People

Jimmy Payne (James Bolcherson Payne) Born: Bootle, Liverpool, 10 March 1926. Died: Kendal, Cumbria, 22 January 2013. Clubs: Liverpool (Nov 1944 to Apr 1956): FL 224 Appearances, 43 goals, FA Cup runners-up medal (1950) Everton (Apr 1956 to cs. 1957): 5 Appearances Senior Debut: Liverpool vs. Bolton Wanderers, 11 September 1948 Despite most of his … Read more

The 2010 USA World Cup roster was feeling quite confident leading into the tournament. They had previously defeated Spain in the Confederations Cup the year before and had no issues qualifying for the first World Cup being held in Africa. In their first match against arch-rivals England, they drew 1-1- thanks to a Clint Dempsey … Read more

The image of Stuart Pearce’s reaction to scoring the penalty that won England the shootout victory over Spain comes to mind when we mention Stuart Pearce’s name. During his 19-year professional career, he earned the nickname of ‘Psycho’ for his constant, heart-pounding displays on the field. Pearce, however, is most remembered outside English shores, particularly … Read more

Francisco Varallo was the last surviving player from the 1930 World Cup who died at 100 years old in 2010. Known as Pancho, he played for the Argentine national team from 1930 to 1937 and was a member of Argentina’s squad at the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930. With 194 career goals in only … Read more

In a brilliant four-year period, Vittorio Pozzo led the Italian national team to two FIFA World Cups and an Olympic gold medal, establishing himself as one of the greatest coaching figures in soccer history. Il Vecchio Maestro (‘the old master’) built a side considered mainly on par with any in the first half of the … Read more

Austria had a team whose quality and verve sent shockwaves throughout Europe in the 1930s. Wunderteam founder Hugo Meisl is often compared to the great Hungarian team of 1950 and the great Brazilian team of 1970 as the father of this Wunderteam. As the Austrian Football Association’s general secretary during the 1920s and 1930s and … Read more

Having played in three World Cups over the course of his 16-year career, Marc Wilmots epitomizes the fine crop of Belgian talent that succeeded the legendary Mexico 1986 squad. Although he proved to be a divisive figure before retiring at the age of 34, he was an icon of Belgian football during the 1990s. Following … Read more

Ioan Lupescu was and remains one of Romania’s best-known and most successful soccer players. The attacking midfielder represented his country at two FIFA World Cup finals (1990 and 1994) and two UEFA European championships (1996 and 2000). In addition to playing for Dinamo Bucharest and Bayer Leverkusen, Ioan Lupescu played for the likes of Borussia … Read more

Let’s admit it. It takes a special kind of mentality like Pierluigi Collina to referee football at the highest level. Enforcing the soccer laws of the game and managing players’ tempers while keeping up with play for 90 nonstop minutes is an unenviable task. On the sidelines, soccer referees deal with harassment from rabid supporters … Read more

In 1978, the Football League lifted a 47-year ban on signing foreign players, and an influx of new talent flooded England’s shores. At the forefront of this revolution was Osvaldo Ardiles. He became to be known as ‘Ossie.’ Osvaldo Ardiles Is A Roaring Success In July of 1978, Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of Argentine … Read more