Innehållsförteckning för September 2022 från FourFourTwo UK

Few people have had a life quite as eventful as Bruce Grobbelaar. Born in South Africa before growing up in Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe, Grobbelaar fought in a civil war, headed to Vancouver to take on Pele & Co, then made his home in Liverpool via a spell as a goalscoring goalkeeper at Crewe. The jelly-legged hero of Liverpool’s 1984 European Cup Final victory over Roma also won six league titles, three FA Cups and three League Cups in his 13 years at Anfield, which produced a total of 628 appearances, the ninth highest tally in the club’s history. After making his debut in 1981, he didn’t miss a game for five years, playing 310 consecutive matches. All of that followed a bizarre journey from Vancouver to Merseyside, then…

The UEFA Nations League may have looked like a bunch of meaningless matches this summer, but for Kazakhstan & Co, things are about to get a whole lot more important. The final two rounds of Nations League matches take place in September – England will be bidding to avoid an embarrassing demotion from League A, while Wales are in danger of the same fate, but there’s far more than just promotion and relegation at stake across the tournament. Nations League finishing positions will determine the seeding for October’s Euro 2024 qualifying draw – particularly important for Scotland and Ireland, needing to top their group in League B to guarantee themselves as a second seed. When Euros qualifying takes place next year, the top two sides in each group progress directly…

THE TRIGGER It’s all about Wanda-lust. Wanda Nara, that is, the model and wife of former Barcelona forward Maxi Lopez – or she was, until they announced their divorce in 2013. Five months later, she married Mauro Icardi. Lopez was Icardi’s hero, then team-mate at Sampdoria, even something of a mentor – it’s like Luke Skywalker eloping with Mrs Kenobi. THE FEUD After Wanda and Mauro wed, the inkloving striker added insult to injury by getting the names of Maxi’s three kids with Nara tattooed on his arm – it’s a wonder he didn’t turn up at Lopez’s house and try to lure away his dog, to really rub it in. That soap opera added spice to their on-field meetings, and Lopez turned swerving handshakes into an art form. Inter…

“THE LAST YEAR’S BEEN HOLLYWOOD-ESQUE WITH SOME DRAMATIC TWISTS AND TURNS – IT’D MAKE ONE HELL OF A MOVIE…” “The greatest comeback in Danish sporting history, no doubt. Watching his rise from being technically dead to pulling that famous red shirt of Manchester United over his head, it’s been remarkable.” Lasse Voge, the chief football writer at BT, Denmark’s biggest sports daily, couldn’t have summed it up better. Fourteen months ago, the world watched aghast as Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during his country’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland. His life was hanging in the balance back then, never mind his career. The chances of him returning to action appeared remote, even after his revival on the pitch that day at Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium. Months of silence and uncertainty…

“I do speak to players during the game,” reveals Mike Dean, dressed for the summer in T-shirt and shorts, shooting the breeze with FFT in a hotel coffee bar off the M6. “Sometimes if they’ve scored and are too busy celebrating as they jog back to the halfway line, I’ll put a finger to my earpiece and say, ‘Hang on, there’s a VAR check. It might be offside…’” He chuckles at the memory of it, as that’s exactly what it is – a memory. Since retiring at the end of last season, Dean won’t be doing that any more – or adding to his record number of Premier League red cards, or vexing broadsheet commentators who resented his assessment of himself as an ‘entertainer’. In the deadly dull world of…

ARJAN DE ZEEUW After retiring in 2009, the ex-Barnsley, Wigan and Portsmouth centre-back returned to his native Netherlands and began training as an investigative detective, specialising in forensics. KEN MONKOU A popular defender for both Chelsea and Southampton, the Dutchman reinvented himself post-retirement as a pancake chef, owning the Old Town Pancake House near Rotterdam. KEVIN KYLE As well as entering the BDO Scottish Open darts tournament, the former Sunderland striker became a ferry storeman, working on a ship housing oil workers in the Shetland Islands. TIM WIESE The six-cap Germany goalkeeper’s career came to an end in 2014, his physique described as better suited to bodybuilding than football. So he turned to WWE wrestling, of course.…

