MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : FOOTBALL EUROPE – FEBRUARY 1998

Peter Schmeichel is the cover star of Football Europe in the early months of 1998, as the magazine looks at the season so far across Europe.

There are four pages dedicated to the draw for Euro 2000, with all nine groups being previewed.

Getting just the three pages is Lillian Thuram, who will be joined at Parma by Faustino Asprilla, who returned to the club from Newcastle United this month.

There are six pages dedicated to the season so far in Europe, in all the major leagues.

Meanwhile in France, Basile Boli has been forced to retire as a result of a head injury while Sean Dundee wants to leave Kalrsruhe after a poor run of form.

Mouscron are making a complaint to UEFA after they weren’t allowed to play a home UEFA Cup tie against Metz in Lille.

As preparation for the World Cup nears, it has emerged that Scottish FA officials have booked flights home two days after their last group match, while Andy Hunt of West Bromwich Albion could be heading to the World Cup with Austria, after his Austrian Granny contacted Austria’s manager.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : FOOTBALL ITALIA – OCTOBER 1997

Alessandro Del Piero and David Beckham are the cover stars of Football Italia, as Italy face in England in a match that will determine automatic qualification for the 1998 World Cup.

In news, Aldair has been given Italian citizenship, meaning that Roma can now play and extra non EU player.

There is a review of the Supercoppa Italia Final where Juventus beat Vicenza 3-0.

Italian sides in Europe get reviewed with Juventus winning their opening group match in the European Cup while Parma could only draw theirs. Vicenza (European Cup Winners Cup), Inter Milan and Lazio (UEFA Cup) had first leg leads while Udinese trailed Widzew Lodz 1-0 from the first leg of their UEFA Cup tie.

The match between Italy and England gets a twenty-four page preview, focusing on the battle between the two managers, and the two young stars – Del Piero and Beckham.

There is also a guide for any England fans who are visiting Rome for the match.

There is also a profile of the four newly promoted sides to Serie A – Brescia, Empoli, Bari and Lecce.

The opening two weeks of the Serie A season (the season started in late August) get reviewed, with Fiorentina and Inter Milan being the only two teams to win their opening two games.

The magazine ends with an advert for the next month’s edition, which will review the World Cup Qualifier between Italy and England.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : FOOTBALL ITALIA – NOVEMBER 1997

To Russia With Love is the headline of this edition of Football Italia. It’s nothing to do with James Bond, but the fact that Italy will be facing a World Cup Play-Off against Russia after a 0-0 draw with England.

There are two England players celebrating on the cover – Serie A old boys Paul Ince and Paul Gascoigne.

In news, Silvio Berlusconi has ordered AC Milan’s players to learn Italian in order to improve results on the pitch.

In reviews, there is a review of the 3rd Round of the Coppa Italia and the three European competitions, which still have Italian interest.

There is a ten page review of the World Cup Qualifier between Italy and England, which is quite impressive for a 0-0 draw.

Strike partnerships is a theme in this issue, with a look at the duos leading the line for Juventus, Sampdoria, AC Milan and Parma.

There is a look back at the opening weeks of the Serie A season, with Inter Milan being the team getting all the attention in the early weeks.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : FOOTBALL ITALIA – JULY 1998

Two Serie A stars, Christian Vieri (Italy) and Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina) are the cover stars of this edition of Football Italia after heading the goalscoring charts at the World Cup in France.

The group stages, which Italy navigated as group winners get reviewed, but printing deadlines mean you’ll have to wait for the next issue for a review of their fortunes in the knockout stages.

It’s not all about international football, in club news, Juventus have been confirmed as one of the top seeds in the European Cup.

Staying with club football, there is a look at the major transfers in Italian Football so far.

There is a profile of new managers, with Giovanni Trapattoni catching the headlines as Fiorentina’s new manager, while Carlo Ancelotti has held talks with Fenerbache after being sacked by Parma.

There is a six page profile of Serie A champions Juventus, who couldn’t add the European Cup to their domestic title after losing the final for the second successive season, this time, 1-0 to Real Madrid.

