The rules which determine international eligibility must be looked into, argues Steve Menary
Equatorial Guinea’s run to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations augurs badly for the credibility of future international tournaments. Only five players in the co-hosts’ squad were born in the country. Nine came from Spain, Equatorial Guinea’s former colonial rulers, but players such as Thierry Fidjeu and Narcisse Ekanga – the perpetrator of a shocking dive regularly revisited on YouTube – seemingly have no links to Equatorial Guinea at all.
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Sunday, April 1st, 2012 - The Archive
Andy Brassell on the French midfielder who filmed his adventures at the 2006 World Cup
The recent screening of Vikash Dhorasoo and Fred Poulet’s film Substitute at the Institut Français’ Ciné Lumière in London was prefaced by a drinks reception in the adjoining library of the Grade II-listed Art Deco building. The elegance of the setting could make many footballers feel ill at ease. The now-retired Dhorasoo seemed more comfortable here than he would have been at some of his clubs.
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Sunday, April 1st, 2012 - The Archive
As fans of Manchester United and Liverpool traded insults the clubs looked more similar than ever
Liverpool and Manchester United will not play each other again until August at the earliest. We should all be thankful for that. The fallout from last October’s confrontation between Luis Suárez and Patrice Evra lasted for more than three months, incorporating secondary flare-ups at an FA Cup tie and the reverse league fixture. New developments were announced on an almost daily basis. Liverpool were accused of harbouring a fascist. Callers to radio phone-ins turned into linguists when debating the difference between “negro” the adjective and “negro” the noun. A pre-match handshake was subject to more forensic analysis than anything since the Zapruder film footage of the Kennedy assassination.
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Sunday, April 1st, 2012 - The Archive
Awarding spot-kicks from open play breaks the law of cause and effect, argues Ian Plenderleith
Since being appointed manager of Iraq last August, Zico has repeatedly made it clear that his principal aim is to guide the troubled nation’s football team to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil. Despite being well positioned to lead the 2007 Asian champions to the tournament in his homeland, the 58-year-old has discovered that winning over the Iraqi media is a more complicated issue.
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Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - The Archive
John Duerden on the Afghan national team who, only ten years after their reformation, nearly won their first international trophy
Comedian Jasper Carrott used to joke that he grew up thinking his favourite team as a child were actually called “Birmingham City-nil”. Kids these days could be forgiven for thinking that the adjective “war-torn” was permanently attached to Afghanistan. Yet, for a few short days in December, the nation’s football team was making different kinds of headlines.
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Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - The Archive