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“The parallels between Cruyff and Lennon are uncanny; working class heroes. They each suffer the life-defining loss of a parent. They get together with a bunch of other local boys. They invent something completely new. They become the face of the new pushy affluent generation of young people in their countries. And they both liked using words to spring surprises....

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...

Franco Baresi (born 8 May 1960 in Travagliato, Italy) and Paolo Maldini (born 26 June 1968 in Milan, Italy) are AC Milan legends, and widely renowned as two of game’s greatest ever defenders. Both players spent their entire professional careers at Milan, many of them together. Baresi put in 20 years from 1977 to 1997 playing 719 times, whilst Maldini...

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...

Sheffield is the birthplace of football and boasts the world's oldest clubs; Sheffield FC founded in 1857 (officially recognised by FIFA and the FA as the oldest football club in the world) and Hallam FC founded in 1860 (the world’s second oldest club). Hallam still play on their original ground, Sandygate Road, which is officially recognised by the Guinness Book...

Laurence Paul 'Laurie' Cunningham (8 March 1956 – 15 July 1989) was one of the greatest footballers that England have ever produced.  A precocious and extraordinarily quick winger, he was skillful, creative, and captured the imagination of the millions who watched him.  Born in Archway, London, Cunningham started in schoolboy football somewhat modestly, being turned down by Arsenal before joining...

On the afternoon of Sunday 23rd October 2011, fierce northwest rivals Manchester United and Manchester City met at United's Old Trafford Stadium. Both teams had started the season in extremely determined fashion, and after just eight games, were vying for the top spot in the Premier League. Sir Alex Ferguson's United had collected their record 19th league title the previous...

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...

Football is one of the most popular sports in the world and is often regarded as the most ‘globalized' profession. Although football is still relatively small in the biggest entertainment market of all; the USA, it is the most important component of this sector in the rest of the world. Football clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan...

Without doubt, Diego Maradona, is the greatest player the world has ever witnessed. The Argentina legend is inextricably linked with the colour blue, the sky blue (Albiceleste) of Argentina and the sea blue (Azzurri) of Napoli, derived from the blue waters of the Gulf of Naples. On 30 June 1984, Diego signed for Napoli from Barcelona, for a (then) world...

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...

Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish MBE (born 4 March 1951, Glasgow, Scotland, UK) is most noted for his phenomenal successes playing and managing Liverpool FC. On 10th August 1977, Liverpool manager Bob Paisley paid £440,000, a British record at the time, to bring Dalglish in from Scottish club Celtic, as a replacement for Kevin Keegan, an Anfield hero. He made his LFC...

Alexander Chapman Ferguson, Kt, CBE, popularly known as Sir Alex or Fergie, was born 31 December 1941 in Govan, Glasgow. Having presided over 23 years of phenomenal and sustained success at Manchester United, he is rightly regarded as the modern game’s greatest manager. Infamous for his uncompromising, competitive nature and ferocious temper - Sir Alex’s reputation for letting his players...

In 1905, a group of Italian immigrants who lived and worked in the port of a south-eastern barrio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, decided to found a football club. They agreed to honour their poor riverside neighbourhood named ‘La Boca’ (the mouth of the river). Today, the club has grown into arguably the biggest in South America - Club Athletico Boca...

Karl Marx argued that religion is the opium of the people. But it can equally be argued that football (soccer) is the religion of our times. There is an inherent value in following football; it can bond communities, gives people a sense of being part of something larger than themselves, and provides a diversion from the daily dramas of life....

The red dragon has been associated with Wales for centuries, and as such, the flag is claimed to be the oldest national flag still in use. It is considered that the Welsh kings of Aberffraw first adopted the dragon in the early fifth century in order to symbolise their power and authority after the Romans withdrew from Britain. Later, around...

On Wednesday 4 September 1867, the Wednesday Cricket Club formed a football branch to keep members together during the winter season. The cricket team played on Wednesday afternoons when members, craftsmen, shopkeepers and clerks had a half day off work. The new club was officially named ‘The Wednesday Cricket & Football Club’.  Although they were frequently referred to as Sheffield...

The son of a slaughterhouse worker, prolific striker Gabriel Omar Batistuta was born on 1 February 1969 in Avellaneda in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina.Nicknamed 'Batigol' as well as 'El Ángel Gabriel' (Spanish for Angel Gabriel), Batistuta played most of his club football with Italian side Fiorentina, in the beautiful, historic city of Florence - home of the Renaissance....

Based in the East End of London, West Ham United Football Club, were founded as Thames Ironworks in 1895. The Thames Ironworks was a famous shipbuilding yard and although the club have officially had nothing to do with the old industry for almost a century, the nicknames 'Hammers' and 'Irons', acquired as Thames Ironworks, have stuck ever since. West Ham supporters...

Born in Amsterdam on 10th May 1969, Dennis Bergkamp, nicknamed 'The Iceman', is a former Dutch international footballer. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal. He is widely regarded as one of the English Premier League's all-time greatest players. He has also finished third in the FIFA World Player of the Year award twice.Bergkamp was a renowned...