Cult Heroes and Club Icons: Complete collection

Justin Fashanu, a career of firsts clouded by hate

A once promising career paired with a meteoric rise that became a tale ending in obscure travels and a melancholic suicide shrouded in controversy.

The Three Degrees and the rise of the black footballer

Before Tony Pulis mastered ennui with his brand of "avoid relegation at all costs" football, and before former Baggies midfielder and Three Degrees teammate Bryan Robson bossed the side to a final-day great escape, West Bromwich Albion set the English football world afire by starting three black players.

The Legend of Luther Blissett

In the annals of English football, there is but one Luther Blissett, though at any time, there are Luther Blissetts around the world, checking into hotels under the name and using the label as a pseudonym for subcultural workings and underground philosophies.

The peculiar story of Steve Ogrizovic

Even with a lengthy career rife with accolades and plaudits from pundits and supporters alike, part of Steve Ogrizovic's fame stemmed from an urban legend after his playing days were in the rearview.

The wizardry of Georgi Kinkladze

Considered the most skilled footballer to call Maine Road home, former Georgian international dribbling guru Georgi Kinkladze was a Manchester City hero during an erratic period for the club that was a generation shy of its now-noble status.

Tomas Brolin's Dismal Spell in English Football

From Swedish national hero to Serie A standout to Premier League flop, Tomas Brolin’s career arc is one of both dazzling highs and disastrous lows.

The Legend of David Rocastle

Few Arsenal players of the modern era have had the connection with supporters that David "Rocky" Rocastle had.

Benfica's Curse of Bela Guttman

Pundits will say Benfica has no shot, while those fascinated with the mysticism and sorcery of conspiracies and curses will agree, saying the club has a burden too great to surmount. Such is the lasting influence of former manager Bela Guttman.

Fantastic Foxes following Forest's path

Nearly four decades before Leicester City was on the precipice of stunning the English top flight with an unanticipated run at glory, Nottingham Forest set the benchmark for shocking title triumphs.

The life and death of football's 1st rockstar, Gigi Meroni

There has never been a footballer who was more rock and roll than Gigi Meroni. A footballing genius and style icon, he was as much unsuited for his time as he was a model for the forthcoming.

Kevin Phillips, the Jamie Vardy trailblazer

Before Jamie Vardy's meteoric rise from toiling in non-league ranks to starring for a Premier League-winning side, former Sunderland goal machine Kevin Phillips took a similar route to the top flight.

Bert Trautmann cheated death in transcendent career

Few lives, never mind footballing careers, are as peculiar as Bert Trautmann's, who served as a paratrooper with the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, languished as a prisoner of war on British soil, and later nearly became a casualty of his own FA Cup heroics with Manchester City.

Euro 2016 Editions

Throughout this summer's European Championship in France, Cult Heroes and Club Icons will adopt a distinctly European flavour, looking back on some of the most memorable stories from the quadrennial competition's illustrious history.

Platini stars as France lifts 1st trophy

Before he was ousted from his eight-year post as UEFA chief for unethical payments received from FIFA, Platini was one of his era's most dominant footballers.