In 1967 Celtic travelled to Lisbon as the first British team to reach the final of the European Cup. Football’s Greatest Teams: Celtic
Simpson, Craig, McNeill, Clark, Gemmel, Murdoch, Auld, Johnstone, Hughes, Chalmers, Lennox. ibid.
Women’s football is on the rise. After years in the shadow of the men’s game it’s now the fastest growing sport for women in Britain. Clare Balding, When Football Banned Women, Channel 4 2017
100 years ago it was even bigger. This is football’s best-kept secret. A century ago it was women who ruled the pitch … It was women’s football that regularly drew the big crowd. ibid.
At the height of its popularity women’s football was shattered by an official ban imposed by the FA. ibid.
During the war football began to be encouraged as a way of boosting workers’ morale and to raise money for charity; hundreds of munitionette football teams were formed. ibid.
‘Lily Parr was one of the great players.’ ibid.
It is part of a struggle for freedom. ibid.
I was a professional footballer for 20 years. I was taught to head a football and practised sometimes over 100 times a day in training. Never ever did I think heading footballs could be dangerous for me. I know ex-footballers who have had this [dementia] … Could the beautiful game be dangerous? Alan Shearer: Dementia, Football and Me, BBC 2017
Jeff [Astle] died in 2002 at the age of 59. At his inquest the coroner said he died of dementia brought on by years of heading a football. ibid.
Right, Dicky will take you down the salon and fix up your hair. The Comic Strip Presents s6e2 … The Crying Game, manager to new star Roy Brush, 1992
‘The face of women’s soccer.’ Sporting Greats: Mia Hamm, Sky Sports 2017
At just 19 years of age Mia Hamm helped the USA defeat Norway to win the inaugural women’s World Cup in China. ibid.
One of the most recognizable faces in American sport. Ibid
A Brazilian football match between Vitoria and Bahia was abandoned with 11 minutes remaining on Sunday after the hosts had six men sent off in a game marked by a mass punch-up between players from both sides.
The score in the Bahia state championship clash between the two local rivals was 1-1 when Bruno Bispo became the ninth player in all, and the fifth from Vitoria, to be shown the red card.
With teams requiring a minimum of seven players, the referee was forced to end the game. Guardian online report 19 February 2008, ‘Brazilian football match abandoned after mass brawl and nine red cards’
This is the story of a group of brilliant young footballers and one visionary manager. A snow-covered runway in West Germany. Two brave wartime fighter pilots. And a state of the art aircraft with a flaw. This is the countdown to an infamous plane crash that shook Britain to its core. James Nesbitt: Disasters that Changed Britain IV: Munich Air Crash, Sky 2018
The loss not just of life but what might have been. ibid.
In the years after the war there were hundreds of crashes. ibid.
It skidded off the end of the runway, crashed into the fence and then hit a house. ibid.
‘Arsenal and Manchester United always had an edge to it.’ Fergie vs Wenger: The Feud, John Motson, Channel 5 2018
1996: Arsenal are without a manager and are in chaos; Manchester United dominate English football. ibid. caption
September 1996: The manager of a Japanese team is appointed to lead Arsenal. ibid.
He’s gun and done it: Arsenal win the double. ibid. newspaper article
The Treble: History is made in Barcelona. ibid.
The Battle of Old Trafford: This doesn’t look like football it looks like WAR. ibid.
2004: After 49 games without defeat Arsenal’s ‘invincibles’ return to Old Trafford. ibid.
Tonight: with the World Cup just a month away we go inside the world of Russian football. With its reputation for violence and racism we ask what are England fans likely to face? Tonight: Russia’s World Cup Gangs, ITV 2018
One of the concerns ahead of the World Cup is whether such [racist] abuse will mar the tournament. ibid.
The man who taught us the way football should be played. Matthews 2017 starring Jimmy Armfield & Tristan Bailey & Patrick Barclay & Richard Branson & Terry Conroy & Oussmane Diallo & Mpho Diamond & Jude du Preez & Kian du Preez et al, director Ryan Scott Warren, Pele
Football’s Greatest Star. ibid. newspaper report
Sir Stanley Matthews is one of the greatest athletes of all time. ibid. Branson
In 1933, Stanley’s first year, Stoke City FC won the 2nd Division title and moved up to the First Division. By Age 20 he’s recognized as the League’s top rising star. ibid. caption
There was something about Matthews’s trickery that made it unique, artistic, and gave it a star quality. ibid. Patrick Barclay
On April 28th 1965 Sir Stanley Matthews played his last professional game … He was 50 years old. ibid. caption
In everyone’s life there are real moments when the world seems to stand still. A second seems like a thousand years. A single heartbeat becomes an infinity. Rarer still are moment when not just one person but a whole nation stops, holds it breath, hopes, prays. When dreams unite for a split second, a decisive moment when everything could change. One Night in Turin, 2010
Every story needs a hero. And this come perhaps in an unlikely shape: Robert William Robson, a one-time coal miner from the north-east of England and one-time professional footballer. ibid.
Go! Robson’s in ruins and FA must act. ibid. Sun headline
‘Football … is a species of fighting.’ ibid. George Orwell
The government threatened the ultimate sanction: to stop Robson’s team going to the World Cup. ibid.
One third of the country’s [Italy] paramilitary force was on standby. ibid.
England 1 Ireland 1. ibid.
England v Holland: Everything linked and flowed … England were playing like Brazil. ibid.
What is football if not ninety minutes of agony … England 1 Egypt 0. ibid.
Cameroon had swiftly become the world’s favourite team … England looked second best and a long way from home. ibid.
England v West Germany: World Cup Semi Final Turin 4th July 1990: The biggest match of a generation. ibid.
30 million people crammed around their television sets. ibid.
England were playing like the Germans. ibid.
Gazza wouldn’t be in the final. ibid.
The greatest of team games is reduced to a lottery. Five kicks each. One on one. ibid.
The World Cups of 1970 and 1978 were both won by South American countries in the grip of right-wing military regimes. For the players, winning was all about the glory of the game. The governments had their own reasons for victory. Pele, Argentina & The Dictators, captions, History 2018
‘The [1970] guys were together for three months long.’ ibid.
‘Football was associated with the success of the regime.’ ibid.
In March 1976 a military junta led by General Jorge Raael Videla seized power from President Isabel Peron. In the following years up to 30,000 opponents of the regime disappeared. ibid.
It all began with a beautiful pass. Looking for Eric 2009 starring Steve Evets & Eric Cantona & Stephanie Bishop & Gerard Kearns & Stefan Gumbs & Lucy-Jo Hudson & Matthew McNulty & Laura Ainsworth & Max Beesley & John Henshaw et al, director Ken Loach, Cantona
I suggest a jump off the nearest block of flats. ibid.
I love to surprise the crowd, you know. ibid.
You have to trust your team-mates always. Otherwise we are lost. ibid.
‘This is the pinnacle, the climax, this is what we work for.’ Managing England: The Impossible Job, Bobby Robson, Yesterday 2018
13 managers have since been appointed as England manager. The role has become known as The Impossible Job. ibid. caption
In the years that followed England’s World Cup win, Ramsey was criticised due to his perceived negative style of play. ibid.