Sabbir Hossain

Does the World Cup belong only to the big teams and superstar footballers? A glance through history suggests that the real drama often lies with sides that arrive with limited expectations -- or none at all.

Those two simple pieces of paper marked the beginning of a new era in football. The remarkably simple invention proved to be a magical solution.

Today, there is no trace of the Stadio Nazionale del PNF (National Stadium of the National Fascist Party) on the map of Rome. Built in 1911, the stadium was permanently closed in 1953 and later completely demolished. Yet, if one brushes off the dust of history, it becomes clear that it was on this now-vanished ground that the story of Italy’s first world triumph was written.

From 1930 to 2022, a total of 2,720 goals have been scored in 964 matches across 22 editions of the FIFA World Cup. Yet among those thousands of strikes, some are far more than mere statistics – they are enduring stories etched into football folklore.

The final of the first FIFA World Cup was not just a match—it was a nerve-wracking battle between two neighboring rivals: Uruguay and Argentina. Held at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, on July 30, 1930, that match remains etched in the annals of football history.

From Austria’s ‘Wunderteam’ in 1934 to Hungary’s ‘Magical Magyars’ in 1954, or Brazil’s artistic 1982 side, the World Cup stage has repeatedly turned into a graveyard for pre-tournament favourites.

Born and raised in the United States, Zinnat Ferdous balances her career as a Google programme manager with a burning passion for the ring.

After years of heartbreak and being dubbed "Neverkusen" for their string of runners-up finishes, Bayer Leverkusen finally broke through to claim their first-ever Bundesliga title. Their 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen last week secured the trophy, marking a watershed moment in the club's 119-year history. Although they have enjoyed intermittent cup success, this league title signifies a shift in their fortunes.

“So what if I’m a person with disabilities?” said Jhuma Akhter, with sparks of defiance and confidence in her eyes, to anyone who ever doubted her.

While Bangladesh remain in the backwaters of international football, Yahya and his federation has transformed Mauritania’s football

Following a string of disappointing performances after a quarterfinal exit from the 2022 World Cup, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Dorival Junior as the new head coach.

Initially seen as dark horses, Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso have stormed out of the blocks in the 2023-24 Bundesliga season, etching their name in the record books with some stellar displays so far.

Najmul Hossain Shanto oozed class during a record-breaking ton against New Zealand on the third day of the Sylhet Test yesterday, setting the platform for Bangladesh to grab a rare win in the red-ball format.

Tuhin Tarafder has been representing the Bangladesh national kabaddi team for seven long years.

After grabbing the spotlight in the 2018 Youth Games, shuttler Urmi Akter went on to become the country’s number one-ranked female badminton star. In an exclusive interview with Sabbir Hossain of The Daily Star

Ever since its inception, the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has had to live with the blame of failing to match its hype, mostly due to yielding fewer boundaries and high-scoring contests -- the two T20 elements that are found in abundance in the most popular franchise-based competition, the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

If you are a football fan, especially an ardent club football one, you must have occasionally wondered how on earth Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are yet to win a UEFA Champions League. For quite some time, both teams have possessed all the firepower and a spectrum of quality tailor-made for success but failed to taste the most coveted trophy presented on the European club scene so far.

Lionel Messi has been the driving force behind Argentina’s march to the World Cup final in Qatar, putting in one eye-catching performance after another.

Morocco may have defied extreme odds to get this far in the 2022 World Cup showdown, making history by becoming the first African nation to reach the semifinals, but is their gigantic feat a mere fluke? Well, it is far from it when we look back at how Achraf Hakimi and company operated so far.

Mohamed Salah has created quite a stir ahead of the Champions League final against Real Madrid in Paris. The Liverpool forward posted on social media that they have a ‘score to settle’ after the Spanish champions set up a rematch of their 2018 Champions League final earlier this month.