Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2017 i FourFourTwo UK

I’ve just bought my son his first proper football kit. He’s five years old, so his only real requirement was that it had to have his name and a number on the back of the shirt. After initially picking No.96 – vetoed for being ridiculous – he was torn between No.9 and No.10, before settling on No.10 for reasons he wasn’t fully able to articulate. But it all clicked a few days later when watching Match of the Day: No.10 (Harry Kane) and No.9 (Romelu Lukaku and Alvaro Morata) were always celebrating. Going with 96, he realised, would’ve been a mistake. Young or old, it’s hard to deny the universal appeal of those players whose job it is to score goals. We grow up wanting to be them. Just ask…

“IT MADE SENSE FOR ME TO GO TO PSG, BUT I DO NOT HIDE MY ADMIRATION FOR PEP GUARDIOLA AND MY WILL TO PLAY IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE“ CLUBS 2001-03 Bahia 2002-03 Sevilla (loan) 2003-08 Sevilla 2008-16 Barcelona 2016-17 Juventus 2017- Paris Saint-Germain COUNTRY 2006- Brazil Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-1 victory over Monaco in July’s French Super Cup may not have made a lot of headlines, but to one Brazilian in particular it proved a very significant moment. “There are thousands and thousands of football players all around the world,” Dani Alves tells FourFourTwo during our visit to his new home city, “but this little lad from Juazeiro, in the countryside of Bahia, is able to say he’s the one to have won more titles than any other – this is…

Dortmund vs Bayern November 4 Bayern started the Bundesliga poorly, but Jupp Heynckes is back. Can they get a result at BVB? River vs Boca November 5 The Superclasico returns – River have failed to win their last six home games against Boca Switzerland vs N Ireland November 12 Play-off second leg in Basel, as Northern Ireland bid to reach a first World Cup finals since 1986 Arsenal vs Tottenham November 18 The Gunners haven’t lost their last seven home matches with Spurs, but has the power shifted? Wolves vs Leeds November 22 Both clubs put themselves in the promotion hunt by starting the season well – this is an acid test Monaco vs PSG November 26 Neymar’s resurgent PSG are top of Ligue 1. Will they sweep aside last…

Gary Hutchinson Writer, 38 Luke Waterfall Defender, 27 Q: Who scored the late winner when Lincoln beat Ipswich in last season’s FA Cup Third Round? GH: Nathan Arnold – set us on our way. ✓ LW: Nathan Arnold. ✓ 1-1 Q: Before this season, in which year did Lincoln play their most recent Football League game? GH: May 7, 2011. Pretty much one of the worst days of my entire life. ✓ LW: I’m pretty sure that was in 2011. ✓ 2-2 Q: Who is City’s record appearance-maker? GH: Easy! Grant Brown. ✓ LW: That’s Grant Brown. ✓ 3-3 Q: How long had it been since a non-league side reached the last eight of the FA Cup, before the Imps did it last season? GH: I thought we were the…

“I QUITE LIKE CANALS - I WENT ON A BARGE HOLIDAY AND IT WAS FUN PASSING THROUGH THE LOCKS” You won Celebrity Come Dine with Me against Neil Ruddock, John Fashanu and Frank Worthington. Which of the three ex-players was the worst cook? It was a close call between them – they were all s**te. But Frank was definitely the worst. He did some prawn cocktail thing and put raw vinegar in it. F**king hell. In fairness, I couldn’t cook before going on the show. I got some lessons from my mate Christopher Kent, who’s a Michelin-starred chef. If I’m going to do something, I may as well do it right. You turned out a very admirable crab cake, sea bass and some cheesecake… Yeah. I’ve…

