When one English artist became an overnight YouTube sensation last year, it was a catalyst for a growing appreciation of football as an art subject, as well as pure entertainment. Gareth Bale’s rip-roaring display over two legs against Inter Milan was memorable in itself, but when Spurs fan Richard Swarbrick immortalised his hat trick and match-winning contributions over both games in the form of a hand drawn animation which immediately went viral, it became the stuff of legend. Continue reading
The concept is simple
As football fans, we are constantly treated to a veritable feast of visual delights. A Cruyff turn here, a Panenka penalty there; a feint; a stepover; a sea of scarves on a colourful terrace, or just a stadium bathed in floodlights on a chilly evening. Some things stay with us forever; images, shapes and patterns that remind us of certain players, matches, moments in our own lives or whole generations. We might not even know it at the time.