TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Rob Bagchi: The rivalry that turned to hate As my team prepare to face their fiercest foes once again, memories flood back of a feud that became poisonousIn 1994, on the death of Sir Matt Busby, a minute's silence was held, and impeccably observed, at almost every ground. But not at Ewood Park. There, hundreds of Leeds United fans disrupted the tribute to the former Manchester United manager by chanting: "There's only one Don Revie."Only four years had passed since Italia 90, when Paul Gascoigne and Luciano Pavarotti made watching the game respectable again. No one wanted to be reminded of the tribal loathing that had turned the game in the 1980s into a form of social leprosy.The condemnation was stringent and widespread. The club itself was hugely embarrassed and the manager, Howard Wilkinson, declared himself "numb". The perpetrators, he said, were "out of touch with the rest of football". The chairman, Leslie Silver, vowed to ban them for life and Revie's widow, Elsie, said her husband would have been "horrified" by the fans' behaviour had he still been alive.Those fans deserved their comeuppance, and not only because of their lack of respect for Busby. Revie's name was dragged through the mud, along with that of Leeds. But much of the criticism was disingenuous. No one who truly understood what it had meant to be a Leeds supporter over the age of 30 should have been remotely surprised by the episode.For once, however, what was chanted was not about Leeds' then three-decade long poisonous mutual animosity with Manchester United. Not really, anyway. It was a protest about the lack of official recognition afforded Revie at the time of his death on the day Michael Thomas won the title for Arsenal at Anfield in 1989 and the disparity between the universal praise bestowed on Busby and the vilification that dogged the former Leeds and England manager in retirement that had even manifested itself in the liberal employment of snide remarks in his obituaries.But it was easier to fall back on the old clichés when reporting the incident: Leeds fans were beyond the pale and had displayed the inferiority complex we suffer towards Manchester United with a reprehensible outburst that offended just about everyone. In fact, however notorious it became, it was the one incident notionally directed by supporters of one of the two clubs at the other since the rivalry began in the mid-60s that was not wholly inspired by spite.Some amateur anthropologists have claimed the antagonism dates back to some visceral remnant of the Wars of the Roses, but a more accurate assessment would locate the origins of this relatively modern football feud to on-field events in the spring of 1965. With both sides going for the Double, they played an FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough that turned into a ragged, violent draw. Nobby Stiles's early dreadful tackle on Leeds' left-winger Albert Johanneson set the tone for a game which quickly degenerated into a series of skirmishes on and off the ball between Jack Charlton and Denis Law, and Billy Bremner and Pat Crerand.The ill feeling spread to the terraces and scuffles, fights and assaults were reported by the city constabularies of Sheffield and Nottingham after that game and the replay four days later at the City Ground, which Leeds won with Billy Bremner's 89th-minute goal. Manchester United, though, had the last laugh, pipping Leeds to the title on goal average while Revie's team, in their first season after promotion, were runners-up in League and Cup.Up until Manchester United were relegated in 1974, as Leeds enjoyed the upper hand on the pitch with only three defeats in 25 games, trouble between the supporters escalated; it then took a more vicious turn still after the Reds' year of mayhem in the Second Division. It was in their first season back that I went to my first game at Elland Road between the two and the atmosphere was febrile with menace and the most exciting I have ever witnessed.The transfers from Leeds of Joe Jordan and Gordon McQueen in 1978 made matters worse and the games until we went down in 1982 were defined by violence and "Judas" taunts. Up to 1992 the transfers from Old Trafford to Elland Road – Johnny Giles and Gordon Strachan – had been more effective than the ones going the other way. But then there was Eric Cantona, who had become an adored talisman as his irresistible cameos restored the fans' belief that we could really beat Manchester United to the First Division championship in 1992.Only months after delighting at the profound misery etched on Alex Ferguson's face as he conceded the title, pretty gracelessly, at Anfield we sold him the Frenchman for next