I am joined by James Kelly, author of a new book charting the history of Belgian football. We look over some of the country's 'golden generations' that nearly managed to take home silverware, while also exploring the domestic scene.

Belgium's Football History

Outside Write is a blog dedicated to football travel, culture and history. In this podcast we discuss travel tips for watching football abroad, discuss football history, sociology and review books.

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My guest is Roberto Pennino, whose book 'Immortal Torino' covers the story of 'Il Grande Torino' - the Great Torino FC side that dominated Italian football in the 1940s. Tragically, the team and coaching staff all died as their plane descended into Turin on the way home from a friendly match in Lisbon against Benfica, crashing into the Basilica di Superga. 

The Superga Air Tragedy and Il Grande Torino

My guest is Phil Harrison, whose debut book explores football in Europe's last communist state, Albania. It's a fascinated story of football in a secretive and isolated country.

"The Hermit Kingdom": Football in Stalinist Albania

My guest is Ruben Clark (RM Clark), whose new book Winner Stays On covers his travels around England following clubs through every round of the FA Cup, trailing the winner of matches into the next round all the way up to the final. It's a fascinating insight into the English regions and the football pyramid.

Winner Stays On: Groundhopping Every Round of the FA Cup

My guest is Miguel Lourenço Pereira, who's written a number of football books, but his latest is his first in English, Bring Me That Horizon. It's all about getting to know Portugal through its football. We discuss Portugal's footballing roots and history under the long Salazar dictatorship and the role of football in its demise. We discuss the great players, like Eusébio and other stars from the African colonies, the great 'Golden Generation' Portuguese side of the 1990s and early 2000s, the Big Three, groundhopping, and more...

Portuguese Football History with Miguel Pereira

My guest is Peter Cinnamond from the Kicking Match podcast, which covers the Irish League/NIFL. We discuss groundhopping in Northern Ireland, covering famous clubs like Linfield and Glentoran, as well as some of the many great grounds that groundhoppers can discover in Belfast and beyond. We also look at some of the political history of the Irish League, which led to the loss of Belfast Celtic and Derry City.

Belgium's Football History

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