“THE BEST NO.9 IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE IS HARRY KANE. HE GUARANTEES GOALS. ENGLAND CAN BE HAPPY AGAIN TO HAVE A NO.9 JUST LIKE SHEARER OR LINEKER” Davor Suker, Emilio Butragueno, Marco van Basten, Careca. I played against some very good strikers during my career and I played with some very good strikers, too. Without good strikers you can’t win titles, and Germany always had good strikers – people like Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Rudi Voller, who was a very good No.9. For me, the most complete No.9 in the world right now is Robert Lewandowski – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi aren’t No.9s, of course. Lewandowski is just a little better than all of the others. He has everything that I, Lothar Matthaus, would expect from a No.9. He’s quick.…

@tomvictor How does the ball-boy who got kicked by Hazard have a blue tick? @RobbieSavage8 Ten idiots singing Robbie Savage what a wan*** at Watford train station, then ask me for a photo! @Megson84 Brilliant article in FourFourTwo with David Wagner - no limits apart from when he’s on the beers #lmao #topgaffer…

He’s missed. I don’t believe it. What a bloody... wait, I’m captain of England – I can’t get too angry with Gareth. I can’t show him how much this hurts. He’s going to be in bits. I need to protect him and rally all the players – think of the team and not myself. I can remember seeing Gareth walking from the halfway line towards the penalty box. He had seemed really confident. I’d been standing next to the coach, Terry Venables, when he’d come over to us. I was due to take the first sudden-death pen, but there’s Gareth looking at us both and saying, ‘I’ll have the next one.’ Super confident. Tel looks at me and we both nod. Go on then, son. But he’s missed. I don’t…

MATT LE TISSIER A Southampton legend, Le Tiss scored exactly 100 goals in the Premier League, but he couldn’t really be described as a striker. The Guernseyman would often operate in an attacking midfield role, making his achievements all the more notable. Only Alan Shearer scored more times in the first two campaigns of the Premier League. Le Tiss netted 15 in 1992-93 and followed it with a career best 25 in ’93-94. ALEXIS SANCHEZ Sanchez briefly played upfront for the Gunners in the first half of last season, but things were going too well so was swiftly restored to the line-up. The Chilean netted 24 times last term – comfortably his best haul despite things going all weird at the end of the campaign – but he has regularly…

When Alex Ferguson decided to ditch Ruud van Nistelrooy in the summer of 2006, selling him to Real Madrid, the transfer marked a sea change for Premier League strikers. Van Nistelrooy was the classic poacher: a penalty-box predator, not someone who’d necessarily contribute heavily to Manchester United’s build-up play. In fact, he scored only one Premier League goal from outside the box – the third in a 3-1 victory at Charlton in November 2005. In the early years of the Prem, when pretty much every single team deployed two men up top, there were a host of players able to make a living just from scoring tap-ins. However, things started to change: managers moved to having only a solitary forward in attack, particularly after Didier Drogba’s arrival at Chelsea from…

Kevin Francis Who? The 6ft 7in striker was a legendary presence for Stockport County, Birmingham City and (briefly) Saint Kitts & Nevis in the 1990s. “If I need any guttering done, I’ll call Francis,” Ray Wilkins famously huffed after Big Kev’s Division Two Stockport ousted top-flight QPR from the FA Cup in ’94. I get it, he’s tall… No flies on you then. Francis dropped down the leagues at Exeter, Hull, Hednesford and Studley before retiring in 2005 and moving the family to Canada, where he worked as a truck driver. “It was fantastic during the summer – I was seeing the length and breadth of Canada,” he said, “but in winter it was a little bit scary as it was cold and dark.” Bambi on ice? Not any more.…

“When Mihajlovic was Sampdoria manager he liked having free-kick competitions in training. He’s still fantastic at them” Hi Manolo. Are natural goalscorers just born or can they be developed? Certain talents, in my opinion, you just have within you. However, training can help you improve certain skills and you should always train as hard as you can. It’s important to work on every part of your game: right foot, left foot, heading the ball, protecting the ball, everything. You must always give 100 per cent to ensure you reach maximum potential. If your 100 per cent is a 6/10 in terms of quality, that’s OK. If it’s 4/10, that is OK as well. The important thing is that if you’re capable of giving 4/10 in every game, you give 4/10,…

