In typical Eric Cantona style, he departed football on his own terms. Most players rack up hundreds of appearances beyond the age of 30 before retiring when their legs eventually give up. Cantona, though, was not your average footballer. The controversial Frenchman stopped playing at the peak of his powers, but why? Cantona retired so
If you grew up as a football fan in the 1990s or 2000s, there’s a good chance you were inspired in some way by R9. A man of many talents (and nicknames), Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima is one of football’s most likeable figures. Sometimes fans get carried away with their adulation of legendary players
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
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
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
A list of the most exciting footballers of all time would not be complete without Ronaldinho. The 2005 Ballon d’Or winner became a global sensation thanks to his flicks and tricks in the shirts of Brazil and Barcelona, among others. So why did a player with so much skill and worldwide appeal decide to hang