Innehållsförteckning för August 2018 från FourFourTwo UK

The trick when putting together a FourFourTwo cover story is to try to predict who and what you, the reader, will want to know about roughly three months down the line. Obviously this is easier said than done, with the myriad of problems that can derail a cover story in that time. This is doubly difficult when the issue in question is set to come out midway through a World Cup, like this one. Not only do we not know how, for example, England will be getting on as we come out (strolling serenely to the semis, right?) the World Cup has a way of putting all the transfer activity on hold until Florentino Perez buys the tournament’s star player and the dust settles on all the subsequent transfer activity.…

“THE ENGLISH PRESS DID THE SAME THING LEEDS WERE DOING - BULLYING. IT’S THE FIRST TIME I’VE EVER SAID IT. I’VE WAITED 20 YEARS” CLUBS 1984-86 Nasvikens IK 1987-89 GIF Sundsvall 1990 IFK Norrkoping 1990-95 Parma 1995-97 Leeds 1996 FC Zurich (loan) 1997 Parma (loan) 1998 Crystal Palace 1998 Hudiksvalls ABK COUNTRY 1990-95 Sweden JUST HOW GOOD WERE PARMA? DOES HE REGRET JOINING LEEDS? DID HE HIT AN ELK WITH HIS CAR? On the list of weird gifts FourFourTwo has been given down the years, this is definitely up there. Tomas Brolin has just reached into a bag and revealed something very unexpected: a vacuum cleaner nozzle. Even as he hands it over to us, we’re imagining the conversation with airport security as we explain why…

Rangers vs FK Shkupi July 12 Steven Gerrard begins his Ibrox reign against Macedonian opposition in the Europa League World Cup final July 15 A 4pm kick-off at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, formerly known as the Central Lenin Stadium Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal July 26 Unai Emery’s first game as boss is in Singapore against the Gunners’ Europa League conquerors Aberdeen vs Burnley July 26 The Clarets’ first European tie for 51 years is a Battle of Britain in Europa League qualifying LAFC vs LA Galaxy July 26 The first derby between these two clubs turned into The Zlatan Show – what will he do this time? Man United vs Liverpool July 28 Rivals clash at Michigan’s ‘Big House’, where 109,000 saw United play Real Madrid in 2014…

Mention ‘the goal’ in Herefordshire and there’s still one moment that springs to mind among the locals. Ronnie Radford’s 1972 thunderbolt against Newcastle United is arguably the ultimate FA Cup strike, so for theatre producer and avid Hereford fan Roger Morgan, it seemed like the ideal topic for a drama. The Goal, running at The Courtyard between October 1 and 13, charts the fate of six Hereford ballboys across that memorable season, as the Bulls aim for the Football League as well as creating headlines in the cup. Surplus funds from the production will be shared with the club. “Loads of fans have told me they were at the game and will be buying tickets, so hopefully it will be a sell-out,” Morgan tells FFT. Ronnie himself has given the…

Zachary Cobb Police dispatcher, 34 Tim Melia Goalkeeper, 32 Q: Who did Kansas beat to secure the club’s first MLS Cup in 2000? ZC: We beat the Chicago Fire! 6 TM: Er, I’ll guess DC United. : 1-0 Q: Kansas boss Peter Vermes is the longest serving manager in MLS, but whose record did he beat? ZC: Sigi Schmid, no doubts. 6 TM: Sigi Schmid. 6 2-1 Q: Who holds the club’s all-time appearance record? ZC: That’ll be our captain! Matt Besler. 6 TM: Matt Besler! 6 3-2 Q: Who scored the club’s first goal of the regular 2018 MLS season? ZC: Felipe Gutierrez. 6 TM: Felipe Gutierrez in a 4-3 win in Chicago. 6 4-3 Fan wins…

Wonderkid In 2006, the 19-year-old Gremio star is the youngest ever winner of the Bola de Ouro, given to the Brazilian top flight’s best player – previously won by Zico and Kaka. Selected for Selecao Makes his senior debut for Brazil by coming on as substitute in friendly against Algeria in 2007. Goes on to represent country at 2011 Copa America in Argentina. Player of the year Voted Liverpool’s top performer for the 2010/11 campaign, after a string of impressive showings in that season under managers Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish.…