Tom Chase: Our deputy art editor had the task of explaining what candyfloss is to City’s star striker Gabriel Jesus for this month’s cover shoot. “He first looked puzzled and then started to laugh when I gave him the candyfloss, asking me, ‘You don’t want me to eat this, do you?’” Lee Brown: The snapper headed to Harrogate to capture the club’s father and son double act. “I don’t often get to shoot a manager and chairman on the same day. At first it was like a business relationship but they started to loosen up and joked about their old memories.” Felipe Rocha: FFT’s regular South American scribe went One-on-One with Dani Alves. “When he realised we’d brought him the traditional Brazilian sweet pacoca, Alves was a happy man.…

2003: HIGH FIFA World Youth Championship winner in the UAE. Fernandinho goal sees off Spain in the final 2006: LOW Move to the Premier League with Liverpool falls through at last moment, so stays at Sevilla 2008: HIGH Becomes Pep Guardiola’s first signing at Barça, joining Camp Nou giants for £23 million 2014: LOW Dropped to bench by ‘Big Phil’ Scolari during the latter stages of World Cup in native Brazil 2015: HIGH Seals Treble with Barça thanks to Champions League final win over Juventus in Berlin 2016: LOW Dropped by Barcelona following bizarre Instagram video after loss against Atletico Madrid 2017: HIGH Wins 34th major honour – the French Super Cup – to move within one of Ryan Giggs…

Outside The Box Duncan Alexander Century, £16.99 Alexander’s quirky look at the Premier League’s 25 years unearths plenty of statistical gems to keep fact-collectors out of mischief for several months. Opta’s stat man also delivers some thought-provoking analysis from the data. For instance, during Manchester United’s clash with Fulham in 2013-14, David Moyes’ team fired over 81 crosses without end product – the highest in any Opta-analysed tie. Moyes also altered his line-up for each of his 51 games at the helm. Both of the stats go some way to explaining why the Scot was sent packing after less than a season. The bare facts of Leicester’s title joy are also startling – the Foxes had the second-worst pass completion rate and third-lowest average possession figure across that unusual campaign.…

“BESIKTAS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS. WE HAVE SO MANY QUALITY PLAYERS AND ENORMOUS SUPPORT, LIKE REAL” You joined Besiktas in July after a decade with Real Madrid – how are you finding life in Turkey? Everything is going well so far. I am very happy to be here. I’ve made the right choice for myself and my family by coming to Turkey. People here have welcomed me and they have all been really warm. Did your Portugal team-mate Ricardo Quaresma tell you to ‘Come to Besiktas’, like in the club’s famous video that went viral over the summer? I spoke with him during the Confederations Cup in Russia about Besiktas’ offer. He said great things about Besiktas, Turkish football and the country – he convinced me to…

MATEJA KEZMAN 2004-05 Four dynamite campaigns with PSV – including a 35-goal 2002-03 – meant the Serbian was one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe, and Mourinho must have thought he had found the perfect Hasselbaink replacement. But he never got going, scoring only four goals for the Blues. HERNAN CRESPO 2003-06 The Argentina legend found the net wherever he went, from River Plate to Parma and Lazio to both Milan clubs. And while he can’t be deemed a complete flop – he played 49 games and scored 20 – once Didier Drogba had really established himself, poor Hernan was considered expendable by Mourinho. KHALID BOULAHROUZ 2006-07 Not your regular No.9: the Dutchman was a defender, but the digit just happened to be going spare after Crespo left. It…

30 EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR GAMES 242 GOALS 97 GPG 0.40 TITLES 0 “I can’t wait for the game to finish. I’m hungry. Do you know a good restaurant in London?” Adebayor’s hunger for actual football had diminished towards the end of his top-flight career – hence the mid-game food enquiry, as told by defender Brede Hangeland – but at his very best he was simply devastating. The Togo frontman netted 24 league goals for the Gunners in 2007-08, becoming the first player to bag hat-tricks home and away against the same team in the same campaign, versus Derby. Then came the switch to Manchester City and the famous knee-slide in front of the Arsenal fans. Emmanuel bagged 14 in his first season at the Etihad, and 17 in his debut campaign…

