The two men most closely associated with Ajax’s major successes are at the centre of yet another power struggle, reports Derek Brookman
When the Ajax supervisory board announced on November 16 that Louis van Gaal was to be appointed as director, the news came as a shock. Van Gaal left his position as the club’s technical director in 2004 after a disagreement, saying he had been deeply insulted and would never return.
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Sunday, January 1st, 2012 - Book reviews
Alex Anderson enumerates the different ways clubs symbolise their trophies and the confussion it can generate
During the TV coverage of the Premier League’s finale last season, I was puzzled that Manchester City had three stars on their jerseys when they were going for their third title. It turns out that the stars are purely decorative, not above the City crest but part of it. I am no longer confident about what’s symbolised by any stars sewn onto any jersey.
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Wednesday, December 21st, 2011 - Book reviews
Adam Bushby and Rob MacDonald discuss Manchester City’s proposed new youth facility
Manchester City’s application for a new youth academy and training facility, covering 80 acres and set to cost £100 million, will be considered by the city council on December 22. It is perhaps the most audacious of the various methods by which clubs have sought to emulate Barcelona’s La Masia academy. While the latter has evolved – it moved to a new location on June 30 as Masia-Centre de Formació Oriol Tort – and facilities all over the world have been refurbished and updated piecemeal, City are the only club attempting to drop an entire state-of-the-art complex on top of an already successful academy.
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Wednesday, December 21st, 2011 - The Archive
Despite the 2010 World Cup the South African Soccer League is struggling to draw crowds, writes George Thomson
The Cape Town Stadium might just be the most spectacular football arena in the world. Perched on the ocean’s edge between upmarket Green Point and the tourist-friendly Victoria and Albert waterfront, the location was earmarked specifically by Sepp Blatter, who felt the dramatic backdrop of Table Mountain would provide the defining image of the 2010 World Cup finals.
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Friday, October 21st, 2011 - The Archive
Adam Bate explores the unwanted attention that success in Europe’s lesser leagues has brought from the big fish in England and Spain
“Before we declare that Wolverhampton are invincible, let them go to Moscow and Budapest. And there are other internationally renowned clubs: AC Milan and Real Madrid to name but two. A club world championship, or at least a European one – larger, more meaningful and more prestigious than the Mitropa Cup and more original than a competition for national teams – should be launched.”
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Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 - The Archive