Though France '98 is now fifteen years in the past, the memories and moments created from the showcase tournament still remain engrained in the minds of football fans around the world. Zinedine Zidane put his stamp (and stomp!) on history with his performances throughout the tournament as the French legend lead his nation to glory.
The sad dismemberment of Yugoslavia in the 1990's also led to the dismemberment of one of the best
national football teams in Europe. Yugoslavia was already a footballing power when a golden
generation of players emerged in the late 80s. The team did well in the 1990 World Cup, eliminating
Spain and reaching the quarter-finals, and was set for glory for the 1992 European Championship,
when the UN
Former Real Madrid striker Davor Suker has urged fellow Croatian Luka Modric to seek a move to
the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, or at least leave Tottenham Hotspur if he is to seek
silverware.
The Spurs recently relieved manager Harry Redknapp of his duties and although they are
reportedly keen on replacing him with a high-profile name such as Andre Villas-Boas or Laurent
Blanc, the club has been in complete disarray in recent weeks.
In which Zinedine Zidane stretches his legs and rolls back the years during a run out for a Real
Madrid XI versus Bayern Munich's All-Star side in the 'Corazon Classic' charity match at the
Bernabeu on Saturday evening...
In which Zinedine Zidane stretches his legs and rolls back the years during a run out for a Real
Madrid XI versus Bayern Munich's All-Star side in the 'Corazon Classic' charity match at the
Bernabeu on Saturday evening...
Just a year ago Harry Redknapp was still managing Portsmouth. Just a year ago Redknapp turned down
a 12M pound offer from Monaco for his star playmaker Niko Kranjcar.
One year later, Portsmouth are in shambles, Harry is sharing the top of the table with Chelsea at
Tottenham, and Niko has moved from Fratton Park to White Hart Lane for less than 3M pounds.
My mate is traveling the world - watching the World Cup with locals from North America to Africa to
Europe to Asia and everywhere in between. Here is part IV of his cyber-cafe submitted stories...
Brilliant stuff this:
"I got to Dubrovnik, Croatia, immediately separated from my brother so he could smoke cigs in peace
and charm les filles with ease, rented a Skoda manual transmission from Millennium Car Rental (a
very user friendly car rental agency in Croatia I must say) and started driving north.
As we all look forward to this year's World Cup there is a natural tendency to glance backwards at
the same time to admire the history of the tournament. With the exception of the final itself, the
semis are amongst the most eagerly awaited matches. Let's look at some classic World Cup
semi-finals and see if we can choose the best.
The summer is always a difficult time for the ‘football addict' such as myself. Saturday
afternoons that used to be solely focused on the beautiful game now feature such activities as
shopping with my girlfriend and general household chores etc – very boring indeed. Hurrah then
for the European Under 21 Championships which at least gives me two weeks of football to enjoy
while I wait for the new season to begin.
