Football Stories

There are 7 of them, 6,083 words between them, and they are the long-form reading beside a library that is otherwise pictures. None is news: each one takes a single subject from the game's history and stays with it long enough to explain it.

The rivalries piece starts from what makes a rivalry at all and then works through five of them, Manchester United and Liverpool, Barcelona and Real Madrid, Celtic and Rangers, AC Milan and Inter, Boca Juniors and River Plate, before arguing that geography does most of the work and asking what a rivalry does to a season.

The Zlatan Ibrahimovic piece sets out his best-known lines and then looks at why they land: the third person is most of the trick, a good share of what is quoted he never said, and the career and the trophies underneath the talking are what made anyone listen.

The Nottingham Forest piece follows the club from its early years through the Brian Clough era, the league title, two European Cups and a transfer record, the domestic cup runs, relegation and the revival, and ends on why that record reads so strangely.

The pre-match piece is about a ritual most viewers never notice: the pennants and gifts captains swap before kick-off, where the habit came from, what actually changes hands, where the pennants end up, and why it is not the same thing as swapping shirts at the end.

Three newer pieces go back to single seasons and tournaments the library also holds artwork from: the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Arsenal's unbeaten 2003–04 league season, and Spain's run of three major titles between 2008 and 2012.

At an ordinary reading pace of about 230 words a minute the shortest takes around 3 minutes and the longest around 5; the exact word count of each is printed under its title below.