The Football League has thrown up its fair share of weird results over the years – few have been as odd as Colchester’s visit to Carrow Road in August 2009. Suffice to say, Norwich City wasn’t a massively happy place back then – the Canaries had been in the Premier League in 2005, but dropped out of the top tier that year and went down again four seasons later. After boss Glenn Roeder got the boot midway through the Championship relegation campaign, in had walked club legend Bryan Gunn – City’s goalkeeper for the famous UEFA Cup win at Bayern Munich. The change didn’t have the desired effect: five defeats in their last six encounters consigned them to the third division for the first time since 1959-60. Not to worry,…

You were just 20 when you were part of the Sweden squad that came third at USA 94, playing alongside Tomas Brolin and Henrik Larsson. What did you learn? It was more of a disappointment, as I didn’t play more. I didn’t feel like I could celebrate. You have the bronze medal around your neck and you’re proud of it, but at the time I was angry. When the Champions League started in the autumn, I was hungry to prove myself. After impressing at IFK Goteborg, some of Europe’s biggest sides wanted to sign you. How did you decide where to go? I had a call from Kevin Keegan at Newcastle. I had a representative from Barcelona come to Gothenburg, and we also chatted to Alex Ferguson. But for me,…

GROUP A ENGLAND 1 AUSTRIA 0 “When the tournament got underway, you could sense that something special was in the air. There were 68,000 fans at Old Trafford – it felt like a Manchester United matchday, with the quantity of people around the city before kick-off, wearing shirts and singing. Something big was about to happen. The match itself was very tense – the crowd were waiting for a goal. When it finally came, it was beautifully crafted by Fran Kirby, who was magnificent that night, and finished by Beth Mead. It lit up the whole stadium – the way fans celebrated was really special, and it started to capture the imagination of people around the country. It was a great way to start the tournament.” GROUP A ENGLAND 8…

1 “I KNOW IT’S TERRIBLE – JUST SMILE AND CLAP POLITELY” When Argentina’s under-20 team arrived in Spain for a friendly competition, they got way more than they had bargained for. The annual COTIF youth tournament has been held in L’Alcudia near Valencia since 1984, featuring a pleasingly random assortment of sides – the USSR and Algeria tussled with Aberdeen in 1988, a year before East Germany battled Athletic Bilbao. This time an Argentina outfit managed by Javier Mascherano travelled to take on Uruguay, Valencia and Levante, and the locals had prepared a special surprise – Argentine FA president Claudio Tapia was presented with a bust of Diego Maradona, lovingly created by local artist Rafa Ferri. One problem: er, it looks nothing like Diego? “This only strengthens the ties COTIF…

“I SLIPPED AND HIT THE BALL TWICE – I’M GRATEFUL THAT THERE WAS NO VAR” PSV Eindhoven 2 RKC Waalwijk 2 December 6, 1994 Eredivisie “This confirmed I had what it took to be a footballer. I scored twice and they were my first professional goals, so this match will always have fond memories for me. I was just making my way in the game, alongside the original Ronaldo, so to overshadow him took some doing, but I somehow did with a spectacular volley. I’d always felt that I was good enough to go places, but then again, lots of pro footballers feel exactly the same. This match at the Philips Stadion reinforced my self-belief and convinced me that I could handle life among experienced professionals. It also won me…

1992-93 RED RAG TO A BULL Brian Deane scored the Premier League’s first ever goal, but who hit the Champions League’s inaugural strike in the very same year? The rebranded competition didn’t officially kick off until November’s group stage – the previous knockout rounds still went by the name of the European Cup, featuring Leeds’ weird win over Stuttgart at the Camp Nou: after the Yorkshiremen lost the first leg 3-0, the Germans fielded an ineligible player in the second. Leeds were awarded a 3-0 victory, then a third game, in Barcelona, was needed to finally settle the tie. Rangers beat Leeds in the next round, and almost reached the final – Marseille made it to the showpiece after pipping them to top spot in a group also containing Club…

More than 82,000 were packed inside the stadium, ready to witness one of Serie A’s great No.10s on the biggest day of his club career. All season long, he’d dazzled fans with extraordinary dribbling skills, befuddling defences, driving his team ever closer to glory. Now, he was ready to get his hands on the Scudetto. On May 10, 1987, supporters had turned up at Stadio San Paolo to see Diego Maradona deliver Napoli’s first ever league title. So monumental was the achievement, so memorable the occasion, that later that evening, as joyous crowds celebrated throughout the city, fans famously hung a banner outside Naples’ biggest cemetery. “You don’t know what you’ve missed,” stated the sign. Thankfully, the Partenopei needed only a draw to clinch the crown that day, because they…

In the early hours of February 24, the players of FC Mariupol made their way to the airport. A difficult first half of the season had rooted them to the foot of the Ukrainian Premier League table – 14 of 18 matches had ended in defeat. After heading to a mid-season training camp in Turkey to regroup, they were ready to return home. In three days’ time, they were due to resume their league campaign with an away match at Chornomorets Odesa. However, when they arrived at Antalya airport, they received the devastating news. Their plane would not be taking off. Ukraine had been invaded. In the six months since then, the city of Mariupol has become known the world over, for reasons synonymous with suffering and destruction. Before the…

Whenever FFT considers a mash-up between military and football, cult film Escape to Victory immediately leaps to mind. But while the Allies’ unit of prisoners – including Pele, Bobby Moore and, er, Sylvester Stallone – were obsessed with getting out of a Nazi camp, the modern challenge of facing a military team appears to be getting in… That’s because RAF Lossiemouth, a club in the Moray & District Welfare League in northern Scotland, host fixtures in what must be one of the most secure grounds in the country: a military base. “Forty-eight hours before a match, we need everyone’s full name, date of birth, place of birth and a postcode to get on camp, and then we escort them everywhere they go,” explains RAF Lossiemouth boss Dean McKellar. “Some teams…

You were born and raised in Ipswich – how did you end up joining Norwich rather than the Tractor Boys as a kid? I went for a trial at Ipswich, training with the first team, and did all right. It was coming up to the end of my time there and they couldn’t decide whether or not to offer me a contract. They asked me to sign on for an extra week or so. I was a little disappointed about that, and wondered if staying for one more week would do enough to convince them. At the time, I had a friend directly across the road from me who was training at Norwich. I kept knocking on his door and asking him to take me to a training session. He…

A single moment can alter everything – it can change perceptions, break new frontiers and attract a whole new generation of fans. Alessia Russo’s semi-final backheel against Sweden was that kind of moment. I watched that incredible goal with my daughter, and suddenly had the feeling of being in a car dropping over the crest of a hill. My stomach turned over. I just thought, ‘Wow, something special is happening here’. Nobody mentioned ‘women’s football’ when that goal went in – it was just football. The barriers were down. “ENGLAND BROUGHT FOOTBALL HOME. NOW IT’S UP TO US TO KEEP THE LEGACY BURNING” Euro 2022 provided a whole summer of extraordinary moments like that. England supporters had the privilege of seeing the Lionesses lift the trophy on July 31, but…

What was the first game that you ever attended? My dad took me along to Leicester vs Liverpool at Filbert Street in 1986. Back then you could get close to the players – he took me close to the tunnel, and I shook Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish’s hands. Meeting Rush was a big deal, as my family is Italian and he was going there to play for Juventus, which was very rare back then. We lost and I was only five, but I knew then that the team in blue had hooked me, and I was in it for life. Do you have a matchday routine? If it’s a big game, I’ll probably meet a few pals I’ve been going to matches with for 25 or 30 years, but…

