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Cris Freddi looks back at the highs and lows of the European Championship. Guess which category England appear most in

1960: USSR 2, Yugoslavia 1 aet (Paris)
The Soviets were a little lucky to reach the last four, the Fascist government having withdrawn Spain from the quarter-final, but once there they were generally in charge, conceding only one goal in the two matches while wearing down the Czechs (3-0) and the skilful Yugoslavs, their big centre-forward Viktor Pondelnik scoring the winner in extra time. Yugoslavia consoled themselves by winning the Olympic title later that year. To no-one’s surprise, then or now, none of the British countries entered.
Player of the tournament: Lev Yashin, prominent in match reports and beaten only once by a deflection from his captain Igor Netto.
Cock-up of the tournament: Anything by the French defence. Leading 4-2 with a quarter of an hour to go in the semi-final with Yugoslavia, they concede three in three minutes.

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Dear WSC
I’m sorry for having caused a misunderstanding with a line from my piece, Hardcore Football. Of course Derek Megginson is perfectly right (Letters, WSC No 111): Matthäus, Völler and Klinsmann were neither born in the Ruhr, nor have they ever played for a team from this region; actually, few places can be imagined that are further removed from the Ruhr than these gentlemen’s respective birthplaces. And that, I have to confess, was supposed to be my point.“Matthäus, Völler, Klinsmann . . . they all come from here, the Ruhr” was not meant to be taken literally; it functions as a metaphor (to avoid another complaint: yes, in highbrow lingo it’s a synecdoche). I thought a reader would stumble over this statement and, as a consequence, have a closer look at the err, subordinate clause, “the place where German football was spawned”. No matter how smart, suave and stinking rich these modern pros may be, they are still footballing descendants of the men with furry brows and callused hands. That’s what I wanted to say; and I thought it would work, because few people ran out and checked JFK’s birth certificate when he claimed, “Ich bin ein Berliner.” Alas, it’s not what you want to say, it’s what you say. Any misunderstanding in a text is always the writers;’ fault; metaphors are tricky bastards, and they have fooled better writers than me.  We all make mistakes (Derek made one too: Pelé wasn’t born in Scarborough; he was born in Tres Caracoes, Brazil; it’s true that he spent the summers of his youth in Scarborough, with his uncle Simon Garfunkel, but he never would have qualified for Walter Winterbottom’s team). I promise to be less pretentious from now on.
Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger, Witten (birthplace of nobody), Germany (home to few)

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What makes Ajax so good? It seems to have a lot to do with what they teach their under 12s, as John Perlman reports

On the last Sunday in April, Ajax fans thronged up the Middenweg that runs through Amsterdam’s eastern suburbs and covered their beloved old De Meer Stadium in red and white for the very last time. The players responded to the occasion – it’s a habit they have – and hammered Willem II of Tilburg 5-1 to secure a 26th league title, Ajax’s third in succession.

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In a few weeks' time FIFA will decide whether the 2002 World Cup will go to South Korea or Japan. Jon Watts thinks that the outsiders may yet pull off a surprise

Pedigree underdogs, South Korea are at it again. The country which has almost-but-not-quite pulled off shock victories against Germany and Spain in recent World Cup finals is threatening once again to upset the odds. Competing with those economic and political heavyweights, Japan, to host 2002, South Korea started as rank outsiders, but, true to form, the contest, now entering its closing stages, is proving a lot closer than was billed.

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Osasu Obayiuwana surveys some of the pitfalls that lie in wait for African players hoping to pursue careers in Europe

Top quality African players are appearing in Europe in increasing numbers but amongst all the success stories, like George Weah and Finidi George, are just as many tales of hardship, of players whose naïvete on financial issues has been taken advantage of by rapacious clubs or business managers.

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