Pitch Invasion

Why was ESPN’s coverage of Euro 2008 so much more successful than their previous efforts, and what does it mean for soccer in America?

Wouldn’t writing for the club you supported be your dream job? Not so for Terry Daley, who found a different reality working for Chelsea’s official publications.

Following on from earlier coverage anticipating the release of Kicken für die Krone (”The Mouse that Scored”) in cinemas this week, film-maker Sigvard Wohlwend reflects on his time with the Liechtenstein national team and the reaction to his and co-director Sebastian Frommelt’s film.

Egypt won the African Cup of Nations today for the second time in a row — yet it still came as a surprise. Why?

Capello as mob boss, Capello as fascist dictator, Capello as Roman emperor: Brian Phillips looks at how Capello is being portrayed in England, and asks why they’re so keen on tyrannical rule.

The owner of Newcastle United, the eccentric billionaire Mike Ashley, is famous for taking his obsession with privacy to extraordinary lengths. He’s thought to live somewhere in Herefordshire, in a large mansion protected by an elaborate security apparatus, and to emerge only in order to distribute lager to fans at Newcastle games. He […]

As we hurtle into 2008, Brian from The Run of Play looks at what not to care about in the coming year.

The start of a new year is traditionally a time to take stock, reassess your priorities, and decide what to focus on during the year to come. For football fans, that means figuring […]

Since it will take some time for the footballing effects of the appointment of Fabio Capello as England manager to become apparent, it is currently most significant as a media event. In Italy, the news has been greeted with almost as many column inches as in England (or perhaps that should be column centimetres, for […]

In the global bazaar of contemporary football, in which a top-flight team is apt to have a Paraguayan striker, twin Hungarian left-backs, and a goalkeeper who was downloaded directly from the Internet (“JENS LEHMANN: Avg user rating: 3.2 stars. Estimated time to download: ~3 min. Note: This program has not been tested for […]