THE CONQUERORS: HOW CARLO ANCELOTTI MADE AC MILAN WORLD CHAMPIONS by Dev Bajwa

The Conquerors charts the rise, fall and resurgence of AC Milan across one of the club’s most legendary eras.

Fresh from a coaching baptism of fire at either end of the top Italian divisions, former club favourite Carlo Ancelotti returned to a then-disjointed Rossoneri dressing room as first-team manager in 2001.

Out of sorts, out of form and out of touch with the standards set by the side in Ancelotti’s day, AC Milan found a much-needed stabilising influence in the new coach, who helped them through a phase of transition. Though his impact wasn’t immediate, nor without its share of dissenters, Ancelotti would ultimately return the team to its former glory.

The Conquerors is a homage to one of the greatest club sides in football history. It’s a story of incredible talent, iconic moments and the kind of improbable redemption usually reserved for Hollywood movie scripts.

(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. April 2023. Hardcover: 352 pages)

 

Buy the book here: The Conquerers

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BRAWLS, BRIBES AND BROKEN DREAMS: HOW DUNDEE WON THE EUROPEAN CUP by Graeme Strachan

Dundee were the punch-drunk underdogs when they chased European Cup glory after winning the league in 1962. AC Milan, Benfica and Real Madrid were at the peak of their powers and Ipswich would represent England after winning the league under Alf Ramsey. Dundee were about to enter a new world of glamour.

Expectations were so low that just ten Dundee fans put their names forward for a special flight to mark the club’s first venture into the unknown. The Dark Blues were up for the fight though and destroyed Cologne 8-1 in a blitzkrieg at Dens Park that left the German Embassy reeling. In the week they shared the same bill as boxing legends Sonny Liston and Sugar Ray Robinson, the British Army rescued Dundee from a mass riot with as many punches thrown in the return leg.

As this remarkable Cinderella story unfolded, fans of city rivals Dundee United were soon hitch-hiking across the continent to watch Dundee as they came close to conquering Europe, before it all ended in brawls, bribes and broken dreams.

(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. May 2022. Hardcover: 352 pages)

 

Read our review here: Brawls, Bribes and Broken Dreams

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Book Review: We’re not Leeds, We ARE Leeds by Dave Rowson

From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, European football was a regular attraction down at Elland Road, as Leeds United won the Fairs Cup twice (also runners-up once) but included controversial losses in the finals of the European Cup Winners Cup (1972/73) and European Cup (1974/75). Apart from an appearance in the UEFA Cup in 1978/80, the Elland Road faithful had to wait until 1992 before European football became a regular fixture down in LS11 once more.

Author of We’re not Leeds, We ARE Leeds, Dave Rowson had gone to the infamous 1975 European Cup Final against Bayern Munich in Paris with his father, as a teenager, so beginning his connection with trips abroad to follow his team, and which Dave was to pick up again in 1992/93.

We’re not Leeds, We ARE Leeds, charts a number of trips undertaken between 1992 in Stuttgart and concluding in 2002 in Florence, where the UEFA Cup tie against Hapoel Tel Aviv was played. Now if as a reader you are expecting an analysis of the games or indeed details about the tourist sites of the various locations across Europe for the fixtures, then you will be disappointed.

Instead this is the tale focusing on the tales and travails of members of the Leeds United Supporters Club, Harrogate and District Branch, (of which the author was a founding member), as they follow their team in a European A to Z from Anderlecht to Zurich. Given this, the book provides a useful background on the history of the branch and a number of its members for reference, who loom large in the stories that unfold.

These trips abroad were not the official trips organised by the Elland Road club, but instead were organised by Dave Rowson, gaining the nickname ‘Rouse Tours’, with those going wanting more time before and after the fixtures in the various locations. This time was usually spent finding the cheapest accommodation, bars and nightlife in general (and of course getting to the games – most of the time!), which leads to, as can be imagined, a variety of mishaps and at times ingenious and not so genius ideas.

Yes, the book contains tales of alcohol fuelled episodes, which in its most extreme case led to the author being in the wrong place at the wrong time in Germany, but underpinning it is also a story of friendship, loyalty and what it means to follow your team. Indeed, the title of the book We’re not Leeds, We ARE Leeds, was borne out of the 1998 trip to Maritimo, where, as ‘Rouse’ informs readers, “it was a statement that summed up how we all felt about following Leeds. How it truly felt to be a Leeds fan amongst the Leeds family at some far-flung away game in Europe.”

