Tagged with Philosophy Football

Why Stalingrad still matters 70 years on

Seventy years ago, 2 February 1943 is the date of the Red Army victory at Stalingrad. From the moment of near-certain defeat the previous year the siege of the city, Hitler’s gateway to success on the Eastern Front, had been turned into an encirclement of the German forces and their eventual, and humiliating surrender.

Up to this point in early 1943 despite the reverses in North Africa and the failure to launch an invasion of Britain the Nazi blitzkreig had appeared virtually invincible. Hyped up by the Goebbels propaganda machine German morale was at its height and the Allies could see no obvious end to the War. Stalingrad changed all of that, decisively.

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The FA: a century and a half not so sweet

Throughout 2013 the Football Association will be celebrating its 150th anniversary. Philosophy Football’s MARK PERRYMAN reflects on the organisation’s failings.

26th October 1863. The great and the good of nineteenth century English Football gathered at the Freemasons’ Arms in Covent Garden to codify their sport. The rest is history, as will be frequently pointed out over the next twelve months, as the organisation they founded, The Football Association, loudly celebrates its 150th anniversary year. Particularly in the high-profile Wembley friendlies against Brazil, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland. Not that there’s anything resembling friendliness in any footballing encounter with the latter.

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A mountain of bike books for Christmas

Philosophy Football’s MARK PERRYMAN declares Cycling ‘Sport of the Year’ and chooses his favourite books from 2012 inspired by life on two wheels

Never mind the BBC hyped-up hoopla of ‘Sports Personality of the Year’, for most successful British sport of 2012 surely nothing comes close to cycling. An extraordinary first, and second, places for British riders in the Tour de France, a hatful of medals in the Olympic velodrome, more on the road too, and by the autumn a new generation of winners breaking through on the track in the World Cup series too. The achievements, matched by an explosion of popular participation is truly breathtaking.

For those new to the sport, this is one with a rich and varied literature, cycling takes its history seriously, the efforts to excel are tales of human endurance hardly matched by any other sport. Matt Seaton’s The Escape Artist may have been published ten years ago yet it remains the single best depiction in print of how a commute to work by bike can become the force to transform the individual into a cyclist driven to pile on the miles in the cause of speed, and endurance on the road. A route no doubt many tens of thousands are taking inspired by Wiggo, Cav, Hoy, Pendleton and the rest.

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A formation for the Christmas tree: 2012’s best football books

Philosophy Football’s MARK PERRYMAN reveals the football books any fan would welcome as an addition to their bookshelf this Christmas

Twenty years on from the 1992 publication of Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch it might be assumed that there wouldn’t be any subjects football-wise remaining to write a half-decent book about. It is true there’s a lot of dross, personally I avoid almost all ghost-written player biographies like the plague, and the ‘Hornbyesque’ diary of a season/lifetime has been mostly done to death. But there’s also enough fine writers, some new, some vintage, to still provide a literary sparkle to writing about the Game.

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Stalingrad 1942 : The hour of courage had struck the clock

We know what’s at stake and how great the foe’s power,
And what is now coming to pass.
The hour of courage has struck on the clock
And our courage will hold to the last.
The bullets can kill us, but cannot deter;
Though our houses will fall, we shall remain.

13 September, 06.45, 1942 the Nazi onslaught on Stalingrad commenced with a bloody vengeance. The sky turned brown from the dust of fragmented buildings, the ground vibrated because of the power of the explosions. The Fascist army’s advance continued but faced the most ferocious resistance imaginable.

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