People

For Santa Cruz, one of the big three soccer clubs in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, the deal struck back in early 1983 for Ricardo Rocha was just one of many done with smaller clubs from the interior. Yet even by today’s standards, the terms were very unusual. To secure the services of the then-20-year-old … Read more

Uwe Seeler is widely considered one of the greatest German soccer players of all time. Uwe was born on 5 November 1936 in Hamburg, where he subsequently joined his beloved local club Hamburger SV at just nine years of age. He was the son of Erwin, an influential soccer player from the port city. Early … Read more

Arrigo Sacchi came as a former shoe salesman, left as a legend, and rewrote calcio’s tactical rule book along the way. He coined some of the greatest quotes in managerial history, brought a number of the game’s most coveted winner’s medals back to his tiny hometown of Fusignano, and inspired a generation of coaches to … Read more

Hiroshi Nanami’s silky skills and lethal left foot were vital to Japan’s qualification for the FIFA World Cup and Jubilo Iwata’s dominance of the J.League in the late 1990s. The History Of Soccer team explores the career of the former playmaker, who shares his thoughts on his time playing alongside Hidetoshi Nakata, adapting to the … Read more

Everyone has their own opinion on the Lionel Messi vs. Ronaldo saga, which has raged on for many years. These days, even those who believe that players like Salah, Coutinho, and Neymar should be involved in that debate. But what if Pelé was still playing today? Would there even be a debate on who the … Read more

Barely three years after hanging up his boots, the Russian Valery Karpin is a successful businessman with a profile very different from your typical ex-player. The former Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo star, whose career took off at Spartak Moscow alongside Dmitry Radchenko, Alexandr Mostovoi, Dmitry Popov, and Robert Jarni, played professionally for 17 years … Read more

Brazilian soccer player Claudio Taffarel played as a goalkeeper. He played professional soccer for five clubs in Brazil and Europe during an 18-year career. His senior career began with Internacional in 1985, while his later clubs were Parma, Reggiana, Atlético Mineiro, and Galatasaray. After a second stint with Parma in Italy, his career ended in … Read more

Algerian soccer fans had their own Zidane, long before Zinedine Zidane burst onto the scene in France. Djamel Zidane was an inspiration to the illustrious Frenchman in his formative years. His Kabyle ancestry explains his two-footed appearance. A great deal like his French namesake, he is equally dangerous with the ball and equally comfortable in … Read more

The 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy was a tournament remembered more for tactical and defensive discipline than attacking flair. Yet, there was one side that managed to add some much-needed color to proceedings. Given little chance by the experts of making an impression on their first appearance in the competition, unfancied Costa Rica surprised … Read more

Olaf Thon recalls: “I still remember Peter Shilton not diving towards the corner until the previous penalties from Riedle, Matthaus, and Brehme had already gone in.” So I said to myself: “Come on, son, just hit the target, nothing too precise, nothing too risky’, and that’s what I did. He went the right way, but … Read more