There have been numerous predictions of a new start for Liverpool FC this season. The actual start of the season, the 6th game after they had stumbled through 5 tricky opening games, and there is another new beginning tomorrow. For two reasons though this really could be the beginning of a change in fortunes for…
Category: Football
AFC Wimbledon against the Man
Living in the USA I have had to get used to the possibility of sports teams, sorry, franchises, moving from one city to another one, possibly on the other side of the country entirely. This years’ World’s Series Champions, the San Francisco Giants, were once the Giants of New York. Their rivals in Los Angeles…
Bolstering the left-wing dimensions
I recently saw an interview with Gabriel Kuhn, whose book, ‘Soccer and the State’, was part of the inspiration for me to write the Political Footballers XI posts last year. If you haven’t read the book I recommend it wholeheartedly. Kuhn highlights some of the key stories and people from football’s prickly relationship with politics. Here…
Heroism
Professional footballers may still be able to inspire us or brighten our days with their skill but are they heroic? Is it possible or even sensible to raise a footballer to hero status? When I was a young child I had a poster on my bedroom wall. It was of Kevin Keegan balancing a ball…
Political Footballers XI: Striker Didier Drogba
I first became aware of Didier Drogba in the spring of 2004. He was playing his one season for Olympique Marseille, and terrorising defenders in Ligue Un and the UEFA Cup. My team, Liverpool FC, were in the final throes of the Gerard Houllier era, his team was imploding on the back of a few…
Transfer Window Closes, Football Eats Itself
Wednesday was the final day that European football teams could buy and sell players in 2011. The transfer window closed, only to open again for some more trading in January 2012. Four months without buying anything in these consumerist times is enough to send the newspapers and Sky Sports into a frenzy. But why does…
A European Super League is inevitable
The major leagues of European football, with the exception of the striking Italians, have all got their season underway now. La Liga in Spain played its first round of games this weekend, and once again we saw the big two, Real Madrid and Barcelona, swatting their opponents aside with ease. Madrid put 6 past Real…
Political Footballers XI: Left-back Paul Breitner
‘I can really identify myself with this [McDonald’s advertising] campaign, I was born for this commercial. I have travelled with my family since 1978 to America and have been a McDonald’s fan since then.’ This was Paul Breitner speaking to the ‘Sales and Advertising’ features section of Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2010. The same Paul Breitner…
LFC Season Preview 2011-12
A year ago today I was writing a season preview for Liverpool for the 2011-12 season. The difference between the two seasons is really quite extraordinary. Last year was all about lowering expectations and hoping that a couple of free transfers (Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovic) would add something extra to the team. I was…
Political Footballers: Central Defender Oleguer Presas
Oleguer Presas i Renom is an easy choice for centre-back in this Political Football XI. After Javi Poves quit football, I can’t think of many other current players (although he has just been released by Ajax) who take politics and their political beliefs as seriously as Oleguer. Oleguer Presas is a remarkable footballer in many…
Political Footballers XI: Goalkeeper Volker Ippig
The goalkeeper has always been a special member of a football team. Legend has it that you have to be a little crazy to do it. And certainly many goalkeepers have had an interesting approach to the game and life in general. Every other player on the team depends on and works with others. But…
Political Footballers
I read recently that the Sporting Gijon player Javi Poves has said he wants to retire from football. Not due to injury or to spend time with his family but because, ‘Football is capitalism, it’s death’ (La Republica). Poves also said he thinks football is money, and when you realise it is all money you…
In Sun and Shadow 