The Blizzard

Dion Fanning joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller for this week’s episode of Greatest Games to remember a First Division meeting between the two Merseyside rivals. Last season's champions v the would-be champions of the 1987-88 season. About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to numerous publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others. Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well as Answerable Questions with Questionable Answers. Marcus also regularly hosts our live Q&A events across the country alongside Jonathan. Dion Fanning is a journalist and broadcaster previously as the Sunday Independent covering the Premier League and the World Cup, currently of the Currency. Subscribe to our quarterly magazine: https://www.theblizza

Tim Vickery joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller for this week’s episode of Greatest Games to relive the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley. About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to numerous publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others. Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well as Answerable Questions with Questionable Answers. Marcus also regularly hosts our live Q&A events across the country alongside Jonathan. Tim Vickery is a long-time contributor to BBC Sport, ESPN, World Soccer and can be seen on-screen regularly in his country of residence, Brazil. Subscribe to our quarterly magazine: https://www.theblizzard.co.uk/  Twitter: http://twitter.com/blzzrd  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blzzrd  Instagram: https

On this week’s Greatest Games, Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller are joined by Brian Oliver to discuss the Euro 2000 semi-final between Italy and the Netherlands. Both nations had gotten the group stages and a quarter-final with little to worry about up to this fixture. The co-host, Netherlands, were spurred on by a 34th minute Gianluca Zambrotta red card and seemed destined to advance to the final of their own tournament. However, a triumphant display of Catenaccio values deployed by Dino Zoff’s Nezzuri ensured Italy were headed for a meeting with the world champions in Rotterdam. About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to numerous publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others. Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well as An

Michael Yokhin is our guest on this week's Greatest Games, joining Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller to discuss the 2008 European Championship quarter-final between Russia and the Netherlands. The Netherlands blitzed through their group with convincing wins over Italy, France and Romania – leading many to think that perhaps Marco van Basten had returned total football to the Dutch national side. However, Russia, galvanised by the Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, also looked promising after group stage wins against holders Greece and Sweden. The match signalled the start of two polarising eras for the two national sides. About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to numerous publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others. Marcus Speller is a host of the Football

On this week’s Greatest Games, Jonathan and Marcus are joined by Eero Laurila to discuss what it’s like to spy on Marcelo Bielsa and the state of football in Finland via the 2012 Europa League qualifier between HJK Helsinki and Athletic.   At the time Athletic were led by the influential Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa, whilst their hosts had former Finland national team manager Antti Muurinen in charge. The Finnish side were to lose 9-3 on aggregate but the occasion proves to be a perfect platform to discuss advances made in Finland over the past 20 years up to qualification for the current European Championship.     About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to numerous publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others. Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble

On Greatest Games this week, Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller are joined by David Diaz Bejarano to discuss the 1987 Copa Libertadores final decider between Penarol and America de Cali.   America de Cali were heading into the tie having already lost the 1985 and 1986 Libertadores final and hoped to break a long-standing curse on the Colombian club. Penarol, managed by Oscar Tabarez, were already giants of South American football and aiming for their fifth Libertadores triumph.     About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to numerous publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others. Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well as Answerable Questions with Questionable Answers. Marcus also regularly hosts our live Q&A events across the country

On this week’s Greatest Games we remember a Skol Cup Dundee Derby at Dens Park in 1987 with Alan Patullo.   Following football in Dundee is unlike no other city such is the close proximity between the two sides, whose stadiums reside just a matter of yards away from each other. Alan remembers the history of this rivalry throughout the early years of his life and the atmosphere at this League Cup fixture that’s lost in time as the game wasn’t broadcast.     About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others. Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well as Answerable Questions with Questionable Answers. Marcus also regularly hosts our live Q&A events across the country alongside Jonathan.

On this week’s Greatest Games, Nick Ames joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller to share his story from the abandoned Serbia v Albania 2016 European Championship qualifier. Eyebrows were raised when the draw placed these two nations in Group I in February 2014. Political disagreements regarding Kosovo, which culminated during the Kosovo War, meant that tensions were bound to be high when the sides came to meet. In Belgrade, when a drone flew into the Partizan Stadium carrying a nationalist flag depicting a map of ‘Greater Albania’, the Serbian crowd responded in fury – forcing the match to be abandoned by referee Martin Atkinson. If you can ever spare the time to leave a review wherever you get your podcasts from, it could really help. Thanks for your support! About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored  Behind the Curtain, Inverting

Vithushan Ehantharajah re-joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller this week to discuss an eight-goal thriller at White Hart Lane – Spurs 3 Manchester United 5. Goals from Richards, Ferdinand and Ziege raced Spurs into a three-goal lead at half-time against the champions but an infamous Alex Ferguson three-word half-time speech was all that was needed to inspire an exhilarating second-half performance this Man United side – a vintage comeback. If you can ever spare the time to leave a review wherever you get your podcasts from, it could really help. Thanks for your support! About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored  Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others.  Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well as Answer

Steve Crossman joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller on this week’s Greatest Games to discuss the Euro 2016 Group F opener between eventual champions, Portugal, and the tournament’s surprise package, Iceland. The Nordic nation had never featured at a major tournament finals before but were unfazed by going toe-to-toe with the 2004 finalists, captained by the mercurial Cristiano Ronaldo. The result, and the remainder of the tournament, would catapult Iceland out of footballing obscurity and capture the hearts of football fans across Europe. If you can ever spare the time to leave a review wherever you get your podcasts from, it could really help. Thanks for your support! About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored  Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago

This week on Greatest Games, Michael Walker joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller to remember Northern Ireland’s return to Windsor Park after three and a half years of international football exile. The Northern Ireland national team had been playing their “home” games up and down England since their last Windsor Park international in October 1971 against the Soviet Union. This game against Yugoslavia brought Northern Ireland out of football isolation. If you can ever spare the time to leave a review wherever you get your podcasts from, it could really help. Thanks for your support! About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored  Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others. Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well as Answ

On this week’s Greatest Games Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller are joined by Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the 1954 exhibition match between English champions Wolverhampton Wanderers and Hungarian champions Budapest Honvéd. Under the Molineux floodlights and broadcast on the BBC, excitement swept across Wolverhampton and the entire nation for this one.  Honvéd starred many of the Mighty Magyars who finished as runners-up in the 1954 World Cup and had sent shockwaves through English football after becoming the first team from outside the British Isles to defeat England at Wembley. After the win, the English press coined Wolves the ‘champions of the world’, spurring a desire for more continental club football and the formation of regular contests under the guise of the European Cup. About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored Beh

We’re off to a cup final, everyone! Faye Carruthers joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller to discuss the 1988 Littlewoods Challenge Cup Final between Luton Town and Arsenal. Defending champions Arsenal were considered heavy favourites, but Ray Harford’s Luton Town had been performing well in the First Division and were raring for this cup final. Gus Caesar errors and Andy Dibble heroics make the difference in this frantic cup final in front of 95,000 at Wembley which features four goals in the game’s last 20 minutes. About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored  Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others. Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well as Answerable Questions with Questionable Answers. Marcus also regul

David Jones joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller to remember the second 1997 FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford. About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored  Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others.  Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well as Answerable Questions with Questionable Answers. Marcus also regularly hosts our live Q&A events across the country alongside Jonathan. David Jones presents Super Sunday and Monday Night Football on Sky Sports. Listen to every Greatest Games podcast ever, here. Subscribe to our quarterly magazine: https://www.theblizzard.co.uk/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/blzzrd Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blzzrd

It’s a World Cup final edition of Greatest Games! Herbie Sykes joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller to discuss Italy’s first World Cup triumph on home soil in 1934. Mussolini’s Italy greeted the world for the second Fifa World Cup competition, the first to feature teams from three continents. In a tournament designed to highlight Italian superiority and values, the only team left standing in their way of lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy – then called “Victory” – was Czechoslovakia. Italy would emerge victorious, albeit in a victory shrouded by accusations of bribery, corruption and meddling, and the fascist anthem Giovinezza would play out in celebration around the Stadio Nazionale in Rome. If you can ever spare the time to leave a review wherever you get your podcasts from, it could really help. Thanks for your support! About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustra

Back to Wembley for this week’s Greatest Games as  Maciej Iwański joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller to discuss a famous draw between England and Poland in October 1973.  After suffering defeat in Chorzow in June, Alf Ramsey’s side needed to win in order to avoid missing the World Cup finals for the first time since their first entry in 1950. However, the heroics of goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski helped Poland secure their spot at the World Cup at England’s expense and managed to make a fool of Brian Clough in the process. If you can ever spare the time to leave a review wherever you get your podcasts from, it could really help. Thanks for your support! About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored  Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others

Rory Smith joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller on this week’s Greatest Games to reflect on one of football’s most highly-anticipated fixtures to have never even happened – the postponed 2018 Copa Libertadores final second-leg between River Plate and Boca Juniors. A rousing 2-2 draw at La Bombonera had perfectly set-up a winner-takes-all Copa Libertadores superclásico final – the like of which never to have been witnessed before in the 58-year history of the competition.  However, it was an occasion that proved too seismic to even taken place – where it was originally intended to have been hosted, at least. The local and global significance of the superclásico, Conmebol tribulations, Jacaranda trees and more. About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored  Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Fa

This week on Greatest Games, Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller discuss a 1954 World Cup semi-final with Martin Da Cruz – Hungary 4 Uruguay 2.  Going into the match in Lausanne, Switzerland, Hungary’s ‘Mighty Magyars’ hadn’t lost a full international since 1950 – winning Olympic gold and thrashing England a couple of times in that time. But of course, Uruguay were yet to lost a World Cup fixture themselves, winning the inaugural competition in 1930 and then in 1950.  Two international football heavyweights meet in a defining fixture at a pivotal time in their footballing histories. About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored  Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others.  Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well a

Leon Mann is this week’s guest on Greatest Games, joining Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller to remember the 1991 FA Cup semi-final North London Derby between Terry Venables’ Tottenham and George Graham’s Arsenal. Rather than traipsing the sides up to the midlands, the tie became the first-ever FA Cup semi-final to be hosted at Wembley. This meant a first Wembley trip for Leon and a grand setting to further encourage Mr Paul Gascoigne for the occasion. What followed was a clash of styles between two cherished managers and one of the great semi-final performances.  About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored  Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others.  Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well as Answerable Question

This week on Greatest Games, Brian Homewood joins Jonathan Wilson and Marcus Speller to discuss the 1981 Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final first-leg between West Ham United and Dinamo Tbilisi. So to the Boleyn Ground for this one, where the ardent West Ham crowd – then used to cruising second division and on the verge of promotion – warmly welcomed the Soviet Cup winners from Georgia. The reception was shortly followed by disbelief as the Georgians picked apart the FA Cup holders on a blustery March night in East London. About the panel: Jonathan Wilson founded The Blizzard in 2011 and is editor of the magazine. He’s contributed to a number of publications including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated as well as having authored  Behind the Curtain, Inverting the Pyramid, The Outsider, Angels with Dirty Faces and most recently The Names Heard Long Ago, among others.  Marcus Speller is a host of the Football Ramble podcast as well as Answerable Questions with Questionable Answers. Marcus also r