Also in this issue...

p4-5

After a 5-1 England win in Germany, the editorial read: “English football inflicted humiliation on Germany, whose defence crumbled at the lightning quick feet of Michael Owen.”

p20-21

Paddy Agnew felt Hernan Crespo should lead Argentina’s attack at the World Cup, writing: “Crespo is one of the few strikers on the world scene today who can stand comparison with [Gabriel] Batistuta, one of the few whom one might reasonably pick before Batistuta.”

p51

Agnew also reported on promoted Chievo, a club from a Verona suburb of just 4,000 residents who had won their first two Serie A games and were preparing for a clash with Juventus. He wrote: “Their splendid start to their first season in the top flight provided one of those delightful reminders that, if only for a few weeks, even the minnows can come out to play.”

p66

Victor Gusev and Oleg Zadernovsky reported on the tragedy of CSKA Moscow’s Ukrainian keeper Serhiy Perkhunwho who “died in hospital 10 days after lapsing into a coma following a clash of heads with Anzhi Makhachkala striker Budun Budunov during a league game”.