Stories | When Saturday Comes

Honour bound

Matthew Barker on how one player’s story has offered some respite amid the depressing Last Bet match-fixing scandal

Simone Farina looked a little lost at the Ballon d’Or presentation last month. But the 29-year-old defender, caught blinking under the bright lights of the Zürich Kongresshaus and nervously glancing over at Marco van Basten, sat in the same row, had as much a right to be there as any of the shortlisted superstars.

Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - The Archive

False Economy

Eva Peron’s attempt to use football as a propaganda tool in the early 1950s compromised the integrity of the game in Argentina, argues Jon Spurling

Eva “Evita” Perón could never be described as a football fanatic, although as a struggling actress and model in the 1940s, she appeared on Buenos Aires billboards wearing a Boca Juniors shirt for a toothpaste advert. Nonetheless, when Banfield, a small club ten miles south of the capital, faced reigning champions Racing Club in a two-legged title decider at the end of the 1950-51 season, she spotted a golden political opportunity.

Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - The Archive

Macclesfield Town 1997-98

Macclesfield were in financial disarray when they entered the Football League, but they still managed to win a second consecutive promotion, writes Michael Whalley

Just getting to the starting line was an achievement. One week before their first season in the Football League began, Macclesfield Town received a High Court writ from the creditors of their late chairman’s business demanding more than £500,000. This is not generally how promotion seasons begin. Yet nine months later, Macc went up from Division Three at the first attempt. As cheesy as it might sound now, there were times during the 1997-98 season when it seemed as if the motto on Efe Sodje’s bandana – “Against All Odds” – could have applied to the club.

Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - The Archive

Attention deficit

A stalwart defender has made a startling confession to the Norwegian press about how retirement affected him, writes Lars Sivertsen

“Depression and the emptiness after the end of my career was probably the main reason. I was 35 years old and an injury deprived me of a life on the top shelf overnight. My status disappeared.” Such confessions are becoming sadly familiar.

Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - Book reviews

Raising the bar

Martin Pilkington on former England winger Stuart Ripley, who began an unusual post-football career when he took up law at college.

Some footballers stay in the game when their playing career ends, others break into a whole new world. Stuart Ripley, who started out at Middlesbrough, won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers and was capped twice for England, has managed to do both. Ripley is now a solicitor working in Manchester with the major law firm Brabners Chaffe Street.

Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - Book reviews