Jacob Hansen
Senior Journalist
With more than 25 years of experience in the football industry, Jacob is Football Presse's senior journalist. Based in Denmark and fluent in English and German, he has spent decades interviewing some of the biggest names in the game. From Ståle Solbakken and Thomas Frank to Mario Basler and Michael Owen, Jacob continues to bring exclusive insight and opinion from football's leading figures to Football Presse.
Articles by Jacob Hansen
→Why Verona’s amazing Scudetto triumph became almost impossible to repeat
Richard Hough believes Hellas Verona’s spectacular collapse was tied to a transformation in Italian football that changed the economics of the game.
8 August 2026
→Exclusive: How Johan Cruyff's strangest 10 games came at Levante
Brendan Madden uncovers the bizarre story behind Johan Cruyff's brief spell at Levante, from a disastrous investment to a strange legacy that still puzzles supporters.
8 August 2026
→Alfie Conn exclusive: ‘What have you done?’ The story behind his famous Leeds wind-up
Alfie Conn was playing in a Tottenham Hotspur relegation battle against one of the great English teams of the 1970s when he decided to sit on the ball.
8 August 2026
→How Tottenham went from Big Five ambition to 1990s irrelevance
Tottenham Hotspur wanted to become England's biggest club in the 1980s, but financial problems left Spurs moving backwards just as the Premier League transformed English football. Gareth Dace explains how the opportunity was lost.
6 August 2026
→Jimmy Burns warns Premier League money machine cannot grow forever
Jimmy Burns believes the Premier League’s extraordinary financial success is creating a dangerous cycle of bigger money, greater demands on players and increasingly difficult questions about ownership and regulation.
6 August 2026
→Geoff Twentyman exclusive: The night Man United legend Eric Cantona ‘had the room in the palm of his hand’
Former BBC broadcaster Geoff Twentyman recalls hosting Eric Cantona at Bath City — and the extraordinary answer he received when he asked about the Crystal Palace kung-fu kick.
6 August 2026
→Coventry's lost years: 'We were constantly starting again'
Richard Chamberlain's "Sky Blue Fall" tells the story of Coventry City's first seven seasons after their relegation from the Premier League in 2001.
6 August 2026
→Alfie Conn exclusive: ‘There’s no better feeling’ than scoring an Old Firm winner
Alfie Conn still struggles to put into words what it felt like to score a last-minute winner against Celtic in front of 72,000 people at Ibrox.
5 August 2026
→Geoff Twentyman exclusive: ‘Neil Warnock is a very sensitive, likable man’
Geoff Twentyman has known Neil Warnock for more than 40 years — and insists the man behind English football’s famous pantomime villain image is very different from the one supporters see on matchdays.
5 August 2026
→Jimmy Burns: Real Madrid studied Manchester United as a benchmark
Jimmy Burns was given a remarkable insight into Manchester United’s global power when Real Madrid showed him a map tracking the clubs’ rival influence around the world.
5 August 2026
→Why England C remains a vital route to the top
For players outside the professional game, pulling on an England shirt can seem like an impossible dream.
5 August 2026
→How Real Madrid icon Jorge Valdano's career was shaped by two incredible escapes
Brendan Madden reveals how a dispute over a transfer may have saved Jorge Valdano from a hotel fire that changed his team-mate's life — before the future World Cup winner survived another disaster.
5 August 2026
→Foreign investment is changing the face of non-league football - expert
Non-league football is increasingly attracting wealthy overseas owners looking to invest in clubs, improve facilities and build ambitious projects.
4 August 2026
→Why Tottenham kept breaking up their best teams in the 1980s
Tottenham Hotspur repeatedly allowed popular and talented players to leave during the 1980s, often just as teams were taking shape.
4 August 2026
→Geoff Twentyman: Why Liverpool truly a special club (and finding the European Cup in the family lounge!)
Geoff Twentyman's family connection with Liverpool has given him a unique insight into the club's Boot Room culture — and he believes the way it remembers its past makes it truly special.