Italy’s group games plus their Second Round win over Norway get reviewed, with the game against Austria being erroneously recorded as a 3-0 win for Italy when they actually won 2-1.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : FOOTBALL ITALIA – MAY 1997

This edition of Football Italia previews the FA Cup Final. Confused? Don’t be, this year’s final featured Italians such as Fabrizio Ravanelli and Gianfranco Zola, who were the cover stars of this magazine.

In news, there is a two page report of Italy’s win over Poland in a World Cup Qualifier, which leaves Italy four points clear at the top of the group with only two games to play, although second place England have three games remaining.

Angry AS Roma fans went out to protest at the sale of Francisco Totti to AC Milan which was announced on local radio, only to discover they were victims of an April Fools prank.

There is a report on Juventus reaching the European Cup Final, while Fiorentina’s failure to reach the European Cup Winners Cup Final could see Gabriel Batistuta decide to leave the club.

In ads, Corinthian are bringing out a range of miniature figurines of Serie A star such as Paul Ince and Roberto Baggio.

Not to be left out, Inter Milan get a profile after reaching the UEFA Cup Final.

It’s a month of cup finals, as the Coppa Italia Final between Vicenza and Napoli gets previewed.

Juventus feature prominently in this edition, with profiles of Michele Padovano and Christian Vieri.

Juve’s French players, Zinedine Zidane and Didier Deschamps get profiled in a feature of French players in Serie A.

Roberto Baggio gets a double page feature as his form declines.

The is a five page profile of the FA Cup Final, with Italian interest aplenty in the line-ups of Chelsea and Middlesbrough.

This magazine is very black and white, with Udinese also getting a profile.

The magazine ends with a review of recent matches, as the 1996/1997 season reaches it’s conclusion.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : IRISH SOCCER MAGAZINE – FEBRUARY 1996

The Jack Charlton era has just ended, but it is Paul Campbell of St Patrick’s Athletic and Jason Sherlock of UCD who are the cover stars of this edition of Irish Soccer Magazine.

The editorial focuses on Cork City, who are facing financial problems, and are following in the footsteps of previous clubs in the city in this regard.

Charlton’s time in charged is reviewed, with his legacy being described as winning the Irish footballing public over to their national team. They also look at contenders to replace him, withKenny Dalglish, Joe Kinnear, Mick McCarthy, Ronnie Whelan and Dave Bassett all in the frame.

Whoever the new manager is, their first competitive game will be a World Cup Qualifier in Leichtenstein, after the draw for France 98, with the focus being on Macedonia as a potential dark horse in the group.

Charlton’s departure came at the end of a year when Republic of Ireland slipped from 6th to 19th in the UEFA Rankings, not as dramatic as Sweden, who fell from joint 1st to 24th.

Despite the fact that Republic of Ireland didn’t qualify, there is a fixture list for Euro 96 in their foreign news section, which claims that Manchester United are interesting in signing South African defender Mark Fish.

One team who might not be at France 98 is Nigeria, who have been threatened with expulsion after withdrawing from the recent African Nations Cup in South Africa.

There is a feature on new Finn Harps manager Charlie McGeever, who has just replaced Patsy McGowan, while Buckley Park, home of Kilkenny City is the subject of the monthly ground profile.

Jimmy Conway, a former Republic Of Ireland international, is now living in the USA. He talks to Irish Soccer Magazine about life in the States, revealing that they expect to win the 2002 World Cup.

The coverage of Charlton isn’t all fawning, with one writer stating that his reign did not boost the domestic game at all during his decade in charge.

There is an interview with the head of General Motors, Arnold O’Byrne, who reveals that their sponsorship of the Republic of Ireland team is as much to do with his love of football, as it is a business decision.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 14.6.1997

It might be the summer of a non tournament year, but there is still plenty to occupy Shoot, as Ryan Giggs and Gary Speed are the cover stars in June 1997.

In transfer rumours, Alen Boksic is heading to Manchester United, while Dino Baggio is heading to Newcastle United or Liverpool.

