The Blizzard - The Football Quarterly: Issue 5

The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them.Issue Five contains 19 articles in 10 different sections:----------------------------World Cup Bidding----------------------------* The Fall-Out, by James Corbett—Significant questions remain unanswered about the World Cup bid process* Russia's Victory, by Igor Rabiner—Russia's success in the 2018 bid was a triumph over internal as well as external opponents* Qatar Hero, by Philippe Auclair- Michel Platini is often seen as the ex-pro coming to save Fifa. But why did he vote for Qatar?----------------Interview----------------* Sócrates — The former Brazil captain talks to David Tryhorn about why footballers have a political responsibility--------------Theory--------------* Roy of the Rover, by Philippe Auclair—Roy Hodgson explains how his travels have shaped his coaching philosophy* Like a Shooting Star, by Luca Ferrato—How Ternana soared and then crashed with Corrado Viciani's high-tempo style* The Skilling Fields, by Steve Bartram—Manchester United are just one of the clubs influenced by the coaching model of Wiel Coerver-----------------------------The Asian Market-----------------------------* The 'Gaijin' of Gamba, by Ben Mabley—Fan culture has begun to challenge Japanese hierarchies. The only European Gamba ultra explains how* Sing when you're Winning, by Ian Griffiths—How the need to appear successful turns fans in Singapore from the S.League to the Premier League---------------------Photo Essay---------------------* The Hard Core, by Misha Domozhilov—Images of the fans who followed Zenit St Petersburg as they won the Russian championship in 2010--------Fall--------* The Centre-Back and the Kitchen Knife, by Lars Sivertsen—Claus Lundekvam opens up on his battle against the addiction that overwhelmed him after retirement* My Name is Ally MacLeod and I am a Winner, by Dominic Sandbrook—How Scotland's humiliation at the 1978 World Cup knocked nationalism off course* The Lions Sleep Tonight, by Jonathan Wilson- Ten years after retaining the Cup of Nations, Cameroon failed to qualify. What went wrong?----------------Polemics----------------* The Real Problem, by Brian Phillips—Is the 'real fan' being marginalised or is he just a rhetorical tool?* Where's Darth Vader Gone?, by Simon Kuper—Is the age of football as a substitute for war coming to an end?* The Culture of Violence, by Sergio Levinsky—The absence of leadership means there is little hope of Argentina's hooligan problem being solved-------------Fiction-------------* The Glasses, by David Ashton—A gift from a mysterious visitor changes life for a man on a Scottish estate...---------------------------Greatest Games---------------------------* Romania 4-6 Yugoslavia, by Vladimir Novak—World Cup qualifier, Ghencea Stadium, Bucharest, 13 November 1977----------------Five Rings----------------* Olympic Stories, by Marcus Christenson, Steve Menary, Jonathan Wilson, Colin Udoh and Joel Richards—Five tales from the rich history of Olympic football