An Old International

Bloated

Global football has become somewhat of a joke in recent years. The World Cup was awarded to countries which have to be considered autocracies or oligarchies. The number of teams participating has multiplied since the first post-war edition of 1950, when there were only 13 teams competing in Uruguay. The format with 32 teams appears to be sufficient for several reasons:

There exists the idea of having a one-off 64-team tournament in 2030 to mark the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup.

Cynically, we could equally ask “why not invite 100 nations?”

Since it’s the 100th anniversary of FIFA’s top tournament, this only makes sense. Yet, there is a catch to this.

An increased number of teams almost automatically means more games that will be boring for the public and therefore may result in falling attendance at the grounds but also and way more important: less spectators on the screens which has a direct impact on advertising revenue for FIFA. Already, some of those group matches and games in the first knockout rounds are tedious affairs.

Yet, as is tradition, once an idea has been born and floated to the public, the latter may become susceptible to the idea and a spiral has been set in motion and the idea may just become reality.

In line with our current times, people like the FIFA president, may go ahead with this idea and may just implement it. Just because he can and there is little to no opposition within the governing body to scrutinise the issue and come up with enough counter arguments and voting power to overturn such an idea. FIFA, like many other sporting bodies have been hollowed out and money has been at the core of it. Money and dependencies.

For now, it is an idea, raised by a member of the FIFA board. If it stays that way remains to be seen.

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A Brand New Start

Reputations in football are much quicker dismantled as it takes time to build them. Magdeburg are the latest example in this list. Or rather, their – now – former coach, Christian Titz. Towards the end of last season, Magdeburg were as comprehensively as surprisingly beaten by Münster: 5-0 was the result. The hopes for promotion got big dent; this got bigger the following week at Paderborn. Despite a 1-0 lead after 16 minutes, Magdeburg went home empty-handed and all hopes of going up to the top division were well and truly over. The final home game against Düsseldorf served to cement fifth place.

In the post-season chill rumours broke that the Magdeburg coach, Christian Titz, put in a transfer request straight after either, the Münster or Paderborn games. These rumours were confirmed in the post-season press conference at which Ottmar Schork, sporting director confirmed that Titz wanted to leave. Of course, in late May the club tried to keep their coach. He has become a hero, having secured the club from going to the fourth devision in 2021 and led them to the 2. Bundesliag a year later. After an 11th and 14th place finishes in 2023 and 2024 respectively, Magdeburg only surrendered their chances of going up during those final weeks in May 2025.

What followed was an eerie silence with rumours spreading of possible destinations: Schalke, Köln, even Queens Park Rangers were mentioned. Of course, Hamburg were mentioned where Titz was fired some years previous. Yet, slowly news crept in that none other than Hanover 96 were front runnners in securing Titz’ services. Now this is a farce, indeed. Hanover finished 10th – behind Magdeburg and were out of contention for promotion.

True, Hanover, alongside Schalke, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hertha BSC have the biggest stadium capacities in this division. Hamburg and Köln are now one tier higher; Kiel and Bochum have by far not this capacity. This means, the budget in Hanover may be bigger. Yet, they have not managed to return to the Bundesliga in seven years. Their return does not look likely come the next season.

Yet, a move, a change is nothing new and something that everyone should be allowed to. In the eyes of Magdeburg supporters it feels like a step back, not forward. Moreover, Hanover are a direct rival for a top ten finish next season. This may not go down well with some sections of the fans. The logical step would have been a Bundesliga team, a team abroad or a clear contender for promotion next season, i.e. Fortuna Düsseldorf.

It is tiresome to discuss the ‘ifs’ and ‘whens’ – Titz has gone, he has got his will and Magdeburg have received a recompensation from Hanover 96. It means a fresh start for Magdeburg with a new coach, a different idea of football.

Upwards and onwards!

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I’m running the 2026 Paris Marathon for Mental Health UK and i’m raising funds for this charity. For more info, please visit my fundraising page.

At long last: PSG conquer Europe

The history of the 2025 UEFA Champions League victory for PSG began in 2011 when the Qatar backed investment fund took over Paris Saint-Germain. It altered the French footballing landscape significantly. All of a sudden, Paris were capable of big signings without thinking twice.

For more than a decade the money spent did not deliver the biggest of returns in European club football: the champions league trophy. The amount spent goes into several millions. The hubris reached its climax with the signing of Neymar, for whom PSG, or rather the Qatar Investment Fund, spent €200m.

The names of the players, read now, resemble more like an assembly of brands rather than players: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham, Dani Alves, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar. However, the biggest brand among the players always eluded them: Cristiano Ronaldo.

