World Cup tournaments can provide the punctuation marks to a great player’s football career. However, very few players have managed to make a mark on the tournament at all different stages of their career, which makes Miroslav Klose’s incredible goalscoring longevity all the more impressive. He has been the young gun, the peak predator and the veteran frontman, at all stages bringing something to the party. In this week's episode, host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) is joined by Jack Wills (@Jack_Wills_95) and Liam Baxter (@liambxtr) to look back at the career of Mr World Cup. Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first)

Oh I Say!

Miroslav Klose: Mr World Cup

Yugoslavia was once a proud footballing nation, a side nicknamed the Brazilians of Europe which appeared in 8 World Cups and twice finished runners up in the European Championships. It is a name that no longer features in international fixture lists, with the country having long since been dissolved into separate republics. On this episode of The Football Pink Podcast, host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) is joined by Liam Togher (@liamtogher88) and Matt Leslie (@Matt_Leslie96) to look back on Yugoslavia's last appearance at a major tournament, when a band of established stars and emerging talents gave Euro 2000 some memorable moments, some great matches - and a whole lot of goals! Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first)

Euro 2000: Yugoslavia's goal-ridden last hurrah

Every little boy and girl growing up watching football shares a single dream - to one day become a legend at the club they support. Although it’s an impossible dream for most, some do make it happen; think Steven Gerrard at Liverpool or Francesco Totti at Roma. For Billy Sharp, it took three bites of the cherry to make his mark at Sheffield United, the club he supported as a boy. Host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) is joined by Tom Blow (@blowsive) to recall the tale of how Sharp became a Blades legend...eventually. Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first)

Club Legend (eventually): Billy Sharp's third coming at Sheffield United

It's finally here - Euro 2020. The first major international tournament to be named after the year before it takes place. . It's been a long time coming, and in the darkest days of Covid we probably doubted whether Euro 2020 would happen at all, but it's here! To get you in the mood for possibly the most hotly anticipated tournament of all time, in this week's Football Pink podcast host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) and some of our writers look back on some of the greatest memories in the history of the European Championships. Contributors: Jack Wills, Liam Togher, David Nesbit, James Bolam, Graham Hollingsworth, Matt Leslie, Kirsty McLeod, Pete Spencer Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first)

The Football Pink's Euros memories

On this week's podcast, host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) is joined by Pete Spencer (@irishpete67) and Andrew Haines (@AndrewHaines98) to remember the "Miracle of Bern" (West Germany's shock 1954 World Cup win), its architect Sepp Herberger, and the majestic Hungarian team who found themselves in the role of unlikely bridesmaids. Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first)

The Mighty Magyars, Sepp Herberger and the Miracle of Bern

Zinedine Zidane. There can be few names in the modern era which land with such weight on the ears of the football fan. In a companion piece to issue 24 of The Football Pink magazine, host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) and a variety of contributors look beyond the legend to serve up a slice of Zidane's career on and off the park. If you're looking for glory, skill, controversy and success - you've come to the right place. Contributors: Fintan O'Reilly, James Bolam, Kirsty McLeod, Liam Togher, Dave Proudlove, Pete Spencer, Matt Leslie, Graham Hollingsworth, Jack Wills. Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first) Parisian by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4194-parisian)

Zidane: a modern footballing icon

Once every season, the Football Pink Podcast pauses to reflect on footballing greatness. In this episode, host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) and an array of contributors debate the Football Pink's greatest midfielders. It's an episode with everything from water carriers to playmakers, ball winners to box-to-box merchants and everything in between. Contributors: Graham Hollingsworth, Pete Spencer, David Nesbit, Rodney McCain, Matt Leslie, James Bolam, Joe Harvey, Kirsty McLeod, Liam Togher. Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first)

The Football Pink's Greatest...Midfielders

The average football fan is used to rivalries that are played out by two clubs from the same neighbourhood, the same town, or at least the same region. But can you have a local derby between two clubs who aren't even in the same country, let alone the same postcode? Fans of Chester and Wrexham certainly think so. Host Roddy Cairns is joined by Graham Hollingsworth (@GramH75) and Matt Leslie (@Matt_Leslie96) to consider this cross-border Anglo-Celtic rivalry.  Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first)

