Sports Poets Society

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/mar/24/sweden-jan-olsson-joan-cruyff-turn-holland-1974-world-cup Full-back played top-level football for 18 years but is best remembered for being left standing by Holland’s brilliant No14 at the 1974 World Cup by Press Association Jan Olsson, the Sweden defender fooled by Johan Cruyff’s brilliant dummy at the 1974 World Cup, has revealed how he and his team-mates exploded into laughter after witnessing the Dutch forward’s most famous skill. Cruyff’s mesmeric turn at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund has gone down in history as one of football’s most stunning moments as he feigned to go one way but twisted the other, leaving a befuddled Olsson staring into space. Cruyff died of cancer on Thursday, aged 68. The Group Three match finished 0-0 but the “Cruyff turn” would become a defining image of that Holland side, who lost to West Germany in the 1974 final and are considered one of the most exciting and inventive teams of all time. Ol...

https://www.amazon.it/FUGA-DAGLI-SCERIFFI-Saronni-ciclismo/dp/1087075408/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= IN FUGA DAGLI SCERIFFI Oltre Moser e Saronni: il ciclismo negli anni '80 Rainbow Sports Books by Herbie Sykes  I first met Simone Basso at the 1999 Giro d’Italia. He turned up wearing an old Système U jersey in deference to Laurent Fignon, and he saw Pantanismo for what it was. Simone, who seldom forgets anything, had forgotten more about cycling than I would ever know, and he alone refused to subscribe to this pandemic of catholic idiocy. This was the age of Epo and Pantani, brilliant climber or otherwise, had a very low natural haematocrit. He was an extremely good rider, but ultimately nought but a clown. He’d neither the intellect nor the emotional ballast to cope with the circus they were building around him, and how could he? A needy, cloying media, a delirious and deluded public in need of a sporting David, all those classical Ita...

Gianni Bugno was seen as the heir of the greatItalian champions of yore, and he looked a likely Tour winner. But the pressure weighed heavily on him. Procycling looks at a career that teetered on the edge of greatness Writer: William Fotheringham Procycling magazine - Issue 270 - July 2020 At the start of 1991, if followers of cycling had been asked to nominate a rider who would dominate the sport in the next five years, most would have come up with the same man. José Miguel Echavarri, long-time manager of Reynolds, would have been the exception in nominating his protégé Miguel Indurain, but ‘Miguelon’ wouldn’t have been the first name on most lips.  If the future of cycling at the start of 1991 didn’t belong to Indurain, then who? Not Greg LeMond, Stephen Roche, Pedro Delgado or Laurent Fignon. They were on the downward slide. Claudio Chiappucci, the surprise runner-up to LeMond in the 1990 Tour, was widely viewed as a one-hit wonder, and he was no spring chicken. La...

“It takes me right back to the victory stand in Mexico City  because those were the same feelings I had then. I still have those feelings,  and it’s terrible that these feelings I had then are playing out now.” Kevin D. Liles for The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/13/sports/tommie-smith-protest-colin-kaepernick.html Smith, whose iconic protest alongside John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics shined a light on racial inequality, talked about today’s protests, Colin Kaepernick and what needs to happen now. by Ken Belson June 13, 2020 In 1968 , Tommie Smith and John Carlos stepped to the podium at the Olympics in Mexico City to receive their medals in the 200-meter dash. Wearing black socks and no shoes to represent poverty and black gloves to signify black power and liberation, the sprinters raised their fists . The silent protest, which Smith, 76, called “a cry for freedom,” effectively ended their running careers . But it remains on...

Dove eravamo rimasti? Ah, sì: Leicester City-Aston Villa 4-0, monday night del 9 marzo: doppiette. Un altro mondo fa. Cento giorni esatti dopo, la Premier League ripartirà mercoledì 17 giugno con in campo ancora l'Aston Villa, ma al Villa Park, alle 19 contro la rivelazione Sheffield United.  Sottoclou gustosissimo che farà da aperitivo al piatto forte, alle 21.15, Manchester City-Arsenal. C'è molto oltre il calcio, in questa ripartenza.  Molto più che l'allievo e grande ex, Arteta, contro il maestro, Pep Guardiola.  Mikel è stato il primo contagiato dal coronavirus nel massimo campionato inglese.  Pep nella pandemia covid-19 ha perso, a Manresa il 6 aprile, la mamma 82enne Dolors Sala Carrió; e come il suo ex pupillo Messi ha donato un milione di euro in attrezzature mediche . C'è però anche molto calcio. Il City ha per la prima volta in stagione tutti a disposizione, compresi Sané e Laporte, che Pep aveva recuperato con troppa fretta...

