Innehållsförteckning för March 2023 från FourFourTwo UK

The terms ‘Greatest of All Time’ and slightly more tedious ‘GOAT’ have been common in football lexicon for years. And like all things they get used out of context – there have been references to players being GOATs in League Two and games where it is the battle of the GOATs – by definition both are wrong. Anyway, when it comes to picking the best player of all time, younger fans will say the argument of late has been between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Those a bit older will say that neither are fit to lace either Diego Maradona or Pele’s boots, while others may plump for Ferenc Puskas or Zinedine Zidane as their number one. Many feel the debate is settled now that Messi has won a World…

HOW(NOT) TO BE STRONG Alex Scott (Century, £20) A highly decorated footballer and respected broadcaster she may be, but Alex Scott’s autobiography shows that her route to the top was anything but straightforward. The picture she paints of her childhood, involving emotional and physical abuse, is troubling. At Arsenal during the early Noughties, when wages were notoriously low in the women’s game, the teenage right-back made ends meet by working in the laundry and washing the men’s kit at Highbury amid the Invincibles era. Failing to make the breakthrough in N5 only fuelled her willingness to take risks, moving to the US to play for Boston Breakers. Following the end of her career in 2018 (she totalled three separate Arsenal spells and won 140 England caps), her rise as a…

You grew up in Belgium, after your parents moved there from England. Did you ever come close to making it as a professional player? When I was a kid, I came up through Sint-Truiden’s youth academy. I played at the elite standard of Belgian youth football, then when I was 18 I went to England to do a degree in football coaching at Myerscough College in Preston. I was still turning out for the college where there were links with Stockport County and several other clubs, but I wasn’t getting the same chances as some of the other players and decided that I probably wasn’t physically or mentally made out to be a professional footballer. How did you move into coaching? I got the bug from coaching the kids and…

Messi had scored fewer than five goals for Barcelona when FFT interviewed the 18-year-old and his team-mate Ronaldinho in late 2005 – the Brazilian could see the future. “Best in the world? I’m not even the best at Barça,” Ronaldinho said on the front cover of our magazine – a bold statement, considering he won the Ballon d’Or around the time of our visit. Messi, by contrast, had only just made his debut for Argentina, but Ronnie had already seen enough to know how special he would become. “One name I’d watch out for would be Lionel Messi,” he told FFT. “He’s like my little brother here – he might be from Argentina and I’m from Brazil, but I look after him. He’s going to be excellent.” That teenager became…

Paco Gento remains the only player to have appeared in six European Cup final wins, but three players moved to within a whisker of equalling the left-winger’s record last May – Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and, er, right-back mainstay Dani Carvajal. The triumvirate are the only players to have featured in all five of Real Madrid’s Champions League final victories over the past nine years. Casemiro, Marcelo, Gareth Bale, Nacho and Isco were at the club but didn’t play in every showpiece, while Toni Kroos sits on four, having missed Bayern Munich’s 2013 triumph against Borussia Dortmund through injury, then moved to the Bernabeu in 2014. This season represents an opportunity for Carvajal & Co. Cristiano Ronaldo reached five triumphs in 2018 but looks like he’ll be stuck there for…

Inter’s two strikers had a personal duel at the World Cup to see who was least likely to hit a cow’s backside with a banjo. Sure, Martinez won the thing but his own performances fell off a cliff. After having two goals disallowed for offside in the surprise defeat to Saudi Arabia, he got dropped for Julian Alvarez before proceeding to stink up the place whenever he came on as a sub. And things were even worse for Lukaku, who must have wished he hadn’t bothered battling back from injury, missing so many chances against Croatia the entire planet was beginning to feel a bit sorry for him. It’s been a stop-start campaign for the Belgian in his second Nerazzurri spell, but Martinez’s record has been solid – he hit…

In Bruges, what was the manager’s reward for sealing a spot in the Champions League knockouts for the first time? The sack. Colin Farrell may or may not have been involved. Former Stoke and West Brom defender Carl Hoefkens was only appointed in the summer, then guided the Belgian champions to wins over Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid and Porto in their first three matches. Incredibly, they won 4-0 in Portugal. A 0-0 draw in Madrid put them through with a couple of games to spare, a year after finishing bottom of their previous Champions League group, but such feats weren’t enough to keep the club hierarchy happy. After Bruges/Club Brugge (the world is yet to make its mind up) won one in five league games – dropping to fourth in…

