Latest editorial
Duncan Hart
WHEN people think of football in Paris, they tend to think of Paris St Germain, with its Eiffel Tower badge on a shirt that’s in almost every sports and souvenir shop in the world.
Of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham, Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria and their Brazilian glamour boy Neymar, bought for an obscene £200 million from Barcelona.
But there is another football club in Paris — Red Star FC — a football club with history and integrity behind it. It’s modest, but loyal supporters represent a club and fanbase with principles, even if they now ply their trade in the Championnat National, the third-tier of French football.
From pirate statues to surplus Wembley seats, The Dripping Pan offers a reminder that the game’s soul survives beyond the Premier League glare, writes LAYTH YOUSIF
Joao Pedro’s emotional goals against Fluminense captured the magic of an international club competition. But even as fans bring colour and passion, the Club World Cup’s deeper issues loom large, writes JAMES NALTON
JAMES NALTON writes how at the heart of the big apple, the beautiful game exists as something more community-oriented, which could benefit hugely under mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani