David Baddiel: “I am not ashamed to be a heterosexual male”
The comedian on becoming a public intellectual, and wanting to be more than “the voice for Britain’s Jews”.
ByFootball
Dive into the world of football with our collection of columns from Jonathan Liew and Hunter Davies, as well as longer-read features from guest writers.
Guardiola’s idealism is evaporating amid Man City’s dogged pursuit of victory
The manager’s legacy in the world of football is unrivalled but, one by one, the aspects that made him easy…
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It’s been a dramatic season, but its high point is still to come: Carlisle vs Stockport at Wembley
Man City’s Ederson kicks off the long-awaited, much coveted 27th annual The Fan Awards…
By In football even the lowliest clubs have their time in the sun, however brief
In August 1974, Carlisle United were top of the First Division. Fans still reminisce over when their lads stuffed one…
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Whether sodden bomb or swerving orb, the football has always been a dangerous item
This is a world where “concussion sports law” is already a discipline and a trade.
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Mesut Özil was a stylist who lost his way in the new era of measurement and numbers
The 34-year-old football player’s retirement feels both premature and long overdue.
By Football was never a truly amateur game, but now even the supporting cast are raking it in
Tottenham Hotspur’s Daniel Levy currently tops the lot with a salary of £3.3m. Well done Daniel, and without kicking a…
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Gary Lineker’s tweet, the BBC’s panic, and why I was left to “sort it out”
As the Match of the Day host’s agent, I had a busy week at the centre of the impartiality storm.
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Gary Lineker: “The BBC can’t stop me talking about politics”
The Match of the Day presenter on impartiality, disapproval over his pay, and the freedom of podcasting.
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John Motson channelled the exhilaration of football, but commentary has moved on
For many fans the veteran commentator’s death has been the focal point for a wider sense of loss.
By Stuck at home ill, thank goodness I have football’s follies to keep me entertained
Singing to mock a record signing, a mighty Wolves victory, and sympathy for Antonio Conte over the pain of gallstones.
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Football remains spectacular, but the trust between clubs and the public is broken
The game’s richest teams have disfigured the economic terrain of the sport – but a reckoning is on the horizon.
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The unstoppable rise of football’s nepo babies
Even the game’s players are becoming an oligarchy.
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The myth of England’s “fair play” fetish
In sport and politics, the English boast that they always play by the rules – but history tells a different…
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Can the Conservatives use football reform to rebuild Red Wall trust?
A new report underlines the sport’s importance in the north of England. For Rishi Sunak, club regulation could be an…
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Norway’s golden generation of athletes proves the value of sport as a public good
A unique commitment to making the “joy of sport” available to all is producing world-class talent in everything from golf…
By I missed one of the best World Cup finals ever, but now I know all about the crisis in the NHS
We asked if we could turn the match on in A&E and were told: “This is a hospital. Not a…
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The problem with sport’s endless “greatest of all time” debates
Fans’ fixation on the concept of greatness has become an absurd identity politics.
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Don’t deny that Pelé was the greatest footballer
The real problem for many is that the Brazilian played in an older, unfamiliar time, but his legacy will never…
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Qatar are the real winners of the World Cup
Despite the migrant deaths, the homophobic laws, the alleged corruption, in the end football trumped everything.
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