Chelsea's manager has had an unprecedented career in football. At 16 he wrote to Bobby Robson criticising one of decisions. Robson challenged the teenager to back up his claim and he provided such statistical analysis that Robson was offered him a place on the club's youth coaching staff. And so began the meteoric rise of AVB. Once the protege of Robson and Mourinho, he lead Porto to an extraordinary league victory in his first season. In 2011 he moved to Chelsea winning the Barclays Trophy and all pre-season fixtures. If the winning streak continues he will leave Mourinho's shadow.
By the early months of 2012, it was clear that the appointment of Andre Villas-Boas as head coach at Chelsea wasn't delivering the required success. Instead, the club was spiralling towards its worst season of the Roman Abramovich era. On 4 March, Villas-Boas was dismissed, with his former assistant Roberto Di Matteo made interim head coach until the end of the season. Struggling in the league and with their place in the Champions League in peril, it was an appointment designed to make the best of things until a permanent replacement could be sought in the summer. Instead, under Di Matteo's guidance, Chelsea embarked on a run of performances that not only led to an FA Cup triumph, but resurrected their European hopes with improbable victories over Napoli, Benfica and Guardiola's all-conquering Barcelona before, against all odds, winning the Champions League by defeating Bayern Munich in their own stadium. This is the story of a triumph that came out of the blue.
Remember the 2013/14 Premier League season? Steven Gerrard's quick tumble, Manchester United's long collapse and Manchester City's remorseless pursuit of the title? No? Us neither, which is where this helpful Premier League Diary steps up.Use it to relive every missed handshake and defensive meltdown, to remind yourself of the classic moments of schadenfreude, hatred and contempt you felt for the assortment of chumps, charlatans and chancers playing out the 2013/14 season. Each copy includes some jokes of an adequate nature, more than one hundred exclusive footnotes, plus a list of all your favourite journalists' preferred vegetables. Yes, he went with okra.
£80 million in debt and with financial meltdown a matter of weeks away, in July 2003 Chelsea Football Club were saved from almost certain penury by Roman Abramovich, a reclusive young billionaire that few people outside his native Russia had heard of. Making History, Not Reliving It recounts the first decade of Roman’s rule in London mirrored against a backdrop of an ever-changing, social-media-driven, angst and envy-ridden world where the revolving door of change seems to spin as fast as that of the manager’s at Stamford Bridge. Granular season-by-season detail of exactly how Chelsea amassed three league titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, a Champions League and a Europa League in ten eventful years is entertainingly supplemented with news and entertainment bulletins and rounded off with enlightening and diverse points of view provided by a broad cross section of supporters unified by their blissful enjoyment of the desperate jealousy of rival fans now only able to relive the history that their own precious club’s once made.
The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them. Issue Eight Contents ------------ Cyprus ------------ * The Wrong Side of the Border, by Jacob Steinberg—After decades of stalemate, Northern Cypriot football may be about to come in from the cold * The Hangover of War, by Cyrus Philbrick—Almost four decades after the Turkish invasion, the shadow of conflict hangs over the Nicosia derby -------------- Interview -------------- * Sepp Blatter, by Philippe Auclair—The president of fifa admits he may stand for re-election in 2015 and reveals his concerns over the Qatar World Cup ------------ Theory ------------ * Mourinho's Cult of Personality, by Roy Henderson—How the Real Madrid manager's charismatic authority fosters loyalty * The Lawnmower and the Teapot, by Iain Macintosh—Barry Fry discusses how to motivate players and how the world of management has changed * The Bicycle Thief, by Lars Sivertsen—Zlatan Ibrahimovic has always been an individual—it's how he fits in ------------ Fans ------------ * But You Can't Change..., by Mike Calvin—How a Watford supporter ended up being converted into a Millwall fan * In the Shadow of the Goldfish, by Gary Hartley—Having lived the dream, Leeds have slowly drifted into a protracted doze * Paying the Price, by Craig Anderson—Rangers' administration and relegation were about far more than a club that couldn't pay its debts ---------------------------------- In Appreciation of... ---------------------------------- * Franco Baresi, by Sheridan Bird—How the great libero staged a remarkable