Dear WSC
I have just received the July issue of WSC, and cannot believe that you, along with the rest of the footballing media, have not spotted an unique footballing fact, as noticed by that great sage and philosopher, Mr Ronald Atkinson. Towards the end of the European Cup Final, the Holy One commented that Italy was going to have an unprecedented treble of losing clubs in European finals – Juventus, Inter Milan and, er, Paris St Germain.
Tony Blatchford, Bath
There has been a recent influx of African players into the Turkish league. David O'Byrne analyses their impact
We know all about the phenomenon of racial abuse at British football grounds and it’s tempting to assume that the same pattern exists elsewhere in the footballing world. In Turkey, where a resurgent economy has left the top clubs awash with cash and their fans eager for success on the international stage, the situation is complex but, on the whole, encouraging.
The English Premier League has attracted players from all over the world – except Africa, it seems. Mike Ticher looks at the reasons why
You might be forgiven for thinking after the last few seasons that no country in the world was safe from the all-seeing eyes of desperate English football clubs. With Brazilians at Bradford and Bulgarians at Reading, it seemed no club was too modest nor any nationality too exotic to be persuaded of each other’s merits.
Although Yugoslavia's players are in other European leagues, the state of the game back home is in crisis. Simon Evans reports
Having spent decades just missing out on glory, the Yugoslavs looked set to finally make a decisive impact in a major tournament. Red Star Belgrade had been crowned champions of Europe and the national team – with stars such as Prosinecki, Savicevic and Stojkovic – was among the favourites for the 1992 European Championships in Sweden.
Bournemouth were nearly extinct due to their financial situation, but Rob Trent tells the happy story of their revival
“This afternoon at just after four o’clock the assets of AFC Bournemouth, the stand, the stadium, the name, the players, have all been transferred into the hands of the community club.” Thus spoke Trevor Watkins, the new Chairman of AFC Bournemouth, on 18th June 1997.