Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Cleats.

1934 FIFA World Cup
The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second FIFA World Cup, the international title for the men's national association football teams. It was carried over from May 27 through June 10, 1934, in Italy. The 1934 World Cup became the first team to participate in the qualification process of the games. Thirty-two nations joined the competition, and after qualifying, 16 of those teams got to compete in the final tournament. Reigning champions Uruguay declined to take part because their invitation to the 1930 tournament had already been accepted by four European nations. Italy became the second World Cup winners, and the first European team to participate, eventually beating Czechoslovakia 2-1. Like the Berlin Olympics two years later, the 1934 World Cup acted as a high-profile example of a sporting event being used for obvious political benefit. Benito Mussolini was keen on using the game as a means of encouraging populism. Made in Italy, the Federale 102 was the match ball issued for the 1934 World Cup. At a meeting held in Sweden on 9 October 1932, Italy was chosen as the host nation after a lengthy decision-making process during which the FIFA Executive Committee met eight different times until they could agree upon one. Without a leaders ballot, the Executive Committee did the vote. The Italian bid was ideally chosen from Sweden; the Italian Government accepted the tournament with a budget of 3.5 million lire. Thirty-six countries applied for admission to the tournament, thus needing qualifying matches to limit the field to sixteen. Back though, there weren't many noticeable absentees. Reacting to the refusal of many European nations to travel for the recent World Cup to South America, which Uruguay hosted in 1930, Uruguay declined to join. Consequently, the 1934 World Cup is the only one the defending champions did not participate in. The British Home Nations had refused to partake in a period of self-imposed exile from FIFA, but, without qualifying, the FIFA had granted free access to the tournament in England and Scotland. The chairman of the Football Association Board, Charles Sutcliffe, called the competition a "joke" and said that "the national teams of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland have much to do in their own International Championship which appears to me to be a much better World Championship than the one to be held in Italy." Of the 32 entries, only 10 came from outside Europe, only four of the 16 qualified teams came. The final spot in the final was determined in a one-off match between the U.S. and Mexico in Rome just three days before the start of the tournament which the U.S. won. The number of fans from other countries, including 7,000 from the Netherlands and 10,000 from Austria and Switzerland, was greater than any other football tournament since. The group stage featured in the first World Cup was eliminated, in favour of a single elimination competition. If a match has been tied then thirty minutes of extra time played after ninety minutes. The match was replayed the next day, since after extra time the score was still tied. Over the years, several sources have indicated that the competition may have been marred by corruption and corrupted by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who used the rivalry for fascism as a propaganda tool. Mussolini himself, according to these reports, named referees for matches in which the Italian national team played, while the Italian government interfered in FIFA's game preparation, reorganising match planning to better support fascism. Nevertheless, Italy won the next edition of the World Cup, as well as the race for Olympic football in 1936.
By MB6 years ago in Cleats
FC Bayern duo and other football stars helping fight COVID-19
In difficult times, with the threat of job cuts and company closures hanging over everyone's head, it is always great to read about some good news. While we're all constantly wondering as to when this entire crisis is going to end, some key public figures are doing their bit to help.
By FT Sports6 years ago in Cleats
Footballers (don't) get paid too much
It's a common refrain: footballers are all overpaid pre-maradona's and they should have their exorbitant salaries corrected to reflect their actual value to society. This claim is simply not true, for a few reasons that I'll explain.
By Finn Bartram6 years ago in Cleats
Haters: Give a Sporting chance
Disclaimers: The first assumption someone might make in my presenting of this argument on this platform, is that I think that all people who enjoy reading and writing articles in their spare time are not sports fans. That is of course ridiculous beyond stereotype (and a huge insult to the incredible amount of talented sports journalists in the world). I would however make some assumption, which I hope will be forgiven if need be, that there may be a lot of people like me who do enjoy reading and writing in their spare time who also hate sports for similar reasons that I did. These reasons will soon be apparent. I would also like to add an additional disclaimer to any American readers that when I say football, I mean soccer. I would never in a million years at any part of my life have summoned a level of bravery to take part in something as physical as American football. This too will become very apparent in the article. Thank you.
