend of last season’s Clausura championship. The 33-year-old midfielder has won more trophies for the Buenos Aires club (12) than any footballer at any club in Argentina and looked forward to a rapturous reception. Unfortunately, he did not travel to the game.
David Beckham has done a lot for hairdressing but he’s also brought curlers into fashion. Philip Cornwall considers our changing approach to free-kicks
Free-kicks are about hope. Most chances in a football match arise too late for firm emotions to attach themselves before they are taken or lost. But the attacking free-kick is a transparent opportunity to score yet one which you, your neighbour and the players are given plenty of time to contemplate.
Football’s best images are those which are integral to the game, believes Ian Plenderleith who finds artistic celebration but also pointless commercial exploitation in this month’s internet review
Football’s lords and masters forever fret about the image of the game, forgetting it has been making its own images for over a hundred years and needs no help from the charlatans behind misguided marketing strategies. This month’s guide takes you to some of the best and worst places online to forage around for football’s colourful heritage.
Democracy comes to football in differing forms
So, democracy comes to football. Luton Town’s decision to elect their new manager, referred to in WSC 197, produced a most unexpected result in late June with Mike Newell apparently beating Joe Kinnear to the job by just four votes. Meanwhile in Spain, Barcelona fans enthusiastically voted in Joan Laporta as new club president on the back of his pledge to sign David Beckham and four other players.
Like Newell, Laporta was a rank outsider when campaigning began, with just 2.2 per cent support among Barcelona’s 100,000 voters (the Pope is a club member but is believed to have abstained). How embarrassing then for the new president to see Beckham subsequently depart to Barcelona’s sworn enemies for several million less than they had been prepared to pay.