2023-06-08 13:30
Do you remember what you were doing on May 7, 2006? My sister and I were holed up in the TV room with our uncle’s friend, watching Thierry Henry kneel down and kiss the turf at Highbur… Read More
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Football Paradise Blog
footballparadise.com
International award winning creative literature football website advocating football stories since 2008
2023-06-06 13:30
The opening sequence of Inglorious Basterds is a masterclass on how to write a lede. There is much to rave about its aesthetic treatment, but Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa really loc… Read More
2023-06-01 13:47
In this four-part series, Ryan Murray unravels the complex tapestry of New Zealand football, delves into the nuances which have thwarted the Kiwis’ progress, reflects on whether recent… Read More
2023-05-30 11:30
Football has a money problem. Rather than being shaded by money trees, the health of the modern game is being antagonised by the very fabric of its ecosystem. Footballers, fans and clubs are… Read More
2023-05-25 13:30
In Naples, football is more than a sport. This southern city, famous for its natural beauties and rich history, is a place where men who become heroes are immortalized. They are worshipped… Read More
2023-05-23 11:30
Napoli’s first Serie A title in over three decades was won in spectacular fashion, with the Partenopei dominating rivals all over the pitch. One player, the Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhe… Read More
2023-05-18 13:30
In this four-part series, Ryan Murray unravels the complex tapestry of New Zealand football, delves into the nuances which have thwarted the Kiwis’ progress, reflects on whether recent… Read More
2023-05-16 11:30
Ange Postecoglou was appointed Celtic manager in 2021. Almost immediately after his unveiling, the Australian alluded to his desire to tap into markets that had otherwise been untouched by S… Read More
2023-05-09 13:30
The smoke signals have been fired. Barcelona lead the La Liga table by thirteen points. With just five games left, they are overwhelming favourites to win their first league title in four ye… Read More
2023-04-25 13:40
I like to think that everything in life is a metaphor. Things can be broken down into comparisons, and when it comes to the game of football, we can spend entire lives trying to find our pos… Read More
2023-04-06 13:30
Tucked away in Eastern Belgium, closer to the Dutch border than the major Belgian cities, Genk is a former coal mining town which fewer than 70,000 people call home. Even in a small country… Read More
2023-04-04 13:30
Getting older is a peculiar experience, particularly hitting 40. There are highs—a new decade, the chance for over the top and extended celebrations—and then there are lows&mdash&hell…Read More
2023-03-30 13:30
Have you ever played on a football team? Perhaps you play for a grassroots team. Maybe it’s more casual, a regular five-a-side game with your mates. You might just have fond school mem… Read More
2023-03-16 13:30
When UEFA announced the introduction of a tertiary continental club competition, it’s fair to say that the idea received a lukewarm reception at best. While some, for various reasons… Read More
2023-03-09 12:30
The stare. The brow. The outfit. Everything about Carlo Ancelotti is iconic to its core. He is a man that exemplifies class, and his accolades as both player and coach take him to a stratosp… Read More
2023-02-28 12:30
Deadline day in January is always fun, as clubs scramble to complete last-minute transfers that will make or break their season. This year was no different, with Nottingham Forest further ex… Read More
2023-02-23 12:30
The 1981 sports war movie Escape to Victory, starring Hollywood icons like Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine alongside footballing legend Pele is based on a true event which took place in… Read More
2023-02-10 12:30
“In this mood and this spirit, I think he is unstoppable.” Erik ten Hag eulogised over the growing influence of Marcus Rashford, who picked up the ball in his own half at the Cit… Read More
2023-02-02 12:30
As the players finish their warm-ups prior to kickoff at the Arena, “Freed From Desire” blares out and the stadium shakes with Taadeech on fiiiire! It’s the same routine be… Read More
2023-01-31 12:30
“Ah want me name printed on the back o’ me shirt!” Thompson leaned his spindly, tall frame into the wind and rain that blew directly into his red, cadaverous face. The hiss… Read More
2023-01-26 12:30
We are well and truly into the January transfer window, and football fans worldwide probably feel a combination of emotions ranging from disappointment to delight. Ideally, many clubs wouldn… Read More
2023-01-23 14:14
At the start of 2020, despite the feel-good factor of Mikel Arteta’s late-December appointment as our new manager, I had concerns and questions, a worrying emotional distance, and a he… Read More
2023-01-19 14:00
In Qatar, the dust, in both a literal and figurative sense, is just settling after a barnstorming three weeks of football produced a raft of historic moments; the drama, controversy, and int… Read More
2023-01-17 12:00
Since gaining independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, Croatia’s national football team qualified for six World Cups and finished on the podium in three. That in itself is a ma… Read More
