Photo of Rory Smith
Rory Smith

Football Correspondent

Rory Smith is The Observer‘s Football Correspondent, covering the forces, trends and ideas shaping the world‘s most popular sport. He previously worked for The New York Times, and can also be found on Men In Blazers, Libero and BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club. He is the author of two books — Mister and Expected Goals — both of which almost won awards. He has one dog and two children, none of whom are in the slightest bit impressed by any of the above.

Photo of Rory Smith

Rory Smith

Football Correspondent

Rory Smith is The Observer‘s Football Correspondent, covering the forces, trends and ideas shaping the world‘s most popular sport. He previously worked for The New York Times, and can also be found on Men In Blazers, Libero and BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club. He is the author of two books — Mister and Expected Goals — both of which almost won awards. He has one dog and two children, none of whom are in the slightest bit impressed by any of the above.

  • Rory Smith
    The match that could change football for ever

    Fijian side Bula’s draw with Vanuatu may struggle to register in Europe but it has potential to disrupt the football world

    Sat, 17 Jan 2026

  • Rory Smith
    My boy Gianni: Infantino and Trump

    Gianni Infantino is the most powerful man in world football but in the run up to the 2026 men's World Cup, his relationship with US president Donald Trump has grown very friendly. It's led to questions whether Infantino still has football's best interests at heart. Read more of Ada and Rory's investigation here 

    32 min • S1, E336

  • Rory Smith
    Magic Michael Carrick rekindles Manchester United love affair

    Red Devils dismantle neighbours City to earn new interim head coach a fine three points

    Sat, 17 Jan 2026

  • Rory Smith
    X’s transfer window whisperer

    What does influencer Indykaila tell us about the growing power of digital natives and our relationship with the truth?

    9 min • S1, E1177

  • Rory Smith
    How Xabi Alonso became Real Madrid’s latest victim

    Being a club legend doesn’t make you immune from the impatient Madridista policy

    Wed, 14 Jan 2026

  • Rory Smith
    Inside the world of Superbikes

    Two deaths a fortnight ago haven’t dimmed the high-octane appeal of motorsport. So when tragedy hits a high-risk sport like this, what keeps riders coming back?

    7 min • S1, E1112

  • Rory Smith
    Macclesfield’s heroes carve their names in FA Cup history

    The Silkmen bridge a 117-place gap to win 2-1 – becoming first sixth-tier team to beat a top-flight side in the competition

    Sat, 10 Jan 2026

  • Rory Smith
    A manager’s new reality: all the risks, none of the control

    Downfalls of Amorim and Maresca signal US-style ‘front office’ has the real power

    Sat, 10 Jan 2026

  • Rory Smith
    ‘I’d be prouder to be mid-table with our own values than a success as Chelsea’s second team’

    Politician Éric Coquerel claims that Strasbourg are now a “vassal” of the west Londoners

    Sat, 10 Jan 2026

  • Rory Smith
    In with the old: Manchester United turn to old boys’ network

    The interim appointment of Darren Fletcher continues the now familiar cycle of ex-player to caretaker

    Mon, 5 Jan 2026

  • Rory Smith
    Mané gives Wolves fans something to celebrate as feeble West Ham fold

    The teenager scores his first goal to repay the faithful in the Premier League’s derby of the damned

    Sat, 3 Jan 2026

  • Rory Smith
    Enzo Maresca is yet another victim of Chelsea’s impossible demands

    And his potential replacement Liam Rosenior would be wise to be aware

    Sat, 3 Jan 2026

  • Rory Smith
    Inside Marseille: crazy, chaotic and a potential challenger to PSG

    The Ligue 1 side are searching for stability after a decade of financial blows

    Sat, 3 Jan 2026

  • Rory Smith
    Good? Bad? Manchester United are the perfect avatar in Schrödinger’s league

    The Premier League’s top three and the bottom two apart, almost every team now exists in a state of permanent flux

    Sat, 27 Dec 2025

  • Rory Smith
    Viktor Gyökeres calms the faithful to make Arsenal the Christmas No 1

    Sweden striker’s penalty lifts Gunners back above Man City in a gift for anxious supporters

    Sat, 20 Dec 2025

  • Rory Smith
    Wilfried Nancy’s green shoes tell the story as Celtic lurch into crisis

    The Bhoys are one of many clubs caught in European great lacuna, unable to settle on an identity

    Sat, 20 Dec 2025

  • Rory Smith
    ‘Shakhtar Donetsk isn't just a football team, but the face of a country at war’

    The Ukrainian club’s chief executive on how they have survived a decade in exile

    Sat, 13 Dec 2025

  • Rory Smith
    Final lap of honour? Mo Salah’s cliffhanger drags on at Anfield

    “The Premier League is not actually a soap opera. It is real life, and real life is chaotic and messy and compromised.”

    Sat, 13 Dec 2025

  • Rory Smith
    Sunderland’s Kyril Louis-Dreyfus: The making of a modern football owner

    Low profile no more, the 28-year-old is fast becoming a fan favourite and has management success in his genes

    Sat, 13 Dec 2025

  • Rory Smith
    Majestic Messi leads Inter Miami to MLS glory

    Inter Miami 3 Vancouver Whitecaps 1: David Beckham watches Messi shine as his team become champions for the first time

    Sun, 7 Dec 2025

  • Rory Smith
    Power of dreams on biggest stage will thrive despite Fifa posturing

    The World Cup’s power lies in the football itself, no matter how much the game’s authorities contrive to demean it

    Sat, 6 Dec 2025

  • Rory Smith
    All eyes will be on Infantino and Trump at the World Cup draw

    The pair’s relationship doesn’t so much blur the line between football and politics as obliterate it

    Fri, 5 Dec 2025

  • Rory Smith
    When Donny met Gianni: how the 2026 World Cup sparked an unlikely bromance

    The US president has little interest in football other than the global prestige the tournament can give him. In the Fifa chief he has found a more than willing partner

    Fri, 5 Dec 2025

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