FBH Series

Inter vs Juventus 1998: The Ronaldo Penalty That Italian Football Never Escaped

On April 26, 1998, Ronaldo Nazário collided with Mark Iuliano inside the Juventus penalty area. Referee Piero Ceccarini waved play on. Seconds later, Juventus...

Alan Hansen: The Illusion of Ease

Alan Hansen is remembered by many for one sentence. That is the problem. The deeper story is of a defender who changed British football,...

Socrates: The Doctor Who Refused to Obey Football

The moment that defined him The air in Seville did not move. It hung over the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, thick and unmoving, as if...

Those good ol' days

Johan Cruyff at the Bernabéu: The Night Football Changed Direction

Key Takeaways: • Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona debut changed the rhythm of a struggling side almost immediately • The 5-0 win at the Bernabéu was not just...

Euro 96 and the Rebirth of Germany: Unity, Resilience, and Wembley 1996

The mid-1990s in Europe were a time of profound cultural and political flux, defined by the falling of old barriers and the energetic rise...

The Golden Era of Hungarian Football

Introduction: Setting the Scene In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, Europe was a continent remaking itself. The war had left scars across...

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS

David Ginola: The Enigmatic Maestro of French Football

November 1993: The moment that stayed It is late. Too late for improvisation. France need control, nothing more. A point will take them to the World...

Jay-Jay Okocha: The footballer who made people fall in love with the game

There are footballers who are measured by medals, footballers who are measured by numbers, and footballers who are measured by memory. Jay-Jay Okocha belongs in...

Basque-Only: A Double Edged Sword for Athletic Club

Today's throwback piece comes from August 2018 and our sister site Tale of Two Halves - with Athletic Club going well in La Liga...

Long Reads

Inter vs Juventus 1998: The Ronaldo Penalty That Italian Football Never Escaped

On April 26, 1998, Ronaldo Nazário collided with Mark Iuliano inside the Juventus penalty area. Referee Piero Ceccarini waved play on. Seconds later, Juventus...

Michel Platini: The Genius Who Arrived Before the Game Did

Turin, May 1985. Michel Platini places the ball down and steps back. The stadium is full, but the atmosphere is wrong. It is loud without...

Roberto Baggio: The genius football tried to reduce to one penalty

Pasadena, 1994: the image that refused to leave Roberto Baggio walks back slowly, head down, alone with the noise. The ball has gone over the bar....