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The Blizzard - The Football Quarterly: Issue 4
The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them.
Issue Four contains 22 articles in 10 different sections:
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Barcelona
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* The Inverted Sheepdog, by Graham Hunter—The inside story of how Xavi emerged as the central hub of the world's greatest team
* Corrida of Uncertainty, by David Winner—How the cruelty of tiki-taka resembles bull-fighting
* The Other Rival, Another Way, by Scott Oliver—When the nastiest rivalry in Spain was between Barcelona and Athletic
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Interview
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* Alex Ferguson—The Manchester United manager tells Philippe Auclair about his early start, the importance of continuity and his need to be alone
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London
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* Capital Failings, by Ian Hawkey—Football clubs in democratic capitals tend to underperform and London is no exception
* A Very English Visionary, by Martin Cloake—How the understated radicalism of Arthur Rowe defined Tottenham's style
* South of the River, by Nick Szczepanik—For a spell in the eighties, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Millwall and Wimbledon challenged the elite
* The Bald Eagle and the Modern Way, by Bob Yule—How Jim Smith brough the 3-5-2 to Queens Park Rangers
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Theory
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* Deschamps-Suaudeau, by Patrick Dessault—Didier Deschamps and Jean-Claude Suaudeau debate the modern vogue for attacking football
* The New Enganche, by Sam Kelly—Javier Pastore talks about his move to Paris Saint-Germain and living up to the playmaking ideal
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Africa
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* Unlikely Hosts, Unlikelier Winners, by Pablo Manriquez and Backpagepix—Images from the 2012 African Cup of Nations
* Victory Song, by Jonathan Wilson—How Zambia's emotional triumph restored the zest to the Cup of Nations
* The Barefoot Pioneers, by Gary Al-Smith—CK Gyamfi explains how a bootless tour to Britain helped shape the game in Ghana
* Ultra Violence, by David Lynch—After the horrors of Port Said, the exact role of ultras in the downfall of Hosny Mubarak remains unclear
-------------------------------
In Appreciation Of
-------------------------------
* Ronaldo in Moscow, by Sheridan Bird—A slalom through the Luzhniki mud confirmed the genius of "O Fenomeno"
* Toussaint on Zidane, by Juliet Jacques—What the World Cup final headbutt meant to the Belgian writer
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Polemics
-----------------
* Pelé v Beckham, by Pete Grathoff—Which of the icons had the greater impact on football in the USA?
* The Other Cup, by Brian Phillips—How do you solve a problem like the Europa League?
* Continental Drift, by Rob Langham—Kazakhstan has slipped behind Uzbekistan since it abandoned Asia
-----------------------------
Football Manager
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* The Ballad of Bobby Manager: My Autobiography, by Iain Macintosh—When somebody takes their game of Football Manager just a little too seriously...
--------------------------
Greatest Games
--------------------------
* Racing 1 Celtic 0, by Dan Edwards—Intercontinental Cup final play off, Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, 4 November 1967
-------------------
Eight Bells
-------------------
Issue Four contains 22 articles in 10 different sections:
------------------
Barcelona
------------------
* The Inverted Sheepdog, by Graham Hunter—The inside story of how Xavi emerged as the central hub of the world's greatest team
* Corrida of Uncertainty, by David Winner—How the cruelty of tiki-taka resembles bull-fighting
* The Other Rival, Another Way, by Scott Oliver—When the nastiest rivalry in Spain was between Barcelona and Athletic
----------------
Interview
----------------
* Alex Ferguson—The Manchester United manager tells Philippe Auclair about his early start, the importance of continuity and his need to be alone
---------------
London
---------------
* Capital Failings, by Ian Hawkey—Football clubs in democratic capitals tend to underperform and London is no exception
* A Very English Visionary, by Martin Cloake—How the understated radicalism of Arthur Rowe defined Tottenham's style
* South of the River, by Nick Szczepanik—For a spell in the eighties, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Millwall and Wimbledon challenged the elite
* The Bald Eagle and the Modern Way, by Bob Yule—How Jim Smith brough the 3-5-2 to Queens Park Rangers
---------------
Theory
---------------
* Deschamps-Suaudeau, by Patrick Dessault—Didier Deschamps and Jean-Claude Suaudeau debate the modern vogue for attacking football
* The New Enganche, by Sam Kelly—Javier Pastore talks about his move to Paris Saint-Germain and living up to the playmaking ideal
-------------
Africa
-------------
* Unlikely Hosts, Unlikelier Winners, by Pablo Manriquez and Backpagepix—Images from the 2012 African Cup of Nations
* Victory Song, by Jonathan Wilson—How Zambia's emotional triumph restored the zest to the Cup of Nations
* The Barefoot Pioneers, by Gary Al-Smith—CK Gyamfi explains how a bootless tour to Britain helped shape the game in Ghana
* Ultra Violence, by David Lynch—After the horrors of Port Said, the exact role of ultras in the downfall of Hosny Mubarak remains unclear
-------------------------------
In Appreciation Of
-------------------------------
* Ronaldo in Moscow, by Sheridan Bird—A slalom through the Luzhniki mud confirmed the genius of "O Fenomeno"
* Toussaint on Zidane, by Juliet Jacques—What the World Cup final headbutt meant to the Belgian writer
-----------------
Polemics
-----------------
* Pelé v Beckham, by Pete Grathoff—Which of the icons had the greater impact on football in the USA?
