The top 10 reasons what football was so brilliant.
Perhaps its a generation thing, and that everybody that lived through a certain era has rose tinted memories about the decade of football they grew up in. But there really was something so exciting about the game in the 90s. Below we have listed the ten best reasons for why the 1990s was the best decade for football.
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10. Balls
Whether it be the seductive design of the iconic Adidas Tango, or the fact that everyone coveted a Mitre Delta ‘caser’, the footballs of the 90s were at an optimum. Hard enough to bounce higher than a house, yet not hard enough to require a trip to hospital if you headed one. They were round enough, and they didn’t require any special engineering to get a sufficient amount of spin.
9. Exciting World Cups
Though the decade kicked off with a slightly drab affair in Italy, the following tournaments in the USA were a veritable festival of colour and action. Even the goalless draws were exciting, and are certainly more fondly remembered than the tournaments were were subjected to in recent years.
8. Football Italia
Was there anything more exciting that waking up on a Saturday morning to tune into Channel 4’s coverage of Serie A? James Richardson introduced a nation to a league and a culture that hadn’t been examined before over mountains of frothy cappuccinos and gelato. A football show that hasn’t been matched since.
7. Stickers
The medium that introduced a legion of younger fans to players and clubs that they’d never head of before. It was the only time when fans were able to get excited about seeing Spencer Prior’s face or a Barnsley shirt. Getting a shiny could make your day back then!
6. Lack of cynicism
Corporate sponsorship was still in its infancy, Sky was exciting, and diving was still a relatively rare occurrence. Yes, there was indeed enough to make fans really excited about the game when the Against Modern Football movement was not needed.
5. Black boots
Boots were boots in the 90s. You didm;t have to concern yourself with which dazzling colours were available, and adverts didn’t make such outlandish promises about how much of a better player their products could make you. If a player wears black boots now they almost look retro.
4. Teletext
Page 302 for the menu, 316 for the gossip pages. Teletext was a great way to start the day and a comprehensive tool for getting all your football news before the internet really took off. Oh how we miss it so.
3. Characters
Before players were media trained out of their ears, fans could celebrate the more colourful characters of the game. Paul Gascoigne, Duncan Ferguson, Eric Cantona – it seemed every player was not afraid to express their personalities on and off the pitch.
2. Video games
The FIFA series was the leader of the pack in the 90s, giving you the option to take control of real clubs and real players. You could play indoors and make transfers too! Looking back, the gameplay isn;t as strong as we remember, but they were still such fun. When ISS Pro was introduced a few years later, we saw the first video game rivalry that has extended to the current day.
1. Kits
Whether Hull were running around dressed like tigers, or Athletic Bilbao kitted themselves out like a box of Special K, kits in the 90s were never boring, and it may be an old adage, but they really don’t make them like they used to!