By Matty Long6 years ago in Cleats
Mourinho’s Tottenham and their March madness
An FA Cup loss on penalties to Norwich City, a tame draw to Burnley in the Premier League (Matchday 29) and now having been dealt a knock-out punch by RB Leipzig has put the Londoners in a foul mood. A mood that Spurs fans thought couldn’t get worse after Eric Dier’s reaction to his brother being insulted. Dier inexplicably entered the stands and dealt with the abuse in a manner that cannot be condoned (video attached). The England international is seen assaulting one of the fans after the Norwich City FA Cup tie and has only heaped more pressure on his teammates and worst of all his manager.
By FT Sports6 years ago in Cleats
Comments after the Hoffenheim match
It was supposed to be a straight forward conclusion to an incredible performance by the German record champions. They surprisingly scored six goals away against TSG Hoffenheim and that despite Robert Lewandowski not starting because of a fracture in his tibia. After all, TSG Hoffenheim had beaten the mighty Bavarian side on match day seven (2-1) and while their form wasn't great of late, no one expected this Munich side to score with such ease.
By FT Sports6 years ago in Cleats
Alphonso Davies - Canada's Superstar
When one thinks of powerful football nations the likes of Brazil, Italy, Germany, Argentina, France, Spain, Portugal, England and the Netherlands come to mind. Canada, however, doesn't really feature on that list. In fact, Canada have only once featured in a FIFA World Cup campaign in their entire history, way back in 1986. Their results were somewhat unsatisfactory in that tournament, being knocked out of the group stages without scoring a single goal.
By FT Sports6 years ago in Cleats
Chelsea vs Spurs
This is a match-up between two managers who respect each other. Lampard used to play under Mourinho and they won 5 major trophies together with Chelsea. Hotspur is 1 point behind Chelsea. Chelsea is in 4th place with 41 points and Hotspur are in 5th with 40 points. Hotspur was 14th when Mourinho took over as head coach. This is the battle for 4th place. A place for Champions League next season. Chelsea lost their last Premier league match 2-0 against Manchester United. Hotspur won 3 of their last 5 matches. They won their last match 3-2 against Aston Villa.
By Dedrick Harrison6 years ago in Cleats
Top 10 careers/jobs in football.
Over the past 10 years, there have been a whole host of new jobs within football. The talk about the money in football will always be a topic of discussion due to the way the money is distributed especially when it comes to grassroots football. One of the huge positives that money in football brings is the number of jobs that have been created. You don't have to be a player or a manager to earn a decent wage doing what you love.
By Discount Football Kits6 years ago in Cleats
Atletico Madrid vs Liverpool
This game was about to be an exciting one. It was a beautiful atmosphere in the Metropolitano stadium. You can hear the Liverpool fans chant their songs around the stadium. Liverpool were favorites coming into the game. Their type of football is great enough that they could expose Madrid like they did Barcelona in the previous Champions League semifinal. Madrid set their team a 4-4-2 which means their game plan is going to defend deep and possibly counter attack. Liverpool set up a 4-3-3 which is their usual lineup and their game plan always is press and attack quickly.
By Dedrick Harrison6 years ago in Cleats
The Haaland Train
Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg tie between Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain looked to be heading towards a rather unexpected draw, when Norwegian sensation Erling Haaland thumped a long range effort into the back of the net to send the Westfalenstadion into ecstasy. Even experienced campaigners such as the likes of Paul Scholes would have been proud of a strike like that and it brought to the fore just how incredibly gifted this young man really is. 2-1 it would end to the German side, who looked to have the better of the Parisians for large segments of the much anticipated tie.
By FT Sports6 years ago in Cleats
Chelsea vs. Manchester United Post Analysis
Leading up to this game. I wasn’t sure who was going to win. Manchester United was looked promising at the start of the season by beating Chelsea 4-0 at home. As the season went on, the issues were exposed not just from the players. The coach isn’t really qualified to run the team and Ed Woodward does not pick the best football decisions. Even with the new signings of Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, it did not solve the problems at Manchester United. They currently sit in 7th place in the premier league with 38 points after defeating Chelsea 2-0
By Dedrick Harrison6 years ago in Cleats