All great managers worth their salt have a trademark. Brian Clough had a green sweater, Malcolm Allison had a fedora, Alex Ferguson had a wristwatch. But Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has half a dozen – the hair, the beard, the maniacal grin, the thick-rimmed glasses, shouting the word ‘boom’ seemingly at random, and, of course, heavy-metal football. The Reds’ relentless approach during their barnstorming run to the 2018 Champions League Final earned plenty of praise – including from a man who is joining the band this summer. “I love it,” Brazilian utility man and aspiring rock god Fabinho tells FourFourTwo in his first major interview since completing a reported £43 million move to Anfield in May. “The football Liverpool have played over the last couple of seasons not only made…

There aren’t many men who can say they’ve been headhunted by Arsene Wenger, but Darren Burgess is one of them. In June last year, the Australian received a surprise telephone call from Ivan Gazidis. Arsenal’s chief executive proposed a meeting with Wenger and majority shareholder Stan Kroenke to discuss becoming the Gunners’ head of high performance. His then employers, Aussie Rules club Port Adelaide, didn’t stand in his way. Wenger told Burgess he was growing increasingly concerned that his players were picking up too many injuries and falling behind their Premier League rivals physically. It was a big task, but Burgess was all too familiar with the demands of English football – he had already spent two years as Liverpool’s head of fitness and conditioning from June 2010. His work…

THE ATOM MEN BOMB Experiencing the Jasper Carrott gag about Birmingham City (“You lose some and you draw some”) as reality would have been dreamland for Berkshire berks AFC Aldermaston in 2010. The unfortunate Wessex League Division One outfit couldn’t even manage a stalemate over 40 fixtures between May 2009 and April 2010, until they finally scraped a 1-1 with Warminster Town. During a sickening campaign, they conceded more than 150 goals. While the team claimed morale remained pretty high, two key factors had conspired against the side nicknamed The Atom Men: unable to pay players, they’d lost 10 squad members to rivals Tadley that summer, and over a horrible winter their training pitch was decimated. At least gaffer Adie Heath took things with downbeat good grace. “I didn’t know…

Who? The Swiss defender has the distinction of being the only man to feature twice in FFT’s rundown of the worst players at each English League club, for Tottenham and Watford. A League Cup winner with the former in 1998, the noted polyglot once spoke of his love of English because “it’s great to swear in”. Too f**king right. A life relaxing in sunny Marbella post-retirement? He did start a soccer school there. Mainly, Ramon’s been busy making £15 million as the founder of an eponymous asset management and real estate company developing hotels. Who says footballers haven’t got brains? Another day, another dollar? He tried and failed to purchase Portsmouth in 2009, but the sky really is the limit now for Vega. In 2015 he was on the cover…

EVEREST OF NEWS First ascent of Everest Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay scale world’s tallest mountain on May 29. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Marilyn Monroe’s version of Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend propels her to stardom. Workers’ Uprising in East Berlin Soviet Union orders division of troops into East German capital to quell a rebellion. DNA’s molecular structure identified James Watson and Francis Crick break scientific ground at Cambridge University. I Believe Frankie Laine’s hit spends 18th week at No.1 on August 30, still a record. 20.4 MILLION people watch Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation on June 2, despite there being only 2.7 million TV sets in the UK. It sparks nation’s love affair with the box. FIRSTS APRIL James Bond novel MAY  Laura Ashley prints NOVEMBER  Episode of Panorama DECEMBER…

Birmingham Gazette July 17, 1950 “Rio de Janeiro – Uruguay lifted the Jules Rimet World Soccer Cup, beating the hot favourites Brazil by two goals to one in the last match of the final pool before a crowd of nearly 200,000. Few gave Uruguay a chance against the Brazilians, who had scored 13 goals in their last two games. Brazil took the lead two minutes after the restart. Ademir weaved through and gave outside-right Friaca a perfect pass which he converted. The crowd went wild and rockets zoomed all over the stadium. After 65 minutes, Uruguay equalised with a clever goal by Schiaffino. Then the Brazilians made a tactical mistake in not marking Ghiggia sufficiently, and he scored the winner. Uruguay’s players embraced and also hugged the referee, George Reader,…

Chris Flanagan: Our staff writer headed to Sweden to interview Tomas Brolin. “As a kid, I remember staying up late to watch Brolin star at the 1994 World Cup – 24 years later, he’s presenting me with a nozzle for a vacuum cleaner. It’s pretty surreal working for FourFourTwo sometimes...” Will Douglas: We sent the London-based snapper to Slough to photograph The United Koreans in Japan team in CONIFA World Cup action. “The light mimicked the mood and emotion of the whole day, so much so that I even treated myself to an ice cream once the shoot had finished!” Nick Moore: Sports betting is a £1.5 trillion-a-year business and match-fixing is rife. But Sportradar, the world’s leading experts in gambling fraud, are fighting back. Nick visited their secret nerve…

