No, you haven't picked up Roy of the Rovers by mistake. A kid on holiday has really signed for Mallorca after a scout saw him having a kick–about, as Neil White relates
Not since Steve Norman and Martin Kemp moved from Spandau Ballet to Melchester Rovers in the early 1980s has there been as unlikely a transfer as the one that took 18-year-old apprentice mechanic Jimmy Stevenson from Alloa Athletic to Real Mallorca.
Brazil win again, but are the other sides there just to make up the numbers? Robert Shaw reports
You won’t find the likes of Jorginho, Junior Negão and Benjamin complaining, as Charlton did, that they have to play on a beach. That is because they form part of Brazil’s triumphant squad that sealed the country’s eighth win at the World Beach Soccer Championship held in Rio this February. And with corporate sponsorship funding them as full-time professionals and an established circuit in Brazil it was little surprise that they took the title by beating Spain 8-2 in the final. In fact the only time that it has eluded Brazil was in 2001 when Portugal recorded a win in the north-eastern state of Bahia.
Should Northern Ireland once again pick some players from domestic football? Davy Millar thinks so and fondly remembers the few given a chance
Even while the domestic scene has struggled and the best school-age players have been hoovered up by English clubs, there is an underlying belief among Northern Ireland supporters that things would be better if only there were a few Irish League names in the national squad. To the outsider, handing out international jerseys to players who have failed to attract the interest of even the lowliest Third Division club might seem a rash move but at least the local players can be guaranteed to bring a more robust attitude than is usual at this level. After all, none of us watching Spain string 87 passes together could help being thrilled by the idea of the move breaking down courtesy of an Irish League boot coming into contact with Gaizka Mendieta’s genitalia.
Ivan Campo moved to Bolton Wanderers to escape the torture of Real Madrid, but as Sid Lowe writes, he may have gone to the wrong place
When Iván Campo swapped Madrid for Bolton, few tears were shed – least of all by Campo himself. “Leaving meant I could start enjoying life again,” he said after his goalscoring Premiership debut. With Rodney Marsh’s words ringing in his ears, Campo may wish to revise that opinion now, but it was born of the sad truth that his Real Madrid career was as troublesome as his English adventure has turned out to be.
To the surprise of many the former giants of the European game came close to hosting Euro 2008, but Ray Dexter believes a football revival is a long way off
As 19-year-old Bela Koplarovics of Zalaegerszeg bundled the ball past Manchester United’s rather ponderous defence in the crumbling Nep Stadium in August, Hungarian football found itself in the world football spotlight for the first time in a generation. The result, greeted as some kind of sporting miracle in the bars of Budapest, allowed the people to forget the twin scandals of why over half the seats in their beloved national stadium were empty for such a big game (the entire upper tier was deemed too unsafe to be used) and why Vodafone, Manchester United’s sponsor, were allowed to buy 15,000 of the remaining 28,000 tickets for their corporate clients and users.