european cup
The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: European Football's Strange and Forgotten Grandfather
The forerunner of the Europa League, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was a three-year slog that teams could only enter if their home city hosted an international trade fair. Nevertheless, it played a key role in developing European club football.
Liverpool and The Liberation Of Rome: Remembering Bob Paisley’s Italian Campaigns
When Liverpool won the 1977 European Cup final in Rome, Bob Paisley had been there before. That was just over 30 years previous, when he rode into the city on the back of a tank.
Johan Cruyff's Complicated Legacy
Johan Cruyff died at age 68 on Thursday after a long bout with lung cancer. Cruyff was one of soccer's greatest innovators, but also one of the sports' biggest antagonizers.
Johan Cruyff dies age 68, five months after cancer diagnosis
An icon with both Ajax and Barcelona, Cruyff was the posterboy of the ‘Total Football’ generation and widely considered to be one of the greatest players of all time
Game Changers: Arrigo Sacchi & AC Milan
Arrigo Sacchi led AC Milan to successive European Cups in 1989 and 1990. "I didn't do it because I wanted to write history," he later recalled. "I did it because I wanted to give 90 minutes of joy to people."
Pele Good, Maradona Great, George Best Complicated
George Best's fame did him a disservice as he sunk into a life of alcoholism and domestic abuse that the media of his time chose to gloss over.