Arsenal have a shot on goal during their friendly  match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday.  https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jun/08/premier-league-restart-preview-arsenal Mikel Arteta’s arrival had brought stability to a chaotic season – but the importance of the next 10 games could hardly be higher Nick Ames @NickAmes82 The Guardian - Mon 8 Jun 2020  What was the situation like when the league was suspended on 13 March? Mikel Arteta’s positive test for Covid-19 late on 12 March led a rapidly-unfolding series of events that brought the league to halt hours later. We will never know just how consequential that was to wider public health; for their part, Arsenal were already on red alert after several players had been forced to self-isolate, causing their match at Manchester City the previous day to be postponed. Casting this as the latest twist in a turbulent season seems slightly tawdry, but Arsenal were already at the point where...

Arsenal faced Charlton in a restart  friendly at an empty Emirates on 6 June https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jun/14/premier-league-restart-fans-preview-arsenal-liverpool Arsenal Before lockdown the idea of a trip to the Etihad was like the idea of a trip to the dentist : just hoping to get through it without needing to be numbed. But maybe playing in an empty stadium after such a long shutdown will throw form out of the window? Maybe. Is it right to restart?  I’m not sure it’s moral to ask players to risk infection for themselves and their families just to give us some entertainment. And the sanitised experience is going to be strange. It’s been bizarre to see subs distanced and masked in the Bundesliga while, on the pitch, the players are puffing and panting over each other. What I missed most … Having had to make do with press gossip about the futures of Aubameyang, Saka and co, I just can’t wait for some actual sport. What I m...

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jun/14/premier-league-restart-fans-preview-manchester-city-wolves Manchester City This is the first time we’ve had a fully fit squad this season, with Laporte and Leroy back. And the various changes should suit City: Pep’s cerebral and intensely detailed brand of football should be easier to imple ment given the lack of emotion in the fixtures, and the ability to make five subs . That helps the bigger clubs. Is it right to restart?  I was strongly against it when lockdown was still fresh and the infection/death rates were very high. Finishing the season on a points-per-game basis seemed the best option at that point. But as the situation in the UK has improved (slightly) and the Bundesliga has shown what’s possible , I’ve become more comfortable with it. I’m struggling to get excited about behind-closed-doors football, though. And from a City perspective, that’s a real shame. We’ve still got so much to play for in Europe ...

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jun/13/premier-league-restart-preview-no-11-manchester-city Pep Guardiola has one trophy in the bag and, boosted by Aymeric Laporte’s return , is targeting the Champions League Paul Wilson The Guardian - Sun 13 Jun 2020 What was the situation like when the league was suspended on 13 March City had more reason than most to rue the timing of the lockdown, coming as it did between the two legs of a Champions League knockout tie against Real Madrid . Having seemingly done the hard part with a 2-1 victory at the Bernabéu , Pep Guardiola and his players were denied the opportunity to advance to the last eight at home. Though they will get the chance at some point momentum and a degree of excitement will have been lost. In the Premier League Guardiola acknowledged Liverpool’s superiority many months ago but City remain on track to finish second, particularly given the signs that Leicester’s advance was stuttering . That said, ...

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jun/14/premier-league-emerges-from-lockdown-changed-hope-david-hytner Matches without atmosphere will be strange but making the best of a bad situation is better than leaving the game behind David Hytner The Guardian - Sun 14 Jun 2020 Most people can pinpoint the moment when it became real, the hot flush of panic when it dawned that coronavirus was not some far-off threat but rather one heading to our doorsteps, quickly, inexorably, hellbent on destruction. For English football, it came during the week that began with Leicester’s 4-0 Premier League drubbing of Aston Villa on Monday 9 March and moved through Liverpool’s Champions League elimination at the hands of Atlético Madrid on the Wednesday. What an uncomfortable night that was at Anfield, thousands of diehards wanting to be there but, in their hearts, wondering why they had been allowed. Was it really safe ? In Madrid, parents had been prevented from sending t...

https://www.sport-e-cultura.com/2020/06/12/monica-da-novi-sad-con-furore-e-la-rivoluzione-interrotta/?fbclid=IwAR19MZTI_qCcze6L-Hw-jOWrcoL8JXX54IdWQeK-6qo19b6gIE_WkaZYwRA di SIMONE BASSO Sport e Cultura - 12 giugno 2020 In televisione e sugli altri media – per ingannare il tempo, si dice: ma avviene sempre il contrario, è lui che ci frega – dilaga la retromania. Solitamente distorta da un amarcord a senso unico, lo sport di quando si era adolescenti sì che era sport non come adesso (..), con l’aggiunta – al pari del ketchup sul cibo plastificato – del voto (acchiappa-clic) in sondaggi involontariamente (?) demenziali. Ma, quasi per sbaglio, in quelle che furono visioni catodiche, ci si imbatte in repliche e scopriamo l’acqua calda. Per esempio, nei giorni di un Roland Garros che non c’è, si viene corroborati da due partite d’archivio della WTA: due O.K. Corral tra le più forti tenniste degli anni Novanta. Steffi Graf e Monica Seles , le amazzoni che traghe...