2023-01-14 16:09
Like many of us, Ajax come into the new year holding a sense both of hope and of despair. Alfred Schreuder, once heralded as a mastermind behind the club’s 2019 Champions League run, r… Read More
2022-12-23 13:30
“Everyone remembers their firsts. The memory of my first taste of football is tangled up with shin-deep monsoon water, a drenched school uniform I refused to take off until half-time b… Read More
2022-12-11 12:30
Georgian football hasn’t been the most recognisable location on the footballing map. Still, the recent performances from Giorgi Mamardashvili, Giorgi Chakvetadze and specifically Khvic… Read More
2022-12-09 15:24
Give it to Messi and pray. Now. Tomorrow. The day after. Tonight, especially tonight. Give it to him and pray. As you’ve done for the last 18 years, touching on two decades. Give it to… Read More
2022-12-09 14:49
It was June 18th 2006. The occasion was a mostly dull, scoreless match between Croatia and Japan on Match Day 2 in Group F of that year’s World Cup in Germany. Both teams would take a… Read More
2022-12-09 12:12
On the pitch, the 2022 World Cup has already thrown up a plethora of entertainment for the average viewer. Shocks courtesy of Saudi Arabia and Japan as well as enthralling encounters involvi… Read More
2022-12-03 10:00
Through to the next round. Advancing out of the group stage at the World Cup is always a success, but for the United States getting to that last 16 is a valuable point of reference for a tea… Read More
2022-12-02 12:30
The World Cup generates an entirely different feeling to club football. All the animosity that fuels and creates the excitement of the domestic leagues is forgotten for a month of national u… Read More
2022-11-30 18:04
To suggest that the neutral fan in La Liga will mourn the loss of Alavés and Levante is a little hyperbolic, but there might be a fleeting pang of regret that Los Granotas are no long… Read More
2022-11-30 12:30
March 3, 2018 will go down in history as the day that football began shifting away from everything that made the sport so special. This is the day that VAR (video assistant referee) technolo… Read More
2022-11-28 19:18
Similarly to Les Rouges’ torrid Mexico 86’ campaign, Canada’s World Cup hopes have been extinguished at the earliest possible stage. However, their inevitable exit from Qat… Read More
2022-11-28 08:37
This winter, Ghana will make their fourth appearance at the FIFA World Cup. Having beaten their fiercest rivals from West Africa in Nigeria on away goals to get to Qatar, the Black Stars are… Read More
2022-11-25 12:30
On a cold September night in 2018, Denmark fielded a team consisting only of amateur players, including seven players from the futsal national team, in a friendly game against Slovakia. At t… Read More
2022-11-24 20:30
Canada gave Belgium an almighty scare in Wednesday's Group F fixture, losing gallantly and challenging the perception of the World Cup's "heavyweights" Read More
2022-11-24 12:30
I think this is going to be the worst World Cup of all time. I find it unavoidably so. All enjoyment of football over the next month will be mired by the evils of its host country, Qatar. Th… Read More
2022-11-22 17:53
Do Argentina miss Giovani Lo Celso, that remarkable presence on the left side of Lionel Scaloni's midfield that makes things happen? We take a look after Saudi Arabia humbled the Albiceleste… Read More
2022-11-22 13:28
This winter, Australia will make its fifth consecutive appearance on the biggest international stage, having gone through the intercontinental play-offs after failing to qualify for the tour… Read More
2022-11-21 18:19
The World Cup is at hand. Today, the biggest theater of dreams in sports opens up its doors and welcomes 32 performers vying for the spotlight and the most coveted trophy in the world. This… Read More
2022-11-10 12:30
Fifteen minutes into the match, a lone North Carolina State attacker collects the ball at the halfway line and charges headlong into a retreating Clemson University back four. Despite his de… Read More
2022-11-03 11:30
The August nights were humid and pleasantly long. As the summer turns to fall, the game gets shorter. The kids take the fields until six and it’s dark by 7:45. The weather is still lov… Read More
2022-10-12 10:01
SEATTLE: Three goals from strikers Megan Rapinoe, Jordyn Huitema and Bethany Balcer set Lumen Field rejoicing last Saturday night, as OL Reign claimed the NWSL Shield for the third time in t… Read More
2022-10-04 11:30
There are some footballers you just never forget. Diego Maradona for his flamboyantly gifted dribbling ability and skill. Zinedine Zidane for the way he controlled and bossed the midfield. R… Read More
2022-09-29 13:57
Media group Open Goal, after taking over Lowland League club Broomhill FC, have designs on progressing up the professional ladder of Scottish football Read More
2022-09-21 11:30
There’s really only one place in Europe right now where you can find a multi-team title race on the cards, and that’s in Italy for the 121st edition of Serie A. While Leipzig, Do… Read More
2022-09-15 11:30
We’re currently 67 days away from the first ball being kicked at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, and as we approach the first ever World Cup to be staged in winter rather than summer, p… Read More
