Michael Hamlen from the brilliant 80s&90s Football account returns to look at the rise of Eastern Europe in intercontinental competition. Steaua Bucharest's win in the European Cup and Dynamo Kiev's success over Atletico Madrid in the Cup Winners' Cup are the highlights and some love for Lobanovskyi and his place in the pantheon of the great managers in history. There is also some Italian chicanery and Real Madrid's love of a comeback in retaining the UEFA Cup. Are this Real side one that we constantly overlook? If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
For all the surprises in English football in the mid-eighties, the real power still remained on Merseyside. 1985/86 saw both Liverpool and Everton locked in a battle for an historic Double right up until the final games of the season. With Everton the newly crowned champions and now with the best English striker of his generation and Liverpool still reeling from Heysel and the introduction of a club legend into an old-fashioned role, it was a season of momentum swings and sporting drama. In the background was a city under political siege and the final showpiece may have just saved football in the country for good. Gary Naylor is in the blue corner, Tony Evans in the red and Martyn tries to get a word in now and again as a famous season story is revisited. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Although considered to be a good bet for the Cup each season, West Ham United's league form had been middling at best. In fact, some pundits tipped them to fall back out of the First Division when 1985/86 kicked off. But an opening day injury meant that a relatively unknown midfield signing from St Mirren had to be pushed up front to partner the club's up-and-coming young hero and the chemistry was instant. They wouldn't win the title - more of that next week - but they very nearly did and arguably could and would have if mother nature had been a bit kinder. Author Dominic Hougham is here to relive a famous season and reassess a much-loved team. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The mid 1980s saw plenty of surprise packages making their way to collect silverware in English football but perhaps none had such a meteoric rise as Oxford United. Author Scott Walkinshaw is here to explain how it happened, relive the Milk Cup win in 1986 and discuss the influence and legacy of their notorious owner, Robert Maxwell. Scott's book on the subject can be found here https://amzn.eu/d/edxvCdK If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It was scheduled to happen anyway but after the horrors of May 1985, the new season delivered some much needed levity to the coverage of football and a lunchtime magazine show that opened the door to a new mainstream culture. Gary and the Daily Telegraph's Rob Bagchi join Martyn to discuss the impact and legacy of Saint and Greavsie. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In the summer of 1984 Terry Venables was the third-choice for the Barcelona job and had to fight the President to choose how to spend some of that Maradona transfer money but went on to win the club's first La Liga title in 11 years at a canter. That title was only a means to an end, however. Now that they had qualified for the European Cup, the quest was now on to reach their Holy Grail. Mike joins Martyn to discuss the two seasons as a whole as a manager that few fancied and a signing that fans had barely heard of would get so close to immortality and set in place a new culture that helped those who would follow. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We start 1985/86 with a tale of heartbreak. As April turned to May of 1986, Heart of Midlothian were in the driving seat to win a sensational and unexpected league and cup double. The Guardian's Ewan Murray is here to tell us how they came from nowhere to lead the pack on a 27 game unbeaten run, how it agonisingly fell apart at the very end, how Celtic came through to snatch it and how it impacted the players and supporters years later. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The sporting interval between football seasons this time is more of a bridge than a break. With football descending into depression, the British public were given sporting drama at its finest in a clean environment and between two likeable personalities. 18 million people could not switch off as the World Championship Snooker Final reached its climax beyond midnight on Sunday 28 April 1985. Mike is with Martyn to go through the wild momentum swings of one of the greatest comebacks in sport and The Rest Is History's Dominic Sandbrook returns to Nessun Dorma to discuss just how snooker filled the void being left by football, the draw of personalities in individual sports and the importance of television in British life in the mid 1980s. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The journalist and author Chris Lepkowski returns to discuss just how the English national game was allowed to become a 'slum sport'. Who was to blame, how avoidable was UEFA's hard line and how on earth was 1985 not the final straw are just some of the questions on the table. 'The Slum Sport' can be found at https://www.curtis-sport.com/all-programmes/THE-SLUM-SPORT-Story-of-95-96-p783194469 If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
"A slum sport played in slum stadiums and increasingly watched by slum people". So went the infamous Sunday Times editorial in the weekend following the Bradford Fire, when it was felt by some that English football had finally reached its nadir. There were further tragic depths to plummet before the month of May 1985 was out. In this episode the journalist and author Chris Lepkowski - whose book on the subject and the season that followed is out later this month - joins Martyn to discuss three dark episodes in English football history before discussing the aftermath and how it got to this stage in next week's show. 'The Slum Sport' can be found at https://www.curtis-sport.com/all-programmes/THE-SLUM-SPORT-Story-of-95-96-p783194469 If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23 years from their last major honour, Norwich City found themselves parading the League Cup around Wembley Stadium. With mid-table safety a seeming certainty, it looked as if it would be a campaign of glory and consolidation. With only two wins from their last 12 it turned to last-day despair. How it happened and how they came back is the story of this week's episode as Martyn is joined by historian and biographer Edward Couzens-Lake. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mac seeks to retain his Draft title as he, Mike and Gary face off again to try and capture the best of the sporting year in 1985. The Queens of tennis, Northern Irish heroes, a turning point in the Ryder Cup, the most ridiculous cycling story of all time and much more. Let us know what you think the boys have missed and who should have come out on top! If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With so many stories from the three European club competitions being lost to time, Mike and Martyn are here to bring together some brilliant tales. Big comebacks, a UEFA enforced replay, a thunderous battle of Britain and Wrexham humbling Porto before Hollywood writers were a natural association are among the stories being given new life. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