HIGH: 1990 Joins Parma after impressing at World Cup, scoring against Brazil HIGH: 1992 Shares Euro 92 Golden Boot with Denmark midfielder Henrik Larsen HIGH: 1993 Tastes European Cup Winners’ Cup glory with Parma at Wembley HIGH: 1994 Named in World Cup All-Star Team after helping Sweden to third place LOW: 1994 Spends long spell on sidelines after breaking foot in Euro 96 qualifier LOW: 1996 Dropped by Leeds after clashing with manager Howard Wilkinson LOW: 1998 Calls it quits three months after relegation with Crystal Palace…

“MY DAD KISSED ME WHEN I CAME ON FOR HIM, BUT I WAS SO FOCUSED, I’M NOT SURE THAT I ACKNOWLEDGED IT ENOUGH” Estonia 0 Iceland 3 April 24, 1996 Friendly “My Iceland debut, coming on as a sub for my father. It had been a story since I was nine, when he gave an interview saying he dreamed of playing with his son for the national team. When I was called up, it was amazing and weird. He kissed me when I came on for him, but I was so focused about running on, I’m not sure that I acknowledged it enough at the time – it was a historic moment.” A Villa 0 Bolton 0 (4-1p) April 2, 2000 FA Cup semi-final “We got so close to reaching…

“BELLAMY WAS LIKE DEALING WITH A DRUNK, IRRITATING PERSON AS A POLICEMAN” Hi Mark. How often do people call you ‘Battenberg’, and do you now rue the existence of that sound-a-like fancy sponge cake? Hi. Yeah… Kipling’s cakes, that’s where my name is from. Clattenburg is really a German name that got spread out in Canada – my grandad was a Canadian ice hockey player – but every birthday cake I had as a child was a Battenberg. I’ve had so much Battenberg in my life, I don’t like it any more. I’ve been called Battenberg many times but I’ve been called far worse, so I’d say Battenberg is one of the nicer ones. What is your cake preference, then? Banoffee pie, with the harder base. It’s the only dessert…

Football Leaks Rafael Buschmann and Michael Wulzinger (Guardian Faber, £12.99) It’s well known that footballers’ salaries have a tendency to be rather opaque, but the strength of Football Leaks is its ‘black and white’ approach to sharing the true figures. There’s the annual wage paid to Didier Drogba at Shanghai Shenhua, Zlatan’s weekly pay packet at Manchester United, and the extraordinary amount paid to Paul Pogba’s agent to take the Frenchman back to Old Trafford in the summer of 2016. There is a risk that the authors’ intense approach to revealing the scarcely credible sums could lose its capacity to surprise after a while, though tales of coded texts, encrypted hard drives and whistleblowers enable the story to rattle along and, at times, give it the feel of a Bourne…

@landondonovan Two hours ago, I had more career World Cup goals than Ronaldo, clearly making me the better player. Then he scored a hat-trick... @norock Someone’s ripped off Richard Osman’s World Cup idea and is doing it with football. @eaamalyon It’s what Lenin would have wanted, stuck between the Adidas fan shop and Coca-Cola tent. #FootballFamily @SachinNakrani I want Mark Lawrenson to commentate on my funeral. “Nice coffin... not!” @andi_thomas Every time that I see Jorge Sampaoli I think, ‘Wow, Andre Agassi is *really* angry now’. @Yokhin Security guy at Luzhniki: What is that bottle-shaped object in your bag? Me: It’s a bottle. The guy: OK, go ahead. *If the current product is out of stock, a similar model of equal value will be sent instead…

It’s probably the first time FourFourTwo have been given photographic direction by a North Korean, but the big smile on An Yong-hak’s face is a welcoming one. Eight years ago, he was in South Africa taking on Robinho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Dider Drogba at the 2010 World Cup. Today, the 39-year-old is in Slough on a very different mission. He is the player-manager of the United Koreans in Japan team at the 2018 CONIFA World Cup, a tournament created for minorities and stateless regions across the globe. His side consists of both North and South Koreans playing together in harmony – despite the countries technically remaining at war – as they emerge from the tunnel on this early June afternoon. It’s 27C as the sun beats down at Slough Town’s…