to nothing. They immediately won their first title for 26 years and established a domestic hegemony that endures to this day.The hostility directed at Cantona on his returns to Elland Road was palpable. A friend's father, who had the season ticket next to me, said during one of those games with dismay: "This isn't rivalry. It's hatred." He was spot-on. A taunting poster erected by Nike on Elland Road during Euro 96 – "1966 was a great year for football. Eric was born" – hardly helped matters.Some of it is fairly anodyne – they accuse us of enjoying intimate relationships with sheep, we counter by alleging that they come from Godalming. The term "scum" is applied to each other by both and indeed, six years after we were relegated and effectively become irrelevant, a match at Old Trafford rarely goes by without the mass singing of "we all hate Leeds scum".Battle recommences tomorrow for the first time since Alan Smith scored an equaliser for us there in 2004 – and the first time since the habitual Leeds badge-kisser went back on his pledge "never to sign for them" and high-tailed it over the Pennines.We haven't won at Old Trafford since 1981, a 28-year gap that has been a weight on Leeds' supporters shoulders. In some ways the game is a twitch on the thread, a memory of what it used to be like and a chance to rekindle the days when we took them on as equals. For once, however, after Simon Grayson's skilful rejuvenation of a moribund club and with everyone focused on promotion from the purgatory of three years in League One, we are rather more preoccupied with getting a bigger monkey off our backs.FA CupLeeds UnitedManchester UnitedLeague OneRob Bagchiguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Diouf poised to make his United debut • Forward handed Carlos Tevez's old No32 shirt• 'He's looked very impressive, says Sir Alex FergusonSir Alex Ferguson is preparing to hand the Senegal striker Mame Biram Diouf his Manchester United debut.Diouf was signed from the Norwegian club Molde in the summer but has only recently been able to link up with the Old Trafford club as he was allowed to remain with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's former team on loan until the end of their domestic campaign.The 22-year-old has impressed in training and, after having a work permit granted for the forward, United have now received international clearance.While Ferguson may not necessarily include Diouf in his squad for Saturday's trip to Birmingham City, the fact he has allocated his newest recruit the No32 shirt, formerly worn by Carlos Tevez, means it is at least a possibility."He has adapted very well to our training regime and has looked very impressive," Ferguson told Inside United."He is quick, very good in the air and a good striker of the ball. Overall, he is a really good centre forward and he will play a part this season."As United are welcoming a youngster, speculation is mounting that they are about to say goodbye to one of their old guard.Gary Neville made his 583rd Red Devils appearance in Sunday's dismal FA Cup defeat to Leeds. However, whether he follows team-mates Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes into the exclusive 600 club is open to extreme doubt.Neville will celebrate his 35th birthday next month, having spent the last three years battling to overcome injury.In stating his intention to hand Giggs – who has already signed – and Scholes new contracts earlier in the season, Ferguson failed to mention his captain, who was overlooked by Fabio Capello when he was trying to find a right-back to act as cover for the recent friendly against Brazil in Qatar.It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Neville could remain at Old Trafford, where his experience offers such a fine example to younger players, or that he might take up some kind of coaching role for the club he supported as a boy.However, on performances alone, it would be difficult to justify giving him another season, although a final decision will not be made until later in the campaign, by which time details should have been released about a testimonial for a player who made his debut aged 17 against Torpedo Moscow in September 1992.Manchester UnitedSir Alex FergusonPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Leverkusen back atop Bundesliga Bayer Leverkusen ended Bayern Munich's stay at the top of the Bundesliga after less than 24 hours by beating Mainz 4-2 Saturday. cbc.ca |
Sid Lowe: Copa del Rey fighting for respect Delirium in the Calderon, shredded nerves and racing hearts everywhere else. cbc.ca |
Nottingham Forest 5 Queens Park Rangers 0: match report Nottingham Forest show their promotion credentials by thrashing an abject QPR side. telegraph.co.uk |