RETURNING FROM ACL SURGERY, ZLATAN HAS PROMISED TO “COME BACK WITH VIOLENCE” Milan against Tottenham in the Champions League last 16 conjures up one image – sorry, Crouchy, it’s not your San Siro goal. At the end of that same 2011 showdown, the frontman’s heroics were overshadowed by a colossal coming together of two eras: Seventies hard man vs Noughties hard man, as Joe Jordan went toe-to-toe with Gennaro Gattuso in a battle for the history books. The Italian had already taken the risky decision to shove Jordan during the game itself, and by the final whistle the Scot was ready for a duel (taking his glasses off), only for Gattuso to headbutt the Spurs assistant and receive a four-match suspension. Will there be similar shenanigans this time? On his…

FAUSTINO ASPRILLA He came, he saw, he was half-cut for his debut. Thinking he wouldn’t be involved when Newcastle played Middlesbrough shortly after he signed in February 1996, the Colombian had a glass of wine at lunch. Hours later, he nutmegged a Boro defender with a drag-back and set up an equaliser in a come-from-behind victory. NOLBERTO SOLANO Only Eastenders’ Sonia Jackson can match the Peruvian for setting the cultural zeitgeist with a trumpet. Solano’s salsa band The Geordie Latinos were a central part to his hero status in two Tyneside spells, which totalled eight years and took in a 1999 FA Cup Final appearance. GEORGE ROBLEDO Born to a Chilean father and English mother, Robledo moved with the family to Brampton, Yorkshire, aged five as a result of political…

You started your career at John Beck’s Cambridge United. That must have been some football education… I broke into the Cambridge team aged 16. From the outside, it might seem like horrible long-ball stuff, but there was method to John’s madness. He played the statistics and forged such a strong unit. It was successful, too. As a lad, I had to chuck buckets of freezing cold water over our players before kick-off, as John wanted them fired up for the game! He had so many little ideas like that – all to get an edge. It taught me the value of team spirit and helped to turn me into a proper professional. You joined Everton in 1994, but didn’t play much as they won the FA Cup. Did you expect…

JAMES TRAFFORD BOLTON (ON LOAN FROM MAN CITY) THE LOWDOWN Born near the Lake District and raised on a farm, Trafford was on Carlisle’s books before joining Manchester City aged 12. A third-tier loan at Accrington was followed by another at Bolton in January 2022, and in helping the Trotters to climb the table he earned a new five-year deal at his parent club. So impressed was Ian Evatt, the Wanderers boss took Trafford back on loan this term, and the England Under-21s stopper has been a mainstay in Bolton’s push to finish in the League One play-offs. HIGHLIGHT Trafford is adept with his feet, thanks to his City upbringing, but he also kept four clean sheets in his first four outings for Bolton: the first keeper in their history…

1 CROSSED PURPOSES Queen’s Park, formed on July 9, 1867, are the oldest association football club in Scotland and in 1875 introduced the crossbar to the laws of the game. The Spiders joined the (English) Football Association in 1870 and were one of eight teams to pay for the first FA Cup, exiting in the semis because they couldn’t afford to return to London for a replay at Wanderers. Runners-up in 1884 and 1885, they were banned from entering again by the newly formed SFA in 1887. 2 PASS MASTERS Forget tiki-taka, Queen’s Park all-but invented passing football, favouring the combination game over dribbling, and provided every Scotland player in the world’s first international fixture in 1872 against England. The game finished 0-0. 3 EQUALITY PIONEERS The son of a…

THE GAFFER OTTO REHHAGEL “A hard decision as I had Sam Allardyce in mind, but everyone in Greece loves Otto after the Euros. He had the character to handle big personalities and knew how to keep his dressing room happy.” THE SUBS 01 RICARDO GARDNER 02 DIOUFEL HADJI 03 YOURI DJORKAEFF JUSSI JAASKELAINEN “Jussi was so good in one-on-one situations and such a hard-working professional – the first to arrive at the training ground and the last to leave. He was one of the players that made up the backbone of that Bolton team. You felt better and secure with him in goal.” GIOURKAS SEITARIDIS “Giourkas had a brilliant Euro 2004. He could compete physically with any opponent – even Thierry Henry and a young Cristiano Ronaldo that summer. He…

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT In the big law and order derby in Niger’s top flight, Police secured a 2-0 win over Liberte (Freedom) Which was the first match that you ever went to? I actually got into football quite late, when I started playing at around 11. There were a few Manchester United fans in the family, so the first match I ever went to was an unbelievable first game: the FA Cup fifth round tie against Arsenal in February 2003 – the match when Sir Alex Ferguson kicked the boot and hit David Beckham! My best memories come from Doncaster, who are the only club I support now. We had a fantastic League Cup run in 2005 – we beat Manchester City on penalties, then beat Aston Villa 3-0 and lost…