Upon their return on the big stage, the hopes were immense, yet always the Parisians ended up second best. Often deservedly so, sometimes cruel – the penalty by Marcus Rashford comes to mind; it is said to have had a lasting effect on Marquinhos. Of all the players it is him, the captain who deserves this trophy and victory the most.

On the coaching side, some of the biggest names in football have been hired yet failed to deliver in Europe. Carlo Ancelotti has proven that he can win – and not only once – at Real Madrid. So did Thomas Tuchel and Unai Emery. The latter and his current club, Aston Villa, were eliminated by PSG en route to the final. Emery has also proven that he is able to deliver and win European trophies: he won the Europa League four times, three consecutive times with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016 as well as with Villareal in 2021. Wedged in between is his spell at PSG that saw him wininng the domestic treble in 2018. Thomas Tuchel has won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 a year after he reached the final with PSG and lost to Bayern. It must be said that the format was adapted in 2020 as the Corona pandemic allowed only limited play from March onwards. This is to show that PSG for a long time were not a functionning team – despite the big names.

Chelsea – History Makers

It is not often, hardly ever in fact, that Chelsea FC get a whole post for them dedicated. But honour where honour is due.
The club from the Fulham Road have made history. This alone justified some words written about them.

By winning the Europa Conference League final against Real Betis 4-1, the Bluds have become the first club to have won all European cup competitions. This contains the old Cup Winners Cup as well as the Europa League.

Moreover, they have won these European Competitions twice, except the Conference League.

It is also important to note that Chelsea declined the offer to participate in the European Cup in 1955. Back then, the Football Association of England did not think much of those fancy Europeans and influenced Chelsea in a way they had no other option than to withdraw from the competition. Who knows, their history might have been different.

Brian Glanville

Superlatives should be used carefully; they wear out quickly. Yet, it is safe to say that Brian Glanville was the best football writer in the English language. He was often copied yet no one reached his level. Additionally, he was the first English writer to take European football seriously. It is bewildering, however, that no one took notice ealier! The length of his career is another superlative: he covered football for various publications among them The Sunday Times for which he covered football for 30 years and World Soccer for 50! Also, he penned numerous obituaries for The Guardian and The Observer. Besides his soccer writings, he also wrote several novels; a writing life. He started writing at the age of 17.

His best known work is titled “The Story of the World Cup”, which is slightly misleading as each edition contains a short summary of each World Cup from 1950 until the latest edition, 2018.

Throughout his writing career he was critical of England’s national football team and their governors. He attributed “wanton insularity, stupidity and short-sightedness” as the reasons for England’s defeat against Hungary at Wembley in 1953. England, as self-declared inventors and masters of the game were overtaken by their students, as is often the case, however, England “were complicit in their own downfall.”

“Football has its non-events, too.”

Glanville on W.-Germany’s first ever win in 1968

He was a fan of attacking football, thus England post-1966 was not to his liking. In 1970 he wrote that the World Cup “was gloriously won by Brazil … raising new hope for attacking football”. His hopes were destroyed, especially in the 1980s.

Besides reporting on soccer, he was also concerned with the perception of football writing in his native England where he saw a dichotomy between the tabloid and quality press. Journalists writing for the former had to undertake mental gymnastics to avoid to express their views, while those working for quality papers were free to write in their style, though never had a large audience. Football writing in England is aimed at a little educated audience – at least in the eyes of the press barons. Brian Glanville added a literary quality to football writing and he was not alone; there were Henry Rose, Don Davies and Geoffrey Green who helped football reach a wider audience during its post-war heyday.

He was a great football writer and his writing will continue to stand out for its quality and insight.

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Wo=Man?

In a laudable move, the French top divisions, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 have decided that there will be a special shirt to mark International Women’s Day, March 8.

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A post shared by Red Star FC (@redstarfc)

It is an important statement from the league, yet is it enough to challenge the status quo?

Image info: the photo in this post originates from the official PSG WhatsApp channel and was clipped as a screenshot.

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The rise of Leyton Orient

Mention anything rising in the east and many people may get scared. In the East of London something remarkable has happened and has just come to an end.

February 1, 2025 and a remarkable run for Leyton Orient has come to an end. Their unbeaten run in the league and two cup competitions came up to 9 league games unbeaten since 26 November 2024, two FA Cup games against Oldham and Derby as well as one match in the EFL Trophy against Charlton. Before embarking on this journey their season was complicated; not once did they string two victories together: a win was followed by defeat or a draw. The position in the table was accordingly low; they were hovering over the relegation zone.

