Jozef Kostecki

Journalist covering both sports and the arts (music/film) with over 5 years of published writing experience. 

Across my career, I have produced content for Far Out Magazine, Hashtag United, SPORTbible, eWrestlingNews, and more. Additionally, I have a host of self-published work.

1400+ articles and over 3.5 million individual views to date.

Jozef's Substack •

The art of the comeback: Why watching Oasis conquer the world (again) was less about the Gallaghers and more about the guys and gals

Life does not pause. I think it’s probably important to preface the nearly incomprehensible collection of rambling sentences and paragraphs that is set to come with that clear statement. Whether in the good times or the bad, it will not pause. It’s not a television show or movie. There’s no Adam Sandler with his magic remote like in Click. Domhnall Gleeson can’t retreat into a dark closet and go back like he does in About Time. The things we see and do. The embarrassing moments, the comedic slip...
Soundsphere magazine •

I listened to my least favourite band for an entire twelve-hour shift to see if I’d go insane - Soundsphere magazine

As some of the worst pieces of art you’ll find adorning staff room walls or shared by Facebook mums have set out to remind me, life is supposedly all about its challenges. Those moments of facing up against great towering obstacles and saying ‘Come on then, I’ve the best of you.’ A few have conquered Everest, fewer still managed to walk on the moon, but not one, not a soul has dared to take on what I saw as my great challenge. My Everest…
Screensphere •

Marlon Brando, Paul Mescal, and the difficulties of legacy in Hollywood - Screensphere

As ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ embarked on its opening night in New York earlier this month, the next step in Paul Mescal’s rise took place with it. The play, which previously saw sold-out West End runs in London, has now moved to America with Mescal once again in the lead. A quick search of “What makes a great theatre actor?” will see magnetism, star power and stage presence outlined as necessities – three qualities that Mescal has continued to show as his stature rises. Among this generation of...
Jozef's Substack •

Why West Ham’s Evan Ferguson signing may be the move of the window.

Picture the start of 2022. It’s New Year’s Day, and Brighton boss Graham Potter is taking the time in his pre-match press conference to tell reporters about the teenage sensation the club has on their books. A striker hailing from Drogheda, the largest town in Ireland. A striker who, months earlier, aged just sixteen, made his senior debut for the club. A striker named Evan Ferguson.
Far Out Magazine •

Did Pink Floyd create the ultimate car record?

Since I was young, I’ve always dreamed of finding myself in a movie. To be clear, I don’t mean that I wanted to be an actor—I mean feeling as though I am the character on screen. Achieving that sort of connection isn’t easy, but it’s certainly helped by a great soundtrack. Step forward, Pink Floyd. Step forward, The Dark Side of the Moon.

Released in 1973, Pink Floyd’s eighth studio album, The Dark Side of the Moon, has cemented its place as one of the best-selling records of all time. A timele...
Far Out Magazine •

The album that kept Phoenix in the studio for a year

Album number two, it’s never as easy as it should be. How many sequels are great? How can we follow the style that brought us to the dance without sounding the same? Should we reinvent the wheel, or maybe we could just play it safe? For Phoenix, these were no doubt some of the questions that entered the minds of the band as they started recording their 2004 sophomore album Alphabetical.

The follow-up to their strongly received debut album United, the challenges with the recording of Alphabetica...
Far Out Magazine •

How Bob Marley criticised capitalism in three minutes

The words of Bob Marley, in 1976 on ‘Rat Race’, “Oh what a rat race! This is the rat race”. Generations later, the words of Lily Fontaine, of English Teacher, signing in ‘Broken Biscuits’, “So we’re splitting our prescriptions. Like they’re broken biscuits”. The lyrics heard in The Clash song ‘The Magnificent Seven’, “So get back to work an’ sweat some more. The sun will sink an’ we’ll get out the door” . They all mean the same thing: the system that so many great artists see in front of them is...
Far Out Magazine •

The time David Bowie begged Perry Farrell to delete his number

Following an onstage altercation that took part between Jane’s Addiction members Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro earlier this month, the band are currently on hiatus and look set to collapse their current reunion. As a result, the band cancelled the entirety of the remaining fifteen dates on their North American tour.

However, in his younger years, long before Jane’s Addiction, Farrell was a massive fan of David Bowie, looking up to the English performer and seeing Bowie as one of his heroes. Fa...
World Soccer Talk •

EuroLeague? The soccer clubs dominating European basketball

Few sports can move beyond a country’s borders and take on a truly global audience. Soccer, basketball, cricket, hockey, and tennis are among those few, attracting viewers and potential players from nearly every place on the planet. 

