1971 saw Dutch maestro Johan Cruyff finally receive much deserved recognition for years of consistent brilliance. The 24-year old became the first ever player from the Netherlands and Ajax to win the Ballon d’Or since its humble beginnings in 1956. It was a truly resounding win. Cruyff’s margin of victory was beyond convincing, accumulating 116 … Read more
The 1966 Ballon d’Or remains one of the closest contests in the award’s history. It pitted World Cup winner Bobby Charlton against Portuguese legend Eusébio with the Englishman finishing only a single point ahead of his rival. The two men went toe to toe in a fight to be named Europe’s finest player. It would … Read more
Eusebio is a name synonymous with footballing greatness and a man who sits amongst the elite legends of the game. The goalscoring powerhouse often features in the ‘top ten’ of lists that judge the “best of all-time.” He was nicknamed ‘The Black Panther’ because of his strength in play and ‘The Black Pearl’ due to … Read more
In 1960, Spanish midfield maestro Luis Suarez won the Ballon d’Or’s fifth-ever edition. He became the first Spain-born player and third La Liga based footballer to claim the prize following Real Madrid forward Alfredo Di Stefano in 1957 and 1959 along with Los Blancos youngster Raymond Kopa in 1958. Suarez was also the first midfielder … Read more
Like many countries around the globe, Italy have become encapsulated the game we call football. Not only are the Italy national team known as one of the best teams of all time, but the Serie A home some of the classiest teams on earth. When you think of Italy, you think of the wine, the … Read more
2022 FA Cup Final Score: Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool (Liverpool win 5-6 on Penalties) Date: Saturday 14th May Venue: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 84,897 Referee: Craig Pawson Contentsshow 1Teams: 2The 141st FA Cup Final 3Match Report 4Facts 52022 FA Cup Results 5.1Semi Final 5.2Sixth Round 5.3Fifth Round 5.4Fourth Round 5.5Third Round Teams: Chelsea Édouard Mendy, Trevoh Chalobah, … Read more
2021 FA Cup Final Score: Chelsea 0-1 Leicester City Date: Saturday 15th May 2021 Venue: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 20,000 (affected due to COVID restrictions) Referee: Michael Oliver Teams: Chelsea Kepa Arrizabalaga, César Azpilicueta (c), Thiago Silva, Antonio Rüdiger, Reece James, N’Golo Kanté, Jorginho, Marcos Alonso, Hakim Ziyech, Mason Mount, Timo Werner Manager: Thomas Tuchel … Read more
Widely considered in debates of the greatest footballer of all time, Lionel Messi won his seventh Ballon d’Or on 29th November 2021 to applause, cheers, and a whistle or two. Messi took to the stage beaming, a smile from ear to ear; he claimed this Ballon d’Or not for himself, but for the entire Argentina … Read more
2020 FA Cup Final Score: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea Date: Saturday 1st August 2020 (rescheduled from 23rd May due to COVID restrictions) Venue: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 0 (Played behind ‘closed doors’) Referee: Anthony Taylor Teams: Arsenal Emiliano Martinez, Hector Bellerin, Kieran Tierney, Dani Ceballos, Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (C), Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Rob Holding, Nicolas Pepe, David … Read more
Seven months into the ‘19-’20 Bundesliga season, on 13th March 2020, the first of a series of postponements to upcoming matches began due to the COVID-19 pandemic; of course, similar was happening globally as the world attempted to contain the virus. Some leagues developed workarounds: matches behind closed doors, limited spectators where allowed, player quarantine … Read more