Ticket to Riyadh
I was in trouble deep in the Saudi desert. I was running late for my bus from Al Ula to Madinah. Missing it would mean a thirteen hour wait for the next one. I opened the door of the nearest … Continued
Animal magic
It had been forty years and two civil wars since Ivory Coast had last hosted the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). It was instantly clear how much it meant to the country. Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, snappily named after Ivory Coast’s post-independence … Continued
Ivory hosts
Ivory Coast was my third AFCON. Logistically, it was the most difficult. Not a single hotel outside commercial hub Abidjan was listed on booking sites. I used my dubious French, and used up my patience, to eventually secure reservations and found … Continued
In bed with Maradona
“Maradona or Messi?” was a question I was frequently asked in Argentina. It was hard to answer, but Buenos Aires was undeniably the greatest city I had yet to visit. And Argentina was something of an incongruous name on my list … Continued
Italian nineties
Marco skipped into my Milan hotel lobby sporting dark glasses, jeans and stubble. He gave me a hug. It had been five years since television director Marco had covered my visit to Crotone for Quelli che … il Calcio. We … Continued
Away from Tomé
Bats swooped through the airy rooms of the clapboard plantation house I was staying in. Elemental rain hammered the lush undergrowth and large fruits thudded to the ground. I walked down the middle of the road in near total darkness … Continued
Our Man in Muscat
I had blasted around Oman in a white saloon. I had trekked mountains, clambered desert dunes and seen green turtles lay their eggs on the corner of the Arabian peninsula. I was now in Muscat’s fish market with a serious … Continued
Fort knocks
For once, this wasn’t a football trip. But it is hard to avoid the influence of Hajduk when visiting Split. Hajduk graffiti is everywhere, not just in Croatia’s second city but all around the surrounding region of Dalmatia, its beautiful … Continued
Way out west
Santa Clara, the leading club from the Azores, are the most westerly team competing in top division European football. Europe United features a second-tier match when Santa Clara played at Varzim, overlooking a very different stretch of the Atlantic, in March 2018 … Continued