The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them. Issue Eleven Contents ----------------------------------------- African Champions League ----------------------------------------- * Firdose Moonda - Following Orlando Pirates’ run to the final of the African Champions League * Colin Udoh, Football’s Only Part of It - To prosper in the African Champions League you have to play the game off the pitch as well as on it * James Montague, In Memoriam - After the tragedy of Port Said, Al Ahly’s seventh Champions League success was far more than a footballing victory * Oluwashina Okeleji, The Triumph of the People’s Elephant - How Enyimba became only the second team to retain the African Champions League * Ian Hawkey, The Flight of the Ravens - The rivalry between TP Mazembe and Asante Kotoko dominated African football in the late sixties * Segun Ogunfeytimi - Images of the passion stirred in Nigeria by this season’s African Champions League --------------------- Interview --------------------- * Martín Mazur, Oscar Washington Tabárez - El Maestro on how he keeps Uruguay overachieving --------------------- Theory --------------------- * Gunnar Persson, Roy’s Swedish Revolution - How Roy Hodgson transformed the face of the Swedish game * Andi Thomas, The Waiting Game - The strange world of the back-up goalkeeper * Uli Hesse, Learning to Press - The tactical revolution that led to the transformation of the German game ----------------------- Identity ----------------------- * Nicholas Hogg, Size 5 - Football, growing up in Leicester and falling out of love with the game * Dion Fanning, Booze Boys - Tracing Irish football’s sozzled relationship with alcohol ---------------------- Referees ---------------------- * Sam Kelly, The Final Whistler - Horacio Elizondo on the strategy of officiating and sending off Zidane in the World Cup final * Alexander Jackson and David Toms, The First Modern Ref - Refereeing a Cup final cost Harry Nattrass his job but he became the greatest official of his age * Ben Lyttleton, The Psychologist - Tom Henning Øvrebø on man-management and that game at Stamford Bridge ---------------------- Exile ---------------------- * James Horncastle, The Lost Legend - Árpád Weisz was one of Serie A’s first great coaches. He was also Jewish. * Igor Rabiner, Closure - Travelling through with Avram Grant to find the graves of his grandparents * Shaul Adar, The Survivor - Emmanuel Schaffer escaped the holocaust and took Israel to the World Cup ------------------------ Fiction ------------------------ * David Ashton, The Handkerchief - Young love intervenes between a goalkeeper and his chance of glory ----------------------------- Greatest Games ----------------------------- * Richard Winton, Dundee 1 Dundee United 2 - Scottish Premier League, Dens Park, Dundee, 14 May 1983 ------------------------- Eight Bells ------------------------- * Michael Yokhin, Unexpected league leaders - A selection of minnows who, briefly, found themselves at the top of the tree

First published in March 2017, Issue Twenty Four contains 19 articles in 7 sections, including: Anthony Clavane on the decline of heavy industry and the sad logic of Brexit in Yorkshire; Peter Frankopan looking at how in politics, economics and football the role of Asia is becoming more significant; and David Stubbs on the glorious summer of 1996 when all things seemed possible.

The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them. Issue Seven Contents ---------------- El Dorado ---------------- * The Ball and the Gun, by Carl Worswick—After a political rival was murdered, the Colombian government set up the world's richest league * The Blond Giant, by Stany Sirutis—Among the influx of foreign players to El Dorado was the Lithuanian goalkeeper Vytausas Krisciunas ---------------- Interview ---------------- * Ivica Osim — The great Bosnian coach reflects on the war, Japan and Alan Mullery's lack of fair play ----------------------------- The Victorian Age ----------------------------- * The First Columnist, by Paul Brown—How an early journalist for the Northern Echo helped shape the modern game * Stiffy the Goalkeeper, by John Harding—Lazy, drunken and corruptible, the first footballing hero of the stage could hardly have been less heroic * Out with a League Team, by Henry Leach—A journalist, writing in 1900, describes his experiences travelling the country reporting on Notts County ------------ Theory ------------ * Don Leo's Odyssey, by Joachim Barbier—From Amsterdam to Madrid to Gaudalajara to Budapest, Leo Beenhakker has never stopped learning * The English Spaniard, by Philippe Auclair—Roberto Martínez discusses his conception of football and the difficulties of addapting to the dark nights of Lancashire ------------------------ The Vanishing ------------------------ * The Strange Disappearing of Leslie Goldberg, by Anthony Clavane—How the right back who became Les Gaunt encapsulated the experiences of many 1930s Jewish footballers * Ten Past Ten and Ten Pastis, by Gunnar Persson—Gunnar Andersson's journey from Marseille legend to homeless alcoholic * End of the Road, by Richard Winton—Gretna's rise was a romantic fairy tale, their collapse provides grimly real lessons for all of Scottish football * Safe as Houses, by Paolo Bandini—Espen Baardsen was a Norway international but at 25 he gave up football to work in finance ---------------- Polemics ---------------- * Breaking the Mould, by Zac Lee Rigg—Last year Johnny Saelua became the first transgender person to play in World Cup qualifying * In Arsene We Trust, by Zach Slaton—However frustrating this season, the numbers suggest Arsenal would be worse off without Arsene Wenger * Dictionary of Received Ideas, by Brian Phillips—A guide to what pundits really mean when they use certain terms * Follow the Money, by Elliot Turner—How Nicaragua's national stadium highlights the problems with Fifa's Goal project * The Third Party, by Sergio Levinsky—A tax avoidance scandal in Argentina could have ramifications across the globe ------------- Fiction ------------- * The Limping God, part 2, by David Ashton—His football career ended by injury, John Brodie's life is going nowhere until he is sucked into the world of crime --------------------------- Greatest Games --------------------------- * Lazio 4-2 Ipswich Town", by Dominic Bliss—Uefa Cup, second round, second leg, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, 7 November 1973 --------------------- Seven Bells --------------------- * Fouls and Fisticuffs, by Scott Murray—A selection of unsavoury incidents we're supposed to condemn

