Chris Dunlavy
A FRESH TAKE ON FOOTBALL

MY GRANDFATHER took on Rommel in the deserts of Africa.
My dad was a soldier, too, stationed in Berlin.
When he wasn’t manning Checkpoint Charlie, he was at Spandau Prison, guarding Nazi war criminals like Rudolf Hess.
Later, he found himself in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Growing up, I was fascinated by the gigantic rubber bullet he’d kept from his days patrolling the streets of Londonderry.
Once, he told me about the night he’d sheltered under an armoured car whilst a riot erupted around him, terrified that he&...