It’s always nice whenever someone who’s ‘done good’ in any walk of life returns to where it all began and give back to their efforts. Especially in football. With all of his achievements, it’s easy to forget how crucial Cruzeiro was to the development of… Read More »Ronaldo’s Limitless Love for Cruzeiro (since ’93)
Remember when Ardiles and Villa won the World Cup with Argentina and moved to Spurs? Times really were different, I tells ya! Before I discuss ‘Osvaldo Ardiles’ and you get all ‘that’s not his name’ at me, I completely get that it’s our domestic duty… Read More »Why Osvaldo Ardiles Selected Tottenham Hotspur in 1978
Let’s put it this way: you don’t get honoured with an ‘ONN’ in Holland unless you’ve truly earned. And this guy did just that when it came to transforming the game we all love. Before ‘Total Football’ became the thing which defined Rinus Michels’ legacy… Read More »Rinus Michels: The Godfather of ‘Total Football’ (1965-78)
There’s something to be said for a player who can drop down a few divisions for want of ‘starting a project’ and, all things considered, perhaps fate just didn’t want this one to happen. Nicknamed the ‘Greatest Little Dane’ back home, Allan Simonsen’s name is… Read More »An Almighty, Short-Lived Challenge for Allan Simonsen (1982)
Kevin Keegan was always the sort of man who looked to blaze a trail that others wouldn’t dare to do. And his twilight move to Southampton proves it! Imagine the scene: Ralph Hassenhutl takes his seat in the Chapel Arms (the local pub for Southampton… Read More »When ‘King Kevin Keegan’ Became a ‘Secret Saint’ in 1980
There are unique cities, unique fans, and unique clubs. Then there is Napoli, a club unlike any other in Italian football. ‘Napoli non é Italia’ Diego Maradona once said: ‘Naples is not Italy‘. And if you spend more than 5 minutes in the city, you… Read More »Napoli: A Club of Cult Heroes
Cesare, Paolo & Daniel – 66 years, 1,321 appearances & 31 trophies: A tally which speaks for itself and shows no sign of stopping! The Era of Cesare Maldini The imperious dynasty began back in 1954, when Cesare Maldini made his debut as centre half… Read More »The Legendary Maldini Dynasty at A.C. Milan (1954-)
Imagine being chosen by Johan Cruyff to be his creative outlet, yep, that’s how good Michael Laudrup was. We’ve already spoken about Johan Cruyff a few times throughout Ultra UTD. but as you know, I’ll never pass up the opportunity to wax lyrical about the… Read More »Michael Laudrup: The Heart of Barca’s ‘Dream Team’ (1989-94)
Johan Cruyff is responsible for a lot of things, and in this particular rendition, we discuss the ‘Cruyff Role’ in attack. As much as we’d like to think otherwise, many of the ‘modern-day inventions’ that have become common in today’s game, are actually remakes of… Read More »Johan Cruyff: The Great Inventor of the ‘False 9’
A pariah-cum-legend in Milan, Arrigo Sacchi’s legacy at the San Siro focused heavily his love of Dutch football. In the ’70s and ’80s, Dutch football was taking over the world. And as we will come to discuss heavily in Ultra United’s Icons section, it was… Read More »Arrigo Sacchi’s Dutch Obsession