Despite the massive audiences each sport draws in weekly, it would be easy enough to think that there is little opportunity for crossover across different sports, yet basketball’s EuroLeague dismisses such a suggestion....
Far Out Magazine •

The one album Chris Cornell listened to more than any other

It is hard to imagine a world without the music of Chris Cornell. Across Audioslave, Soundgarden and Temple of the Dog, his impact on the music industry is irrefutable. Leaving a mark on the industry that can be seen and heard way beyond his years, Cornell’s abilities as a songsmith and singer remain as remarkable today as they always have been.

Known as ‘The Voice’ by those close to him, Alice Cooper described how the moniker was given to Cornell for the simple reason that his voice was that m...
Far Out Magazine •

Billie Joe Armstrong on the worst band name in rock and roll

For every iconic band name, there are a million more that should have been left on the chopping room floor. Ramones is a great band name, Bananarama, on the other hand, is a not-so-great band name. Nirvana is another undeniably amazing band name. Bowling For Soup, meanwhile… not so much. But, for Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, there can only be one answer for the worst of the worst.

Ignoring the possible contenders suggested in the first paragraph, Armstrong’s pick for the worst name instea...
World Soccer Talk •

The rise of classic soccer shirts: More than just fashion

Soccer, it’s a pretty special game, one that at its core has at large remained the same for decades. There have been advances here and there, but the crux of eleven players in cleats, shorts, and shirts, kicking a ball around a grass pitch has never changed. Yet, despite that, things have changed, both in life and in soccer. So too has the rise in popularity of classic soccer shirts.


In the modern day, in the modern game, things change at a rapid rate...
UtdDistrict •

Kobbie Mainoo ‘could win’ Golden Boy award at Man Utd, Alejandro Garnacho third favourite

Manchester United starlets Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo are both amongst the top contenders for TuttoSport’s Golden Boy Award.



The award, handed out in December of each year, is highly regarded as an indicator of the best young talents in European football over the previous twelve months.



The current shortlist for the award has extended the possibility for Garnacho and Mainoo to follow in the footsteps of previous award winners such as Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Erling Haala...
UtdDistrict •

Rasmus Hojlund’s “world-class” comments show Man United teammate is proving Erik ten Hag wrong

Manchester United forward Rasmus Hojlund has heaped praise on Christian Eriksen following Denmark’s 2-1 win over Sweden on Wednesday night.



Playing a role in both of Denmark’s goals, Eriksen was at his very best on international duty. Collecting an assist after just two minutes, the 32-year-old would wow the audience in Copenhagen with a wonder goal in the 86th minute.



Discussing Eriksen’s performance for Denmark with Tipsbladet, Hojlund would heap praise on his teammate for club and cou...
UtdDistrict •

Manchester United told Bruno Fernandes sale “wouldn’t be a disaster” due to one reason

Manchester United have been urged by former Premier League defender Bacary Sagna to sell Bruno Fernandes if it means their youth system can continue to flourish.



Sagna, who made 267 Premier League appearances across ten seasons playing for Arsenal and Manchester City, recently discussed Fernandes’ future with CoinPoker.



Fernandes, who signed for United in the winter of 2020, has remained one of the Red Devils’ best players throughout the last four years.

Delivering on several occasions...
J&J Reviews & Write-Ups •

Suck It and See: 13 years later. A look back on Arctic Monkeys goodbye to their mid 20s.

"Like those that came before it, the album works because of who is making it and when. As a band they were in their mid-20s, still probably scared shitless. Caught between deciding if they want to be what they were in the first half, or move on to what they could be in the second. What do you do? What do I want to do? What can I do? A series of decisions that we all face throughout life, ones that are posed in the final line of Suck it and See:

“You’re not the only one, that time has got it in for honey. That’s where you’re wrong.”

Time has it in for us all. So, you have to decide. Are you ready to move on to the next step, the next place, before time catches up to you? The Arctics were. They left Suck it and See as their last signoff on who they were then, dipping their toes in what was for them down the road throughout the process..."
UtdDistrict •

From Poland immigration to Old Trafford: A Manchester United love letter

"Even with the less-than-subtle nudging by my dad, I failed to realise how significant United would be throughout my life until I was approaching my teenage years. I knew I supported Yanited, and I knew that they mattered, but I was a chubby little awkward child who liked wrestling, Guitar Hero 3 and Mr Kipling. I hardly had the time to follow a sport that I lacked the coordination or friend group to play myself.

Now, all these years later, I suppose a lot of that remains the same. I could still kick your arse at Guitar Hero, I’m still a touch too chubby for my liking, and if you swapped Mr Kipling for Mr S. Artois, I’d say we’re largely in the same boat. The big difference, though, is United. Because at some point over the last nearly fifteen years, it hit me, hit me hard – and ultimately, this club has become more important to me than anything else..."
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