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Long-form football features, in-depth stories and exclusive content from the Footy Times team.
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 a…
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: 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…
Ernst Kuzorra: Belonging and playing in Nazi Germany | Part II
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…
Miguel Angel Russo: An Obituary
Four months before he led Boca Juniors to the club's latest Copa Libertadores crown, Angel Miguel Russo was seated alone at a bar in Buenos Aires. Jonathan Wilson, one of the most accomplished football writers of our time, had incidentally…
The Long Throw: From Chaos to Calculation
When Chelsea met Leeds United in the final of the FA Cup in 1970, it produced one of the most exhilarating contests for what was then the most prestigious prize in English football. It was, in many ways, a clash of styles, the flashy and…
How Stats and Metrics Reflect Amorim’s Success
Manchester United continues to seek a breakthrough. Last winter, when Rúben Amorim arrived at Old Trafford, he outlined his vision to tackle the club's on-field issues. While he remains committed to his words, he is working to develop a…