This helps to explain one of the two reasons the book was published. Firstly, with Marcelo Bielsa getting Leeds back into the Premier League, fans hope that the next step will be seeing European football return under the lights at Elland Road and therefore the book is in part, “for those who have not had the pleasure of following Leeds in what they have missed and what could await them in future.” The second is that a donation will be made from book sales to Alzheimer’s Research UK as part of a campaign to raise funds and awareness of Alzheimer’s and in particular the plight of ex-QPR and England international Stan Bowles. More details can be found on the Facebook page @StanBowlesHarrogateLUSC

You can buy the book via the following link: DB Publishing

 

(DB Publishing. April 2021. Paperback 192 pages)

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Book Review: Where the Cool Kids Hung Out – The Chic Years of the UEFA Cup by Steven Scragg

Back in September 2019, A Tournament Frozen in Time – The Wonderful Randomness of the European Cup Winners’ Cup, was released by Pitch Publishing, written by Steven Scragg. It was so well received and praised that it was nominated within the football category for The Telegraph Sports Books Awards 2020. Now just a year on the author has followed this up with another nod to European tournaments past, this time focusing on the UEFA Cup, which for readers of a younger age has become butchered to emerge Frankenstein-like as the Europa League, a bloated and poor relation of the money-driven, self-centred tournament that is the UEFA Champions League.

This second offering, which is as excellent a read as the Cup Winners’ Cup book, is spread over twelve chapters, with an Acknowledgment, Introduction and Afterword, bookending them. In terms of the UEFA Cup years, Scragg focuses on the two-legged Finals, which took place from 1971/72 (with Spurs the first winners) through to 1996/97 (when Schalke 04 lifted the trophy), a feature which set the competition apart from the European Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup at the time.

As with the A Tournament Frozen in Time book, this is not plod through the various seasons in timeline fashion, but a series of wonderfully researched chapters that provide context in relation to the history and stories of the competition in terms of the countries and teams that took part. Before the author gets into those specifics, the opening chapter The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the Dawning of the UEFA Cup, provides background into the history of the Fairs Cup, which despite bearing more resemblance to the UEFA Cup is not recognised by UEFA itself. It’s a particularly strange stance, when you consider that the UEFA Cup bears little similitude to the Europa League, but is acknowledged by UEFA as its natural predecessor, with even the same trophy presented in its current guise.

Of the main body of the book, the chapters detail the various periods of certain countries involvement, with for instance, A Very English Handover, looking at Spurs and Liverpool in the early years of the tournament, with further English success from Ipswich Town detailed in the chapter, Tractor Beam. Whilst English clubs had their moments, Scragg skilfully details the other chapters to reflect the impact of the other main European football powers such as Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain, and ‘cool’ sides such as the Swedes IFK Göteborg.

As with the Cup Winners’ Cup, changes to the UEFA Cup came about through the breakup of the former Communist bloc, necessitating the introduction of a Preliminary Round to the competition. With the two-legged Finals gone in 1996/97 the first steps of change arrived, as the Final morphed into a one-off game at a neutral venue. Further transformation came with the Cup Winners’ Cup demise at the end of 1998/99, and the Groups Stages established in the competition in 2004/05, with the ‘rebrand’ complete in 2009/10. Part of this includes those clubs failing to qualify for the Champions League knock-out stages dropping into the Europa League, which as Scragg acknowledges gives the impression of it being a second-rate competition. As he so brilliantly puts it, “essentially the Europa League is the MK Dons of European club football tournaments. There is a sad sense of franchise about it.”

Goodness knows then what is to be made of the Europa Conference League scheduled to begin in 2021/22. That will take UEFA back up to three European club competitions; this reader for one would prefer a return to the three we used to have along with all their individual character, warts and all. Nostalgic days indeed.

There is an old football adage that goes, ‘never change a winning side’, and given the success and praise for Scragg’s Cup Winners’ Cup book, he has stuck to the winning formula once again and doesn’t disappoint. With the Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Cup books completed, will Scragg go for the hat-trick and complete a majestic Trinity with a look at the glory years of the European Cup? It will be a treat indeed if this comes to pass.

 

(Pitch Publishing Ltd. October 2020. Hardback 255pp)

 

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FA Cup 6th Round 2010/11: Cup half empty or half full?

The weekend saw this seasons FA Cup Sixth Round fixtures come and go and has left the nation with the prospect next month of a Manchester derby and a battle between the Trotters and the Potters. The 2010/11 FA Cup campaign has taken place against a backdrop of yet more murmurings in the media about the death of the competition and outline plans of tinkering by the FA to keep the appeal of the oldest Cup tournament in the World.

For me the reasons for the change in perspective of the FA Cup lay across the football community. The FA itself is complicit in damaging the competition in a number of ways. Firstly, there was the decision to allow Manchester United to opt out of the 1999/2000 FA Cup to take part in the revamped World Club Competition. This decision was part of the political gamble by the FA at the time, as they tried to sway FIFA in awarding England the hosting of the 2006 World Cup. And we all know how that worked out. Secondly, there was the ruling to have ties settled after a single replay (excluding the Semi-Final and Final itself). Personally, a major part of the glamour and thrill of the Cup was the odd occasions when a particular tie within a round went to a number of replays. As a Fulham fan I remember vividly the 1974/75 Cup run when we played Hull City three times to get through the Third Round and Nottingham Forest an incredible four times to make it through the Fourth Round. However, those Fulham fixtures were nothing compared to the record breaking fixture in 1971/72. Alvechurch played Oxford City in the 4th Qualifying Round. It required six games before Alvechurch emerged 1-0 winners. Sadly epic battles like that are a thing of the past. Thirdly, because of the burden of rebuilding Wembley Stadium, Semi-Finals now take place at the famous ground. This in my opinion also works to devalue the competition as the act of making it to Wembley and the Final are cheapened. Reaching a Final should be special. Certainly for me in 1975 seeing Fulham in the Final (despite defeat) was and is a treasured memory.

UEFA too has played its part in destabilising the FA Cup. How you may ask have this done this? Well quite simply by the reorganising of their own competitions. Once the 1999 winners Lazio had left Villa Park after defeating Mallorca with the trophy, the European Cup Winners Cup (ECWC) disappeared from view and with it the European prize for the FA Cup winners. Now we have the winners going into the poor relation of the bloated greedy cousin that is the Champions League – the Europa League. For me, if we had a return to the European Cup, the ECWC and UEFA Cup things would be a lot better. Quite simply, the European Cup should be for clubs who have won their domestic League. The Cup Winners Cup for domestic Cup Winners and UEFA Cup either domestic League Runners-Up or in England’s case the winners of the League Cup. This way there are only three European places up for grabs in each country. It would mean that there isn’t the importance placed on the Premier League and the scramble to finish in the “top four” and that both the FA and League Cup would be must win competitions if clubs had intentions of playing in Europe.

However, it doesn’t do away the fact that teams could still place more importance on League survival than the domestic Cup competitions. This is where Sky, the Premier League and implicitly clubs must take some of the blame, since the money involved in being part of that elite group means Chairman and their Boards want Premier League survival delivered as the first priority. So far you could be reading this article thinking what an “old fart”, what a “stick-in-the-mud traditionalist”. Well just to show that I can be a little radical, what about this idea? For the teams reaching the Finals of the League and FA Cup, award the finalists 6 bonus points which are added to their respective League totals? Surely that would be an incentive for clubs to put out full strength teams in the Cup competitions?

Finally are fans excused from being to blame for the troubles with the FA Cup? Well, I believe that fans have been taken in by certain sections of the written media telling us that the competition is on its last legs. Fans also react in terms of attendance according to how seriously their clubs treat the Cup competitions. TV has brought more football into our homes, but does stop people going to the ground as does the shifting of kick off times to all hours and days of the week. Perhaps only the FA Cup Final should be shown “live” and all other Rounds only as highlights? The trouble is that the whole relationship between television, broadcasting rights, clubs and money has taken us down a path which only goes in one direction.

What’s wrong with tradition and history? To me nothing, but the reality is that my views would be seen as nostalgic, unrealistic and naïve by the “powers-that-be”. I fear for the FA Cup and truly hope that it is not watered down even further by those in charge. As fans all we can do in the future is get out and support the FA Cup. It isn’t as special as it was, because the things that made it special are slowly being taken away.

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2000/01: LUFC Champions League – Deportivo Moment

During Leeds United’s amazing run to the semi-finals of the Champions’ League in 2000/2001 one moment stood out in particular. The choice might seem strange with so much to pick from. It was, perhaps surprisingly, not a goal, not even Dom Matteo’s effing great goal in the San Siro and it wasn’t a great tackle by a Leeds defender, a goal-line clearance, a stunning save or that blooper by A.C. Milan’s goalie that allowed Bowyer’s 89th minute shot through. There were plenty of all these great memories which have since been firmly absorbed into United’s folklore.

The moment that stood out for me happened away in north-west Spain when we played Deportivo de La Coruña on Easter Tuesday 2001. Almost a fortnight earlier, Leeds had demolished Deportivo 3-0 at home with goals from Harte, Smith and Ferdinand. We went with great confidence to the second leg, knowing that we stood on the brink of a place in the semi-final for the first time in 26 years. However, for the second occasion in Spain during the Champions’ League run (0-4 to Barcelona was the first), the team looked out of its depth as Depor took the game to Leeds right from the start. They were the Spanish champions and had recently stunned the football world by coming back from 3-0 down after 55 minutes to Paris St German in their last home match to win 4-3. This, naturally, gave them great hope that they could do the same against Leeds.

We knew we were up against it when Kewell gave away a penalty after 9 minutes. Then followed a right battering. Leeds seemed to have no idea how to deal with it and yet, we somehow got through to half time still only one-nil down. The inevitable happened after 74 minutes when Depor scored their second. Watching the game in Woodie’s, Headingley, we braced ourselves for the final onslaught, extra time and Champions’ League exit. Only it didn’t happen. In the minute after the second goal, just when we expected unbearable pressure, it became apparent that Depor had run out of steam. The storm had abated. United picked this up pretty quickly and played out time with increasing confidence. When the game ended, they knew they were a beaten side and we knew we were in the semis.

 

Author: Graeme Garvey

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