Marco Tardelli screamed as if he were the medium for the emotions for the entire nation right at that moment. There, on a summer night in 1982, the world watched as the Italian defender perfectly illustrated what it feels like to score in the biggest game there is. At the same time, he demonstrated what…
Fabien Barthez on winning with France in 1998. Our manager, Aine Jacquet, did something very important — he isolated the squad in a cocoon for two months before the start of the tournament. We saw nothing of the outside world, so the added pressure of playing at home and the build-up didn’t really get through…
In 1990, England lost in a penalty shootout to West Germany in the World Cup semi final. Chris Waddle missed the final spot kick. He tells us what that was like. “I wasn’t even meant to take one Gazza was going to be the fifth taker, but everyone saw how upset he was after getting the…
How is training as a professional footballer different these days? The most significant difference is that now the training is tailored to suit each individual player. When I used to play everyone just did the same thing. I remember doing distance running as one whole group, so you had Neil Ruddock and Steve McManaman running…
Ismail Matar is arguably the most talented young player in the UAE team and an idolised star in his homeland. Matthew Pomroy spoke to him ahead of the biggest test of his short career, the up-and-coming friendly against Brazil. It’s not often you get the chance to meet your heroes. It’s even more of a…
Matt Pomroy 