* The Other Cup, by Brian Phillips—How do you solve a problem like the Europa League?
* Continental Drift, by Rob Langham—Kazakhstan has slipped behind Uzbekistan since it abandoned Asia
-----------------------------
Football Manager
-----------------------------
* The Ballad of Bobby Manager: My Autobiography, by Iain Macintosh—When somebody takes their game of Football Manager just a little too seriously...
--------------------------
Greatest Games
--------------------------
* Racing 1 Celtic 0, by Dan Edwards—Intercontinental Cup final play off, Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, 4 November 1967
-------------------
Eight Bells
-------------------
196 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2012
About the author
Jonathan Wilson
90 books528 followersJonathan Wilson is a British sports journalist and author who writes for a number of publications including the Guardian, the Independent and Sports Illustrated. He also appears on the Guardian football podcast, Football Weekly.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 12, 2012
A fifth outing for the venerable Blizzard (there was an issue zero; reviewed here) and the quality remains high.
Challenging When Saturday Comes and a rash of superb blogs in the production of considered and intelligent soccer writing, this particular issue's highlights include a marvellous account of the short-lived Athletic Bilbao/Barcelona rivalry of the early eighties from Scott Oliver, Graham Hunter's portrait of Catalan midfield maestro Xavi and an entertaining geopolitical travelogue of the 2012 African Cup of Nations from editor Jonathan Wilson himself.
It was particularly encouraging to see bloggers such as Brian Phillips and Juliet Jacques represented and this refutes the unfounded criticism that only mainstream journalists need submit (I was very fortunate and thrilled to have a piece of my own included). For the first time, I made my way through one issue continuously and the sense of hopping continents and time periods was most enjoyable. My one quibble would be the same as that directed towards Issue Zero - why bother including a pretty unremarkable interview with Alex Ferguson? - the Blizzard was founded as an antidote to the mainstream press's obsession with 'access' after all.
Challenging When Saturday Comes and a rash of superb blogs in the production of considered and intelligent soccer writing, this particular issue's highlights include a marvellous account of the short-lived Athletic Bilbao/Barcelona rivalry of the early eighties from Scott Oliver, Graham Hunter's portrait of Catalan midfield maestro Xavi and an entertaining geopolitical travelogue of the 2012 African Cup of Nations from editor Jonathan Wilson himself.
It was particularly encouraging to see bloggers such as Brian Phillips and Juliet Jacques represented and this refutes the unfounded criticism that only mainstream journalists need submit (I was very fortunate and thrilled to have a piece of my own included). For the first time, I made my way through one issue continuously and the sense of hopping continents and time periods was most enjoyable. My one quibble would be the same as that directed towards Issue Zero - why bother including a pretty unremarkable interview with Alex Ferguson? - the Blizzard was founded as an antidote to the mainstream press's obsession with 'access' after all.
August 14, 2013
From the links between Egyptian football and the country's politics, to why Celtic were as brutal as Racing in the 1967 Intercontinental Cup, to Iain McIntosh's Football Manager madness - simply sublime football writing.
September 26, 2015
as good as the rest the range is fantastic the writing fresh and interesting reading for the podcast generation
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews