Sports Poets Society

John Pierce Photosport International  https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1736858731777381&set=a.417935973669670 txt by  Chris Sidles A woolly hat, a Peugeot jersey and a friendly hand on a young cyclist’s cap; Stephen Roche catches up with the next generation in the Wicklow Mountains. Believed to date from the winter of 1983, this photograph finds him between an important breakthrough and a difficult departure. That summer, Roche had finished his first Tour de France in 13th place. Third in the final time trial at Dijon, he also received a lesson from Jacques Anquetil . Before the start, Anquetil had spotted him chatting to his wife’s grandmother, who lived locally. Afterwards, the five-time Tour winner explained that Roche had surrendered time before turning a pedal; family conversations could wait, preparing for a time trial required complete concentration. Roche heeded that advice the rest of his career, but his lack of a Tour stage victory brought a more immediate a...

Fran Santiago/Getty  Love at first sight:  Gordon’s instant impact at Barcelona led to the creation  by some fans of a popular flag in his honour (above). After charming fans with his Spanish and selflesness, England winger feels like one of their own. 25 Oct 2026 - THE OBSERVER / Sport By Rory Smith A few hours before Barcelona’s game with Rayo Vallecano on the last day of August, Joan Solé hoisted a flag outside Casa Pin, a buzzy little bar around the corner from Camp Nou. He does this quite often: Solé is one of the driving forces behind Cultura de Grada, an attempt to promote the club’s fan traditions in the face of the game’s encroaching commercialism. Recent designs have involved stylised images of everyone from Joan Gamper, the club’s founder, to Rosie the Riveter, the 1940s icon of America’s women shipworkers decked out in Barcelona’s colours, a senyera – the red-and-yellow flag of Catalonia – armband wrapped around her bicep. Despite being based essentially on an...

Ceremony has come long way since Owen accepted his award in stationery cupboard, writes Rory Smith The Ballon d’Or became the battleground on which Messi and Ronaldo vied for supremacy Rory Smith 25 Oct 2026 - THE OBSERVER / Sport In the quarter of a century since the men’s Ballon d’Or was last presented in England – or, for that matter, to an Englishman – things have changed somewhat. On Monday, the most prestigious individual awards in football will be handed out at a bombastic ceremony at the London Palladium, all designer tuxedos, red carpets and fusillades of flashbulbs. In 2001, by contrast, Michael Owen took receipt of the trophy in what appeared to be the stationery cupboard at Liverpool’s former training ground, Melwood. Owen, boyish and beaming, wore an oversized grey suit. So did Gérard Ernault, then the editorial director of France Football. They stood in front of a plywood shelving unit. The whole thing looks like a deleted scene from The Office . At the time, Owen was ef...

FOTO ANP - PSV-aanvaller Ruben van Bommel  voor het duel tegen SC Heerenveen op 9 oktober. Met de adviezen van zijn vader en opa groeide Ruben van Bommel (22) in korte tijd uit tot een van de meest veelbelovende Nederlandse aanvallers. De manier waarop hij zijn eigen weg kiest, leidt soms tot stevige discussies. 24 Oct 2026 - NRC Door Steven Verseput Een plek op de reservebank, dat maakte Ruben van Bommel niet vaak mee. Toch lijkt het jeugdtrainer Maurice Hendricks verstandig. De zestienjarige linksbuiten is in september 2020 nieuw bij de onder-18 van profclub MVV Maastricht. Niet alleen moet Van Bommel zijn basisplaats nog verdienen, hij heeft ook last van groeipijn, met name in zijn hiel en heupen. Het is een belangrijke reden waarom hij uit de jeugd van PSV naar Maastricht is gekomen: bij MVV liggen het niveau en de fysieke belasting lager en krijgt hij meer ruimte om zich in zijn eigen tempo te ontwikkelen. Waar Van Bommel in de jeugd jarenlang tegen topploegen als Ajax en Feye...