Can Brazil make home advantage count in 2014?

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With the countdown well under way for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Rory Macdowall assesses the host’s chances of winning the tournament on home soil…

On 16th July 1950 in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana, Alcides Ghiggia completed a storming run to fire in a goal at the near post, securing a Uruguayan victory in that year’s World Cup. The goal was met with near silence in a primarily Brazilian crowd of 173,850, stunned into submission by one of the greatest upsets in football history. The loss burned in the hearts of the biggest footballing nation on the planet, their right to win thwarted by their tiny neighbour to the south.

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Chaotic Entertainment Exposing Premier League’s Decline

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Further European humiliation for Premier League clubs has exposed a number of flaws in the English game; is entertainment alone enough? False Nine editor James Dutton discloses some uncomfortable truths…

Who remembers the Olympics? They were great weren’t they? That now iconic fortnight when the country soaked up the sun and basked in the world’s spotlight; when London temporarily justified its self-gratifying tagline as the centre of the known world. Continue reading

A Sumptuous Sunday of Derby Duels

False Nine editor, Andrew Belt looks at the lessons that can be learned from the 2012 London Games in relation to football and vice-versa, and invites you to take in one of four interesting European derbies on offer this Sunday…

Le Classique between Marseille and PSG is one of four derby fixtures in Europe this Sunday

A Summer of sport to remember. That’s what will stand out when looking back at the year 2012. And of all the sporting events it is the London Olympics and Paralympics that will dominate the memory more than any other. Continue reading