Winston DuBose: Foreign Players in the Football League Interview
Winston DuBose was a US national team goalkeeper, and the first American player to try his luck in the Football League in modern times. He spent most of his career with the Tampa Bay Rowdies and won an NASL Championship with Tulsa Roughnecks in 1983, earning 14 caps for his country between 1979 and 1985. …
The 1982 World Cup finals
The 1982 World Cup tournament kicked off on 13 June at the Nou Camp, Barcelona. After all the months of anticipation and extensive build-up, Argentina met Belgium following the opening ceremony. First Group Stage [Group 3] Erwin Vandenbergh’s surprise winner for the Belgians was the first goal in an opening match for 20 years as…
Spain World Cup 1982: Qualifying and Build-Up
Spain 1982 was the biggest World Cup to date, played between 13 June and 11 July. The expanded tournament of 24 nations was instigated by FIFA President, the Brazilian João Havelange, to include increased representation from Africa and Asia. Among the 52 games, 14 more than in Argentina four years earlier, semi-finals were restored for…
1992 European Championship finals
The 1992 European Championship finals took place in Sweden between 10 and 26 June. This was the last of the eight-team Euro tournaments which began in 1980 as England was to host an expanded edition with sixteen teams in 1996. It was Sweden’s first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup – all four venues…
NASL: The British Abroad (Football in North America, Part Three)
After the rise and fall of the American Soccer League in the 1920s – a competition featuring a strong British influence – the next attempt at a professional league in North America started with wholly imported teams. The United Soccer Association was launched in 1967, with Stoke, Sunderland, Wolves (plus Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hibs, Glentoran…
Memories of Italia 90: Thirty Years Ago
The 1990 World Cup, which took place between the 8th June and the 8th July in Italy, brings back a lot of memories. I was 16 and able to give my full attention to four weeks of football, a luxury I appreciate even more at this distance. I was an England fan but keen to…
Italia 90: Background & Qualification
Italy won the bid to host the 1990 World Cup at a FIFA vote in 1984, comfortably ahead of the Soviet Union. This meant they hosted the tournament for the second time after their victory in 1934, and only a decade after the European Championship finals were held in Italy. Twelve cities were chosen to…
1930 World Cup: Anniversary of the first finals
July 2020 sees the 90th anniversary of the 1930 World Cup finals, hosted in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo. Instigated by FIFA President, Frenchman Jules Rimet, thirteen nations accepted the invitation to compete in the historic first tournament. Four of the squads made the arduous trans-Atlantic crossing from Europe. The opening two games kicked off simultaneously…
1980 European Championship finals
The 1980 European Championship finals took place in Italy between 11-22 June. It was the first edition of the tournament with eight teams, divided into two groups with the winners progressing straight to the final – semi-finals were introduced four years later. Panini celebrated the occasion with their first dedicated ‘Europa’ sticker album. Five nations…
Mexico 1970 World Cup: 50 years ago
Mexico 1970, the ninth World Cup, is widely regarded as the greatest in living memory, won by its finest team. Though before my time, it is referenced by a generation as the finals where ‘the beautiful game’ triumphed, and casts a shadow over the World Cups which followed. It is chiefly remembered for Brazil’s historic…
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