Tag Archives: Football

The King is Dead. Long Live the King, Part 2: Pelé the Man.

A banner put up by fans of Pelé’s former club Santos in his honour; as mentioned in the first part of this article, Pelé was often nicknamed “O Rei” (“The King,” in Portuguese). – BW Press/Shutterstock.com In the first part of this article on Pelé, I explored his club career, playing style, records, and inContinue reading “The King is Dead. Long Live the King, Part 2: Pelé the Man.”

Messi’s Road to Redemption, Part 1: A Hero’s Journey

Messi’s numerous titles and awards throughout his career – k4_creatives/Shutterstock.com Football is a beautiful, albeit immensely flawed game. However, like life, it can be particularly cruel and unfair at times. Rarely do we ever see the fairytale endings we desire for our sporting heroes. Gianluigi Buffon having the opportunity to win the UEFA Champion’s League finallyContinue reading “Messi’s Road to Redemption, Part 1: A Hero’s Journey”

The King is Dead. Long Live the King, Part 1: Pelé the Footballer.

There are some players who are synonymous with football. They not only played it professionally, but they lived and breathed it in the way that they won games and titles by completely dominating their opponents and entertaining fans simultaneously, leaving a lasting impression of them in our memories for years to come. One of thoseContinue reading “The King is Dead. Long Live the King, Part 1: Pelé the Footballer.”

Gianluca Vialli: The Definition of a Fighter

Vialli (centre) celebrating a goal with Sampdoria teammates Roberto Mancini (left) and Graeme Souness (right) Some footballers really do seem to have it all on the surface: fortune, fame, success, mansions, the partner of their dreams, and above all, a job playing the sport they love, more than almost anything else in life, on aContinue reading “Gianluca Vialli: The Definition of a Fighter”

[Non] Ho Visto Maradona, Part 3: Conquering the World: A Hero Atop Vesuvius

The second–last of four articles that form my tribute to the unique flawed genius, the late and great Diego Maradona. The third part of this series on Maradona examines his career at Napoli. The Importance of Football in Italy, and What it Means to Be Neapolitan Following the 1986 World Cup victory with Argentina, NapoliContinue reading “[Non] Ho Visto Maradona, Part 3: Conquering the World: A Hero Atop Vesuvius”

[Non] Ho Visto Maradona, Part 2: The Rise to Stardom

The second of four articles that form my tribute to the unique flawed genius, the late and great Diego Maradona. In the first part of this article, I introduced who Diego was, and explained his impact on fans and the history of the game. In this second part, I will delve into the early partContinue reading “[Non] Ho Visto Maradona, Part 2: The Rise to Stardom”

[Non] Ho Visto Maradona, Part 1: Who was Diego?

The first of four articles that form my tribute to the unique flawed genius, the late and great Diego Maradona. There have been few figures in football, let alone sports or other domains more broadly, that have divided fans as much as Diego Armando Maradona. By many, he is revered to the point of beingContinue reading “[Non] Ho Visto Maradona, Part 1: Who was Diego?”