Chester v Wrexham: the Anglo-Celtic cross-border derby

On 11th April 2001, a huge sports story unfolded in the Pacific as Australia beat American Samoa 31-0. But this wasn't a rugby game, nor cricket or any other high-scoring sport. The 31-0 scoreline took place in a game of football, international football no less. 20 years on from the day American Samoa made history for all the wrong reasons, host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) and Liam Togher (@liamtogher88) take a look at two decades spent making amends. Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first)

American Samoa: history makers for better and for worse

Football's history is full of short-lived competitions, but there can be few flashes in the pan quite as intriguing as the Anglo-Italian Cup and Anglo-Italian League Cup, which existed in one form or another from 1969 to 1996. Host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) is joined by Pete Spencer (@irishpete67) and Andrew Haines (@AndrewHaines98) to look back at two sister competitions whose former winners include Napoli, Fiorentina and...Swindon? Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first)

Robins and Roma: The strange (but true) history of the Anglo-Italian trophies

In Argentinian football, nothing stirs the blood like a Clásico, or local derby. And they don't come much more local than the clash between Racing Club and Independiente, two teams whose stadiums are separated by only a few hundred metres. Host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) is joined by James Bolam (@JamesBolam) and Graham Hollingsworth (@GramH75) to tell the story of El Clásico de Avellaneda; a story of intrigue, politics, witchcraft and trophies. Lots and lots of trophies. Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first) Fan chant credits: Gambino Ruzzi (YouTube) and Renato Blasi (YouTube) 

El Clásico de Avellaneda: Keep your enemies closer

It may be hard to imagine now, but there was a time when the Bundesliga was one of the most tightly fought competitions in world football, with names other than that of Bayern Munich emblazoned on the Meisterschale. The likes of Stuttgart, Werder Bremenand Borussia Dortmund all lifted the trophy in the 90s, but the subject of this week's pod is perhaps a more surprising name. Host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) is joined by Graham Hollingsworth (@GramH75) and Pete Spencer (@irishpete67) to recount the story of 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the four-time champions of Germany, and their devastating fall from grace. Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first)

Kaiserslautern: Germany's fallen champions

In the modern history of Northern Irish football, the name of David Jonathan Healy looms large. The little striker is one of those players who is most closely remembered in the green of his nation rather than the colours of any of the clubs he played with, the outcome of an international career that saw him become his wee country's top international scorer of all time by a furlong - and its fourth most capped player. Along the way, there were plenty of special memories created for the Green and White Army. Host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) is joined by Northern Irishman Rodney McCain (@RodneyMcCain) and mid-2000sKirsty McLeod (@kmcleodr) to look back on Healy's international career - and in particular two magical nights at Windsor Park in the mid 2000s. Strap in for the story of David Healy, Northern Ireland's big game hunter. Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first) Fan chants credit: noelgallagher88 (YouTube)

David Healy: Northern Ireland's Big Game Hunter

The last decade has seen the Belgian national team transform spectacularly from also-rans to serious competitors. The Red Devils finished third in the 2018 World Cup and have become regular holders of the World No 1 ranking, with their current crop of players considered to be the country's second golden generation. But who could possibly have seen it coming? Well, if you had been on Merseyside in the late summer of 2008, you might just have had an inkling. Host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) is joined by Mark Godfrey (@thatmarkgodfrey) and Ben Jack (@benjack94) of The Belgian Football Podcast (@BelgianPodcast) to look back on the time that Belgium's Standard Liège left their mark on both sides of Stanley Park - and sowed the seeds for their nation's golden era.  Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first) License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Liège: the Standard bearers for Belgium's golden era

If a baby had been born in Leeds on the day the local football team was relegated from the English top flight in 2004, they could have been legally married by the time they saw Leeds United back in the top flight. Admittedly, they wouldn't have had long to plan their wedding, and it would be a bit pricey for a 16 year old to pay for nuptials in the peak summer wedding season - but you get the drift. In the time Leeds spent out of the top flight, our hypothetical Yorkshire bairn would have gotten old enough to drive a moped, joined the armed forces, buy a lottery ticket and witness five General elections. Now that the Yorkshire giants are finally back in the top flight, host Roddy Cairns (@RoddyGCairns) is joined by Matt Abbott (@MattAbbottPoet) and Matt Leslie (@Matt_Leslie96) to ask the question on everyone's lips - what took you so long? Music credits (as edited): Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4614-welcome-to-the-show) Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod (Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first) License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sweet Sixteen: Life in the void with Leeds United

A nostalgic look back at the English First Division in season 1990/91 from The Football Pink fanzine.

hubhopper

Oh I Say!

hubhopper