Soccer
-
We all know how Hitler used the 1936 Summer Olympics as a massive propaganda tool, and even in 2026 the second-largest sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup, remains deeply politicised. But this is nothing new. So, with the World Cup just a week away, let’s take a look back at the 1934…
-
No this is not a piece on World War 2 or any other war for that matter,although it is often said that football is war. The Battle of Santiago is the name given to a particularly infamous football match during the 1962 FIFA World Cup. It was a game played between host Chile and Italy…
-
Now that the preparations for the FIFA 2026 World cup are well on their way, it might be a good time to have a look at the history of Football. I will be referring to the sport as Football (and not soccer), because the name is Associated Football. It is one of the most if…
-
Dutch football manager Rinus Michels once said, “Football is war.” The Estadio Nacional disaster was a tragic event that took place on May 24, 1964, at the Estadio Nacional in Lima, Peru. It is still the deadliest football disaster in history. Here are the key details of the disaster: On 24 May 1964, Peru hosted…
-
I’ve written about Eddy Hamel before, but I wanted to revisit his story as we’re in the middle of the FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, with the finals set to take place in the United States — in East Rutherford, New Jersey in 2026. I hope his memory will be honored then. Eddy Hamel was…
-
(Originally posted on December 28, 2018) For the size of the country it is astonishing how many football greats come from the Netherlands. Names like Johann Cruijff, Johan Neeskens, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Arjen Robben to name but a few, but the name Sjaak Swart certainly belongs in that list. Sjaak (Sjakie) Swart…
-
There was a bit of a scandal this week in Dublin. On of the Dublin based soccer teams,Ballybrack, pretended that one of their star players was killed in a car crash. The team wanted to postpone an up coming match and came up with the death as an excuse. The ting is though there was…
-
It is often believed that the Austrians accepted the annexation lying down. For a big part that was true, however, not everyone was so enthusiastic about the “Anschluss.” Of Czech descent, Sindelar was born Matěj Šindelář in Kozlov, Moravia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the son of Jan Šindelář, a blacksmith, and his wife Marie (née Švengrová). Despite occasional claims that…
History of Sorts 
You must be logged in to post a comment.