Published in December 2023, Issue Fifty One and its five sections contains 14 articles including how the Denmark team of the ‘80s was both doomed and beautiful; a photo essay on the women’s football boom in the mountains of northern Pakistan; how Andres Montes and tiki-taka changed the language of football; tracking down the Sheriff of London Shield after its disappearance in 1983.
NEW WORLDS
The Romanov Revolution – Ewan Flynn
How a Lithuanian former submariner saved Hearts, gave them hope then broke them
The Global Game – Tim Vickery
How João Havelange beat Stanley Rous in the 1974 Fifa presidential elections
Big Head – John Irving
Short, squat, skilful and controversial, Omar Sivori pre-empted Diego Maradona
The Barron Legacy – Ben Gilbert
Tracking down Barcelona’s mysterious second manager, a secretary from Durham
LOST
The Crash – Igor Rabiner
In 1979, Pakhtakor’s plane came down on the way to a game against Dinamo Minsk
The Glorious Storage Issue – Dominic Bliss
Tracking down the Sheriff of LondonShield after its disappearance in 1983
PHOTO ESSAY
Top of the World – Michael Sheridan
In the mountains of Karimabad, northern Pakistan, women’s football is booming
OUTSIDERS
Still There – Shaul Adar
Makkabi Berlin and the significance of a German Cup tie against Wolfsburg
Memories of Mexico – Chris Lepkowski
Jan Mølby remembers the beautiful but doomed Denmark of the 80s
Changing Places – John Smith
The difficulties and triumphs of trying to run a refugee team in the Essex leagues
The Third Term – Alessandro Bai
Salernitana, a miraculous escape and the complications of ownership
Treble Tóth – Simone Pierotti
How three generations of the same family enjoyed footballing success
The Man who Coined Tiki-Taka – Brendan Madden
Andres Montes was a distinctive commentator who changed the language of football
FICTION
On the Way – John Wheatcroft
In the fifties, a man goes to the zoo and then Maine Road