VISIT THE HOME OF THE FOOTBALL QUIZ fourfourtwo.com/quiz 01 Wayne Rooney (right) is back in MLS, for his first role as a gaffer since leaving Derby. Which side has he taken charge of? 02 Which England and Arsenal player scored the opening goal of the 2022 Women’s Euros? 03 Paul Pogba exited Manchester United for the second time this summer. From whose academy did the Red Devils originally bag him? 04 Birmingham replaced boss Lee Bowyer with which ex-Coventry and Watford midfielder in July? 05 World Cup winner Mario Götze has returned to the Bundesliga, signing for Eintracht Frankfurt. Where did he spend the last two years? 06 Gareth Bale became the second big-name acquisition for LAFC in 2022, following which Serie A star through the door? 07 Which League…

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CARLOS TEVEZ Manchester United were Premier League winners in 2007, but lost to Milan in the Champions League last four. Then Tevez rocked up from West Ham and alongside Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, the trio secured European glory in 2008. GARETH BALE Real Madrid had waited over a decade for La Decima – again Ronaldo couldn’t do it without a bit of help, provided by Bale’s arrival in 2013. Within 12 months, the Welshman had netted in a Champions League final victory over rivals Atletico. LUIS SUAREZ As Paris Saint-Germain again showed last term, Lionel Messi and Neymar isn’t necessarily a combination that will win you the Champions League. MSN certainly was, after Suarez signed for Barcelona in 2014, then smashed seven goals en route to lifting Ol’ Big…

Among the greatest ever days in Derby County’s 138-year history, one ranks pretty high right now. After FA Cup glory in 1946, and two league titles in the 1970s, add to that list July 1, 2022. At 6.52pm that evening, Rams fans received the news their tortured hearts had long hoped for. “The rebuild starts now,” Derby’s official Twitter gleefully announced. “Lifelong supporter David Clowes is our new owner.” In an open letter to supporters, the chairman of property agents Clowes Developments resisted “extravagant promises”, admitting his reluctance to even purchase the club at all. “The decision to get involved has not been an easy one,” wrote the qualified pilot, worth a reported £252 million. “As a private person, I’d prefer to remain an anonymous supporter, watching the team from…

Dean Windass can still remember the first time he didn’t have to get up for training. While his team-mates, fresh back from their summer holidays, trudged in for day one of a gruelling pre-season schedule, the then 41-year-old stayed tucked up in bed. A few months earlier, the striker had played his final professional match, calling time on a two-decade career that took in 10 clubs, including spells in the Premier League and Scotland’s top flight. Windass scored more than 200 goals and had lived the dream at hometown team Hull City, where he’s still idolised to this day. Understandably, he had never wanted it to end. “I prolonged my playing days for as long as I could,” Windass, now aged 53, tells FFT. “I never took being a footballer…

FC Mariupol aren’t the only club to have withdrawn from the Ukrainian Premier League – Desna Chernihiv have also temporarily suspended participation after their stadium was bombed. At the halfway point last season, Desna sat seventh in the table but Chernihiv, just 80 miles from Kyiv, came under attack from Russian forces early on in the invasion. The area was encircled and Chernihiv’s ground suffered widespread destruction, including a massive crater in the middle of the pitch. Russia later withdrew from the region to focus its assault on the east of Ukraine, but the damage will take some time to repair.…

The clichés are well-worn, about light at the end of the tunnel, or a corner that will soon be turned. During the 1973-74 season, there was none of that for Rochdale. In the history of the Football League, no club has ever won fewer matches in a 46-game campaign. Twelve years earlier, the Spotland side had achieved the remarkable – despite finishing 12th in the Fourth Division in 1961-62, they reached the League Cup final in what was the second edition of the competition. Tony Collins became the first BAME boss to manage a team in an English final, though second-tier Norwich won the opening leg 3-0 in Greater Manchester, then confirmed their maiden major trophy triumph thanks to a 1-0 victory at Carrow Road. In 1969, Dale were promoted…