Real Madrid offered Hercules players a bonus to beat Barcelona and help Real win the title, which they did, with Shoot wondering why Middlesbrough boss Bryan Robson didn’t think of doing something similar.

England’s recent World Cup Qualifier in Poland turned out to be a nightmare for marketers, as the referee wouldn’t let England wear their new away kit, while Umbro sponsored Alan Shearer was photographed in a Nike Poland kit after swapping at the end of the game. To top it all off, pitchside advertising at the ground had adverts for Sky’s coverage of England games in France that summer. Poland v England was broadcast in the UK on Channel 5.

Crystal Palace’s Bruce Dyer has got the Adidas logo shaved into his head, saying it stands for “All day I dream about scoring”

Ryan Giggs gets a two page interview, where he speaks of his relief that David Beckham was taking a lot of the attention and spotlight he previously had.

Also getting two pages, is Tottenham Hotspur launching their new kit, with model Sophie Anderton, no relation to Darren, joining players. One player not there, was Teddy Sheringham, who had handed in a transfer request.

Lee Bradbury gets a profile after a successful season at Portsmouth with earnt him a big money move to Manchester City. Simon Grayson gets asked who he would like to be stranded on a desert island, choosing his teamamte Steve Walsh, Ian Botham, U2, Princess Diana and Sandra Bullock.

In posters, you could put promising teenagers Michael Owen or Nicholas Anelka on your wall.

Gary Speed gets a double page interview, reflecting on a season that saw Everton battling against relegation, to the point that Speed was constantly checking the league table on Teletext.

Speed credited survival to youngsters such as Richard Dunne, John Hills and Michael Ball.

In competitions, there were two seperate Eric Cantona videos – one looking back at his time at Manchester United, and the other being his cinematic debut, a French movie called Le Bonheur ….. Est Dans Le Pre.

Tim Sherwood gets a double page interview, looking forward to meeting new manager Roy Hodgson in order to secure his own future at the club, and hoping that Hodgson can help attract top English and foreign stars to Ewood Park.

World Cup Qualifying gets a round-up with the headline “WE’RE GOING TO ITALY” – I’m not sure why, as the 1998 World Cup was in France, though England’s next away game was in Italy. England, Scotland and Republic of Ireland’s chances are profiled, with Wales and Northern Ireland being footnotes, due to both teams being as good as out.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MATCH – 18.7.1998

Zinedine Zidane, holding the World Cup aloft, is the cover star of Match, as they review the 1998 World Cup. Printing deadlines must have been tight, as the final took place on July 12th 1998.

Match looks at Ariel Ortega, who had went into the World Cup hyped as “The new Maradona”, emulated him by being sent-off in his first World Cup as Argentina crashed out. Unlike Maradona, he didn’t rectify it four years later.

Readers were treated to a compilation of Kevin Keegan’s finest commentary moments.

Lee Hendrie gets asked who his favourite Spice Girl is. After much hesitation, he plucked for Sporty Spice.

Phil Neville does the taste test, where he gets asked his favourites between two. Unsurprisingly, he picks Spice Girls (David and Victoria would have been very unhappy) over All Saints, and he prefers McDonalds over Burger King.

France’s win over Brazil gets four pages, with most of the focus being on Zinedine Zidane, where he speaks about the key moments of the game, and how he felt at each time.

Ryan Giggs gets asked for his Hits and Misses of France 98, labelling Michael Owen, Christian Vieri and Rivaldo as Hits, and Faustino Asprilla, Raul and Alessandro Del Piero as Misses.

Michael Owen gets a double page interview focusing on his meteoric rise over the past eighteen months, offering advice for aspiring young footballers.

Premier League stars such as Gary Croft, Rob Savage (yes, that’s what it said), Don Hutchinson, Mark Schwarzer and Christian Dailly were asked for their best and worst moments of the World Cup. Christian Dailly, listed his favourite game as England v Romania, when Romania won 2-1 in injury time.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 28th APRIL 1990

This edition of the Magazine Archive sees us look at Shoot from 28th April 1990.

This week, was focusing on the Rumbelows Cup (That’s Carling Cup in modern currency) Final between Nottingham Forest and Oldham.

