This day in football history On 2 June 1985, the governing body of European football, UEFA, banned English clubs from participating in European competitions. UEFA enacted the ban in response to the Heysel Stadium disaster four days prior. On 29 May, at the 1985 European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, …
The Stadio Olimpico is now the world’s third largest body of salt water Roma ended their season by beating Genoa 3–2 on a Diego Perotti goal in the 90th minute that secured second place in Serie A and a Champions League place next season. But the joy of this success was completely overshadowed by the sadness …
When football matches turn into horror movies Lots of strange things have been thrown on the pitch during matches this season alone. Toy pigs, dead rats, a severed bull’s head—but the dozens of plastic dolls Rosario Central fans threw on the pitch during their match against Racing might be the creepiest yet. Last week, Rosario Central …
Who hasn’t dreamed of scoring a bicycle kick in a cup match? Even better—from a tight angle, and into the side netting. Adrien Gulfo of Pully Football did just that. Against his own team. Oh well. Strip out the sound and play it for your grandkids, Adrien. Nobody has to know. https://medium.com/media/30dac58b887dae9b646f8b01d0f1c29f/href
This day in football history On 15 May 1974, Scotland midfielder Jimmy “Jinky” Johnstone had to be rescued by the Coastguard after a prank went wrong. Johnstone and a few teammates were out in the early hours of the morning in Largs, a town on the Firth of Clyde, about 33 miles from Glasgow. They had beaten …
This day in football history On 14 May 1938, England opened their European tour by defeating Germany 6–3 at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium before a crowd of 110,000, including several high-ranking Nazi officials. But the match is best remembered for the English players giving a Nazi salute at the start of the match. The salute was an effect …
Football. Culture. Nonsense. This sport takes itself too seriously. Everything from pre-match handshakes to the very name of the game (soccer? football? futbol? calcio?) gets scrutinized and debated. We’re here to pop that balloon and give the beautiful game the podcast that it truly deserves: One that’s childish, nonsensical, and occasionally funny. Hear weird news, …
This day in football history On 10 May 1947, a unified British team defeated a Rest-of-Europe XI in a game billed as the “Match of the Century.” The concept of a British national team dates back to 1908, when a team styled as “Great Britain” won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics. Despite the name, …
This day in football history On 9 May 2001, 126 football fans died at the Accra Sports Stadium, making it Africa’s worst ever sports-related disaster. It was one of several such incidents in Africa over a period of less than a month, including similar disasters in South Africa (43 killed on 11 April), the Congo (14 …
Mou knows how to make the most of a loss Arsenal’s 2–0 win over Man United on Sunday not only ended the Red Devils’ 25-match unbeaten streak that could best be described as “an orgy of draws,” it also marked Arsene Wenger’s first win against Jose Mourinho in 13 attempts over his career. As their personal rivalry …
