Forgotten Stories of Football
The best football stories you’ve probably never heard before, written
by some of the world’s leading sports journalists. Spanning over 100
years of sporting history from across the footballing planet, the
stories are narrated by leading actors and feature rich sound design and
specially composed music
How the white football was dismissed as an unwanted fad – podcast
The white ball was widely disliked during trials in 1927 and one manufacturer declared it ‘practically impossible to make’. It would take another 24 years for the Football League to give it the go-ahead
The Colourful XI tragedy – podcast
In the final episode of this series: 15 Dutch footballers were among 176 people who died in a 1989 plane crash. Edu Nandlal, one of the survivors, tells his story
The France football captain who murdered for Hitler – podcast
Alex Villaplane said captaining France was ‘the happiest day of his life’. Fourteen years later he was shot dead for being a traitor
The 1985 English Super Cup – podcast
The best stories from the beautiful game that you may never have heard before, written by some of the world’s leading sports journalists, and spanning more than 100 years of sporting history from across the footballing planet.
In this episode: after English clubs were banned from Europe in 1985, the Football League created a consolation competition for them.
How the white football was dismissed as an unwanted fad – podcast
In this episode: the white ball was widely disliked during trials in 1927 and one manufacturer declared it ‘practically impossible to make’. It would take another 24 years for the Football League to give it the go-ahead
Dundee United's glory years under Jim McLean – part two of two
The concluding part of a feature-length story about Jim McLean, the tactical genius, bully, visionary and ‘absolute bampot’ behind Dundee United’s unimaginable success in the 1980s
Dundee United's glory years under Jim McLean: part one of two – podcast
The first of a two-part feature-length story about Jim McLean, the tactical genius, bully, visionary and ‘absolute bampot’ behind Dundee United’s unimaginable success in the 1980s
Luton Town's Manager Idol – podcast
Primetime TV would prove the inspiration for one of the most shambolic managerial appointments in football history
How John Crossan became football's most harshly treated player – podcast
Banned for ‘life’ in 1959, the former Northern Ireland forward John Crossan can consider himself the most harshly treated footballer of all time
Fred Spiksley: wing wizard, film star and POW escapee – podcast
Fred Spiksley dazzled as an outside-left, but found his far-reaching coaching ideas spurned in England after success abroad, having also dabbled in film and been embroiled in a wartime escape mission
Abraham Klein, the 'master of the whistle': part two – podcast
How the little Israeli survived politics, prejudice and even the Holocaust to become the best referee in the world
Abraham Klein, the 'master of the whistle': part one – podcast
How the little Israeli survived politics, prejudice and even the Holocaust to become the best referee in the world
Jeff Hall: the footballer whose death turned the tide against polio – podcast
Forgotten Stories of Football: it took the sudden passing of the England right-back in 1959 to get a generation pouring into clinics for inoculation against polio
Manchester United v Galatasaray, 1993 – podcast
A new series from The Guardian, featuring the best stories from the beautiful game that you may never have heard before, written by some of the world’s leading sports journalists, and spanning more than 100 years of sporting history from across the footballing planet. In this episode: few had expected much from Galatasaray in the European Cup, but United were out of their depth on the pitch amid terrifying hostility and harassment off it
Farce and fascism at the 1936 Olympics – podcast
A new series from The Guardian, featuring the best stories from the beautiful game that you may never have heard before, written by some of the world’s leading sports journalists, and spanning more than 100 years of sporting history from across the footballing planet. In this episode: few had expected much from Galatasaray in the European Cup, but United were out of their depth on the pitch amid terrifying hostility and harassment off it.
Forgotten Stories of Football podcast: season one trailer
Your introduction to Forgotten Stories of Football, a new series from The Guardian, starting on Wednesday 13 May