First published in September 2017, Issue Twenty Six contains 23 articles in 7 sections, including Simon Hughes on what fan-owned clubs say about alienation from the Premier League, Priya Ramesh on how Dirk Kuyt helped Feyenoord end an 18-year drought, Manoj Narayan on why last season's champions are facing relegation in a shake-up of Indian football, and Philippe Auclair, Jonathan Northcroft, Tim Vickery and Brian Oliver, among others, look at their favourite stadiums.

First published in June 2017, Issue Twenty Five contains 18 articles in 7 sections, including: Luke Edwards on why Leyton Orient's slide out of the league matters, Felix Lill and Javier Sauras on the growth of football in Cuba, Igor Rabiner on how Monaco have reinvented themselves and Andrew Lees' personal quest into the life story of Brazilian great Garrincha.

The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them. Contents of Issue Thirteen ---------------- History ---------------- * Uli Hesse, Never the Twain - The story of the meeting between West Germany and East Germany at the 1974 World Cup * Greg Johnson, Hearts and Minds - Spain threaten, like Lennox Lewis, to be a great but unloved champion * Richard Jolly, The Clubs behind the Countries - Which clubs have produced the most World Cup winners? * Martín Mazur, The Moral Pendulum - Argentina’s eternal vacillation between fútbol and anti-fútbol ---------------- Brazil ---------------- * James Corbett, Fifa, Go Home! - What does hosting the World Cup mean for Brazil? * James Young, Futebol Nation? - How much do Brazilians really care about football? * Marius Lien, A Troubled History - The ambiguous past of José Maria Marin, the head of the Brazilian World Cup -------------------------- Protagonists -------------------------- * Rupert Fryer, Sideshow takes Centre Stage - The Brazil defender on handling the pressure of being hosts * Mike Phillips, The Multi-Kulti Question - How the Switzerland national team became part of the debate on immigration * Vladimir Novak, Better Late than Never - Algeria’s Vahid Halilhodžić on finally making it to the World Cup as a manager * Leo Verheul, The Artist’s Boy - The Netherlands striker was shaped by the Rotterdam in which he grew up ----------------- Minnows ----------------- * Sean Carroll, The Secret Team - An Yeong-hag and Chong Tese on playing for North Korea at the 2010 World Cup * Michael Yokhin, The Indomitability of Lions - In 1990 Cameroon overcame shambolic preparations to shock the world * Oliver Pickup, Milla’s Time - Oliver Pickup speaks to Roger Milla about becoming his nation’s saviour at 38 * Martín Mazur, Two Men Down - In 1982 El Salvador came from war, chaos and corruption, lost 10-1 and retained their dignity ----------------- Fiction ----------------- * Iain Macintosh, Quantum of Bobby - Spinning through time and space, Bobby Manager finds himself in Italy in 1990 -------------------------- Greatest Games -------------------------- * Jonathan Wilson, Hungary 4 Uruguay 2 (aet) - World Cup semi-final, Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland, 20 June 1954 * Rob Smyth & Scott Murray, Italy 3 Brazil 2 - World Cup second phase, Group C, Estadi de Sarrià, Barcelona, Spain, 5 July 1982 ---------------- Eight Bells ---------------- * Michael Yokhin, World Cup Cameos - A selection of players who played only a few minutes at the World Cup

