England have surprisingly finished top of their group. A late Mark Wright header sends them through to the knockout stages. Italia 90: When Football Changed Forever III
England’s group games were all played on the island of Sardinia. ibid.
England’s first game in the later 16 is against Belgium, semi-finalists in the last World Cup. ibid.
The headlines changed from hooligans to heroes. ibid.
I’m not a genius so I can’t do it alone. The End of the Storm, Klopp, BBC 2022
Everyone will remember him as the greatest. Messi, BBC 2022
My name is Lionel Messi. I’m thirteen years old. And I’m a forward. ibid.
I need to speak to Brazil. Ronaldo is not in the team! The Phenomenon: Ronaldo, commentator
From then on I just had to conquer the world. ibid. Ronaldo
Questions being asked about the decision to play their star striker Ronaldo even though he was clearly unfit. Ibid. BBC news
We all heard something snap. ibid. trainer
In the big competitions in Italy I have to say we never got brilliant results. Dark Horses: Italy’s World Cup Triumph I: The Underdogs, Buffon, Sky Documentaries 2022
Lippi’s Italy was an underdog when the tournament started. ibid. Collina
Playing the first game was a great joy. ibid. Klinsmann
Totti is a legend. ibid.
Red for De Rossi! ibid.
When Marco Matarezzi got sent off a few minutes into the second half … I see ghosts again … Dark Horses: Italy’s World Cup Triumph II
A very clear penalty. ibid. Collina
I saw people crying and thanking us. Dark Horses: Italy’s World Cup Triumph III, player
Close your suitcases. We’re going to Berlin. Ibid. Match commentator
He’s [Zouzou] an awesome player … It was very strange to face him. Dark Horses: Italy’s World Cup Triumph IV
We no longer understood anything. I mean we’d done it. ibid.
2006 was truly magical. ibid. Buffon
In 2019 Britain was gripped by a social media scandal as two women went to war. Wagspiracy: Vardy v Rooney, BBC 2023
It’s Rebekah Vardy’s account. Rebekah Vardy denied having anything to do with it. The truth of what happened is known only to an inner circle of friends, agents and journalists. None of whom appeared in court. ibid.
July 2022: ‘This is about reputation; it is not money.’ ibid. TV outside court
‘It has its own nickname. It has its own podcast series.’ ibid.
‘This is a podcast about toxic friendships …’ ibid.
By 2010 the public’s interest in the WAGS had begun to overshadow the football their husbands were playing. ibid.
Rebekah Vardy has lost her libel case against Coleen Rooney. She is not a credible witness.’ ibid. BBC outside court
‘We were young, were in love, we had it all, we went to drop the kids off at school and my life changed for ever.’ The Footballer, His Wife and the Crash, wife of Jlloyd Samuel, ITV 2023
‘Who is my husband? Do I actually really know him?’ ibid.
Jlloyd has been playing in Aston Villa’s first team for four years. He and Emma have two young children, Javarne and Lakyle. ibid.
Desperate to play, 26-year-old Jlloyd signs for Bolton Wanderers for £20k a week. Jlloyd, Emma and their two children move to Manchester. ibid.
It takes six months for Jlloyd to recover from his injury. With mounting debt and a family to support, he is loaned from Bolton to championship side Cardiff. He has to prove he can still perform on the pitch to get his contract renewed. ibid.
Less than 48 hours before the play offs, the most important game of the season, Jlloyd is caught drinking on a night out with some teammates. The news makes it to the press. ibid.
In order to support his family, and with no contract offers in the UK, Jlloyd is forced to move to Iran to accept a £4k a week offer from Tehran’s biggest team, Esteghal. ibid.
After 5 years in Iran and without a contract for the second time in his career, Jlloyd returns to the UK. This is the first time Jlloyd, Emma and their children have all lived together since 2011. ibid.
‘Daddy’s been in a car accident … He’s gone to heaven.’ ibid. mother to children
‘I’ve got something to tell you. Jlloyd’s got another wife.’ ibid. family friend to wife
Super League: ‘English football fans rebel against the owners of the clubs they love.’ The Men Who Sell Football, news, Al Jazeera Investigations 2021
England’s football authorities claim they have rules that protect the integrity of the league and prevent unsuitable owners from buying clubs. We show how the rules governing football ownership are being abused and that criminal funds abroad can be laundered through the English game. ibid.
A web of hundreds of dollars into offshore trusts. ibid.
‘My job is to score goals. If I score a goal, then there isn’t many critics.’ Roar of the Crowd: The Enigmatic Mr Greaves, BBC 1969
‘The game came so easy, so naturally and nonchalantly to Jimmy.’ ibid. Frank McGhee
He’s been leading goalscorer in the league five times in the eleven seasons he’s played. ibid.
‘He turned the average into the extraordinary.’ Clough: The Brian Clough Story, 2009
He played for England only twice in a career cut short by injury. ibid.
Within two years of Brian Clough’s arrival, Derby were Second Division champions. ibid.
‘Good managers make good sides.’ ibid. Clough
By 1972 Derby County were League champions for the first time in their history. ibid.
‘There was nearly anarchy at the football club [Leeds]. ibid. Gordon McQueen
David Peace has pangs of regret about writing The Damned United. ibid.
Clough’s contract worth about £100,000 was paid up in full. ibid.
‘In the end he succeeded and Leeds didn’t.’ ibid. Geoffrey Boycott
‘You have to be a bit mad to be a manager.’ ibid. Mrs Barbara Clough
‘There’s something about the aura of the man can make you do anything.’ ibid. Kenny Burns
Clough became only the second manager to win the League championship with two different clubs. ibid.
According to the man who headed up the FA’s press office, the interview process was flawed. ibid.
30 years ago Nottingham Forest became the best team in Europe. ibid.
‘I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentine football, and his name is Lionel Messi.’ Lionel Messi: Destiny, Maradona, BBC 2023
‘He also had a team who would do anything to help him win.’ ibid. Lionel Scaloni, manager
Saudi Arabia 2 - Argentina 1. ibid.
‘In a country with 140% inflation a year we bring 70,000 to Qatar.’ ibid.
‘It’s his [Messi] tournament. Is it written in the stars?’ ibid. UK match commentary v Netherlands
‘Five million people filled the streets of Buenos Aires.’ ibid.