Europe's 55 football nations in one season
The Africa Cup of Nations was in Germany. I wore Mali’s famous eagle shirt to Ukraine’s emotional 2-1 win over Slovakia in Düsseldorf. An Irish man spotted my unusual attire in the stadium toilets. “Mali eh.” I was the only … Continued
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
Spain’s third largest urban area is a city of layers. It was founded by the Romans as Valentia, controlled by the Moors and overtaken by Christians accompanied by a lucky bat. The bat is now the symbol of the city, … Continued
I picked up a cheap replica of the Phaistos disc in a tourist shop outside the Minoan palace of Knossos. The Phaistos disc, an inscribed clay circle housed in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, has never been translated. I pulled the tiny … Continued
Ultimate traveller website NomadMania divides the world into 1,301 regions based on territory, population, diversity, economy and tourist appeal. I had visited 373 of the world’s 1,301 regions (England rank: 43 / International rank: 600) as at September 2021. NomadMania … Continued
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
A flashback to the 55. Apart from watching the game, the only other thing I had to do was ask someone to take a photograph of me at every stadium. The backdrops varied whilst some 55FN photographers struggled with my … Continued
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
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