John Duerden covers the growth of the Asian Champions League, currently held by Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma thanks to their manager known as “the Korean Mourinho”
If José Mourinho was still manager of Inter he would be in with a chance of meeting his eastern equivalent at December’s FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi. The Italian club are likely to play the newly crowned champions of Asia, Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, who are led by Shin Tae-Yong, aka “the Korean Mourinho”.
Derek Brookman discusses the possibility that Ajax’s recent mediocrity may not just be a passing phase
When Martin Jol’s Ajax embarked on a magnificent late-season run in the spring, winning their last 13 league matches in a row while scoring 47 times in the process, it seemed like – for the club’s supporters at least – the natural order was being restored.
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.