Most people will be familiar with Orwell’s famous statement about football being another means of war which he postulated in an article in The Tribune in 1945 after Dynamo Moscow came to the UK to play a number of friendly games. Orwell’s own experiences of the game are quite different, though they originate from a different period of his life but nonetheless are quite insightful. Read more →
Play, Repeat, Paris
Equipped with petro dollars and stars, Paris Saint Germain cannot drop the image of big time bottlers. The latest defeat against a limited Manchester United is just another repeat of previous seasons failures. Read more →
The Eternal Beck
A lot has been said and written – here and elsewhere about the history of FC Magdeburg. Coaches have come and gone as have players. One has been with the club now for seven years, he has seen three head coaches, promotion twice and has been an integral part of the team. Always. Read more →
The belief is back
New Year – New Luck? goes an old proverb in German. For FC Magdeburg this seems to be what is happening right now.
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Hugh McIlvanney on the World Cup 1966
What follows is a collection of quotes by Hugh McIlvanney who has passed away this week on the World Cup tournament 1966, held in England.
Symptoms and Causes
The recent outpoor of criticism and cynicism at Franck Ribéry for eating a steak covered in gold dust seems to point in the wrong direction. A few months ago, the press were eagerly engaged in a witch hunt with England international and Manchester City player Raheem Sterling. Read more →
The Miracle of the Grotenburg
There are games that are embedded in football folklore, even more than thirty years later. One of these games happened Krefeld, a town not known for its footballing exploits. Yet, in the 1980s the local team FC Bayer 05 Uerdingen were a force to be reckoned with. In March 1986 they hosted East German side Dynamo Dresden in the second leg of the quarterfinal of the old Cup Winners Cup. It was epic. Read more →
Never, Never, Never Give Up
It is widely acknowledged that writing is a form of therapy to deal with emotional stress and other forms of discomfort. So this post is purely therapeutic and analytical. Read more →
Book Review: And sometimes the dog was busy
Usually, a players biography is full of platitudes and repetitions. Not so this one by Fergus Moore whose account is a vivid display of grass roots football in and around London. Read more →
At long last!
The fans of 1. FC Magdeburg are a patient bunch. First they had to endure a quarter of a century during which their club played in the nether regions of the German football pyramide, once the club got promoted it took eight games before they recorded their first ever win in Bundesliga 2. Read more →