Innehållsförteckning för January 2021 från FourFourTwo UK

It’s fair to say that 2020 was, er, different. But despite the world going mad, football did its best to soldier on. So, it’s only right that at the end of 12 peculiar months, FFT tips its hat to the winners of 2020 (yes, they do exist). France Football cancelled its Ballon d’Or, but we now have a pretty good idea about who would have picked up the top prizes after collecting votes from 128 journalists in 102 countries. Two players have every right to grumble. Jude Bellingham isn’t grumbling. The superb 17-year-old swapped Birmingham for Dortmund last summer, and now tells us all about it. But while Jude may just be starting out, others are nearing the end… or so you’d think. FFT caught up with an ever-entertaining Neil…

Liverpool 3 Aston Villa 0 January 18, 1997 Premier League “This was my full debut for Liverpool, and I managed to score on it, too! Patrik Berger felt unwell, and I was drafted in to play as a central midfielder. I was so full of adrenaline that I clobbered Andy Townsend during the first 20 seconds and got booked. But that actually settled me down, and I did all right alongside Jamie Redknapp. Five minutes into the second half, I put us in front by heading home a corner in front of the Kop. I was only 18. It was an amazing feeling with 40,000 fans cheering for me. That game changed everything – suddenly, I felt like a proper footballer.” Arsenal 1 Liverpool 2 May 12, 2001 FA Cup…

What was the first match that you ever saw live? Arsenal vs Newcastle in 1999-00 – my dad is a Newcastle fan, and everyone on my mum’s side supports Arsenal. I remember being really excited about the match and hoping to see loads of goals, but it was 0-0. I have affection for Newcastle because of my dad, and we always watch our games together. Who was your childhood hero and did you ever meet them? Ray Parlour [right]. I have a few, but if I’m honest with myself it was always Ray. I worked at Sky for about six years before I met him, and passed him on the stairs once but didn’t say anything. I met him properly when I worked on the Sir Bobby Robson golf tournament…

If the men’s game suffered in a COVID-ravaged 2020, then the women’s sadly had it worse. In England, the WSL was called to a halt in May with a third of its campaign remaining, meeting the same fate as its counterparts in France, Spain and Italy. In the United States, meanwhile, the NWSL didn’t even make it to pre-season – cancelled by March, with just a Fall Series to replace it. The USWNT have played only one international since March 12. That’s why you won’t notice the usual suspects on our shortlist this time around: Megan Rapinoe (our winner last year), Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath, for example. Instead, our voters – 27 from as many countries across the planet – made their picks for 2020 based on what they…

“DID YOU SEE THE LAST DANCE? I’M NOT MICHAEL JORDAN BUT I SEE MYSELF IN HIS WAY OF WORKING” “I haven’t come here as a mascot, to stand next to the devil and dance.” On January 3, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was unveiled for his second spell at Milan, and he had a message for his doubters. He could have easily delivered the same sentence three and a half years earlier, when he signed for Manchester United. Back then, aged 34, many asked if Zlatan was too old for the Premier League, after a supposedly easy life at Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. He responded emphatically with 28 goals in 2016-17. Fast-forward to 2020 and the 39-year-old is still scoring as regularly as ever. If some thought Zlatan’s return to Milan might…

“HE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE TO DO MUCH ANY MORE – HE INSTANTLY STRIKES PANIC INTO OPPOSITION DEFENDERS” A little nod from Brendan Rodgers was enough. Leicester’s trip to Arsenal in October was drifting towards a 0-0 draw, their talisman hunched on the bench having only recently recovered from a niggly calf knack. But then came the signal: warm up son, you’re on – that is, if ‘warm up’ meant binning off the stretches and chugging down a can of Red Bull, like Popeye on a sugar rush. The days of Jamie Vardy being powered by Lucozade, port and skittles vodka en route to Premier League glory may be long gone, but some things don’t change. And why would they? Twenty minutes later, the Foxes’ fearless frontman had cracked open a…

How did your transfer to Rangers happen? In February 1998, Dick Advocaat called me over during PSV training. He said, “I’m going to be Rangers manager next season – no one knows about it, but I want you to come with me.” I was perplexed and told him I needed time to consider it, but he was adamant that I should make a quick decision, so he could put things in motion. Without thinking a lot, I said yes. The only issue was there had to be another team interested, so it didn’t look like Advocaat was just taking his captain without any consideration towards PSV. At the time, Atletico Madrid wanted me, so I travelled to Spain. They asked me to convince Jaap Stam to join Atletico, too, but…

