Innehållsförteckning för January 2024 från FourFourTwo UK

“WE WEREN’T IN IRAN JUST TO PLAY A GAME, BUT TO UNDERSTAND A DIFFERENT CULTURE” Cardiff 2-1 Chesterfield November 10, 2001 Division Two “I couldn’t get into Aston Villa’s team and went on loan to Chesterfield. It turned out very well – I soon settled in there and proved that I could handle the division – so it was kind of a next step. I remember getting on the coach for the first time, for an away game at Blackpool, and even though I sat on the bench all afternoon it was a whole new experience. I ended up playing six games for Chesterfield and think about the match at Cardiff in particular. I had a decent game, despite the fact we lost 2-1. I enjoyed lots of touches, and…

Nothing’s going to plan in the Swiss Super League this term – even the tifos. Powerhouses FC Basel have produced the most spectacular implosion, losing nine of their first 13 games to sit rock bottom of the table. They also exited the Europa Conference League in August – to Tobol Kostanay of Kazakhstan – having reached last season’s semi-finals. Oops. Appointed in May, boss Timo Schultz was fired in September, so sporting director Heiko Vogel – a man presumably involved in that decision – stepped in as gaffer, then was sacked himself a month later. Nothing to see here, it’s all going swimmingly. Thankfully things have been going rather better at FC Zurich, third-bottom last season but early league leaders this term after a 12-game unbeaten start to the campaign…

Take Pep Guardiola’s praise with a pinch of salt. Whether it’s calculated or just naturally effusive passion, the Catalan compliments many of his rivals. His opinion of Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton, however, hits different. “Pay attention to what I’m going to say, because I’m pretty convinced I’m right,” Guardiola declared in May. “I think Roberto is one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years. He’s unique. I had a feeling he’d have an impact in the Premier League, but not in this short a time.” The mutual love-in had begun a decade earlier, at the start of the Italian’s managerial career, when De Zerbi visited the Dolomite mountains to watch Pep’s Bayern Munich train at a pre-season camp. It would be nine years until the pair would…

On a rainy Saturday afternoon in February 1996, the Craven Cottage scoreboard read Fulham 2-2 Hartlepool. The draw left the home side 91st in the Football League, in serious danger of going bust. London’s oldest professional football club – once home to such luminaries as Johnny Haynes, Alan Mullery, Bobby Moore and George Best – was now on the brink of oblivion. There may not have been a less alluring proposition for a billionaire investor. That’s precisely why Mohamed Al Fayed, an Egyptian businessman who had risen from selling Coca-Cola on the streets of Alexandria to owning Knightsbridge department store Harrods, was talking to Chelsea and Manchester United instead. When it transpired that their owners were seeking only minor investment, he headed back to the drawing board. It was just…

Last season we finally witnessed some disruption to the typical ‘top six’ in the Premier League. Newcastle, Brighton, and Aston Villa put together frankly incredible runs to claim places in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League respectively. Hopes were high that all three could continue to push the envelope this campaign, but so far only one looks like they’ve made considerable strides forward. Just three points behind Manchester City as FFT went to press and averaging 2.5 goals a game, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa are the real deal this term. Individual performances from the likes of Ollie Watkins, Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby have attracted the headlines, but the unsung star of the show has been a setup that the rest of the division regularly struggles to cope…

After more than 60 years at Carlisle, Andrew Jenkins was officially the longest-serving director in English football. During his long stretch at Brunton Park, the now 87-year-old saw just about everything that the game has to offer, but he can still recall his very first day on the job… way back in 1959. “I was 23 and didn’t say a word,” he tells FFT. “The chairman, George Sheffield, was a hugely respected figure, while my new colleagues were all well-established businessmen. So I sat there and kept my mouth shut.” Jenkins was invited to join the board after his dad – a local businessmen – snubbed their overture and suggested his offspring instead. Three decades later in 1992, Jenkins – then into his fifties – was similarly taciturn as the…

Loving Ipswich Town on Valentine’s Day wasn’t an easy task for the Blues supporters who’d made the 200-mile journey to Bristol Rovers for a drab goalless draw at the Memorial Stadium. After recording just three wins from the last 12 league outings, the League One side were eight points from automatic promotion as a fanbase starved of success for more than two decades feared another campaign stuck in the third tier. Then, something incredible happened. A staggering 13 wins (and zero defeats) from the final 15 matches secured promotion to the Championship – finishing second on 98 points. During the run-in, Ipswich scored 45 goals and conceded only four. The fans’ love affair with the Tractor Boys was back on track. “The second half of the season illustrated that we…

