football history
Trauma in Tbilisi: Remembering Wales' 5-0 Defeat to Georgia
In November 1994, Wales travelled to Georgia for a Euro '96 qualifier – and the hosts ran riot. What happened in Tbilisi that day would go down as one of the worst Welsh showings on the international stage.
Bonfire of The Vanities: Manchester United's 1994 Humbling at The Hands of Barcelona
In November 1994, Manchester United were thumped 4-0 by a team that I had neither heard of nor seen play. Their name was FC Barcelona, and they were truly magnificent.
Brains, Bloodshed and Victorian Hooliganism: How Does Football In ‘Ripper Street’ Shape Up?
With this week’s episode of ‘Ripper Street’ getting all footballistic, we’ve decided to compare the bloodstained fiction with the actual reality of the Victorian game.
The Habsburg Derby Returns: Football in the Austro-Hungarian Empire
The Austro-Hungarian Empire is long gone, but its influence lingers on through football. Today in Bordeaux, we'll see that influence once again.
Teddy Roosevelt Loved Football, Except When It Brutalized His Son
President Theodore Roosevelt is remembered as an ardent football supporter, but his son Ted's high school and college playing injuries complicated his feelings about the sport's inherent violence.
The Battle of Beverwijk: Dutch Football's Brutal Hooligan Nadir
This week marks the anniversary of the Battle of Beverwijk, perhaps the most brutal hooligan incident in Dutch football history.