Shirsho Dasgupta

The Guardian

[Re-publication] Want to understand politics in the last 25 years? Look at football

In the early 1990s a few ambitious politicians rejected redistribution for a ‘new capitalism’ based on equal opportunities and the free market. Some people became filthy rich and others turned to grassroots politics. Sound familiar?

doingtherondo.com

The Match That Never Was

When Inter Milan visited Mönchengladbach, the low capacity of Bökelbergstadion with its wooden terraces consolidated their belief that their opponents were just a small provincial club enjoying some luck in the domestic league. Confident of success, Inter took the pitch on a cold night on 20 October 1971 in a match that would come to be knows as Partita della Lattina — “the match of the can.”

thesefootballtimes.co

How a self-imposed stereotype and the Bosman ruling caused the demise of Dutch football

Historically, the success of the Dutch national team coincided with many of their stars playing at a select few clubs. Now, however, with diminished talent spread around Europe, the Oranje are struggling to formulate a coherent philosophy in a nation that demands beautiful football. That, coupled with an exodus of talent post-Bosman Ruling have led to the demise of the once-trailblazing "Dutch model".

doingtherondo.com

Gabriel Kuhn on modern football and how an “implosion” is the only way the sport can save itself

Active in radical politics since the late 1980s, Gabriel Kuhn is also a historian, ex-semi-professional soccer player, and the author of Soccer vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics.
I had a chat with Gabriel on the origins of the game, its perceptions across continents, the state of the sport today, alternate clubs and possibilities of interventions, and the future of soccer itself.

inbedwithmaradona.com

Take It Easy: the politics of walking football

Shirsho Dasgupta explores the politics behind Walking Football -- an alternate form of soccer growing in popularity in leaps and bounds.

inbedwithmaradona.com

Beyond The Touchline: how the football stadium reflects today's political quagmire

"Beyond the touchline, there is nothing." -- Jacques Derrida

inbedwithmaradona.com

Red Soccer: how the Soviet avant-garde ushered in modern football

"Our world, like a charnel-house, lies strewn with the detritus of dead epochs!"

-- Le Corbusier

The Guardian

[Re-publication] What we see when we watch football: how replays and close-ups ...

The camera angles and photos used in football coverage – pictures that zoom in on individuals – mirror our view of the world.

inbedwithmaradona.com

What We See When We Watch Football

IBWM Senior Writer Shirsho Dasgupta delves into the politics of watching the beautiful game.

inbedwithmaradona.com

The Tempest

Bielsa is unlike any other manager of today. Marseille is unlike any other French city.

sports.vice.com

​A Play for Independence: The Forgotten Story of Bangladesh's Football Revolutionaries

In July 1971, at a dusty little stadium in India, a side representing the unrecognised nation of Bangladesh struck a meaningful blow for independence from Pakistan. This is their story.

thesefootballtimes.co

How society and politics gave us Catenaccio and Total Football

While the philosophical and on-field differences between Catenaccio and Total Football are well-known, how these two iconic and ultra-successful tactics came into existence is less so. Their stories start with the societal and political make-up of Italy and Holland.

inbedwithmaradona.com

The Greeks and the Dutch

If one analyses the movements made by Michel’s teams – AFC Ajax, Holland, or Barcelona – one will find his philosophy was very similar to that of De Stijl – logical, stripped down, calculated, and of course geometric in a way never seen before. Since De Stijl itself was indirectly inspired by Neo-Platonism, it is here that we can compare Rinus Michels and Plato.

sports.vice.com

[Re-publication] Total Footballer, Total Rebel: Johan Cruyff and The Resurgence of Catalonian Pride

This article was originally published on The Football Pink.

doingtherondo.com

[Re-publication] On Walls (and why we need to break them)

This piece was first published in The Football Pink.