These Football Times

Henry then imaginatively kicks the ball off the wall, with Totti flying in to scissor kick home, rippling the chain-linked net. The line-up in the final match is like a roll-call of past stars, as Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo Such is the invention in attendance, just as Cantona goes to drop the ball one more time, we see Henry whisper something in Totti’s ear. Whilst being designed solely as an advert to sell their boots, prominently seen in Henry’s winning goal in the original, there is a deeper cultural impact from Nike’s campaign.

Moreover, the season before Simeone’s arrival, Atlético finished behind Valencia, Sevilla, Villarreal and Athletic Club in seventh place, 38 points off champions Barcelona and just 15 above the relegation zone. At Atlético, this has largely manifested itself in a narrow 4-4-2, but Catania spent the second half of the 2010/11 campaign switching between a 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-1-2. The Elefanti stayed compact and narrow in the defensive phase of play, with the wide men – two of Ezequiel Schelotto, Giuseppe Mascara, Raphael Martinho and Alejandro Gómez – expected to drop back and tuck in when out of possession; meanwhile, Ricchiuti and the central striker – more often than not López – moved back into midfield to prevent simple passes into this central zone rather than pressing the centre-backs, a notable feature of Atlético’s play over the last few seasons. Indeed, it was only six months after leaving Sicily that Simeone was appointed Atlético coach and, although the decision had a lot to do with his connections to the club and managerial accomplishments in South America, Cholo’s rewarding spell in charge of Catania certainly helped to persuade the Madridista board that he was the right choice.

Del Piero inherited Baggio’s number 10 shirt and formed a fluid, energetic attacking trident alongside Vialli and Ravanelli that helped Juventus to Champions League victory in 1996. Totti, Totti, Totti, Totti and Totti.” This uncertainty over how much creativity should be incorporated in the Italy line-up continued long after Rivera and Mazzola had retired, with Totti and Del Piero reviving the debate in the 1990s and early 2000s. How Antonio Cassano’s extraordinary goal aged 17 turned him into calcio’s darling Del Piero made his Azzurri bow in 1995 and went to the 1996 European Championships while Totti was still figuring out his place in Roma’s team.

The Women’s World Cup gave another boost to the growing momentum in women’s football, as the success of the Lionesses captured the imagination of so many football fans, both male and female. Indeed, the semi-final between England and the USA produced the BBC’s best viewing figures for the year so far. With women’s football on a steep upward trajectory., Lynsey Hooper joined us to discuss how the game can fulfil its potential.