4 August 2026
→Frank Lampard transformed Coventry mentality, says author
Author Richard Chamberlain believes Frank Lampard transformed Coventry City's mentality after replacing Mark Robins, admitting he never expected the former Chelsea midfielder to guide the club back to the Premier League.
3 August 2026
→The forgotten leader behind Verona's Scudetto triumph
Richard Hough believes one man rarely mentioned outside Italy helped shape Hellas Verona's famous 1985 title-winning side more than almost anyone else.
2 August 2026
→Hillsborough warning was there eight years earlier, says Spurs historian Gareth Dace
Tottenham Hotspur supporters experienced scenes frighteningly similar to the Hillsborough disaster during an FA Cup semi-final in 1981, according to author Gareth Dace, who believes football failed to learn lessons that might have saved lives.
2 August 2026
→Fergie, McLean - why 1980s Scottish football was stronger than today
Scottish football author John Wight believes the fiercely competitive domestic game of the 1980s created better players, tougher teams and a higher standard than today's Scottish Premiership.
2 August 2026
→How Liverpool hero Michael Robinson became an unlikely icon in Spain
Brendan Madden believes Michael Robinson's transformation from Liverpool striker to one of Spain's most influential broadcasters remains one of football's most remarkable untold stories.
2 August 2026
→How Peterborough United changed the way clubs scout non-league football
Long before Premier League clubs began looking seriously at non-league football for hidden talent, one Football League club had already spotted the opportunity.
2 August 2026
→David Sheepshanks exclusive: Why Gareth Southgate changed England forever
David Sheepshanks has worked with some of the biggest figures in English football over the past three decades.
2 August 2026
→The players football academies rejected are rewriting the rules
Football academies are designed to identify the players who can make it to the top. But Joseph Pope believes an increasing number of careers are demonstrating the limits of making that judgement too early.
31 July 2026
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Irving Scholar: The Tottenham chairman who saw football's future
Irving Scholar remains one of Tottenham Hotspur's most divisive chairmen, but author Gareth Dace believes his vision for commercialising English football was decades ahead of its time.
31 July 2026
→The Racing Santander players who defied Franco's Spain
Brendan Madden reveals the remarkable story of two Racing Santander players who protested against Spain's final executions under Franco and forged a friendship that lasted for 50 years.
31 July 2026
→David Sheepshanks exclusive: Ipswich can finally plan for the future
David Sheepshanks knows better than most what relegation can do to Ipswich Town.
31 July 2026
→Why Tottenham's great 1980s side never became English champions
Tottenham Hotspur lifted three major trophies and boasted one of the most gifted teams in Europe during the 1980s.
30 July 2026
→How Brendan Madden uncovered Spain's forgotten football stories
Author Brendan Madden explains how years of archive research, forgotten newspaper reports and conversations with those who lived through Spanish football history created his book "Once Upon a Time in La Liga".
30 July 2026
→Why Celtic’s Jungle became a sanctuary for a generation of fans in the 1980s
John Wight explains how Celtic’s famous Jungle terrace represented far more than football, becoming a place of identity, belonging and cultural connection during one of Scotland’s most divided decades.
30 July 2026
→The Verona miracle: How an impossible Scudetto was built on belief, pressure and silence
Richard Hough’s research into Hellas Verona’s historic 1984-85 Serie A triumph reveals a team that did not expect to become champions until the final weeks of the season.
30 July 2026
→How the National League became the Premier League’s new scouting frontier
For decades, dropping into non-league football was often viewed as a step backwards.
30 July 2026
→David Sheepshanks exclusive: The vision behind St George’s Park and England’s football revolution
When David Sheepshanks helped create St George’s Park, he was not simply trying to build a training ground.
30 July 2026
→David Sheepshanks exclusive: How Mauricio Taricco’s critical sale almost went wrong for Ipswich
Mauricio Taricco was one of Ipswich Town’s favourite players. For David Sheepshanks, selling him was one of the hardest decisions he made as chairman.