There’s an air of mystery around Sven Mislintat, although it’s nothing to do with his demeanour, rather the fact that nobody appears to know exactly what he does. Or more precisely: how he does what he does. When he joined Arsenal at the end of 2017, the German was preceded by his reputation as an unearther of talent, as well as nicknames including ‘Diamond Eyes’ and ‘Pearl Diver’, having advised Borussia Dortmund to sign the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Yet he doesn’t tirelessly trek the globe watching these players. The 45-year-old’s hunting ground is on a computer. He has an eye for numbers and dives for data. Mislintat hasn’t got a bigger database than anyone else, so why did he zero in on a guy from the…

Flying high with Steve Coppell Virgin’s flight attendants brought a bit of glamour to one photo call. Who needs pictures? Every illustrator and designer’s wet dream. Typography on white. Nice. “Who are we playing, again?” It was Northampton in 1960, not that you’d know from the cover. From the family archive Eagles right-back Paul Hinshelwood and family prepare for his farewell. Two-fingered salutes On the Virgin label, Genesis made regular programme appearances. Marvel’s great lost comic book Wouldn’t we all like to see South Croydon’s finest save the world? Francis’ merry mullet Resembling Gerry Francis and Mike Flanagan’s much-anticipated LP, 1980’s annual looks like a banger. “Keep your eye on the ball!” Pen and paper out, everyone, and let’s play a game. Best goalkeeper sketch goes on the Chelsea cover.…

Super Soccer The ’92 SNES epic changed the view from bird’s-eye to behind one goal. If you attacked the far goal, though, you’d be better off using binoculars. Handlebar moustaches Everyone loves a bit of face fuzz, but the Victorian gentlemen who first brought football to worldwide appeal sported the pristine ’tache best. Fine work, old boy! Muddy pitches There’s no greater leveller in football than a quagmire of a pitch to bring a silky side down to a cloggers’ talent. Carpet-like surfaces are so overrated.…

SAM PEPYS Fitness expert The strength and conditioning coach is a master of movement training – it could prolong your playing days. Instagram: @sam_pepys_performance TEAMER Management tool If you’re in charge of a team, this app allows you to organise training and matches at the touch of a button. Twitter: @Teamer STEVEN SYLVESTER Psychologist The author of Detox Your Ego can aid your game by teaching you how to put team goals before your own. Twitter: @StevenSylvester…

LUCY BRONZE “I was England’s right-back for 10 years, and for a long time I didn’t notice anyone knocking on the door looking to take my place. Then Lucy came along and I was like, ‘This kid has got it’. I honestly think she’s the best right-back in the women’s game at the moment – and we’re lucky she’s English! She’s so athletic, and has the ability to get up and down the pitch to score crucial goals. Lucy’s got a great mentality, too. She didn’t just want to be England’s best right-back – she wanted to be the best in the world. You’d hope that every footballer has that mentality, but unfortunately they don’t.” CRISTIANE “She’s played at four World Cups and four Olympics but sadly didn’t quite win…

1 “BLUE RINSE, PLEASE” England London It wouldn’t be a World Cup summer without David Luiz causing amusement by blowing it in style. Thankfully, this time Luiz wasn’t reliving Brazil’s 7-1 defeat to Germany: he was blow-drying hair in deliberately comic fashion. Luiz tended to a Chelsea fan’s perm to promote the west Londoners’ deal with Hyundai – if it was anything like 2014, he probably looked like he could cut it at first, then got too adventurous and left it horribly short at the back. 2 FELINE LUCKY Russia Saint Petersburg All World Cups need a psychic animal, and Russia didn’t disappoint. It’s unfair to expect any creature to match the feats of Paul the Octopus, very much the Maradona ’86 of clairvoyant beasts, but Achilles the Cat gave…

Answers 1) Dan Petrescu; 2) Asamoah Gyan; 3) Albert Ferrer; 4) Andre Ooijer; 5) DaMarcus Beasley; 6) Jefferson Montero; 7) Stephane Guivarc’h; 8) Milenko Acimovic; 9) Nelson Vivas; 10) Eduardo Vargas; 11) Teddy Lucic; 12) Nikola Zigic; 13) Carlos Sanchez; 14) Li Tie; 15) Peter Odemwingie; 16) Christian Poulsen; 17) Andranik Teymourian; 18) Abel Hernandez; 19) Antolin Alcaraz; 20) Carlos Salcido JUST LIKE BEING THERE A Mexican fan was barred from going to the World Cup by his wife, so his pals took a lifesize cardboard cutout of him to Russia and then paraded it around the fanzone…

