Old Big Ears: The Modern-Day History of Europe's Favourite Football Competition - Softcover

Raf Willems

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1035894661 ISBN 13: 9781035894666

Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers, 2025

Synopsis

The Champions League is dead. Long live the Champions League!

 

When Nigerian striker Daniel Amokachi scored for Club Brugge in November 1992, he ignited not just a match but a revolution—the birth of European football's new commercial era. Belgian coach Raymond Goethals promptly led Olympique Marseille to claim the inaugural title.

 

From these origins emerged the world's premier football league. Broadcast rights now command astronomical sums across continents, shifting football's epicentre from international tournaments to the Champions League stage, featuring giants like Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester United, Manchester City, Barcelona, and Real Madrid.

About this title

About the Author

Raf Willems, born in Belgium in 1960, is a writer, editor and football historian. He has written more than 50 books since 1995 about the history of football, also from a social and cultural view. He has, since 2025, a YouTube channel (Meetings with Football History). And he played more than 600 games (1980–2005) as a goalkeeper on the lowest level (in pub teams).

His first book was about The Cup with the Big Ears in 1995 (40th Anniversary). Since then, he wrote several new editions. In History of the Champions League 1992–2005, he gave a year-by-year overview of every winner.

Edition details

• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1035894661
• ISBN 13: 9781035894666
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 186