1978: The Birth of Moneyed Modern Football is the tumultuous yet captivating story of a year when new clashed with old, madness gave way to genius and innovation collided with custom. It’s a story of two remarkable matches – one blackened by violence, the other a landmark victory – but just as importantly of everything that happened in between. Maverick stars, revered trailblazers, famed managers, legendary trophy-winning sides, apocalyptic showdowns and developments that changed the fabric of the game all feature: from Britain’s first black footballing icons, to the signing of World Cup-winning Argentineans, to England’s TV channels fighting for the rights to matches, to the European Economic Community announcing that footballers would have the freedom to play in whichever of the nine member countries they wished. 1978 heralded the dawn of a new age, with football plotting a course towards becoming the global behemoth it is today.