“EVERYONE KNOWS THAT SCORING GOALS ISN’T EXACTLY MY FIRST MISSION, BUT AT LAZIO I HAVE FREEDOM TO GO FORWARD” You were named player of the year in your first season at Lazio, so how happy have you been at your new club? It’s been really nice – I’ve settled down easily and quickly to Italy. I feel adapted to the football style of Lazio, and that’s important when you’re starting a journey with a new club. All of that made me play well in my first season. How frustrating was it to miss out on Champions League qualification on the season’s final day? Very. We worked hard for it and I felt we deserved to qualify as a reward for a good season. But that’s football. We made some mistakes…

HEAVY WORKLOAD Liverpool relied too much on their front three in 2017-18 – between them, they played 150 games. Rob Wilson FRESH BLOOD More should be invested in grassroots coaches – their fresh ideas could help many experienced bosses at the top level. Alan McKeown HAMMERS SWITCH I was really surprised when David Moyes got replaced at West Ham by Manuel Pellegrini. He was doing a decent job. Ashton Motley LOVE FOR FUTSAL I’m 16 and playing for a futsal team over the summer. It’s a fantastic way to practise skills – everyone should try it. Kylesh Danhawoor LEEDS GO LOCO I hope that Leeds give Marcelo Bielsa a bit of time. They can’t appoint a boss like him and sack him after two months. Paul Higgins LAST MONTH’S SPINE…

When Raul Sanllehi and Sven Mislintat arrived at Arsenal as heads of football relations and recruitment respectively last year, the writing was on the wall for Gunners autocrat Arsene Wenger. Once Sven has identified someone he wants to bring to London, it’s Sanllehi’s job to ensure the deal goes through and finalise details with the selling club and player’s agent. He’s a transfer fixer. The 49-year-old Catalan had done the same role at Barcelona since May 2008 as director of football, 18 months after first moving to Camp Nou, and was the main mediator in sealing mega-money moves for both Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool. Ex-Barça president Joan Laporta knew what he was getting when he promoted Sanllehi to transfer dealings. He headed up Nike’s operations in South…

When there’s a World Cup final on the horizon, you’ll do anything to take your mind off the big match. Relaxing on the lawns of their Roehampton training base, England’s players turned to a spot of cricket for some light relief in July 1966. Peter Bonetti preferred to put his nickname ‘The Cat’ aside and have a bat instead of fielding, as (left to right) Bobby Charlton, Alan Ball, Terry Paine, Bobby Moore and Gerry Byrne tried to snaffle the goalkeeper’s edge. Catch him!…

RAMON HOLIDAY Bilbao-born, naturalised Chilean Ramon Unzaga is said to have invented the spectacular move in the port city of Talcahuano in 1914. The Argentine press later christened it the ‘chilena’ after seeing Unzaga pull it off at the 1916 and 1920 Copas America. SHARING IDEAS Peruvian city Callao has claimed several creators. One of African descent apparently performed the move against British sailors back in 1892, while teams from Callao and the Chilean port of Valparaiso regularly faced each other in the late 19th century. BRAZIL TO BIRMINGHAM Nicknamed the ‘Rubber Man’, 1930s Brazilian star Leonidas declared ownership to anyone who’d listen to him. So too, for a while, did former Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis (above), who said he invented the kick during the Second World War. DEATH…

Hi Michael. Do you believe goalscorers are born or made? I think it’s a bit of both, to be honest. To be a goalscorer you have to be a certain type of person. You’ve got to be selfish and have an obsessive streak, which are both personality traits I believe you’re born with. Improving your goalscoring is all about quality practice and having the chance to work on your finishing in matches over and over again. What’s the best way for a forward to develop their finishing? I have a clear idea about how to create a world-class goalscorer. In the modern game, a lot of young players are moved up an age group in their academies to challenge them. They’ll still be good in that age group, so they’ll…

Gareth Bale Two goals, including an incredible bicycle kick, led Real Madrid to a third consecutive European Cup victory and 13th title overall. Graham Potter The Brummie worked miracles at Swedish minnows Ostersunds and will now attempt to perform his magic at relegated Swansea. Sergei Ignashevich At 38 years and 320 days, CSKA Moscow’s defender became the oldest man to play for Russia, overtaking the great Lev Yashin, who set the record in 1967. Giuseppe Iachini He led Sassuolo away from the Serie A drop zone with two losses in their last 12 games, but still got the sack. Barcelona B While the senior side romped to the La Liga title by 14 points, the reserves will play in Spain’s third tier next term after relegation. Leroy Sané Surprisingly cut…