Europe's 55 football nations in one season
It became a pre-match ritual. I wrote down the previous matchday line-ups for the home and away sides in my notepad, the squad numbers and surnames an exciting foretaste of every step of my almighty challenge. As a result, I … Continued
I’m thrilled to announce that ‘Europe United: 1 football fan. 1 crazy season. 55 UEFA nations’ will be published on 8 August. It was always an ambition to write a book that captured the unique fusion of football, travel and my almighty challenge. … Continued
Indonesia is a vast archipelago of beautiful landscapes, choking cities and fervent football fans. The country won the South East Asia Under 16 tournament for the first time this August to mass hysteria. I targeted three matches in Sumatra, the … Continued
Beer and football. Football and beer. The two words are intertwined. It was an arduous additional challenge to drink at least one beer in all 55 football nations. But not at every stadium. Beer was sold at under half of the matches attended. … Continued
55 Football Nations was completed in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. Three crucial matches saw relegation candidates Čelik try everything but only draw against Borac, Sarajevo break down Široki Brijeg’s blanket defence and, in the final match, Mladost outplay Kom in the searing Podgorica sun. Travel highlights … Continued
55 Football Nations saw matches at Maribor, Krško and Domžale in Slovenia, Puskás Akadémia in Hungary and Lokomotiva Zagreb and Istra 1961 in Croatia. There was a surprise seven goal thriller, four narrow wins, a score draw, a club shop haircut and Cat Zoo Corn. … Continued
Tall trees surrounded the still geothermal waters of Lake Hévíz. I paddled around the lily pads, hoping the minerals would soak away my strains. Hévíz was a brief stop between my second Slovenian match in Krško and Hungarian match in … Continued
55 Football Nations started his microstate mini-break with nine goals in San Marino as Virtus thrashed Murata 8-1. Incredibly, another nine goals followed in Luxembourg when Fola beat US 9-0 in the little Esch derby. The Lux top two served up … Continued
55 Football Nations was interviewed by Luca Pelliccioni from the Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio for San Marino television. Dark glasses were worn to avoid the mild glare of fame. Luca was interested in the concept, challenges and conclusions of 55FN. He also … Continued
55 Football Nations went Alpine. A minor classic simmered at Admira until Sturm eased to victory. St. Gallen won their fifth consecutive league match against Grasshoppers. And Vaduz outplayed Schaffhausen in the Swiss second flight. Travel highlights include the magnificent Hohensalzburg … Continued