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 qu…

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 Ce…

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 clim…

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-progra…

"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 jo…

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…

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 …

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 wa…

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 wa…

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 …

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 masterc…

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 …

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 wi…

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 his…

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 matc…

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? H…

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 …

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 hi…

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 Fina…

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 Champi…

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 tour…

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, wan…

"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. Jo…

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…

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 s…

It is tournament time again in the Nessun Dorma marathon and this time we revisit one that was, in the words of one writer, 'the greatest tournament you never saw'. That writer was Aidan Williams and he joins Rob and Martyn in the first of two parts that tell the remarkable story of qualification for Euro '84, a tale that is almost as dramatic as t…

Never before or since, has one league been as strong throughout European football. Author and friend of the show, Dominic Hougham joins Martyn to talk about his upcoming new book charting the years between 1988/89 and 1998/99 when Serie A bestrode the continent like a colossus. Owners were as famous as the galaxy of star managers and players as meg…

With season 1983/84 all done and dusted, it is time to take a sporting break as the excellent writer David Goldblatt joins Martyn to discuss that summer's Olympic Games. The epitome of an increasingly commercialised sporting world, these Games made money like never before. David takes us through just how they did, why it will never happen again, th…

Mac and Gary are suited and booted and ready to return to Wembley as they revisit the day that their respective sides went head-to-head in the FA Cup Final. Questionable pre-match entertainment, the coming of age of young and exciting side and a controversial decider. What a way to round off the season! If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, wan…

Gary carries his title into an action-packed Olympic year with plenty for him, Mike and Mac to choose from. Two Olympic games, one international tournament, some legends enhancing their reputations while others were just emerging alongside some controversy on the track and a rocket man over the stands. But who will be able to convince Martyn that t…

With Europe firmly in the grip of English dominance, it was the turn of one of the country's best cup teams to step up. Gareth Dace, historian of Tottenham Hotspur in the 1980s and 1990s, joins Martyn this week to take us through the UEFA Cup winning run of 1983/84. Battle-hardened by narrow exits to Barcelona and Bayern Munich in recent seasons, i…

It was another season of domestic dominance for Liverpool but after two consecutive disappointments beyond the Iron Curtain, it was time to regain their European crown. Tony Evans returns to discuss the Souness farewell tour, mental strength, Joe Fagan, Roma fans and much more. If you want weekly exclusive bonus shows, want your episodes without ad…

We move from the pitch to the boardroom this week as football finance expert Kieran Maguire joins Martyn to reflect upon Tottenham Hotspur's decision to become the first football club to float on the stock exchange in 1983. How much of an impact did it have on the wider game, the influence of Irving Scholar and the catalyst to further commercialisa…

Rob and Martyn bring you a bumper episode this week as they relive the events of one of British football's most remarkable days. On the morning of Wednesday 25 April 1984 there was a chance that all six of Europe's finalists that season would be British. Intrigue, corruption, class and heartbreak all feature as we run down the day and night as it u…

Gary and Mac join Martyn to kick off our 1983/84 series with a roundtable discussion on the First Division season. Three in a row for Liverpool, a surprise runner-up, the one that got away from Big Ron, three Scottish strikers having varying impacts at their new clubs, how Venables became El Tel and much more! If you want some exclusive bonus shows…

As we have a break in between seasons, Martyn sits down with the football writer Chris Evans to chat about his current book, a biography of one of English football's most revered sons. They discuss the extent to which Lineker evolved as a player, how difficult it was to hold onto that England role, how forgotten so much of his playing career is and…

It is Draft time again as our valiant trio fight it out in the sporting year of 1983. From Seve Ballesteros and Carl Lewis to Marjolein Eijsvogel and Keith Deller, we've got you covered. But who won it for you? If you want to support the podcast or want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier then head over to patreon.com/NessunDorma…

We finish our six part look at 1982/83 with a look back at the career of one of English football's greatest managers as Bob Paisley left Anfield with the League Championship trophy in his hand. Tony Evans joins Martyn to examine just how he and the famous Boot Room worked, how football management has changed in the last 40 years and where Paisley's…

With the European Cup approaching its 50th anniversary, there were still some members of the footballing aristocracy who were aching to join the ranks of champions. Juventus were Italy's team but still lagged behind the Milanese giants when it came to continental dominance. In their way in 1983 was an ambitious German club with a sharp general mana…

All the focus this week is on the unlikely footballing counties of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire as Mac Millings takes us back to the season when his footballing horizons were opened up. Newly promoted the season before, both Watford and Luton Town had memorable seasons in the top flight with Watford shooting themselves to second place to the anno…

Forget local derbies. Forget even the 'Derby of England'. Arguably the most compelling story of rivalry, bitterness and drama in the modern era of English football has been that between Manchester United and Arsenal. It would reach its peak in the Wenger era but Rob Smyth takes us back to the season of five games that sparked it all off... If you w…

Mike, Gary and Mac are back to provide a little sporting palate cleanser in the middle of our footballing feast. What was the biggest surprise in the world of sport in 1982? What was the most defining minute of action? Who were the standout individuals and which was the best team? Martyn is on hand to award points for argument as the boys compete t…

From 1979 to 1986, life was very different in Scotland. Instead of Glasgow's big two slugging it out, the centre of power was wrestled north east towards Aberdeen and Dundee with two exciting young teams and two exceptional managers. Michael Grant from The Times and Alan Pattullo from The Scotsman tell the story of the era's peak. 1982/83 saw Aberd…

Gordon Smith joins us this week to kick off our run through the season of 1982/83. He talks honestly about his experience at Brighton as a whole, the deal that inspired him to get into football agency, his guitar session with Paul McCartney and of course, the famous FA Cup run, his goal and his miss. If you want to support the podcast or want your …

We finish our series on the 1982 World Cup in true Nessun Dorma fashion by subjecting the tournament to a draft. Rob, Gary and Mac are joined by Dominic Hougham to see who knows their Socrates from their Sammy McIlroy. If you want to support the podcast or want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier then head over to patreon.com/Nes…

Jonathan, Rob and Martyn sit down to round up the other stories from a remarkable World Cup. How Italy won, what happened to Spain and Argentina, did it lack a dominant individual performance and why it is impossible to have a tournament like it now. f you want to support the podcast or want your episodes without ads and a couple of days earlier th…

Part of the enduring legacy of these finals is in part due to it playing host to two of the finest football matches to have been been played. Different in style but never lacking a beat of drama, Brazil v Italy and France v West Germany had everything. Beauty and the beast. Poets versus anti-heroes. Images that still shine bright decades later. Jon…

Just why do men of a certain age devote such space in their heart for a side who didn't make the semi-finals of the World Cup? Do they deserve the worship over 40 years on? Pete Watson returns to discuss just why this football team retains such strong resonance and affection and why the political and cultural backdrop played such a huge part. If yo…

982 was arguably the year that the continent of Africa first made its impression at the World Cup. African football expert Paul Doyle joins Rob and Martyn to discuss the exciting flair of Algeria, the Disgrace of Gijon, the indomitable lions of Cameroon and the debut of the 30 year-old Roger Milla. If you want to listen to the next three episodes o…

They might have exited the tournament at the same stage as England but Northern Ireland's World Cup experience was very different indeed. Not fancied to get through the first group - especially when it needed a win over the hosts in Valencia - they made history and could possibly have gone further. Author Evan Marshall tells the story through the e…