Revolution in Blue: Waterford 2.0
New name, new crest, but a rich history to build on, Cian Manning tells the story of a proud League of Ireland tradition in Waterford.
Good Things Come to Those Who Wait
Football clubs which were formed from the employees of factories are commonplace around the world with teams like PSV Eindhoven, and Bayer Leverkusen. Ireland, too can, claim its share of such teams including St. James’s Gate from the home of the world-famous Guinness. Cian Manning tells the story of the first ever winners of the League of Ireland.
‘United Passions’ Movie Trailer
Gérard Depardieu, Sam Neill and Tim Roth trace the history of the FIFA World Cup in the new movie ‘United Passions’.
Happy Birthday Chelsea
On this day in 1905, Chelsea FC was founded when businessman Gus Mears decided to create a football team for a stadium he was building at Stamford Bridge.
Happy Birthday Bayern Munich
On this day in 1900, members of a Munich gymnast club broke away to form a football team, one that would become among the biggest in the world.
104 Years Ago, Old Trafford Hosts First Game
One hundred and four years ago today, Manchester United played at Old Trafford for the first time, in a 4-3 loss to Liverpool. The home of the Red Devils has since evolved to become the second largest stadium in Britain, and ninth biggest in Europe.
Calcio Storico, Florence’s Fight Club
In June each year, the city of Florence plays host to an early form of football that originated in Italy, and it’s violent. Calcio Storico recreates games that took place in the artistic capital, with its roots dating back to Roman times.
Ireland on Film: Glory Days Revisited
The match action itself has been re-run many times. Now for your viewing pleasure, we’ve unearthed some lesser known footage of the television coverage surrounding Ireland’s remarkable early successes under Jack Charlton. Beginning with the official film of Euro 88, followed by ITV’s coverage of the game with England when Liam Brady reveled in putting Brian Clough straight. From there, we move onto the heady days of Italia 90 qualification through to the finals themselves when RTE’s pioneering coverage rewrote the manual on football punditry.
History Lessons: Return to Cologne
It’s become an urban footballing legend that Germany’s away shirt is green in homage to Ireland being their first opponents after the end of World War II. Except it’s not true. Well, at least the part about the second kit. Ireland did indeed play host to Germany’s first game overseas, however, following the conflict that ravaged Europe. And seven months later we travelled to Cologne for a friendly, 61 years before this Friday’s meeting in the same city.
