IT IS difficult to comprehend today, but between 1960 and 1973, Barcelona failed to win Spain’s La Liga. Every major club in history has its occasional lean spell, Manchester United and Liverpool, for example, did not win the English league … Continue reading Great Reputations: Barcelona 1974 – the Cruyff effect
AMSTERDAM was a “cool” place in 1970. It was one of the last cities to dispense with hippy culture, the hair was long, the clothes bright and the mood upbeat. It was liberated and easy and the Dutch were among … Continue reading Ajax 1971 – men of their time
AMSTERDAM was a “cool” place in 1970. It was one of the last cities to dispense with hippy culture, the hair was long, the clothes bright and the mood upbeat. It was liberated and easy and the Dutch were among … Continue reading Europe’s Champions: AFC Ajax 1970-71
GIVEN the size of the club and its importance to global football, it is surprising that Barcelona had to wait until 1992 for their first European Cup triumph. The club had already made a mark on the continental stage, winning … Continue reading Europe’s Champions: Barcelona 1991-92
ANYONE who has attended a “sportsman’s evening” featuring footballers from the 1970s will be familiar with the script: laddish banter, tales of drink, women and gambling, blue jokes and so on and so forth. Sometimes, it’s not worth meeting your … Continue reading Best, Cruyff, Hudson, Keegan: Playboys and smart boys
I SPENT much of the mid-1970s walking around in an orange adidas t-shirt, a tribute to the Dutch national team of the period, and in particular, Johan Cruyff. In some ways, I was ahead of my time, because donning sportswear … Continue reading The past was orange and European, the future grey and isolated
AT the start of 1971-72, England’s football fraternity was still clinging to the idea that the nation was a major power in the game. The 1970 World Cup defeat at the hands of West Germany was mostly seen as an … Continue reading 72 Classic: Lessons from Europe for English football
MALCOLM Allison, one of the pivotal figures of the 1970s, once said that the period between 1967 and 1972 was one of British football’s golden ages. Anyone who lived through that half decade of action will doubtless recall some outstanding … Continue reading 72 Classic: Clough, Allison, Keegan and co. – why it was special
THE football world is reaching the end of a cycle, one that has been dominated by two individuals, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Both players, worshipped in their own countries and admired worldwide, went tumbling out of probably their last … Continue reading Is World Cup success so important for critical acclaim?