CLUBS  2005-14 Arsenal 2006-07 Birmingham (loan) 2011-12 Sunderland (loan) 2012-13 Juventus (loan) 2014-16 Wolfsburg 2016-17 Nottingham Forest 2017-19 Rosenborg 2019 Copenhagen 2020- Tarnby FF (M+32) COUNTRY 2006-18 Denmark In 2004, when Nicklas Bendtner was just 16, his father Thomas asked FC Copenhagen’s director of football if he could match the enticing offer they had received from Arsenal. Niels-Christian Holmstrom refused to negotiate. “It will all go to s**t for your son!” he declared. “He’ll never make it in England. No Dane ever has.” But over the next 16 years, Bendtner proved him wrong. He scored 45 goals in 171 matches for Arsenal, featured for Juventus, Sunderland, Birmingham, Wolfsburg and Rosenborg, and became Denmark’s eighth-highest scorer with an impressive 30 goals from 81 caps. And yet, for all of his achievements,…

In response to your feature about the rise of the WSL [FFT 319], I think it’s worth noting that getting to this point has been controversial. The league’s creation was as much to do with finance as sporting achievement – compounded in 2013 when newly monied Man City were allowed in at the expense of Doncaster Rovers Belles... one match into a season. For me, it went against the notion of competition and slightly taints the WSL’s legacy. The Belles won the WSL 2 in 2017-18, but decided not to go up due to funding. Instead, they sunk into the third tier. Daniel Cooke, via email…

One of the highlights of every Ballon d’Or vote is poring over the polls for puzzling choices. First, however, an explainer: FFT’s 30-strong shortlist was picked in-house, then passed to our global army of experts. Spare a thought for poor Angel Di Maria – the only man to get nil points. Curiously, four on the panel felt Robert Lewandowski deserved zilch. Tough crowd... 1 Robert Lewandowski (561 points) 2 Kevin De Bruyne (120 points)3 Sadio Mané (113 points)4 Lionel Messi (101 points)5 Cristiano Ronaldo (98 points)6 Manuel Neuer (69 points)7 Virgil van Dijk (67 points)8 Kylian Mbappe (64 points)9 Joshua Kimmich (59 points)10 Neymar (48 points)11 Erling Haaland (43 points)12 Mohamed Salah (42 points)13 Thomas Muller (36 points)14 Sergio Ramos (27 points)15= Thiago Alcantara (23 points)15= Serge Gnabry (23 points)17…

It’s a strange thing to look back on 2020. There’s so much that I’m sure we would all like to wipe from our memories – a year of isolation and loss for so many. At the same time, I know I’ll reflect on it at some point and think it was the most memorable year for me, football-wise. Nothing is given to you in sport. You sacrifice a lot, you give it everything each and every day, and you gamble it all on a ‘maybe’. There are no guarantees. Take Liverpool waiting 30 years for the title. Or Scotland suffering for 22 years without making it to a major tournament. Those were two causes that we took on. We gambled on that, and now we have something to show for…

KEVIN KEEGAN Hamburg nearly doubled the German transfer record to net Keegan from European champions Liverpool in the summer of 1977. After a miserable opening campaign, things changed rapidly – by 1979, Hamburg were crowned West German kings for the first time since 1960, then reached the European Cup final a year later. ‘Mighty Mouse’ bagged successive Ballons d’Or along the way, recorded a single which reached No.10 in the German charts and even helped popularise the perm before heading back to Blighty with Southampton in 1980. Sehr gut! TONY WOODCOCK Six months after winning the 1979 European Cup under Brian Clough, Woodcock left Nottingham Forest for Köln in a meaty £600,000 deal. The striker spent three happy years with the Billy Goats, hitting 28 goals, and formed a feared…

Aston Villa fans who bang on about how good Jack Grealish is and always has been are like that boring mate who first watched Oasis in some obscure working men’s club in Oldham. That filthy flick against Belgium? “Yeah, pal – I watched him doing that as a teenager on loan at Notts County.” Now that the secret is finally out, the claret-and-blue faithful are rightly revelling in telling you they told you so, while Super(sonic) Jack shows you so. Grealish dragged his boyhood club into the Premier League, then kept a vulnerable Villa there with eight goals and six assists last season. At the start of 2020-21, he launched them up the table with four more goals and five assists by late November. For a while, that still looked…

You retired in October after leaving West Ham in the summer. Why did you take the decision to stop playing at 35? It was the right moment. During my last year in England, I knew my time there was coming to an end. I waited over the summer in case there was something that might interest me, and there were proposals from three clubs in Spain and one in Turkey, but nothing excited me. I also considered the pandemic situation and didn’t want to leave my family far away. We’re in Barcelona now. We have friends and a good quality of life here. Is it hard to accept that your career is over? Not at all. The wear of playing in the Premier League is significant. After so many years…