The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them. Issue Nine Contents ----------- Iran ----------- * The Vacant Lot, by Gwendolyn Oxenham—The search for a kickabout in Iran is complicated by religion and gender politics * Conflict Management, by Noah Davis—Dan Gaspar is a key part of Iran's qualifying campaign for Brazil 2014 despite holding a US passport --------------- Interview --------------- * Zbigniew Boniek, by Maciej Iwanski—The Polish great discusses Juventus, the modern game and his friendship with Michel Platini ------------------------------------------- For the Good of the Game ------------------------------------------- * The Only Way is Ethics, by Philippe Auclair- Fifa's super-cop Michael J Garcia explains his mission to wash the corruption out of football * Power Play, by James Corbett—The Asian Football Confederation's presidential elections highlight football's murky governance * Genesis, by Davidde Corran—How a tournament in China in 1988 changed women's football forever ------------- Theory ------------- * The Weight of the Armband, by Joel Richards—The Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella explains why he made Lionel Messi national captain * Pep's Four Golden Rules, by Simon Kuper—How Guardiola made Barcelona the masters of the pressing game * Taking the Initiative, by Nick Ames—Andy Roxburgh, the former Uefa technical director, on how football tactics are changing --------------- The North --------------- * City and the City, by David Conn—What does Sheikh Mansour's investment mean for the city of Manchester? * Meanwhile Back in Sunderland, by Jon Spurling—How a Tyne Tees documentary on Cup final day 1973 captured the spirit of the town * That Grandish Pile of Swank, by Anthony Clavane—Tracing Leeds United's place in the tradition of Northern Realism ------------------ Lev Yashin ------------------ * The Jersey That Wasn't Black, by Igor Rabiner—Lev Yashin's widow and Eusébio remember the great Soviet goalkeeper --------------- Polemics --------------- * Partisans and Purists, by Charlie Robinson—Do fans experience football differently to those who watch without a vested interest? * The Lager of Life, by Tim Vickery—Football is haunted by violence, but can it be blamed for it? -------------------- Past Glories -------------------- * The Nearly Men, by Ian Hawkey—Zimbabwe's nostalgia for the Dream Team of Bruce Grobbelaar and the Ndlovu brothers * The Grand Griguol, by Dan Colasimone—How El Viejo defied accusations of boringness to inspire the golden age of Ferro Carril Oeste * A Dream Denied, by Antonis Oikonomidis—But for the politics of Greek football, Ferenc Puskás might have ended up in Athens not Madrid --------------- Fiction --------------- * In Search of Punditaria, by Scott Oliver—An anthropologist heads into the jungle to discover a society founded by stranded football journalists ---------------------------- Greatest Games ---------------------------- * Bari 4 Internazionale 1, Rory Smith—Serie A, Stadio San Nicola, Bari, 6 January 1996 ------------------ Eight Bells ------------------ * Goalless Draws", by Jonathan Wilson- A selection of the best 0-0s in history

The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them. Issue Nineteen contains 22 articles in 11 different sections: ---------------- Mourinho ---------------- * The Devil's Party, by Jonathan Wilson - The manager, his methods, and why it always goes wrong in the third season ---------------- Poetry ---------------- * The Unknown Football Fan, by Craig Smith * A Striker Fires Wide, by Craig Smith ---------------- Memories ---------------- * This Sporting Half-Life, by Alex Preston - Sport, ageing and the grudging acceptance of a novelist and his mortality * For the Love of the Honest Men, by Ally Palmer - An Ayr United fan reflects on decades of following the ups and downs at Somerset Park * Football v Alzheimer's, by Dermot Corrigan - How football is being used to stimulate the memories of Alzheimer's patients * The Immortality of Awfulness, by Javier Sauras and Felix Lill - In 1965-66, Tasmania Berlin played their only Bundesliga season becoming the worst team in German history * You are not Nacka Skoglund!, by Gunnar Persson - The meteoric rise and terrible fall of the Swedish Internazionale legend * The Stench of the White Elephants, by Jamil Chade - Only now is the full scale of the corruption that surrounded the Brazil World Cup beginning to emerge ---------------- Interview ---------------- * The Throwback, by Maciej Iwanski - Robert Lewandowski is proving the value of the old-fashioned striker. But what created him? ---------------- Photo Essay ---------------- * Going to the Match, by Przemek Niciejewski - A Kickstarter project to create a visual celebration of football culture; football without fans is nothing ---------------- Breeding Grounds ---------------- * Slaggy Island, by Harry Pearson - South Bank was a grim industrial pocked of Teesside - and the home to a wealth of footballing talent * At the Feet of the Master, by Kit Gillet - Gheorghe Hagi has established an academy to try to develop a new generation of Romanian talent * What's Wrong With Finnish Football?, by Paul Brown - As Iceland qualify for Euro 2016, Finland is asking, "Why not us?" ---------------- Theory ---------------- * Chaos Theory, by Alex Keble - With so many variables at play, does anybody ever know anything? * Late Style, by Arthur O'Dea - Taking the theory of Edward Said about mature artists and applying it Giovanni Trapattoni * The Peter Principle, by Rupert Fryer - Promotion to a level of incompetence is a common idea in business, but is it true in football? ---------------- Austria ---------------- * The Burden of History, by Peter Linden - For years, Austrian football has been struggling to live up to is glorious past * Restoring the Glory, by Vladimir Novak - Austria's coach Marcel Koller explains their first tournament qualification in 18 years ---------------- Fiction ---------------- * The Quantum of Bobby, by Iain Macintosh - Can Bobby stop David Beckham getting sent off at the 1998 World Cup? ---------------- Greatest Games ---------------- * Hajduk Split v Crvena Zvezda (abandoned), by Charles Ducksbury - Yugoslav First League, Stadion Poljud, Split, 4 May 1980 ---------------- Eight Bells ---------------- * One-Hit Wonders, by Richard Jolly - A selection of players who enjoyed a fleeting moment of fame

The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them. Contents of Issue Twelve ---------------- The Rivals ---------------- * Sid Lowe, Power Play - Carles Rexach and Jorge Valdano discuss the changing nature of the Real Madrid-Barcelona rivalry * Miguel Delaney, Gamechanger - Johan Cruyff on his role in creating the style of Barcelona and modern football * Graham Hunter, An Honourable Man - How Vicente del Bosque overcame rejection by Real Madrid to lead Spain to glory --------------------------- A Game of Chess --------------------------- * Philippe Auclair, Beyond the System - Could the lessons of chess show football the way to an exciting new future? * Scott Oliver, Play Jazz, not Chess - Reflections on football, order and the imagination, and the need for improvisation ------------ Theory ------------ * Steve Menary, Maximum Opportunity - Was Charles Hughes a long-ball zealot, or pragmatist reacting to necessity? * Sergio Levinsky, The Cult of the Pibe - Argentina’s love affair with scruffy urchins with feet of gold --------------------------------- Defenders of the Faith --------------------------------- * Paul Brown, The Birth of the Fan - Why Victorians flocked to watch 22 men kicking a pig’s bladder about * James Montague, Jerusalem Syndrome - The mysterious disappearance of Guma Aguiar, the saviour of Beitar Jerusalem * Brian Homewood, Identity Crisis - Unpicking the convoluted threads of Mexico’s franchise system * Bartosz Nowicki, Dream Fulfilled - Relief and glee as Cardiff City finally found their way into the Premier League -------------------------- Against the Odds -------------------------- * Robin Bairner, Sleeping Giant - In 1982, Jean-Pierre Adams was given anaesthetic before knee surgery. He hasn’t woken up. * Richard Jolly, And Not to Yield - Only one sportsman can match Ryan Giggs for longevity: the New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter * Javier Sauras and Felix Lill, The Street Dogs of Manila - The Philippines are rising through the rankings, but are they Filipino enough * Matthew Campelli, Second City Syndrome - Why has Birmingham struggled for football success for 30 years? --------------- Polemics --------------- * Alex Keble, Artist or Machine? - An investigation into the paradoxical relationship between sport and creativity * Tim Vickery, Alternate Title - The lessons sports journalists can draw from the Monkees --------------- Fiction --------------- * Iain Macintosh, The Quantum of Bobby - After his exile in Qatar, Bobby Manager returns to English football. Or does he…? ------------------------- Greatest Games ------------------------- * Rob Smyth, England 1 West Germany 1* - World Cup semi-final, 4 July 1990, Stadio delle Alpi, Turin ----------------- Eight Bells ----------------- * Michael Yokhin, Non-identical twins - A selection of twins who looked the same but played very differently

First published in March 2016, Issue Twenty contains 20 articles in 10 sections, including: Robin Bairner explaining why Hampden Park's old goalposts have pride of place in St-Étienne's club museum; the playwright Patrick Marber discusses football, drama, and his football drama; and Nick Miller with the unusual story of how a united Ireland side took on Brazil at the height of the Troubles and almost won.