Cultured Football #270
Campeones del Mundo. Island Life. Unlikely Success. Farewell Hoppy. Club Football Returns.
Campeones del Mundo
By Jordan Thomas for La Liga and Beyond
Spain didn’t win the World Cup because they have the best players, even if they have a group of fantastic individuals. They won because they were the best team.
Bonus Read: Max Dowman, Estevao, Cavan Sullivan and 20 NXGN wonderkids we can’t wait to see make their World Cup debuts in 2030
[Tom Maston x Goal]
Less than a week since the end of the World Cup, and some are already looking forward to the next one.
The country that doesn't play football... yet
By Nathan Edwards for the BBC
Football barely exists on Nauru, the tiny Pacific nation where Aussie rules has always been the dominant sport. Yet a small group of volunteers are trying to change that.
How LNZ Cherkasy become a wartime success story with few modern parallels
By Nick Ames for The Guardian
With football having taken a back seat to far greater concerns, there haven’t been many feel good stories to come out of Ukraine over recent years. LNZ Cherkasy’s is one of the exceptions.
Bonus Read: Antwerp: Gheysens to Vandenhaute
[Scott Coyne x On Belgian Fields]
A takeover has averted financial disaster at Royal Antwerp, but their new owners now face the far harder task of delivering success on more sustainable foundations.
Most people find Cultured Football through someone else. Be that link.
Farewell Hoppy - The Champion Talent Spotter
By Adrian Goldberg for The Liquidator
Few non-WBA fans will have known of Steve Hopcroft, who passed away recently. Yet every club has someone like him, men who work hard to discover the next big talent. Football would be significantly poorer without them.
Serbian Superliga 26/27 Season Preview
By Richard Wilson for The Football Life
It seems amazing to me that we are in July and there are some leagues which are kicking off. But, for those like me who are not huge fans of national team football, it is also wonderful. Thanks Serbia.
Bonus Read: Paraguay 2026 Clausura Preview
[Ralph Hannah x Paraguay Ralph’s Substack]
Football is also resuming in Paraguay which will now also feature New Zealand’s unwitting social media star Tim Payne.
Each week on Cultured Football we pick the five great football stories from the previous seven days.
In Case You Missed It Here’s Last Week’s Most Read: Can Paolo Maldini Save Italian Football?
Via Goalazzo
Italy was the big absentee from this World Cup (and the previous two). The task of ensuring that doesn’t happen again has now fallen on Paolo Maldini. It won’t be easy.
