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How Pep Ruined Germany (And Why It’s Not His Fault)

Published on June 30, 2026June 30, 2026 by Martyn GreenLeave a comment

The downfall of German football has been remarkable to watch.

When Die Mannschaft won football’s ultimate prize in 2014, it was the culmination of a process that had taken over a decade, and looked set to compete at the top of the game for years to come. The majority of that squad were just hitting their peaks, and had at least one, if not two, World Cup cycles left in them. Of those who didn’t, Per Mertesacker was already in the process of being replaced, losing his place in the team when Mats Hummels regained fitness, and Toni Kroos was ready to step up and replace Bastian Schweinsteiger. Then there was Philipp Lahm, whose retirement did cause chaos and confusion until the rise of Joshua Kimmich, in many ways a neo-Lahm, in 2016. The future of German football looked set, which was worrying for the rest of the world.

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The Heartbreaking Story of the First Italian Invincibles

Published on November 14, 2023November 14, 2023 by Martyn Green

If you were to guess at the first team to go through an entire Serie A season unbeaten, a few obvious names leap out. The Milan clubs, Juventus, maybe Roma or Lazio. But in the 1978-9 season, in a long, difficult title fight against Milan, it was a small regional side from Umbria, Perugia, who achieved the feat. And yet, more remarkably still, they somehow still failed to win the Scudetto.

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The Football War

Published on November 7, 2023November 7, 2023 by Martyn Green

There was heavy rain in Mexico City on 29^th June 1969, as the national teams of El Salvador and Honduras lined up against each other in the final qualifying playoff for qualification to the 1970 World Cup. It was the third of three games, a match forced by Honduras’ victory in the first leg, and El Salvador’s in the second, and held in a neutral venue. The first half was a relatively calm affair, considering the violence that had taken place in the previous two games, and the sides played out a 2-2 draw, forcing extra time. With 101 minutes on the clock, Mauricio Rodriguez scored what would ultimately be the winner for El Salvador, and the players celebrated they qualification. By the time the teams had left the pitch, their countries were at war.

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‘No longer Ajax’: The Rapid Demise of the Dutch Powerhouse

Published on November 2, 2023June 30, 2026 by Martyn Green

When the half-time whistle blew at the Philips Stadion, the suffering Ajax supporters must have been in a positive mood. The worst start in their history saw them in the relegation zone, violence had seen the postponement of the De Klassieker against Feyenoord with the Amsterdam side 3-0 down, and €150m in player sales seemed not to have been reinvested particularly vigorously. But PSV – sporting a 100% record in the Eredivisie – looked vulnerable, and goals from Branco van den Boomen and Brian Brobbey either side of a Hirving Lozano leveller saw them lead. There was finally light at the end of the tunnel, or so they thought. As it happened, that light was just another oncoming train.

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‘Champions in Maroon and Khaki’

Published on November 13, 2022November 13, 2022 by Martyn Green

At the beginning of the 1914-15 season, Celtic, fresh from winning their eleventh Scottish title, travelled to Edinburgh to take on Hearts. The home side had won two titles in the 1890s before being eclipsed by the Glasgow giants, and had been crowned World Champions in 1902 by beating Tottenham Hotspur, but hadn’t been able to win the league for nearly two decades. There was a sense of optimism, then, when scored in the 27^th minute, Harry Wattie netting for the hosts. Hearts’ goalkeeper James Boyd ensured that the Celtic onslaught came to nothing, before deep into the second half Tom Gracie doubled the lead and put the game to bed. That same day, King George V declared war on Germany, and within four years all three – Wattie, Boyd and Gracie – were dead.

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