One of British football’s greatest rivalries, by 1974 the relationship between two celebrated sons of Middlesbrough in the industrial north of England had deteriorated into a feud that drove Brian Clough into one of the most reckless and ill-fated episodes in the history of the game. Appointed player-manager at Leeds United in 1961, Don Revie
Josep Guardiola Sala was born in Santpedor, Spain, on January 18, 1971. Throughout his trophy-laden career in football, the player-turned-manager has been known to fans as both Josep and Pep. But why? In Spain, Pep is short for the name Josep, hence why people refer to Guardiola by his nickname. The former Spain international was
When Zinedine Zidane arrived at Real Madrid in 2001 wearing the number 5 shirt, the football world was understandably a little confused. The number 5 is almost always worn by defenders, not attacking midfielders like Zizou. So why did the Frenchman opt for 5 instead of a more traditional number like 7 or 10? Zidane
If you’re a long-term football fan, you almost certainly grew up watching two players take kick-off in the centre circle. Nowadays, only one player takes kick-off, but why? In 2016, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) announced that one player can take kick-off instead of two. After 18 months of consultations about rule changes, two-player
Thierry Henry was one of Arsene Wenger’s most loyal collaborators but ultimately in June 2007 having won all the major honours in the domestic game he left his mentor at Arsenal to follow an increasingly well-worn path from the Emirates to Barcelona’s Camp Nou. The financial constraints of the move from Highbury Stadium and the
Even the biggest critics of the Premier League would admit that England’s top division features the very best players and managers from all around the world. English players seem to have no problem winning the title season in and season out. However, the same cannot be said for managers. Howard Wilkinson was the last English