recovery from a knee injury to play in the 1994 World Cup final * Brian Glanville, by Philippe Auclair—The doyen of English football writing discusses the forefathers of modern sports journalism * Ireland's Pioneers, by David Owen—This year marks the centenary of Ireland's first victory over England ------------ Africa ------------ * Eat Them Like Bread, by Jonathan Wilson—Nigeria ended their 19-year wait for a third Cup of Nations but a familiar sense of chaos remains * After the Circus, by Luke Alfred—What was the legacy of the World Cup for South Africa * The Great Administrator, by Tom Dunmore—How Ydnekatchew Tessema led the fight to have African football taken seriously * Bamako Twilight, by Stuart Roy Clarke—Away from the war, football goes on in the Malian capital ---------------- Polemics ---------------- * In Praise of Football, by Alex Keble—For all the commercialisation and scandal, football remains the purest and most demotic of cultural modes * Financial Fair Play?, by Steve Menary—How Champions League revenues can devastate competition in Europe's smaller leagues ------------ Fiction ------------ * The Limping God, part 3, by David Ashton—His football career ended by injury, John Brodie's life is going nowhere until he is sucked into the world of crime -------------------------- Greatest Games -------------------------- * Boca Juniors 2 Real Madrid 1, by Rupert Fryer—Toyota Intercontinental Cup final, National Stadium, Tokyo, 28 November 2000 -------------------- Eight Bells -------------------- * Football on TV, by Scott Murray—Key moments in the history of televising the game
Kevin Pietersen is a renowned cricketing renegade and one of the greatest - and most controversial - cricketers of his generation.Born in South Africa in 1980 to an Afrikaner father and English mother, he made his first-class cricket debut at the age of 17. In 1999, while playing with KwaZulu Natal, he impressed former England captain Nasser Hussain and the following year signed for Nottinghamshire where he had a stunning debut season.He moved to Shane Warne's Hampshire in 2004 and went on to make his international debut the same year, soon becoming a cornerstone of the England side, and playing a key role in the thrilling victory in the 2005 Ashes. His England career looked in jeopardy however after his short, and extremely controversial, stint as England captain in 2008 ended in his sacking. But Pietersen, never one to be kept down for long, cemented his comeback with a series of wonderful performances that led to be being named the Player of the Tournament in England's 2010 World Twenty20 win.Having left Surrey, Pietersen's career had another strange twist in the summer of 2012 when, amid a dismal home series against South Africa, he first retired from one-day internationals and was then dropped from the side for allegedly texting the opposition derogatory comments about his own team-mates.Finally back in the England fold, and fresh off a match-winning 186 in India, Pietersen looks in control once again. But, with him, controversy is never more than a switch-hit away.
Are you a life-long Spurs supporter? Is Tottenham Hotspur your local football club? Have you followed the team's progress in the 2012/2013 season or gone to watch them play? If so, you won't want to be without this new quiz book. Relive all the highs and lows of Spurs 2012/2013 season with the 100 challenging questions in this book, covering all aspects of the club’s performance including the players, goalscorers, away action, home games, wins, draws and losses. With a fitting foreword by Spurs TV commentator, Daniel Wynne, this book focuses exclusively on the events of the 2012/2013 season and, as all the questions centre around the club’s recent performance, this book can be enjoyed by Spurs fans of all ages. Forget those ‘before my time’ excuses and find out how much you really know about your favourite football club’s current form. So, brush up on your knowledge and impress your family and friends with the fascinating facts in The 2012/2013 Spurs Quiz Book. A must-have for all fans of Tottenham Hotspur FC.
Navdeep Rehill felt it was about time that football managers were given the credit they deserve. The Gaffer looks at how Sir Alf Ramsey tactically outwitted opposing managers in the 1966 World Cup, how Sir Alex Ferguson knocked Liverpool of their perch and how Brian Clough turned Nottingham Forest into the best team in Europe.
From the UK's most popular football magazine comes the essential annual for fans of the beautiful game. The 2012 Annual is packed full of Match's best-loved features as well as all the usual quizzes, games and posters of top players and teams. Year in, year out, Match remains the bestselling football annual and the one that discerning fans put at the top of their Christmas wish list.