2022-09-06 11:30
Barrie Davies’ journey to the Liverpool-Real Madrid final reaches its zenith as the crew enters Paris. Read Part I of the two-part series here. I don’t know how long I was uncons… Read More
2022-08-18 11:30
Barrie Davies’s journey to the Champions League Final takes a turn when he finds a rundown flat, smelly bar, and ‘Magic Messi Milk’ between himself and Paris. Part one of a… Read More
2022-08-16 11:30
As the football season kicks off around Europe, the Greek Super League may fly under the radar for many fans of the game. We explore the history of Greece’s top teams and interview exp… Read More
2022-08-11 13:30
Sean Dyche and Burnley: "Hard working, rough around the edges, an acquired taste to some, but more widely, downright unpopular..." Read More
2022-08-09 13:57
It cannot be denied that the number of Scots departing clubs in their homeland at a young age is on the rise. Just this summer, the highly rated Calvin Ramsay, Rory Wilson and Charlie… Read More
2022-08-02 11:30
When you are not thriving at one place, you try to rediscover yourself by moving to another. Even after winning a Bundesliga and Champions League double in 2020 when on loan at Bayern Munich… Read More
2022-07-26 13:36
Despite the reported strong interest from a couple of English Championship clubs, Aaron Mooy has become Celtic’s latest summer signing, linking up with his former Australia coach Ange… Read More
2022-07-14 11:30
I have always had an uneasy and uncomfortable relationship with the work of Jack Kerouac. Even when I was what observers would have identified and described as an “impressionable&rdquo&hell…Read More
2022-07-12 15:23
Noa Lang is a sort of commodity who has lit up the league in his stint with the champions of Belgium. He formed dangerous partnerships with the likes of Bas Dost and Charles De Ketelaere and… Read More
2022-07-07 11:30
Ajax full-back Noussair Mazraoui recently signed with Bayern Munich on a free transfer. He encapsulates everything we love about Ajax: determination against all odds, a pension for highwire… Read More
2022-06-30 14:00
A last-minute goal from Jimmy Glass saved Carlisle United from relegation. But it may have also been the catalyst behind their future struggles Read More
2022-06-28 13:43
Over a week ago, the Australian National Football Team managed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, catching the last train to Qatar, after beating Peru in a fairly dull game where they didn&r&hell…Read More
2022-06-16 11:30
I have a problem. I know what a successful club looks like. The trophies, the glory, the squad full of killers capable of blowing you away 7-0 or grinding out the jammiest three points… Read More
2022-06-14 13:30
Simone Biles considers the Tokyo 2020 Olympics balance beam bronze medal her most meaningful win, above all the golds she has accumulated as the most-decorated Olympian gymnast in history. B… Read More
2022-06-09 11:30
Kylian Mbappé’s transfer saga, where he played two of Europe’s most prominent clubs off each other, has ended with PSG retaining the French superstar. Rare is the player w… Read More
2022-06-07 11:30
At 38 years old, with over 500 goals on his account, a devastating goal-scoring campaign in the MLS behind him, a recurring Achilles problem to ponder, and no football in over 3 months, Zlat… Read More
2022-06-02 14:40
Erling Haaland is now a Manchester City boy. After years of “nearly-theres” on the European stage, the club needed a decisive force, and they seem to have found it in a 21-year-o… Read More
2022-05-30 13:17
In an interview, Stefano Cusin, the Italian manager of the South Sudan national team, speaks of his experiences, beliefs, and a love for challenge Read More
2022-05-19 19:11
Ange Postecoglou has reinvigorated Celtic football club in the 2021/22 campaign. The Greek-Australian manager was known to few supporters of the club when appointed. However, through the sim… Read More
2022-05-17 11:30
The small South American country of Suriname has a deep historical connection to the Netherlands and Dutch football. André Kamperveen was its first player to make that trip overseas… Read More
2022-05-12 11:30
In the endless quest for an explanation of football’s enduring and universal appeal, one aspect that is often overlooked is its aesthetic appeal: the elegance of its motions, the joy o… Read More
2022-05-11 11:30
For years, cross-Atlantic sporting relations have revolved around the ‘Football’ vs ‘Soccer’ debate. Will Jesse Marsch’s appointment as Leeds United head coach… Read More
2022-05-04 15:13
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Shutter Island’ is the perfect specimen of deception. Teddy Daniels reaches the brink in search of the truth and it ends up taking a breakdown for him to… Read More
2022-05-03 14:46
The holy month of Ramadan saw several elite footballers fasting and yet contributing vastly on the pitch. Undeterred faith seems to have played a significant role in that Read More
2022-05-02 13:43
What if the people who are paid to care about women’s football cared even a tenth as much as its fans? What would that look like? Another day, another SNAFU. Now in its third year, the… Read More
2022-03-21 17:27
Oligarchic supremacy in football is over now that Roman Abramovich’s tenure as Chelsea F.C. owner is ending. Well, that’s what the Western political-media class wants us to think… Read More
