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Interesting reads


Woody
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Not many football fans actually know Puskas managed in, or well even visited to Australia. Ask anyone, no clue.

From an American journo too? Good read.

Here's a link to an article from one of my favourite blogs. ''In Bed with Maradona''.

In the summer I attended the Football Supporters Europe annual congress in Copenhagen. One afternoon we had a bit of spare time, and I ended up catching the train back to the city centre from Bröndby with Jonas Gabler. The train journey turned into a little walk to the hippie commune „Christiania“, followed by getting trapped in a cafe due to a monsoon (there are worse places than Christiania to get trapped), followed by a very complicated journey through flooded Copenhagen to get to an even more flooded national stadium. During all of this, I bombarded Jonas with questions about ultras, which he very patiently answered, ignoring my occasional sarcasm and own bias based on which terrace in Germany I happen to stand on.

Jonas Gabler, has written a book called „Die Ultras: Fussball Fans und Fussballkulturen in Deutschland“ (translates as The Ultras – Footballs Fans and Footballcultures in Germany), based on his previous work in Italy both as part of his University Education and placement at the fan organisation „Progetto Ultra“ in Italy. The book has so far been sold successfully in Germany, but sadly hasn’t been printed thus far in English. Due to the general enthusiasm in England for the German game and its atmosphere, I thought it would be worthwhile doing an interview with him in English to at least get a bit of his knowledge out over here.

http://inbedwithmaradona.com/journal/2011/12/13/when-ibwm-met-jonas-gabler.html

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Australia United.

Melbourne writer Tony Wilson is writing an article for Schip Happens! next issue (Derby on 4 Feb). He has donated 2 copies of his book for Heart fans. We'll probably do a comp.

"In one mad month, Australia discovered what the rest of the world already knew. The FIFA World Cup is the greatest sporting event on earth.

Tony Wilson was in Germany for every minute of the Socceroos World Cup roller coaster - from those eight magical minutes against Japan in Kaiserslautern and the Samba showdown with Brazil in Munich, to the dramatic draw with Croatia in Stuttgart and the final catastrophe against Italy back in Kaiserslautern.

In a journey through 13 German towns and cities, with a stop-off in Strasbourg for the Tour de France, Wilson met bikini-clad Brazilians, a crazy conga line of Ghanaians, and a fan who hasn't missed a Socceroos game since 1969.

He learned how to say "We're going to Berlin" in seven languages, discovered German delicacies such as calves' feet, and sung the new Aussie classic "You've got no kangaroos". He was even part of a mission to hand deliver a bag of Cherry Ripes to Harry Kewell.

Tony Wilson is a fan, observer and student of the game. Australia United is his story.

Edited by Robinho
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3 October 1984 - The Day The Lights Went Out For The NASL

On 3 October 1984, the Chicago Sting won the North American Soccer League title over the Toronto Blizzard in a match that turned out to be the league's last.

Established in 1968, the NASL grew to prominence in the 1970s due in large part to the signing of high-profile players like Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, and George Best and, by 1978, included a total of 24 teams across the United States and Canada.

But the anticipated crowds failed to materialize and the team owners suffered substantial financial losses, resulting in several clubs folding or moving to the lower-tier (and less costly) Major Indoor Soccer League. At the start of the 1984 season, the NASL had dropped to only nine teams, four in the Eastern Division and five in the Western.

Two teams from each division met in the playoffs, which consisted of a pair of semifinal matches, followed by a best-of-three final, with Chicago and Toronto advancing over their Western Division counterparts to set up an all-Eastern final. Chicago won the first leg in Toronto, 1-2, on 1 October, then won the second in Chicago two days later, 3-2, rendering the scheduled third match unnecessary. With the win, Chicago became only the second team (after the Cosmos) to win more than one NASL title.

After Chicago's victory, Blizzard supporters knocked over a police barricade and invaded the pitch, forcing officials to hold the trophy ceremony in Chicago's locker room.

The NASL intended to return for another season, but several more teams, including Chicago and New York, defected to the MISL. With only two clubs left, the NASL folded in early 1985

Plenty more interesting football historia on this blog too

http://tdifh.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/3-october-1984-day-lights-went-out-for.html

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How WW1's influence on football (long read). Really interesting article.

@jw1739 & @Murfy1  think you would enjoy this,

Quote

The Last Pass

By Owen Phillips & Andrew Aloia

On the orders of Captain Wilfred Nevill, a football was booted into no man's land for troops to follow as they left their trenches.

This was no game.

These men weren't racing through on goal having breached the defence on a muddy football pitch, they were British soldiers bearing down on German lines on the first tragic day of the Battle of the Somme.

Many only survived a few steps.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/the_last_pass

 

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