Articles & Podcast Episodes

The footballing paths trodden by the Corinthian-Casuals side are long and varied. From as far afield as Australia and Belgium, and featuring clubs right at the very top of the English game, the players have often seen it all before they walk through the gates at King George’s Field.

But they all have one thing in common – they’ve all fallen in love with this famous old club hidden away off a slip road on the A3.

These are the stories of the men who make up the team today, told through four voices in the present day first team dressing room: Robert Paratore, Ben Cheklit, Danny Bracken and Kieron Cadogan.

The list of international teams that the Corinthian-Casuals have visited is long, weird and wonderful. But perhaps one of the most unusual ties in the club’s history features them as hosts rather than visitors.

In 1991 a squad of the Soviet Union’s greatest former player came to Tolworth. As if this wasn’t weird enough, their home country was all but being dissolved at this precise moment.

We’ve delved deep into this remarkable fixture, speaking to Steve Bangs, the first time manager at the time who played in the Veterans game; Gary Brigden, at the time the club’s first time goalkeeper but a spectator for this tie; and Manuel Veth, a Soviet football historian who places this bizarre tour into context.

In 1898, the Corinthians broke their own code and agreed to compete for silverware for the first time. They did so in a showpiece game played between the best amateur and the best professional team in the country. The winner took the mountainous Sheriff of London Shield, an oak leviathan too big for any captain to lift in celebration.

But since the club were forced to sell the Shield in 1996, its whereabouts have been unknown to Corinthians and football historians alike. We set out to track it down, speaking to a Andy Gray, who competed in the last Sheriff of London Shield game in 1983; Brian Wakefield and David Harrison, two Corinthian-Casuals committee members who oversaw the sale of the Shield; and Massimo Ferragamo, the present day owner of the trophy.

Socrates is one of the icons of Brazilian football. His effortless grace on the pitch, and his political activism off it, made him an unmistakable symbol for a generation of Brazilians. 

Lesser known is the 17 minutes he spent playing for the Corinthian-Casuals. Having just scored for the opposition, he swapped his number 8 shirt and took his place alongside his Spartan League teammates. 

This is the story of this iconic moment in 1988, when the Corinthians travelled to Brazil for the first time in 75 years for a showpiece friendly against their brothers in football, Corinthians Paulista. 

140 years ago – after Scotland hammered England 6-1 to record what remains their record away win in football’s oldest international rivalry – the Scottish captain decided to move south of the border to help an English club side master the passing game.

He was one of the best players of his era. His impact on the game has been likened by some football historians to Pele. He was also the first black international footballer, and in 1882 he joined the Corinthians.

This is the remarkable story of Andrew Watson, told through the voices of three experts who have researched his life and football career extensively.

For three years in the early 1980s, Billy Smith transformed the fortunes of Corinthian-Casuals.

When he took over as manager, the team had finished bottom of the league for three straight seasons. By the end of his time at the club, they had reached the first round proper of the FA Cup for only the second time in their history, with future stars like Alan Pardew, Andy Gray and Tony Finnigan among their ranks. 

This is the story of how they did it, with Jarek and Dominic once again joined by sports writer and non league specialist Tony Banks. 

Since the first season of Broadway to Brazil, the Corinthian-Casuals have continued punching above their weight. Surviving in the Isthmian Premier League, the club went on to win silverware in Budapest in 2019 at the Egri Erbstein Tournament. 

But like everyone else at this level, they have been left frustrated by lockdowns and league cancellations over the last year and a half. Yet the club still serves as a beacon to its local community, and was even able to squeeze a bit of FA Cup drama into ‘The Season That Wasn’t’.