ABSTRACT
There are a number of features and themes which characterize football writing in England throughout the twentieth century and beyond. The importance of the history of football itself is perhaps more significant in English football writing than in the other countries examined in the present study. We are never allowed to forget that Britain is the home of football, the original ‘masters of the game’ (e.g. The Times, 30 November 1955), and, indeed, it is often made explicit that the rest of the world should be grateful to the British for exporting this great tradition to their homelands. Perhaps it is this element of cultural imperialism that permits the English press to deem it appropriate to comment on the football style and development of the game in other countries with a rather patronizing attitude at times. So is England as arrogant about its football and imperial prowess as the rest of Europe might assume? In what ways is a concept of ‘Englishness’ portrayed in the European print media discourse analysed?
