TEENAGE KICKS: THE MAGIC OF BRAZIL ‘82

TEENAGE KICKS: THE MAGIC OF BRAZIL ‘82

THE thing about memories is that they are always there for you, writes NEIL SCOTT. They sit patiently somewhere round the back of your cerebral cortex until summoned into action on a moment’s whim, to provide a rose-tinted window to a time long gone. Like many...

Rob McDonald’s World Cup Group Guide – Group C

By Rob McDonald COLOMBIA What We Know: While the loss of Radamel Falcao is hardly ideal, it’s not necessarily a hammer blow Colombia’s chances for a strong showing. In a competitive but not overwhelming group and with a strong squad, Colombia are one of the teams that...
Bosnia and Herzegovina (I): Football With Limits

Bosnia and Herzegovina (I): Football With Limits

By Clare Newstead OKAY, FIRST THINGS FIRST: I know very little about football. The actual game. The actual players. I mean it. I pick up a bit here and there about Liverpool. It’s hard not to, living with Martin Fitzgerald and watching Kop Kids on LFCTV at tea-time (I...

Rob McDonald’s World Cup Group Guide – Group A

By Rob McDonald BRAZIL What We Know: We don’t know what they are; really, they’ve not played in a proper competition since 2011 (not having the Confederations Cup). Actually, scratch that: they’re a team whose main centre forward is either Fred or Jo. They’re also a...
Croatia (I):  The Other Openers

Croatia (I): The Other Openers

CAMEROON. Bolivia. Scotland. Senegal. Costa Rica. Mexico. What joins these six countries together may not be initially obvious to the untrained eye, but to the World Cup aficionados out there, and there are many, they can be defined as “the other nation”. They are the...
Ecuador (I): I Wanna Be Ecuadored

Ecuador (I): I Wanna Be Ecuadored

By Neil Scott AH YES. ECUADOR. Jewel of the Andes. Home of the banana. A land steeped in history and natural splendour. With its mountains and its music and its extensive collection of luxury tortoises. And its bananas. Did I already mention its bananas? Push on, I...

Switzerland (I): The Land Of Neutrality

By Si Steers THE SWISS are a nation famous for Cheese, Chocolate, and Banks and perhaps a little less well known for football, but it is a culturally rich and wealthy country that boasts a quirky and unique significance in world affairs. Switzerland is probably most...

THE WORLD CUP PLAN

THEY’VE played the season out in Lisbon. Angel Di Maria marvellous, Diego Simeone magnificent, Diego Godin’s hairline a thing of minimalist beauty. I can’t stop thinking about Godin. The receding hairline the Spanish equivalent of Derek Mountfield’s moustache. I...