LUKAS JUTKIEWICZ West Brom’s Markus Rosenberg warned, “I’m not prolific” before going 28 games without a goal but even he can’t match Lukas’ 16 hours and 27 minutes while playing for Everton and Burnley. ERIK MEIJER Liverpool’s ‘Mad Erik’ once said: “They used to call me ‘The Butcher’, as my father worked in a butcher’s.” Fair enough. NILE RANGER The Newcastle striker worried the law but never the scoresheet in his 26 top-flight matches before moving to Swindon in 2013. GRZEGORZ RASIAK “He’s an honest player with a good goalscoring record,” Spurs gaffer Martin Jol said when signing the Pole. But Rasiak failed at Tottenham and also on loan at Bolton. EDER The Portugal forward scored the winner in the Euro 2016 final, but didn’t find the net once in…

NIALL QUINN AND KEVIN PHILLIPS - -large combo wreaked havoc for Sunderland in 1999-00. Targetman Quinn and finisher Phillips netted 44 during that season. ALAN SHEARER AND CHRIS SUTTON The SAS were formed when Sutton signed for Blackburn in 1994 for £5m, then an English record. In their first year they won the league title – Shearer scoring 34 times, Sutton 15. LUIS SUAREZ AND DANIEL STURRIDGE The pair pinched the SAS nickname for themselves in 2013-14, teaming up to score 52 goals as Liverpool came within a whisker of the title. Suarez scored 31, Sturridge 21. The latter has never been the same since Suarez joined Barcelona. JIMMY FLOYD HASSELBAINK AND EIDUR GUDJOHNSEN Sadly there were no special forces groups called the HAG or GAH, so this duo were…

PAOLO DI CANIO A maverick on the pitch, the Italian was by turns a disgrace (shoving a ref over and admitting he’s a fan of fascism), a gent (winning FIFA’s Fair Play medal) and a genius (his Goal of the Season volley vs Wimbledon in 2000). NICKLAS BENDTNER The Danish international was a rarity: a targetman brought to Arsenal under Arsene Wenger. Nicklas’ eccentricity (frolics with a Baroness, pretending to collect the Ballon d’Or), earned ‘Lord Bendtner’ ironic cult status during his time at the Emirates. EL HADJI DIOUF The Senegalese forward turned out for Liverpool, Bolton, Sunderland and Blackburn, but might be better remembered for his mayhem – including spit spats and a brawl in a Manchester nightclub. MARK VIDUKA The Aussie talisman was an infamous whinger (he allegedly…

MYTH BUSTER Arthur Conan Doyle played in goal for Portsmouth The Sherlock Holmes author was a keeper for a local amateur side, but not the club that became Pompey Items sent from the National Football Museum A new display of women’s football memorabilia will be opening at the museum from March 2018…

HEADLESS HOME William Craven, the 6th Baron Craven and an English nobleman, built the original ‘Cottage’ on the site where the centre circle now sits in 1780. Surrounding woods had made up part of Anne Boleyn’s hunting ground some two centuries earlier. THREE’S A CROWD Maverick winger Tosh Chamberlain – who once asked a fan for a mid-game puff on his cigarette – chose to delay his wedding in 1956 so he could face Newcastle in an FA Cup clash, scoring three in a 5-4 loss. VIC’S TRICK During the ’60s, boss Vic Buckingham tried to convince wideman Rodney Marsh that all of his dribbling was disturbing the Whites’ pattern of play by singing him George Gershwin’s tune I Got Rhythm out on the pitch. BLACKPOOL LUCK Fulham captain Johnny…

“A first International (Association) match in Ireland was played at Bloomfield, Belfast on Saturday. The attendance of spectators was very large and the weather bitterly cold – a gale blowing,accompanied by snow and rain. The result of the match was an easy win for England by 13 goals to nil. Ireland had kicked off against a perfect hurricane. The ball was driven up to the Irish goal and within a few minutes of the start Vaughton scored for England, and two others were obtained in the succeeding 15 minutes. The English backs entirely neutralised the efforts from the Irishmen, and before half-time two other goals were scored by the visitors. After half-time the excellent passing of the English forwards demoralised the Irish backs, and goal after goal was scored. They…

Born November 26, 1991 Birthplace Calcinate, Lombardy Clubs Atalanta, Cittadella, Juventus, Bologna (loan), Sampdoria, Napoli, Southampton Serie A goals 38 in 158 matches International bow England 2-1 Italy in August 2012 Italy record Two goals in 10 Azzurri outings Sporting sibling Sister Melania was a forward for Italy Women, scoring 44 goals in 107 games Transfer fee Southampton paid £14 million to sign him from Napoli Admirers West Ham, Spurs and Stoke were all linked with him in 2016, and Everton had a bid rejected…

▲ Cristiano Ronaldo CR7 auctioned off one of his four Ballon d’Or gongs for charity and raised £600,000. Ace. ▲ Pietro Pellegri The Genoa teenager became the youngest player to bag a brace in Serie A after netting twice against Lazio. ▲ Jack Harrison The New York City FC midfielder, who hails from Stoke, won his first cap for England Under-21s in October. ▼ Ravel Morrison Once a hot prospect in the English game, the 24-year-old now plays his football for Mexican outfit Atlas. ▼ ‘The big six’ Man United, Man City, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool back a plan in which international Premier League TV rights cash would not get shared equally by all 20 clubs. ▼ Alex Morgan The USA Women star and World Cup winner said sorry…

LIMBS_AOTS Wild fan celebrations A video stream of fans celebrating deliriously will keep you amused and make you want to get amongst it all. Twitter: @Limbs_AOTS BEN DINNERY Injury data analyst He details every break, strain and torn ACL – you’ll never select an absent star as your fantasy football captain again. Twitter: @BenDinnery TOM BYER Elite youth coach The technical expert teaches you how to coach your kids from the age of two while engaging in compelling debate. Twitter: @tomsan106…

They say things come in threes and we’ve got a hat-trick of limited edition boots – Under Armour’s Power in Pink ClutchFit released to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Mizuno’s pink Rebula designed especially for Keisuke Honda and the unmissable New Balance Furon Flare.…

1 BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS, THEO HERNANDEZ-STYLE Spain Madrid It was no simple family shindig for Theo Hernandez when he celebrated his 20th birthday. The Real Madrid defender had even grander plans and was seen being held at gunpoint by a couple of dwarves wearing Madrid jerseys and police hats. “It has been an unforgettable day,” he posted online. He could say that again. The snap caused a stir: maybe just have a quiet one for your 21st, Theo. 2 THE ULTIMATE PITCH INVASION Japan Mito Japanese side Mito HollyHock came up with a proper deterrent in the run-up to their second-tier tie at home to Fagiano Okayama – parking a tank by the side of the pitch, ready to steam into action if their opponents as much as crossed the halfway…

A lower-league club from Romania have been forced to play all their games away from home – as they keep booting balls into a nearby river. Bistrita Brosteni calculated that four balls would be more than enough for the regional fixture at home to Vanatorul Dorna Candrenilor. They were wrong... “Bistrita Brosteni have been renovating their stadium so they cut down some trees around the pitch, but then all the wayward shots went out of the ground and into the river,” explained the local reporter Danut Chidovet. “The referee waited for a new ball to be brought, but it didn’t happen so he eventually decided to abandon the game.” Reluctant to risk it happening again, the Suceava County FA quickly came up with a solution. “Until the renovation’s finished, Brosteni…