No female player in British footballing history can boast an honours list quite like Lucy Bronze’s – and that list only grew longer in 2023. In her first season with Barcelona, Bronze bagged the seventh domestic league title of her career with a fourth different club, following triumphs at Liverpool, Manchester City and Lyon. Weeks later came a fourth Champions League crown, adding to the haul she’d secured while playing in France. Then, in August, she helped England to reach their first ever World Cup final, having been a key figure throughout what has undoubtedly been the Lionesses’ greatest era, as part of the team that also celebrated European Championship glory in 2022. And she won FIFA’s Women’s Player of the Year award in 2020. Not bad for a full-back…

Sometimes, the biggest goals come from unexpected sources. It isn’t a superstar striker, but a more unlikely figure who finds a breakthrough at the crucial moment. The goal that sealed a long-awaited Champions League title for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and, with it, a sensational Treble was proof of that. Yet there’s a case to be made that Rodri’s winner against Inter in Istanbul on June 10, 2023, might never have happened, were it not for a similar strike from a fellow understated midfield man, 24 years previously. Former City striker Paul Dickov remembers the 1999 Second Division Play-off Final as if it were yesterday. “I was down on my haunches in the 87th minute, just after Gillingham went 2-0 up, looking up at the anguished faces of our supporters,”…

Darkness had fallen when Christian Atsu fired home a free-kick in the 97th minute, handing Hatayspor victory over Kasimpasa to move them out of the Turkish Super Lig drop zone in early 2023. Within seconds, the final whistle blew and team-mates leapt on Atsu in joy. Little more than 10 hours later, the giant earthquake struck. By then, the Ghanaian was at home on the outskirts of Antakya, a city of 400,000 people in Hatay province in the south of Turkey – the Mediterranean Sea a few miles to the west, the Syrian border a few miles to the east. The 31-year-old winger had considered heading abroad to see his family after the Kasimpasa game, only to cancel his 11pm flight. Instead, he was inside his apartment building when tremors…

In the 19th century, a search for gold famously captured popular imagination across America. A couple of centuries later, the commodity of allure across the land of opportunity seems to be polyester Pantone 1895C. People are scrambling for Inter Miami’s soft, electric pink football shirts. Pink is the new gold, it seems. The announcement that Lionel Messi would be signing for David Beckham’s Inter Miami made their jersey the hottest piece of replica sports merchandise on the planet, and quite possibly of all time. It’s the perfect capitalist storm: a distinctive colour, a new and exotic football club with the addendum of Beckham, fronted by an instantly recognisable and widely adored athlete in Messi. Manufacturers Adidas won’t be drawn on specific sales numbers – perhaps they’ve lost count – but…

You rarely hear the term ‘free role’ anymore. But if there’s one player in the Premier League who might be operating in this mythical 1990s quasi-role, it’s Tottenham attacking midfielder James Maddison. His job in Ange Postecoglou’s system is best described as the main problem solver for Spurs, and the main problem causer for everyone else. Perversely, this is one of the reasons why Gareth Southgate doesn’t envisage him as a natural fit for his England line-up as next summer’s European Championship nears. Drifting from defence, to midfield and into the attack, he gets on the ball precisely when and where he’s needed. Rather than being a functional part of the system, at Spurs he is the system. To misquote a rather unflattering terrace chat from opposition supporters this season:…

XI BEST: Darren Randolph, Brian Martin, Martyn Corrigan, Stephen Craigan, Joe Wark, Peter Marinello, Paul Lambert, Phil O’Donnell, Davie Cooper, Tommy Coyne, Willie Pettigrew. WORST: John Gardiner, Holm Kraska, Daniel Sengewald, Karl Ready, Omar Daley, Josh Morris, Riku Danzaki, Pat Gardner, John Hendry, Richard Offiong, Esteban Casagolda. PLAYER B: For a slightly older generation, Joe Wark [below right] is the finest player to wear Claret and Amber and is often described as one of the best uncapped players of his time. But as he admitted himself, he wasn’t quick enough. W: A very tough call, but German defender Holm Kraska is right up there. He barely made a first-team appearance, and Pat Nevin labelled him one of the worst players he’d ever come across. MOMENT B: Winning the 1991 Scottish…

