Search: 'UEFA'

The long decline of the mighty Magyars is reflected in club football, too, as the country's only European club competition winners descend into financial chaos. Jonathan Wilson reports

When things in Hungary are really bad, they are said to a béka segge alatt – under the belly of a frog. Football was generally held to have reached that point about 15 years ago. Since then, it has kept falling. Every summer the league descends into chaos, as clubs merge, move towns looking for sponsors, change names and go out of business. Matters seemed to have hit rock-bottom in 1999 with the farce that surrounded a bomb hoax at second division Dunakeszi. The hoaxers were foiled by a recorded message, advising them that Dunakeszi’s phone had been disconnected, but they could leave a message at the factory next door. And then came this summer.

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The team from Northern Ireland that play in the Republic are more used to international competition than most and well worth a famous UEFA Cup victory over opponents who take too much for granted. By Robbie Meredith

It may have been a common experience for Everton and Sheffield Wednesday fans, but for the first and perhaps only time in my life I’d really like to know what Niclas Alexandersson is thinking. The captain of IFK Gothenburg is wandering across the pitch at Derry City’s Brandywell ground, carrying a set of training bibs for his team’s pre-match warm-up, and is looking disconsolately up into the rickety main stand. Maybe he’s wondering what has happened to the Franz’n’Sepp show he witnessed first-hand in Dortmund, Berlin, Cologne and Munich as the right-back in Sweden’s underwhelming World Cup team.

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After three years in Milton Keynes, the Dons still don't have a proper ground and are facing up to League Two football. Graham Dunbar looks at the state of Pete Winkelman's bastard brainchild

The line-up of talent playing in Milton Keynes this year is surprisingly expensive and all thanks to a stagnating stadium-building project. Why else would Robbie Williams spend five September nights in Britain’s fastest-growing urban centre, were it not for the continuing and ludicrous unavailability of the new Wembley? The part-owner of Port Vale seems to have no further need to visit football grounds.

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Has there ever been an England manager with so few fans as Steve McClaren? Middlesbrough supporter Harry Pearson struggles to locate the soul of the man

You may think the new England boss Steve McClaren is barely interesting enough to justify the term enigma, but there is certainly one thing that is intriguing about the Yorkshireman – the reaction he has produced on Teesside. The rubicund 45‑year‑old is far and away the most successful manager in Middlesbrough’s history. He led Boro to their first major trophy, to their highest League position since the Second World War, a European final and two FA Cup semi-finals, yet despite that I have not met a single Boro fan who mourns his departure.

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Daniel Gray discovers that the past of Arsenal's recent opponents Dinamo Zagreb is far from ordinary

While the price of refreshments in their pristine Emirates abode is a more likely cause of protest for Arsenal fans than political events, for supporters of Champions League qualifier opponents Dinamo Zagreb the reality at home games is very different.  This manifested itself most in the final home game of last season, a 1‑0 victory over Hajduk Split on May 13, when, instead of indulging in the now traditional lap of honour, both club and followers celebrated Dinamo’s Croatian championship triumph by publicly lauding an alleged war criminal and demonstrating against his treatment.

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