The Assistant Professor of Football: Soccer, Culture, History.
The academic treatment for English-speakers who get that soccer is more than gamedays, stars and goals. Who wonder about the histories, subcultures and politics that make the game so different from many American sports cultures; and who care about a critical take on soccer as a global capitalist machine. A European-guided journey, with one expert "visiting professor" each episode.
The Assistant Professor of Football: Soccer, Culture, History.
The Flight of the Bumblebee: Live from Degerfors in Sweden's Rustbelt, a Football Family on Soccer's Big Stage
Degerfors IF in Sweden's top tier surely must have one of the most unusual, lovely and countercultural stories that professional football in Europe has to tell at the moment. It's roots lie in a rich history of steeltown football that led the club to national fame in the mid 20th century, and its present is headed by a chairman who is a sociologist without any football background until he ended up on the board of a first league professional team. How he and his club chart the course of a largely volunteer-run club in a small steeltown in which football means so much to the people there amidst the pressures of global soccer capitalism is a fascinating story. On top of that, the little town houses Sweden's only football museum. A little audio tour is included in the episode.
I think this hour and 20 minutes will be enough for you to find your sentimental favorite among European professional teams.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
There is extremely little beyond results, the odd international transfer news etc. on the club that is in English. Nevertheless:
30 Photos from my visit to Degerfors
Degerfors IF (official website, Swedish)
Degerfors Football Museum (Facebook, Swedish)
Degerfors Football Museum (Värmland tourism site, English)
Heja röda vita laget (Come on red-white team, Degerfors hymn, Youtube)
Degerfors hymn by Blakk Petter and Rob Inc., heard at the end of the episode (Youtube)
("The Alternative/Countermodell), article by Gabriel Kuhn, also known from this podcast, in German. Analyse und Kritik, 5/17/22.
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Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/