You’re one of a small number of footballers to have played in all four divisions – which step up did you find most difficult? Stepping up to the Premier League was the most difficult for me. I couldn’t comprehend the pace, how quick everyone was and how quickly the ball was moved around the pitch. It was a massive eye-opener for me. It took me a little time to adapt, and I had doubts about myself. I lost weight when I played at Sunderland, not through worry but because the training was much faster and the games were so intense. It was bloody tough. You started your career at Preston under John Beck – what did you think of him? His style of football was often criticised, but Preston couldn’t…

THE GAFFER SIR ALEX FERGUSON “It may seem an obvious one, but I’m actually stuck between two bosses for my greatest ever. I’ll go for my club manager, though, in Sir Alex. He just edges Sir Bobby Robson with England.” PETER SCHMEICHEL “Obviously I’ve got the big ugly Dane in goal. Peter was always such a huge presence, and vocal. He wanted everything to be perfect in front of him, and didn’t enjoy having to come and catch crosses or save shots. He wanted his afternoon to be as easy as possible, and would shout at you about everything. There’s nothing wrong with that: look at all the saves he made when he was needed.” DENIS IRWIN “There might be an argument about this one, as I’m moving Denis from…

01 Former Republic of Ireland gaffer Mick McCarthy made his return to the touchline in October – which European team hired him? 02 Who is now England Under-21s’ record scorer, having netted his 14th goal against Turkey? 03 Which two sides played out the first Premier League fixture of Project Restart back on June 17? 04 One League Two club was given a reprieve from relegation after Macclesfield were sanctioned – who were the lucky survivors? 05 Man United set a new Premier League record for penalties won last season – with how many? 06 Who headed the winning goal in Lisbon as Bayern Munich beat PSG to secure 2020 Champions League Final glory? 07 Which ex-Wimbledon midfielder released his well-received and moving book Lost Without You: Loving and Losing…

You began the season as a regular at Montpellier, and the team got off to a good start. Do you still love football as much as ever? No doubt about it. I’m only playing at 43 because of my passion – that’s the same as when I grew up with a ball at my feet in Brazil. I wake up every day with a smile, knowing I’ll play football one more day. My original plan was to play until I was 40 – I didn’t expect I’d go beyond that, and still be a starter and captain. There were 40-year-olds still in the game, but not playing every week. The one who really inspired me was Ze Roberto, who became a proper athlete in its literal meaning. What’s the secret…

ANGEL DI MARIA PSG | Argentina | 0 PTS Alas, the only man with zero votes – but his place on our 30-strong shortlist recognises a fine year for the ex-Manchester United flop. While Neymar and Kylian Mbappe hogged the spotlights, Di Maria kept busy conducting the orchestra. The 32-year-old’s outstanding vision cut through defences as PSG reached a first Champions League final, while his 14 Ligue 1 assists last term were twice as many as any other footballer in France’s top flight. JORDAN HENDERSON Liverpool | England | 1 PT It’s easy to point out Henderson’s leadership skills as the reason why he’s one of the first names on Jurgen Klopp’s team-sheet. It does, however, ignore what a supreme midfielder he has grown into. Henderson rarely wastes a ball,…

MATT LE TISSIER Southampton Le Tiss racked up 100 goals and 64 assists in 270 Premier League games for Southampton – remarkable figures in a side that never came any higher than 10th from 1992-2002, and were routinely among the favourites for relegation. “I knew I should have worked on my fitness more, but I also knew that I had the ability to change games without being as fit as others,” he told FFT in 2010. Undeniably true. Without him, Saints went down three years later. TOM FINNEY Preston The 76-cap England legend once accurately declared that “a one-man team has never existed anywhere”, although there was little doubting his influence at post-war Deepdale. “Finney should claim income tax relief for his 10 drips,” one pithy scribe wrote of the…

You kicked off your career in non-league at Wealdstone. Did you think you’d make it as a professional? No – I really had no idea whether I’d be good enough to get beyond the youth team. I got into the first team at the end of that season – not on form, but because we were playing Saturday-Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday and a lot of senior lads couldn’t take the time off work. I thought, ‘I’m getting £15 a week to be semi-pro – this is brilliant’. I was 21 when I turned pro with Coventry. Even when you joined Nottingham Forest in 1985, you regularly advertised for work as an electrician in the programme. Why? For the cash! I set up my own business when I moved to Coventry. I went from…