STEVE BOULD Arsene Wenger’s long-serving assistant at Arsenal, the legendary Gunners centre-back became the club’s Under-23s boss for a period. He moved abroad last summer to try his senior coaching hand with Belgian second division side Lommel, owned by the City Football Group. STEVEN TAYLOR The former Newcastle defender retired in 2021, after spells in New Zealand and India. His first job in the dugout came outside of Europe, too – in early 2022, he was appointed boss of Gulf United, guiding them to victory over Fleetwood Town affiliates Fleetwood United in the UAE third-tier play-offs. STEPHEN CONSTANTINE The Londoner went abroad to coach in the US and Cyprus, then became Nepal manager in 1999. Later took charge of India, Malawi and Sudan, then three Cypriot clubs, headed to Rwanda,…

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI • DIDI • GIANLUIGI BUFFON GUNTER NETZER • PAOLO ROSSI • KYLIAN MBAPPE KENNY DALGLISH • MICHAEL LAUDRUP • BOBBY MOORE PACO GENTO • LUIS SUAREZ • ROMARIO • MATTHIAS SINDELAR VALENTINO MAZZOLA • STANLEY MATTHEWS • RIVALDO RAYMOND KOPA • LOTHAR MATTHAUS • SOCRATES MANUEL NEUER • RUUD GULLIT • THIERRY HENRY LUKA MODRIC • ROBERTO BAGGIO • CARLOS ALBERTO FRANCO BARESI • ANDRES INIESTA • XAVI • LEV YASHIN RONALDINHO • GIUSEPPE MEAZZA • PAOLO MALDINI BOBBY CHARLTON • GARRINCHA • EUSEBIO • ZICO MARCO VAN BASTEN • MICHEL PLATINI • FERENC PUSKAS GERD MULLER • GEORGE BEST • RONALDO • ALFREDO DI STEFANO FRANZ BECKENBAUER • ZINEDINE ZIDANE • JOHAN CRUYFF CRISTIANO RONALDO • DIEGO MARADONA • PELE • LIONEL MESSI 50 ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI But for…

“Now it’s revenge,” Salah said, before Real Madrid were even confirmed as Liverpool’s 2022 Champions League Final opponents. The Egyptian couldn’t resist making his intentions clear after disposing of Villarreal – either Madrid or Manchester City came next. “We have a score to settle,” he posted on Instagram with the former guaranteed. That score specifically was 3-1 – the margin by which the Reds lost the 2018 final, Sergio Ramos strong-arming Salah off the field not to return, and in the 2021 last eight. Paris was supposedly the moment Salah laid his ghosts to rest, only for the Reds to fall 1-0. Salah will have his vengeance, though, in this life or the next. A few months ago, it was looking like the next, until Liverpool were drawn to face…

Everybody has known about Bellingham’s potential for some time, but this has been the 19-year-old’s breakout season at the highest level, even before the World Cup. A Champions League goalscorer aged just 17 in a quarter-final against Manchester City two seasons ago, Bellingham ensured there would be no repeat of Borussia Dortmund’s surprising group-stage exit last term, netting in each of their first four fixtures in 2022-23 against FC Copenhagen, City (again), then in two matches against Sevilla. At the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, he even captained the side. Previously, the only other teenager in Champions League history to score in each of the first four matches of a campaign had been Erling Haaland. Bellingham probably isn’t going to keep plundering goals at the Norwegian’s ludicrous rate, but a stellar World…

STEVEN PRESSLEY COVENTRY TO DUNDEE UTD | 1995 £750,000 PEDIGREE Pressley joined Rangers aged 17, having impressed playing for amateur outfit Inverkeithing United Boys Club. After 34 league appearances, two SPL titles and one Scottish Cup, the defender had a mixed Premier League year with Coventry in 1994-95 before going back north as the newly-relegated Dundee United’s record signing. THE SITUATION The Terrors – UEFA Cup finalists just eight years earlier – got the chequebook out for their first campaign outside the top tier since 1960. Desperate to bounce back immediately, they splashed a combined £1.5m-plus on Gary McSwegan, Owen Coyle and ‘Elvis’. GOOD VALUE? With Pressley’s grizzled defensive nous, superb leadership and handy knack for scoring pressure penalties, the Tangerines went up through the play-offs, came third in their first…

Having grown up in Lima, what proved the biggest culture shock when you moved to Werder Bremen in Germany? I was shocked at how clean the city was, but the biggest shock was definitely the weather: completely different to what I was used to. It was cold, it rained a lot, and the snow, wow – that was something I’d never seen in my life! You sealed a big move to Bayern Munich in 2001. What made you choose Bavaria? There were a few massive teams interested: Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Juventus. I chose Bayern because I was already in the Bundesliga and it was also the best offer at the time. At 22, that’s what you’re looking for. Most of the decisions I made in…

