The Football History Boys

Over the past ten months I have made no secret of my admiration for football in the 1950s. We have written pieces on the 1950, 1954 and 1958 World Cups as well as biographies on Ferenc Puskas and the appointment of Bill Shankly at Liverpool in 1959. Following the Second World War, football like the rest of the world was in disarray, however the 1950s would bring with it a global regeneration of the game and the way it was played. In England, West Germany, Italy and elsewhere the 50s would change the face of football forever. 
English football perhaps underwent the largest reorganization in the decade, after being widely renowned as the "masters of football" before World War II, despite never appearing at a World Cup finals prior to 1950. The Football League however did remain the leading example in the domestic game with its 4 divisions of professional football. No team dominated the early 1950s with Spurs, Manchester United, Arsenal and Wolves sharing the spoils. Also in th…

On the 19th November 2013, Gibraltar marked their debut as a UEFA member by earning a goalless draw with Slovakia in Portugal. A squad with only 4 of their players plying their trade outside of the British Colony, featuring most notably former Premier League defender Danny Higginbotham and Barnsley right back Scott Wiseman recorded a superb result against a side who are ranked 27th in Europe, considerably better than any of their former opponents.



Despite only being accepted as a UEFA nation in May 2013 the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) are in fact one of the oldest football associations in the World. Formed in 1895 their purpose was to bring some organisation to the football teams springing up. Initially the only form of competition in the region was the Merchant’s Cup but in 1907 a league was system was added. From 1901 Gibraltar had it’s own national side who played against British military teams and even managed a draw with Real Madrid in 1949 but from 1909 onwards there wa…