Ahead of a nothing-to-play-for match against Shakhtar Donetsk, Richard Mills explains why Partizan Belgrade fans are proud of their team for competing on the same stage as Europe’s finest
This season Partizan Belgrade succeeded in qualifying for the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in six years, resulting in a mad scramble for tickets with supporters desperate to see their club compete against Europe’s elite.
Andy Brassell explains how a controversial move from Bordeaux to domestic rivals Lyon, alongside a reluctance to interact with the press, has found Yoann Gourcuff out of favour with many in France
Transfers between genuine domestic rivals are never especially clean affairs, and Yoann Gourcuff’s late August move from one recent former French champion to another – Bordeaux to Lyon – is no exception. Three months on, the sensation has settled down and the man himself has started to find some form, but we’re still gathering odd bits of scattered debris from the event.
With talk surrounding a Great Britain football team played down ahead of the 2012 Olympics, Neil Andrews looks into the history of a Great Britain team
In a little over 18 months time Team Great Britain will end a partly self-imposed exile of 40 years to begin their first quest for an Olympic football medal since the summer of 1972. However, far from being comprised of the best footballing talent available from every corner of the kingdom, the British team will be made up almost entirely from the England Under-21 side, with a couple of over-age players as permitted by the International Olympic Committee. Because despite sketchy reassurances from FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the associations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have decided to swerve an invitation from Lord Coe to take part, in order to protect their status as independent nations.
Gavin Barber feels the need to warn us all about The Football League Show, before it’s too late
Manish Bhasin, Steve Claridge and Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes are on a mission. Their mission is to convince you, the viewer, that the Football League is really, really great. They’re going about this with an evangelical zeal, offering up praise, worship and persuasion through the weekly ritual of the Football League Show.
Alex Gulrajani tells the bizarre tale of how Leon Knight found himself unable to play in the English league
Leon Knight has nearly seen it all. Since making his debut for Chelsea as a youngster ten years ago, he has played for 14 other teams, the latest being Coleraine of the Irish League. But while club fallouts have marred his career, nothing could compare with what happened at Rushden & Diamonds – which brought the 28-year-old to the north coast of Northern Ireland. “Peter Taylor came in at Wycombe. A month in, he was overlooking me and bringing in his own players so we had a few words and I decided to leave. I was on my way to Scotland when the call from Rushden came.”