Then, Forest were a top flight club while Oldham were riding high (Getting promoted in 1991, and being Premier League founding members in 1992) in the Second Division (That’s The Championship in modern currency)

With the two clubs not meeting in the league that season, the cover image is of an Oldham player in a challenge with Manchester United’s Bryan Robson during the recent FA Cup Semi-Final between the two sides.

Personally, I would have went with a split image of a player from each team.

Each team gets a double page spread preview

A further double page spread is given to “Shoot Star Writer” Tony Cottee’s pre-match preview.

He rates each player in the starting 11 and 2 subs out of 10, with Nottingham Forest scoring 103 and Oldham scoring 104 with Cottee declaring that Oldham would win.

Nottingham Forest won the final 1-0 with a goal from Nigel Jemson, who 14 years later would be playing for Ballymena United.

Meanwhile, there is a competition to win flights and tickets to see England’s World Cup games against Republic Of Ireland or Holland.

Keir Radnedge’s column (He was the editor of World Soccer, owned by IPC who also owned Shoot)focusing on the rest of the world, sees FIFA President Joao Havelange stating that he wants to see China host the 2002 World Cup finals, while Japan have stated they wish to bid to host this event.

Japan did eventually host the 2002 World Cup, but in a co-hosting arrangement with South Korea.

That week, it was also announced that Portugal are wishing to bid to host the 1998 World Cup, in a candidate list which also includes Switzerland, Morocco, France and Brazil.

France were awarded hosting rights to the competition, which they won, beating Brazil 3-0 in the final.

Portugal (Euro 2004) and Switzerland (co-hosting of Euro 2008) have since gone on to host further tournaments, while Brazil (2014 World Cup) and Morocco (2015 African Nations Cup) are scheduled to host tournaments withing the next five years.

Morocco would also have a failed bid to host the 2010 World Cup, losing out to South Africa.

The build-up to that summer’s World Cup continues with team previews of Italy, Romania, Holland, England and Scotland.

There is also a double page spread of Stuart Pearce proving how hard he is by driving a tank.

He admitted that he almost joined the army after leaving school, and blames not getting in on telling them that he had an application pending with his local police force.

In rumours, Chris Woods is going to sign for QPR and Pat Nevin is going to sign for Celtic. Neither transfer happened.

Jimmy Greaves letters page is an eye-opener as Richard Barlow from Heaton suggests that England should bring Ray Wilkins to the World Cup in Italy.

Julie Glover from Kent dishes it out to Greavsie over his prediction that Crystal Palace wouldn’t stand a chance against Liverpool in the FA Cup Semi-Final at Villa Park.

Paul Knauer from Avon writes in to complain about the Third and Fourth Division (That’s League One and League Two in modern currency) Play-Off Finals at Wembley as it devalues the prestige of the venue.

Jimmy Jones from Wallasey in Merseyside writes in to congratulate Kenny Dalglish on unearthing a world beater in Ronny Rosenthal.

Oh hindsight, what a wonderful thing.

In the latest league standings, Liverpool lead Aston Villa by two points with a game in hand, while Leeds, Sheffield United and Newcastle United are locked in a tight battle for promotion to Division One (That’s Premier League in modern currency)

In Scotland, Rangers are facing competition from Hearts and Aberdeen for the title, with Celtic 15 points behind in 4th.

The ad for the following week’s edition has the headline “STEWART HITS OUT”, referring to Tottenham Hotspur’s Paul Stewart.

Meanwhile, a double page spread is dedicated to an explosive interview with Charlie Nicholas, then of Aberdeen, declaring that he is leaving Pittodrie and that he is “Finished” with Scottish football.

He signed for the very much Scottish Celtic that summer.

The back page has an advert for a collection of figurines called “Sportstars”

Think of it as Corinthan figurines, but a bit bigger.

I had Bryan Robson, Neville Southall, Diego Maradona, Marco Van Basten, Peter Beardsley, Thomas Von Heeson, Mo Johnston, Ruud Gullit and Paul McStay.