2022-03-16 17:34
For many young African footballers who migrate to Europe, their challenge is not to break into the starting XI, but to find something to eat, somewhere to sleep. This is the sad truth of one… Read More
2022-03-14 12:54
And what does one gain from tearing it down? Former USWNT teammates Carli Lloyd and Hope Solo chatted on a recent podcast, deriding the team culture as “toxic” despite opposite r… Read More
2022-03-13 08:30
A look at the behavioural similarities between Athletic Bilbao’s traditions and Marcelino’s managerial career over the years. The Basque club has a unique identity, and the Astur… Read More
2022-03-07 09:56
Fans like to believe that their club has some intrinsic identity. There is some quality that must exist within those 90 minutes for a club to be recognisable. In actuality, the DNA of a club… Read More
2022-01-30 14:58
I am a man, and just reading detailed reports on physical abuse makes me sick. I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like for women, who live in physical danger every day, to go through… Read More
2022-01-25 03:10
If you were to mention the name Goran Pandev to an informed commentator of European football, they’ll tell you of his dynamic forward play, his wicked left foot, and an impressive reco… Read More
2022-01-13 14:36
The unassuming market town of Ossett, nestled between Wakefield and Dewsbury in Yorkshire’s West Riding, is not known for its football prowess or reputation. Located around eight miles… Read More
2022-01-12 12:54
Age can limit us in our understanding of what we love the most. Without delving into the territory of gatekeeping, there is a demarcation of attachment to an event between those who were the… Read More
2021-12-13 13:37
In the dying minutes of a nail biter of a Chelsea/Juventus match-up, Sam Kerr added a new role to her CV – matchday security, taking down a pitch invader who interrupted play to get a… Read More
2021-12-10 14:14
What do you do when you have one of the most accomplished players of all time on your squad, and she’s facing her last international game? If you’re Pia Sundhage, you give her fi… Read More
2021-11-30 14:02
The clichéd story of a football team financially hyper-extending itself, filing for bankruptcy, before re-modelling as a ‘Phoenix Club’ is not a particularly new or unique… Read More
2021-11-21 13:08
And so, after a stretch of performances that can be labelled as a total suspension of talent and intelligence, Manchester United’s Solskjaer Experiment is over. Last night’s defl… Read More
2021-11-07 13:20
Most of us have known this feeling. At playgrounds and classrooms, backyards and alleyways, nothing hurts more than a bully taking their sweet time to pull you apart. On his podcast, Gary Ne… Read More
2021-10-25 13:26
“If you ask me what my life will look like a few years from now, where I will be, what I will be doing–the honest answer is, I don’t know. But, I do know that I’ll st… Read More
2021-10-19 12:38
(This piece was written following the September 18-19 football weekend.) Over the previous international break, we all laughed as Louis van Gaal shot back at a journalist deriding the Nether… Read More
2021-09-26 12:02
I sometimes wonder how tough life must be for a Premier League footballer. The ball flies past before you know it is coming; you must adapt to overcome the ever-growing number of convoluted… Read More
2021-09-19 16:05
The Dutch are a society littered with contradictions. Rising waters threaten a country largely below sea level, but it was Amsterdam that served as a breeding ground for the very capitalism… Read More
2021-09-11 14:15
The European Championships this summer were a lesson in team play, for both the robust attacking outfits and the overly conservative. Disregarding his country’s catenaccio history, Rob… Read More
2021-08-28 15:09
450 goals in 438 games for Real Madrid. 101 in 134 for Juventus. 91 in his last three seasons for Manchester United. Five Champions’ League titles. Five Ballon d’Ors. Rape allega… Read More
2021-08-22 18:16
This sport we love is loud. It is heavy handed, a picture of excess and consumerism featuring high-drama competition between lavish-living millionaires in front of tens of thousands of screa… Read More
2021-08-15 13:18
Erik Lamela is 29 years old. There is something almost cruel about this sentence, which seems less like a statement of fact and more a dispatching of judgment. How is Erik Lamela only… Read More
2021-07-27 13:40
Football is obsessed with nostalgia. At no time is this more evident than during international competition wherein football cultures, nationalisms, and emotion blend into a heady liquo… Read More
2021-06-15 14:34
Is a legacy what you leave behind in the past or what is built upon what you leave in the present? The history of something or the same thing’s unwritten history? Nobody would doubt th… Read More
2021-06-04 14:11
Data and charts courtesy Lee Chunhang. David de Gea did not want to take that penalty. His face was tense, run-up short, and his kick neither had power or precision. Penalty shoot-outs are c… Read More
2021-05-09 14:53
This week marks fifty years since Arsenal won the league-and-cup double. There is a lot to learn from that season - for the club and fans both Read More
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