LET THE FANS IN Politics and football need to stay separate. I hope Barça don’t have to play a league match behind closed doors ever again. Michael McNeill THE FA MUST ACT The decline in quality of the England team is sad and the FA should force Premier League teams to field six English players. Kerry Risler ALL HAIL ZIZOU Very good feature about Zidane in FFT 281. Great players don’t necessarily make great coaches, but he has bucked the trend. Mark Anderson LACK OF DEPTH? Manchester United reader have of started the season it’s taken well, but will they fade figure ? Man out City and Chelsea line have . stronger subs’ benches. Nicola Wisniewski be a top- MLS WILL BENEFIT Reading your , so interview 262 with issues…

NWANKWO KANU Only Jermain Defoe (23) has scored more Premier League strikes as a sub than Kanu, whose 17 as a replacement put him level with famous super sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. VICTOR ANICHEBE More than half of his 204 Premier League matches for Everton, West Brom and Sunderland were as a substitute, and so were more than half his goals. Victor’s 14 strikes put him in the division’s top five. JAVIER HERNANDEZ Chicharito never shook the tag of super sub at Man United – he ended up in the Solskjaer role, scoring 14 times in 54 appearances from the bench, to help the club seal two league crowns. EDIN DZEKO The Bosnian bagged 13 goals in 56 matches as a substitute for Man City – none more significant than…

KEVIN DAVIES “Why do you tackle like that?” Patrice Evra once asked. “Because I don’t like you,” Bolton’s man replied. Few defenders relished facing Davies – Gerard Pique described him as “incredible in the air” after a torrid game against the targetman. DUNCAN FERGUSON If one thing intimidates defenders, it’s a forward who was once put in jail for headbutting a player. That came during Dunc’s time in Scotland, though he did get eight red cards in Premier League games. JOHN HARTSON And something else that intimidates centre-backs is a forward who’s kicked a player in the head. OK, John’s ‘altercation’ with Eyal Berkovic happened during training but he’d be aggressive in Premier League matches. Six red cards are testament to it. ANDY CARROLL You can pretty much hear the…

IAN RUSH Liverpool’s all-time top scorer was past his ’80s goal-mad prime as the Premier League kicked off, but he was still the Reds’ main marksman in 1992-93 and helped to hone a young Robbie Fowler, before bit-part roles while with Leeds and Newcastle United. MARK HUGHES Sparky was also in his pomp a decade earlier, bristling with energy at United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but he didn’t win a great deal domestically until the Premier League’s dawn (picking up two titles). ALAN SMITH That Brummie fella off Sky and FIFA could play too: a threat in the air with good feet for a big lad, he was part of the Gunners’ title-winning teams in 1988-89 and 1990-91. Smith retired in 1995 to grab the mic. TONY COTTEE The pocket…

Never let an England player convince you that Fabio Capello didn’t know how to unwind. Fresh from seeing his side seal an unbeaten, Serie A-winning campaign in May 1992, the Milan boss took Paolo Maldini (back row, third from the right), Franco Baresi (middle row, far right), Carlo Ancelotti (third from left) et al to the newly opened Disneyland Paris to meet Mickey, Donald, Goofy and the gang. Sub keeper Francesco Antonioli (back row) even wore his Mickey ears.…

Purely Belter A 2000 flick in which two Newcastle fans try to raise the cash for their St James’ Park season tickets. The less said about Alan Shearer’s bit of ‘acting’ the better. Napoli 1990-91 kit Baby blue is hardly a go-to colour, but the Italian side are the exception. It’s little wonder that Maradona – who probably had more than a Mars a day – put on such timber. Stitched footballs There’s no doubt your nan would be a fan of the craftsmanship in old-school spheres. A stitch in time saves nine, after all. Maybe even three points too.…

NEVILLE SOUTHALL “In that great Everton side, Nev won us more matches than any outfield player – he was quite simply the very best in the world at that time. We used to socialise a lot as a team back in those days, but he was the one player who was teetotal – it would just be jugs of water for him. He can be an abrasive character but he was an absolutely outstanding keeper.” TONY DUNNE “He signed for Bolton when I was there as a young lad and was a superb player – fast as lightning and a great passer, but first and foremost a quality defender. He came to Bolton from Manchester United as a 32-year-old European Cup winner and was obviously someone we looked up to…