Christopher Allen

“During the long winters, when all around is white, geothermal energy keeps many of the mini-pitches green. In Reykjavík 99.9 per cent of properties are heated by scalding water that rises from the earth. Most of the waste water – that which is unused by houses – heats the streets in the centre of town. The rest keeps mini-pitches around the capital free from snow.”
― Matt McGinn, Against the Elements: The Eruption of Icelandic Football

“Yet they were unconvinced; although Barras and Carnot recognized his undeniable military capacity, all the Directors feared how he might use his growing popularity with the people once the Italian campaign was over. Napoleon’s principal preoccupation at the time was the devious unreliability of army contractors, whom he regularly described as swindlers, especially the influential Compagnie Flachat, which was ‘nothing but a bunch of fraudsters with no real credit, no money and no morality’.”
― Andrew Roberts, Napoleon: A Life

“Rarely in military history has there been so high a turnover of generals as in France in the 1790s. It meant that capable young men could advance through the ranks at unprecedented speed. The Terror, emigration, war, political purges, disgrace after defeat, political suspicion and scapegoating, on top of all the normal cases of resignation and retirement, meant that men like Lazare Hoche, who was a corporal in 1789, could be a general by 1793, or Michel Ney, a lieutenant in 1792, could become one by 1796. Napoleon’s rise through the ranks was therefore by no means unique given the political and military circumstances of the day.73 Still, his progress was impressive: he had spent five and a half years as a second-lieutenant, a year as a lieutenant, sixteen months as a captain, only three months as a major and no time at all as a colonel. On December 22, 1793, having been on leave for fifty-eight of his ninety-nine months of service – with and without permission – and after spending less than four years on active duty, Napoleon was made, at twenty-four, a general.”
― Andrew Roberts, Napoleon: A Life

“As the army club, Honvéd could conscript whomever they wanted and accordingly brought in Sándor Kocsis, Zoltán Czibor and László Budai from Ferencváros, Gyula Lóránt from Vasas and the goalkeeper Gyula Grosics from Teherfuvar. Sebes was effectively able to use Honvéd as a training ground for the national side.”
― Jonathan Wilson, The Names Heard Long Ago: How the Golden Age of Hungarian Soccer Shaped the Modern Game