When Saturday Comes | The half decent football magazine

Striking lucky

Dermot Corrigan tells of how a player more used to scoring in Drogheda and Derry made his full international debut in Tripoli

On the first weekend in June, most Irish football eyes were fixed on Macedonia, where the Republic of Ireland won 2-0 in a Euro 2012 qualifier. One head though – that of Dublin-born Eamon Zayed – was more interested in Group C of the African Cup of Nations qualifiers, where his Libyan team drew 1-1 away to the Comoros Islands to remain in the hunt for a place at next year’s finals.

Thursday, July 21st, 2011 - Book reviews

Keeping a promise

Though lavish spending dominates the headlines, John Duerden thinks structural development is changing the Chinese scene

Talk of a “new dawn” in Chinese football would have fans rolling their eyes, so often have they heard it before. This time, though, the talk of money in the local game doesn’t revolve around bribes or betting, but investment in star players in the top tier and, more importantly, funds found for grassroots and youth football.

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011 - Book reviews

Domestic disputes

Robert Shaw looks at how Brazilian football still has racial issues to resolve, especially once a footballer’s playing career has ended

Botafogo striker Sebastián Abreu put on odd boots – one white, one back – for the club’s derby with Flamengo in the Carioca (Rio state) championship on April 10, while another Rio club, Vasco da Gama, recently launched a shirt with a message on the collar about “democracy and inclusion”.

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011 - The Archive

Caucasus calling

Saul Pope looks at a rising challenge to the traditional elite of Russian football, with plenty of money and some famous faces

Since its creation in 1992 Moscow sides have largely dominated the Russian top flight, winning 14 of 19 league titles and taking the lion’s share of second and third places. Lately, this stranglehold has been broken somewhat by Zenit St Petersburg and Rubin Kazan. However, this season two teams from the North Caucasus – the scene of wars and insurgency for much of the last two decades – aim to upstage them all.

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011 - Book reviews

Generation game

Ian Plenderleith gets the feeling all the best goals have already been scored and all the best songs have already been written

When you hit middle age, it’s almost impossible not to fall into the trap of yearning for the days when things were different. Not necessarily better, just different. When nearly every house had just one telephone and one TV. When you played football in the same field every day with the other kids in the village using cowpats for goalposts (really). When a new album by the Jam was not just a new album by the Jam, but a significant event in your life that you looked forward to for weeks in advance. When a live football match on television was something very special that happened no more than a handful of times per year.

Saturday, May 21st, 2011 - The Archive

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Stories

Striking lucky

Dermot Corrigan tells of how a player more used to scoring in Drogheda and Derry made his full international debut in Tripoli

Keeping a promise

Though lavish spending dominates the headlines, John Duerden thinks structural development is changing the Chinese scene

Domestic disputes

Robert Shaw looks at how Brazilian football still has racial issues to resolve, especially once a footballer’s playing career has ended

Caucasus calling

Saul Pope looks at a rising challenge to the traditional elite of Russian football, with plenty of money and some famous faces

Generation game

Ian Plenderleith gets the feeling all the best goals have already been scored and all the best songs have already been written