Anthony Harrild

Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten, The brothers Koeman… These were some of the superstars from Holland whose blazing talents made the European Championship of 1988 so memorable and one to log indelibly in the whole recent legend of outstanding international football. Eight teams qualified for the tournament finals, including England who scored more goals than any other side, 18, to reach the final stages – and the Cinderella side from the Republic of Ireland, managed by Jack Charlton. But most of all Euro ’88 had a winning side who swept all before them in a colourful and passionate series of displays that will be viewed again and again by anyone fascinated and intrigued by the way the world’s most popular game is so sumptuously developing as it enters its second organised century. It is a must for fans and serious students alike.

Sunderland, against all of the odds, beat Leeds United in the 1973 FA Cup final, and memories of that triumphant city are revived when a photographer revisits his home town. But any ideas about moving back are sorely tested when his rose-tinted recollections clash with the realities of life in Sunderland. An engaging comedy-drama that explores our need to belong.