Article Archives ⋆ An Old International

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…

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. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Red Star FC (@redstarfc) It is an important statement from the league, yet is it enough to…

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. Anniversaries like the 125th of the DFB are often overseen or overshadowed by more important dates. In this…

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…

Excuses and Accusations: England vs Germany 1954

“Sport and time can be great healers”, is how Geoffrey Green – somewhat naively – closed his pre-match report in The Times ahead of the first encounter between England and Germany in December 1954. The question that many asked themselves was whether or not the English would show their emotions at a football match. Memories…

No Backbone

Standards I’d kept, in the back of my mind Are now just rules to break from time to time As the singer of The Lemonheads, Evan Dando possesses the magic of turning scenes taken from our daily lives into little pop gems. This applies to the song “No Backbone,” quoted above. We have all been…

A Foreigner as England Manager? Never!

The news that Thomas Tuchel will be the England manager come January 1, 2025, has caused a wave of comments that are bordering on the ludicrous, while others at least take into consideration the state of international football. This is a first and brief thought about the fact that a German will be in charge…

when playing is working too much

Are players playing too much? According to their trade union FifPro, yes. However, there are many layers to this claim and a few points shall be highlighted here. how much is too much? There were some interesting headlines coming from football recently. Mostly, they were about the workload for players signed at top clubs. In…

Upon reading the names of two Arsenal players, a word play was the order of the day.

With Jesus leading the charge and Heaven rising behind him, Arsenal’s future looks truly divine.

Berne, July 4, 1954 – Notes on a perceived Miracle

‘Rahn should shoot from the background. Rahn shoots! Goal! Goal! Goal!’ These words spoken by radio commentator Herbert Zimmermann in the heat of the moment when Helmut Rahn had scored Germany’s third goal during the World Cup final 1954 in Berne are familiar to many Germans and have become cultural icons like Kenneth Wolstenholme’s words…