Introduction
Editor’s Note – Jonathan Wilson
Jonathan’s Wilson editor’s note from Issue Twenty Five
Crossword – Tifo
The cryptic crossword from Issue Twenty Five
Revolutions
Rich Man’s Plaything – Igor Rabiner
The inside story of how Monaco reinvented themselves, again
The Bespectacled Mutineer – Rob Hunt
How Marcelo Bielsa transformed the culture of football in Chile
The Quiet Man – Vladimir Novak
Sven-Göran Eriksson on England, tactics and the rise of China
The Forbidden Game – Felix Lill and Javier Sauras
After years of being disdained by the state, Cuban football is growing again
Offshore Development – Simone Pierotti
Zanzibar’s long and successful struggle for international recognition
Photo Essay
Hackney Marshes – Simon Di Principe
A photo essay from London’s famed amateur leagues
Brazilian Legends
Bird of Passage – Andrew Lees
A personal quest into the life-story of Garrincha, Brazil’s unrefined legend
Son of the King – Motez Bishara
The troubled story of Pelé’s son Edinho and how he ended up in jail
The Drugs Test – Andrew Downie
What really happened when Sócrates was called to give a sample in the 1982 World Cup?
Politics
Left Wing – Christopher Shoop-Worrall
Socialism’s early struggle to come to terms with the popularity of football
Standing in Opposition – Christopher Lash
How Stanisław Terlecki and Roman Kosecki opposed the Polish state
The Margins
Jozef Štibrányi’s Diary – Jan Kaliba
The former Czechoslovakia forward remembers the 1962 World Cup with the aid of his diary
The Phantom Team – Dan Edwards
When Argentina sent a squad to prepare at altitude, then stopped funding them
A Game of Three Halves – David Mooney
Why the 1894 meeting of Sunderland and Derby Country stretched to 135 minutes
Citizen of Nowhere – Damiano Benzoni
Luciano Vassallo was Ethiopia’s greatest players but he rarely found acceptance
Setting Sun – Luke Edwards
Leyton Orient’s slide out of the football league and why it matters
Fiction
Game Over – David Ashton
The final adventure of John Brodie, injured footballer turned private eye
Eight Bells
Short Goalkeepers – Michael Yokhin
A selection of eight of the best short goalkeepers of all time