THE BEAUTIFUL GAME NO SAVING THAT SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA Mary Earps had a fine World Cup for England in the summer, but you could almost see the swear words forming in her mouth as Sam Kerr’s rocket found the top corner during the semi against Australia. The goal earned Kerr a Puskas Award nomination, but the Lionesses still triumphed 3-1. Photo Cameron Spencer/Getty “OK, WE’RE AWAY AT FOREST TODAY, LADS” SANTA CECILIA, MEXICO If being in the middle of a forest wasn’t weird enough, this pitch on the outskirts of Mexico City is also perched in a volcanic crater. Thankfully, the Teoca volcano is inactive and the local amateur teams can play without fear of imminent incineration. Phew… Photo Claudio Cruz/AFP/Getty A TREBLE TREBLE DORTMUND, GERMANY In just his 14th game for Bayern…

​​01 Newcastle United (right) are featured prominently in which 2005 film? 02 Which Bundesliga club are commonly referred to as ‘BVB’? 03 Which celebrity chef is a joint majority shareholder at Norwich City? 04 In what year did Lionel Messi win his first Ballon d’Or and Cristiano Ronaldo join Real Madrid for a record fee? 05 Who managed Chelsea in two interim stints, won a European Cup with PSV Eindhoven and coached South Korea, the Netherlands and Australia at World Cups? 06 How many Premier League titles did Arsenal goal machine Ian Wright (right) win during his career? 07 Which Italian player went viral at Euro 2016 for a lengthy, stuttering run-up before blazing his penalty over the crossbar against Germany? 08 Who is the only Kenyan player to have…

30 WEST HAM 1964-65 Helped by future World Cup heroes Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst, the Hammers captured the Cup Winners’ Cup. HIGHLIGHT Alan Sealey’s double as Ron Greenwood’s side defeated 1860 Munich at Wembley, bookending a season in which they shared the Charity Shield with Liverpool. 29 ABERDEEN 1982-85 Under the authoritarian guide of a young Alex Ferguson, the Dons did the unthinkable – ousting the Old Firm to become Scotland’s dominant club and lift a European trophy. HIGHLIGHT After toppling Bayern Munich en route, Aberdeen’s stunning victory over Real Madrid delivered the 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup. 28 RANGERS 2020-21 Nine years after having to start again in the fourth tier, Rangers became champions of Scotland once more – under Steven Gerrard’s guidance, the Gers didn’t lose…

When we lost 5-4 to Grimsby in the 2022 National League play-off semi-final, it really hurt. I experienced every emotion possible that day, and I’ve never watched the game back. Straight away after that match, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney came up to me on the pitch. They said, “Phil, this is going to make our resolve stronger, we’re going to build the squad even stronger and have another go next season.” Their support was amazing – it made me so determined. That play-off defeat almost added to our story. In the summer of 2021, I was on holiday in Cornwall when Les Reed, Wrexham’s football strategy advisor, touched base with me about the manager’s job at the club. My previous two jobs had been in the Championship and League…

There’s ‘having a decent start to life at one of the world’s biggest clubs’, and then there’s Jude Bellingham. The man (you can’t call him a boy anymore, even though he’s still only 20) has already nailed down fan-favourite status at Real Madrid, merely months into his time in the Spanish capital. No one who’s watched him play regularly this season is at all surprised. If England are to end 58 years of hurt and win the upcoming Euros in Germany, Bellingham needs to be both the beating heart of that side and the warm tactical sun that the rest of the team efficiently orbits around. While it’s never a wise idea to build a team around one player, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate has an exceptional situation on his…

The small village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, consists of just one residential street, with one shop to serve its 280 residents. However, Loughgall also has something even many sprawling cities don’t: a top-flight football club. By sealing promotion to the NIFL Premiership in April, Loughgall became the smallest settlement in Europe to boast a team in the highest division of its nation’s pyramid. “It’s a wee bit surreal to be honest,” boss Dean Smith (no, not that one) tells FFT proudly. “We may be a small community, but we make up for that with passion and hard work. This club has good facilities and wants to go in the right direction. Over the past few years, things have come together for us.” Loughgall raced to the second-tier…

You were born in London’s East End, but ended up a Tottenham fan. Why? Where I’m from, you either became a Leyton Orient supporter or a West Ham supporter. But for some reason, and don’t ask me why, my father and all of my family were huge Tottenham fans, despite coming from that part of London. So, that’s the team I grew up following. I wanted to be a footballer from an early age and was fortunate enough to achieve that. I played with some extremely talented lads as a youngster on the estate I lived on – it’s just that most of them took a different path during their teenage years and I never stopped playing. That’s the big difference: persistence. Having joined Spurs’ academy at 12 before going…