Apalak

The 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden was the first time that video technology in the World Cup seemed good enough to match the spectacle. And a spectacle it was. From Fontaine’s record goal-scoring spree to Garrincha and Pele’s self-exposition…

The 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland remains the only world cup that saw a goals per game average of more than 5. It is also notable for an unnecessarily overcomplicated format that had conventional groups of four, but teams didn't play…

After a 12-year-long hiatus due to the Second World War, the FIFA World Cup reconvened in Brazil in 1950 for its fourth staging. Coming after two World Cups using a straight knock-out format, this was the only World Cup that did not have a…

The 1938 FIFA World Cup was staged in France as Europe was driving headlong into a history-defining war without remotely acknowledging the possibility of such. The crisis-riddled backdrop cast a shadow over the proceedings. In a…

The first ever World Cup staged in Montevideo, Uruguay, feels today like a dreamt-up patchwork of events and/or myths ranging from ridiculous to profound. A tournament held 95 years ago was almost nothing like the behemoth World Cup has…

Barcelona halted Madrid's undefeated run in the round of 16 in the 1960/61 European Cup, but Madrid were back playing their sixth final in the seventh iteration of the tournament. A 28-year-old Paco Gento was captaining Los Blancos against…

Paco Gento maintained that he was “a dissatisfied player”. Such a suggestion would feel outlandish because Gento won 12 league titles and 6 European Cups and etched himself deeply into the folklore of the game. Still, it is a testament to…

The Swedish top division, Allsvenskan, has been operational for more than a century now. Never in its history has Sweden been considered a powerhouse of the club game. Among its clubs, only Malmö FF has been sporadically present at European…

It was always on the cards. The notorious Forest owner had never seemed quite patient, and the winless run that the newly appointed Ange Postecoglou was overseeing had finally plunged the club into the relegation places. Minutes after the…

Ernst Kuzorra had been associated with Schalke 04 since his boyhood. In the years before the formalisation of players’ wages and transfer fees, most German footballers were essentially one-club men. Kuzorra also spent his whole playing…