International prints

Born in Flero, Italy, on 19th May 1979, Andre Pirlo, nicknamed l'architetto (‘the architect’), is a living legend of Italian football. One of the most iconic and cultured playmakers of recent generations, he has enjoyed a football renaissance in the twilight of his career. Having served as an integral part of AC Milan’s midfield for over decade, he began to feel that he was becoming...

Battle of Santiago (Chile v Italy 1962). The 1962 FIFA World Cup Chile was marred by violence. The infamous first-round match between host Chile and Italy (2–0) is known as the Battle of Santiago. It is probably the most violent game in the history of the World Cup. The match saw repeated, deliberate attempts from players on both sides to...

When the Brazilian national football team (Seleção Brasileira) participated in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, they maintained their record of being the only team to have entered every World Cup Finals. The finals, held in Spain, promised beautiful football, iconic stars, unforgettable matches and moments of high drama. The most gifted collection of footballers at the tournament, without doubt, were...

Inherent within Diego Armando Maradona’s nickname of El Pibe de Oro (golden boy/kid) is a sense of mischief impossible to translate verbatim. The pibe is a classic anti-establishment rogue, street smart and full of guile. Diego was born 30th October 1960, in Villa Fiorito, an impoverished district of Buenos Aires. By the time he was 10 he was already a...

Emilio Butragueño Santos (born 22 July 1963 in Madrid) is a former Spanish footballer. He joined Real Madrid's youth system in 1981. During this period, Butragueño acquired the nickname 'El Buitre' (The Vulture), a play on his surname. He was given his senior debut by Alfredo Di Stéfano on 5 February 1984. Prior to his first team debut, there was...

Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (born 24 May 1966) is a French actor and former footballer who began his professional football career with Auxerre in 1983. It has been commented that, at nine, Cantona was already playing like a fifteen-year-old. Though he possessed unquestionable creative ability he was also a volatile character and soon became involved in a catalogue of disciplinary...

Franz Anton Beckenbauer was born 11 September 1945 in Munich, amid the ruins of post-war Germany. He joined the youth team at Bayern Munich when he was 14, and three years later gave up his job as a trainee insurance salesman to become a professional footballer. He was nicknamed 'Der Kaiser' ('The Emperor') because of his elegant style, his leadership...

Hidetoshi Nakata was born on 22nd January 1977, Yamanashi in Japan. He started his football journey with Hokushin Boys Football Club’s youth side in 1986. Nakata went on to become the most popular footballer in Japan and arguably the most popular Asian footballer of all time. He played in the top flight of two European leagues, the Italian Serie A...

RIP Johan Cruyff: April 25, 1947 - March 24 2016. Born in Amsterdam, Holland, Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (Cruyff) was one of the most famous exponents of the football philosophy known as Total Football explored by Rinus Michels for Ajax of Amsterdam and KNVB. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He was described as 'Pythagoras in...

John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE, was born 7 November 1963 in Kingston, Jamaica, and is widely regarded as one of the best wingers in the history of English domestic league football.The English national side had missed out on a place at Euro 84, and as a result embarked on small tour of South America. The highlight of the trip was...

There are relatively few players whose sheer brilliance have helped revolutionise the game of football, but former USSR No1 Lev Yashin is unquestionably one of them. He is widely considered to be the greatest and most innovative goalkeeper ever, and is the only one ever to win the European Footballer of the Year (1963). Yashin’s popularity grew rapidly thanks to...

Manuel Francisco dos Santos was born in Pau Grande, a district of Magé, in the state of Rio de Janeiro (October 28, 1933 – January 20, 1983). He was known by the nickname 'Garrincha' (Portuguese for 'little bird'). His nickname is thought to have derived from his love of hunting small wrens 'garrinchinhas' and the fact that he was as...

Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (born 15 July 1954 in Bell Ville, Córdoba) is a retired Argentine footballer, most notable for being the leading goalscorer in the 1978 World Cup tournament hosted in Argentina. Nicknamed 'El Matador', he scored six goals in the tournament, two in the final against the Netherlands, which Argentina won 3-1. He had his most successful year...

Paul John Gascoigne (born 27 May 1967, Dunston, Gateshead, England), commonly referred to as Gazza, joined Newcastle United as an apprentice in 1983. His talent as a youngster was recognised by manager Jack Charlton who handed him his full first team debut in 1985. He spent three more years at St James' Park where he won the PFA Young Player...

Paul McGrath was born in Ealing, London, UK (1959). At the age of four weeks old he was given up for adoption. Enduring a tough childhood, he grew up behind closed doors in a number of Church run orphanages in 1960s Dublin. His first professional football club was St Patricks Athletic, Ireland, where he drew the attention of several English...

During the 1980s, the French national team exhibited an elegant, skilful, and attacking style of play. Similar to their South American counterparts the team earned the nickname of the "Brazilians of Europe". They flourished under their coach Michel Hidalgo, and were led by the immensely gifted playmaker and captain Michel Platini, who, alongside Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse, and the tough...

Jose René Higuita Zapata is a former Colombian football goalkeeper nicknamed 'El Loco' – 'The Mad One'. Born 27 August 1966 in Barrio Castilla, Medellín, he pioneered the Scorpion kick and was notorious for his over-confident outfield play which included dribbling the ball out of defence and acting as sweeper. This same over-confidence led to some incredibly bad decisions in...

The legendary and iconic Roberto Rivelino, born 1946 in Sao Paolo, featured in three World Cups for Brazil, including their third and most celebrated success in Mexico in 1970. Lining up alongside the likes of Pele, Carlos Alberto, Gérson, Tostao and Jairzinho, he played a key role in what is widely acknowledged as being the greatest football squad of all...

Ruud Gullit (born as Ruud Dil, September 1st 1962 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch footballer turned manager, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. Raised in the school of ‘Total Footall’, he remains one of the most prestigious and accomplished players of the beautiful game and his incredible versatility allowed him to play as defender, midfielder and forward. In...

Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, born 19 February 1954 in Belém do Pará, Brazil. one of the great midfielders and most compelling characters in modern football history, Sócrates captained the Joga Bonita Brazil squad in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. In the same period he graduated from the Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, receiving a...

Brazil's 1982 World Cup squad, captained by Socrates, is widely regarded as the greatest team never to win the World Cup.Sócrates was capped 60 times for Brazil between May 1979 and June 1986, scoring 22 goals. He captained the national team at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, regarded by many as the best team ever not to win football's showcase...

The Hexagon (l' Hexagone) is an epithet of France, owing to the shape of its European mainland. The FIFA World Cup was contested in France in 1998 and 'Le football hexagonal' triumphed when the French national team won the World Cup on home soil. The team's World Cup success was seen as ultimate proof that integration had worked in France....

Zinedine Yazid Zidane; born 23 June 1972, in Marseille, France, is regarded as one of the game's all-time greats. One of only two three-time FIFA World Player of the Year winners, the French talisman’s career accomplishments are almost unequalled. Yet he left professional football under a cloud. Towards the end of the 2006 World Cup final he was dramatically sent...