Great Reputations: AC Milan 1961-1963, the Nereo empire
While Internazionale are credited with being the arch-exponents of catenaccio, the nerazzurri were not the first Italian team to adopt the defence-mind…
Tag: featured
Great Reputations: Swindon Town 1969, winners of the “People’s Cup”
It couldn't happen today, could it? A third division (league one in the current money) team winning at Wembley. It didn’t happen much then, but for two…
Great Reputations: Grande Inter – a harsh legacy?
There was an air of menace about them: Black and blue stripes; dark, matinee idol looks; oiled hair; and a dictatorial manager who had a slightly sinis…
Great Reputations: Red Star Belgrade 1973-74 – the team that changed English football
In 1978, Chelsea chairman Brian Mears, desperate to change the fortunes of his ailing club, started to court Miljan Miljanić the Yugoslav coach rated a…
Great Reputations: Arsenal, the Art Deco club
In the 1980s, a television series called The Thirties highlighted a turbulent and exciting decade. An entire chapter was devoted, quite simply, to “The…
Great Reputations: Anderlecht mid-1970s, trusting in purple
Belgian teams never made much of an impact in Europe in the early years of UEFA’s club competitions, the country was largely seen as an also-ran when i…
Great Reputations: Poland 1972-1974 – the World Cup’s lost champions
When England crashed out of the 1974 World Cup in the qualifying tournament, considered a major shock at the time, Poland, their conquerors, were seen …
CONIFA comes to town
I had never met anyone from Tibet before, never heard of Abkhazia or Karpatalya, but the CONIFA World Football Cup can open your eyes and ears to the s…
Great Reputations: Manchester City 1967-70 – Mercer and Allison’s alchemy
There have been more successful Manchester City teams in recent years, and certainly more expensive, but it is unlikely that any of the 21st century Ci…
Great Reputations: Dynamo Kiev 1974-75 – the Soviet school of science
You only need see pictures of Chernobyl to understand what happens when science goes wrong. The world’s greatest nuclear disaster took place 150km from…