Anyone looking at the table now will see them sitting in sixth place, which equals a playoff spot. A 1-0 defeat at home to Stockport brought this run to an end. Just as to state that this may come to an end, Orient beat Exeter away, 6-2. This win came at a price: with Omar Beckles the centre back and Sean Clare, the captain, two key players had to be substituted due to injury. This may have far reaching implications for Orient since they provided stability during matches.

The run may be over they are far from safety as there still 14 games to be played and a lot can happen between now and May.

DFB 125

The German Football Association looks back at 125 years of existence. It is a rich history with many highs and lows, triumphs and tragedies. Many observers would rather the past quarter of a century to be deleted.

The Little Parisian Derby: Paris FC – Red Star FC

The little Paris derby: Paris FC vs Red Star surely has its attention as a record crowd of 17750 made their way to the Stade Charléty on the southern edges of Paris, defying the weather of rain and 10 degrees. This was never an open encounter as the home team took the lead within 10 minutes as Alimami Gory finished a 5-pass move. He added two more to his tally today; all three of them from inside the penalty area, i.e. a goal poacher’s home turf.

It was no open encounter nor was it an easy game to watch. Both sides had players tumbling down and rolling around during the first half which made for difficult viewing. Paris FC were the better team but appeared to be sitting back after taking the lead – as if to let Red Star back into the game voluntarily. Alas, this never happened. Red Star were simply not good enough, motivated perhaps but by far inferior to their hosts on this grey afternoon. There were no actions that would force Paris into errors, and if there was space they slowed the game down and allowed PFC to recompose their back four and more importantly, initiate a new attack.

If things stay as they are after this match, it may have been the last little Parisian derby for a while. Paris made it clear why they are in the top three and Red Star never found a way to get behind them to score at least to level the game, let alone win it. Their goal came after 85 minutes and thus, too late. Worse, Paris were not even finished and added another to complete the misery for Red Star.

On the stands it was an away victory for Red Star, though. Their support continued throughout the ninety minutes plus added time and stopped only when Paris made it four, minutes before the final whistle. The Paris FC Ultras are still split; the are the “Old Clan” which consists of about 50 people, while a far larger group further up in the stand were noisier and bigger in numbers yet no real competition for the away fans.

No beer in Paris!

It is no secret that the French are no organisation world champions: access to grounds is still a mess made worse by people also arriving late. Worse though, demand for beer far exceeded provisions and at halftime there was simply no beer available. That’s simply not acceptable. This is a club on the cusp of being promoted to the top flight. They will host teams with an away support and these people may fancy a drink at half-time. Additionally, access to public transport after the match is also problematic as the entrance to the RER station Cité Universitaire had to be blocked to avoid a crush at the turnstiles. Admittedly, this station needs an overhaul. Moreover, the frequency of the tram is just insufficient.

Trajectories

This may have been the last derby between these two teams as they are on very different trajectories. Red Star have been taken over by 777 Partners in 2022 but the group are in severe difficulties. The company faces allegations of fraud. This has plonged the club into incertainty; the results of which are visible on the pitch. Paris FC meanwhile have been taken over by the Arnaud family, one of the richest globally. This brings enormous resources to this corner of French football and may alter the landscape of the football map significantly.

Sign of our time

The current societal climate is dire, racists are becoming ever more confident that they have nothing to fear from the majority because this majority is simply too quiet; it has been too quiet for too long.

Jean-Marie le Pen has been a figurehead of the right in France for a long time. His passing in January led to celebrations in some quarters. However, some hooligan groups of Paris Saint-Germain and Reims FC went as far as to honour le Pen.

The second term of the 47th president of the United States has begun and as if to indicate in which direction politics are heading, the head of a tech giant has raised his right arm in a salute to a crowd that not only resembled the salute of the national socialists in Germany but was easily identified as such by observers.

In an attempt of hurried obedience, the sports apparels manufacturer Nike have issued the new shirt for the Madrid team Atlético. The design leaves little room for speculation.

https://x.com/hooliganscz1999/status/1879114990164291608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1879114990164291608%7Ctwgr%5Eb5c4e5db223e7b702f23832e0d1f584b4310fd75%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fhooligans.cz%2Findex.php%2Freports%2Fforeign%2Fspan%2Fatletico-madrid-2025-26-home-kit

It is 2025, 80 years after the end of the Second World War and we appear to have not learnt a single lesson from history. The eye witnesses are getting fewer and soon we have to rely on secondary sources for memorial work in schools and elsewhere.