30 July 2026
→Exclusive: David Sheepshanks reveals how Ipswich rebuilt to reach the Premier League
David Sheepshanks insists Ipswich Town's return to the Premier League was never built on one signing or one promotion-winning season.
29 July 2026
→Exclusive: David Sheepshanks explains why Man United wanted Ipswich duo Arnold Mühren and Alan Brazil
David Sheepshanks believes Arnold Mühren possessed one of the finest left pegs English football has ever seen.
29 July 2026
→David Sheepshanks exclusive: Bobby Robson's Ipswich was 'dreamland' for supporters
For David Sheepshanks, supporting Ipswich Town during Sir Bobby Robson's reign was more than simply watching football.
28 July 2026
→Exclusive: David Sheepshanks reflects on a lifetime in football - 'It's all in the book'
Few people have influenced modern English football without ever kicking a ball professionally quite like David Sheepshanks.
27 July 2026
→Exclusive: David Sheepshanks reveals how Thomas Tuchel's World Cup review will unfold behind closed doors
Few people are better placed to explain what awaits Thomas Tuchel after England's World Cup campaign than David Sheepshanks.
26 July 2026
→Exclusive: "Kevin Keegan gave Newcastle United belief again" – Liam O'Brien pays tribute
Kevin Keegan's death has brought football together in mourning for one of the game's most charismatic and influential figures.
21 July 2026
→Louis Saha exclusive: Why Dembélé and Olise must turn World Cup disappointment into club success
France entered the World Cup believing they had the talent to go all the way, but their hopes of lifting the trophy ended in disappointment.
20 July 2026
→Louis Saha exclusive: Why France's young stars don't fear World Cup semi pressure
Louis Saha believes France's young generation has a major advantage heading into their World Cup semi-final against Spain — they already know how to handle football's biggest moments.
14 July 2026
→Louis Saha exclusive: Palace striker Mateta deserves a big move after proving himself with France
Louis Saha believes Jean-Philippe Mateta has earned the right to test himself at the highest level after seeing his dream move to AC Milan collapse earlier this year.
13 July 2026
→David Speedie exclusive: Chelsea is what it is today thanks to Ken Bates
For David Speedie, Ken Bates was never simply the outspoken chairman who divided opinion throughout English football.
12 July 2026
→Exclusive: Saha hails France's "greatest EVER era" after World Cup quarter-final qualification
Former France striker Louis Saha believes his country is experiencing the greatest era in its football history after they battled past Paraguay to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
5 July 2026
→Chris Robinson exclusive: What separates Chelsea whiz Reggie Walsh from thousands of academy hopefuls
Chelsea's conveyor belt of young talent has produced another exciting prospect in Reggie Walsh, but former Blues scout Chris Robinson believes the teenager's rise is about much more than natural ability.
27 June 2026
→Exclusive: Liam O’Brien laments the fading academy pipeline from Ireland to Man United
Former Manchester United midfielder Liam O’Brien has reflected on what he sees as a shrinking Irish influence at the club’s academy level.
27 June 2026
→Exclusive: Liam O'Brien talks Mirandinha - Newcastle's Brazilian pioneer
Long before Brazilian stars became a familiar sight in the Premier League, there was Mirandinha.
24 June 2026
→Luke Chadwick exclusive: Why Man United leaders must help JJ Gabriel handle spotlight
Manchester United supporters could be about to witness the emergence of the club's next academy sensation.
24 June 2026
→Exclusive: Ex-Chelsea scout reveals how Musiala, Colwill slipped Southampton net
Southampton academy head of recruitment Chris Robinson has revealed the remarkable story of how two of football's brightest talents – Jamal Musiala and Levi Colwill – grew up within sight of St Mary's Stadium before making their names elsewhere.
20 June 2026
→Kasey Keller exclusive: USA must reach final 16 but we can do without hydration breaks!
Former United States goalkeeper Kasey Keller believes a place in the last 16 would represent a successful World Cup for the USA.
18 June 2026