To fair Verona this week as the most unlikely of all Serie A seasons took hold. Author and Verona resident Richard Hough joins Martyn to discuss the impact of two international signings, the goal without the shoe, a taciturn genius and just how this most provincial of Italian football clubs ended up defeating the giants just as the league itself was turning into the continent's powerhouse. Richard's book can be found here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Verona-Campione-Miracle-Richard-Hough/dp/1836801211 and here https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/verona-campione and is well worth the read! If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With points being dropped, red cards being shown and injury hitting their lethal strike partnership, Everton's dreams looked to be in serious jeopardy as Christmas 1984 approached. Step forward a fans favourite as the Toffees put their foot down towards the finishing line of a potential treble. Gary Naylor and Gavin Buckland return to guide Martyn through the conclusion of a historic campaign. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
After their Wembley triumph over Watford in 1984, many assumed that Everton had saved a wretched season and Howard Kendall's job. Few could have predicted the season that would directly follow. Gary Naylor and Everton author Gavin Buckland join Martyn to touch base again with English football in the summer of 1984, some early wobbles, a few masterclass performances and two important wins over Liverpool that propelled Everton to the top before Christmas. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It is the final look behind the Patreon curtain before normal service resumes next week. Gary and Martyn deal with results that left them scratching their heads, underachievers, soft spot teams, the best ever football season and lots more! If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Two more weeks until the show returns so here is another Q&A from the Patreon vaults. Gary and Martyn deal with cult heroes, Everton in the European Cup, which English player would have benefitted most from a move abroad, whether Martyn can say anything nice about Celtic and much more! If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The main show is still on holiday so here are some more questions from our excellent Patrons. Mike and Rob join Martyn for this one in February this year and the questions include: How was football consumed between 1988 and 1995? Which of Fergie's Cup Winners' Cup triumphs was the most unlikely? What were the great nearly matches in footballing history? Where did 'crack' Eastern European side come from? And a lot more! If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With the regular show on a short summer hiatus until later in the month, we will share some of the excellent questions that our Patrons have been asking us since we started there last year. Best uncapped England players of the 80s and 90s, the binning of the Cup Winners' Cup, Fulham's impact on the English game, the most quintessential live tv match of the 80s and a lot more. This episode was first aired on Patreon on 15 Oct 2024. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It is Gary's turn to change one moment in tournament history and run us through the consequences. This time it is the Dutch penalty against Scotland - slightly soft and against the run of play - that is removed from time. Could Ally's Army actually march far? Would Scottish football fans ever be allowed to be optimistic about anything ever again? Have a listen and let us know what you think! If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
England didn't have the best squad of the 1998 World Cup. Not even in the top four. And yet, it isn't always that simple. Martyn lays out his case to Rob that this was an underrated lost opportunity for England and it had nothing to do with the Argentina game. And we also missed out on one of the best World Cup semi-finals of all time. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The 1990 World Cup is one that we know so well that we can almost say for sure where we were when we watched every game. But what if one moment was changed? What if Nery Pumpido had managed to smother François Omam-Biyik's header in the San Siro? Would we have had a better football tournament as a result? Rob and Martyn enjoy some counterfactual history by changing one goal and seeing what would happen as a result. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
As a one-off summer treat we are making our weekly Patreon show open to all. This Week is available every Monday morning and has two Nessun Dorma regulars picking out seven stories from football history that coincide with the coming seven dates in the week. Rob and Martyn have plenty to work with this week and they reflect upon three World Cup Finals, three semi finals and two massive signings. 7 July 8 July 9 July 10 July 11 July 12 July 13 July If you want to hear this every Monday morning, want your regular episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
And so it is time to bid adieu to Euro '84 as France and Spain meet in the final and so much of Europe craving a home victory for the good of the game. Martyn, Aidan and Jonathan look at a final ruined by nerves, assess the tournament's legacy, where Platini's individual performance sits among the greats and put together their best XI of the Championship. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
After the European football public had caught their breath following the first semi final, most assumed that the finale itself had the potential to be the best of all. Denmark were strong favourites to beat Spain - who were extremely fortunate to still be active in the competition - and set up a beautiful footballing conclusion to an enjoyable tournament. However, many Spanish players believed that luck was with them. Something that can take teams a long way in these things... Rob is with Martyn this week to explain Denmark's sudden rise to prominence, why so many neutrals took them to heart and how Spain broke those hearts in the end. 'Danish Dynamite', which Rob co-wrote with Mike Gibbons and Lars Eriksen is still available in the usual places. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Aidan Williams and Jonathan O'Brien return to luxuriate in perhaps the greatest European Championship match of all time. With time ticking by, it felt like it was all going wrong again for France, destined forever to come up short at the big events. Within five minutes, the entire narrative was changed. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
"The German monster has survived too long" opined Le Soir on 21 June 1984. And that was one of the more sober conclusions. After the way France's World Cup had ended, schadenfreude was not in short supply when the reigning European Champions went home before the real action started. It was also one of the two games that was shown live in the UK. Jonathan O'Brien joins Martyn to make sense of Group 2 with a surprise Iberian challenge and a disappointingly restrictive Romania. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
If the host nation were nervy in that opening night in Paris, they quickly shrugged it off throughout the rest of Group 1. Platini's seven goals in three games, the young promise of Scifo and Stojković, the shackles around the Romanians and the disgrace that derailed Belgium give Martyn and Aidan Williams lots to talk about in a group that produced 23 goals. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Martyn, Rob and Aidan are back to finish off this memorable qualifying story. Italy were seemingly on a post-World Cup gap year, Northern Ireland managed to beat West Germany home and away and still finish second - a tale of glorious failure that would become more familiar for some home nations - and the Netherlands were booking their hotel after setting Spain the task of winning their final game by 11 clear goals... If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier or just want to support the podcast, then head over to patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast where you can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. If you enjoy the show then please leave a review and tell your friends! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
