Goalissimo was a television programme on Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

. An alternative to Football Italia

Football Italia

Football Italia is an Italian football programme in the United Kingdom, known as Football Italiano for its final season. The first broadcasting of the show was in 1992 on Channel 4, the show is centered around live coverage of Serie A football, the top flight in the Italian league system...

 and French Football

French Football (TV show)

Le Championnat is a former TV programme on Channel 4. It used to be on Sunday at 7am but it was switched to Saturday and it showed the previous week's action on the current show until the end of the season when it went off air. On the last week of the season it showed the action the following week....

, Goalissimo covered a lot of the world's football action. It was on late at night during the week, but was repeated at 7am on Saturday mornings.

The Show

The show covered action in the top leagues in England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Scotland, South America, Turkey and Africa. It also had the best action from the UEFA Champions League

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 and the UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup

The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

. It also featured a gaffe of the week, such as miss, miskick or a goalkeeping error and a goal of the week which was usually introduced by Nick Halling as 'from the maligned to the sublime' or something along those lines. As Premier League and La Liga

La Liga

The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

 broadcasting rights are not owned by Channel 4, still images from the games that fade in and out with each other are used instead, with voice-over commentary and a bongo-drum based soundtrack.

Commentators and Reporters

The programme was regularly narrated by Nick Halling

Nick Halling

Nick Halling is a British sports broadcaster and journalist. He is a boxing commentator for Sky Sports and presented their American football for 15 years, as well as ice hockey, ten-pin bowling and numerous other events....

, but Andy Ford

Andy Ford

Andrew Carl "Andy" Ford is an English football manager and former professional player. Ford is currently out of football after a 5 month spell managing Maidstone United.-Playing career:...

, Simon Golding and John Roder had deputised. The commentators were Ross Dyer

Ross Dyer

Ross Dyer is a British sports and entertainment broadcaster.-Biography:In 2010, he is currently a Football Commentator and Presenter for ESPN International's Coverage, produced in the United States...

 and Garry Barfoot, but Andy Ford

Andy Ford

Andrew Carl "Andy" Ford is an English football manager and former professional player. Ford is currently out of football after a 5 month spell managing Maidstone United.-Playing career:...

 had also commentated before. Barfoot is still producing the show but whilst it isn't shown in the UK it is still broadcasted across the globe.

External links

• Sport - Goalissimo at Channel4.com