THE TRIGGER Pairing a renowned red-card merchant with a man nicknamed ‘AK47’ seems risky when Fulham recruit Mitrovic from Newcastle in 2018, but it goes pretty well for 11 months. Mitro and Kamara help the Cottagers into the Premier League, where they win a late penalty in a home fixture with relegation rivals Huddersfield. Good news, yes? Er, no. THE FEUD Despite Mitrovic being the designated penalty taker, Kamara grabs the ball and refuses to let go, ignoring a flurry of finger pointing from his team-mate in a furious dispute. AK47 hits the spotkick at keeper Jonas Lossl. “I wanted to kill him,” boss Claudio Ranieri says afterwards. Mitro tells him to get in line. THE REVENGE Yoga is supposed to be calming, but not when Mitrovic and Kamara are…

With two goals in a resounding Brazil win, a teenage striker announced himself on the global stage at the 1958 World Cup. Already a star of his country’s Campeonato Paulista, for clubs in and around Sao Paulo, he had travelled to Sweden as one of South America’s brightest talents, eager to deliver the Selecao their first ever World Cup trophy. In the tiny town of Uddevalla, north of Gothenburg, things couldn’t have begun any better for 19-year-old Palmeiras forward Mazzola. It was he, not Santos’ 17-year-old striker, Pele, who started Brazil’s opening game of that tournament and scored twice in a 3-0 win over Austria. As it turned out, Mazzola would never net for Brazil again. Three days later, he was injured in a 0-0 draw against England, just as…

You know you’ve had a decent year when someone decides to name a bus after you. Keira Walsh’s 2022 roll call is so all-encompassing, it borders on greedy. Euro 2022 winner. Player of the Match in the final, and selected in the Team of the Tournament. World-record transfer to footballing royalty, Barcelona. Yet for all of the team and individual prizes that the 25-year-old has amassed in the past 12 months, nothing represents the rapid growth in her profile like nominative transportation. ‘Surreal’ doesn’t cut it. The bus company, Rosso, run a service in the north west from Rossendale to Walsh’s hometown of Rochdale. When the midfielder learned they had anointed one of their fleet in her honour, she thought it was a wind-up. “My mum told me and I…

Manchester City probably should have two or three Champions Leagues by now, but insist on finding new and increasingly amusing ways to screw it up every year. HAALAND’S DOUBLE HAT-TRICKS SHOULD RENDER COMEBACKS PRETTY REDUNDANT Last term, it wasn’t even Pep Guardiola’s random tombola of tactics he generally saves for big European nights. Instead, spare a thought for Jack Grealish, who came on with City 5-3 up on aggregate in the semifinal at the Bernabeu, had a shot cleared off the line, another saved by Thibaut Courtois, then saw Real Madrid’s zombie XI rise from the dead with two goals in stoppage time. The bookmakers’ favourites are now calling upon artificial intelligence – Erling Haaland snaffled five Champions League goals in his opening three City appearances, taking his tournament tally…

The last time Kane and Giroud met, it didn’t go very well for the Spurs man. Six minutes after Giroud headed France 2-1 up in the sides’ World Cup quarter-final in Qatar, Kane blasted his penalty into the Arabian Gulf and England’s hopes of glory were over. It was probably the toughest moment of the talisman’s career, but he deservedly had the sympathy of a nation. Now Kane is ready to face Giroud again in the Champions League last 16, his first knockout tie since the 2019 final against Liverpool, having missed Spurs’ last 16 loss to RB Leipzig with injury two years ago. Aged 36, the evergreen Giroud already has four Milan goals in the Champions League this term – the ex-Arsenal and Chelsea striker won’t expect a particularly…

Haller smashed 11 goals in last season’s Champions League – not bad, considering Ajax got eliminated in the last 16. That secured the ex-West Ham forward a summer move to Dortmund – however just two weeks later, the 28-year-old was diagnosed with testicular cancer, requiring surgery and chemotherapy. Given the green light to step up his training in early January, he scored an eight-minute hat-trick during a friendly against Basel. Rarely will a player be so motivated when the knockout stages start.…

During the first part of your career, you also worked as a PE teacher. How was it? It was great. I was teaching at a primary school, mostly: my lessons took place in the morning and then I’d train in the afternoon. It was a bit of a juggling act, but I did it for 11 years while playing for Go Ahead Eagles and Vitesse. It was a good experience as you stay connected with the rest of society, and it also gave me some security in case things didn’t work out in football. At one point when I wasn’t making a lot of money, I was really considering quitting professional football – I’d already completed a transfer form to join Rohda Raalte, a local amateur side. But at the…