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Unsung Heroes in World Cups: Tostao | 1970 Mexico
The 1970 FIFA World Cup was held in Mexico. It was the first World Cup to be televised in colour, staged outside of Europe or South America, and allowed for in-match substitutions. Red and yellow cards were introduced for the first time in…
Unsung Heroes in World Cups: Amarildo | 1962 Chile
The 1962 World Cup in Chile is one of the least fondly remembered tournaments in the history of the World Cup. The lack of infrastructure, widespread poverty, and unemployment issues, in addition to the poorly addressed Valvadia Earthquake,…
Unsung Heroes in World Cups: Didi | 1958 Sweden
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…
Unsung Heroes in World Cups: Zizinho | 1950 Brazil
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…
Unsung Heroes in World Cups: Gyorgy Sarosi | 1938 France
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…
Unsung Heroes of World Cups: Attilio Ferraris | 1934 Italy
The 1934 FIFA World Cup was held under the auspices of the Fascist regime in Mussolini’s Italy. I would love to point out the differences which the 1934 World Cup and the recent ones, but I can't help but be inundated by the similarities.…
Unsung Heroes of World Cups: Pedro Cea | 1930 Uruguay
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…
An Ode to Paco Gento and his 9 European finals | Part 2
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…
An Ode to Paco Gento and his 9 European finals | Part 1
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…
A spotlight on Mjallby AIF: Fairytale in Sweden
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…