FourFourTwo UK

Hated, adored… sometimes even ignored: Rafa Benitez has been subjected to all of the above and plenty more in a remarkable coaching career spanning more than 33 years in four countries – though suffice to say, there’s been plenty more love than loath

1997-2000 Metz 1999 Newcastle (loan) 2000-04 Fulham 2004-08 Manchester United 2008-12 Everton 2012 Tottenham 2012-13 Sunderland 2013 Lazio 2004-12 France If you want to see celebrities, hang around with Louis Saha. The former Manchester Uni

eu.puma.com Yes, it’s November. Yes, you should probably be thinking about sensible shoes. No, these won’t protect your feet from the months of driving rain. But do we really care? Nope. These bad boys look like they were taken straight from the set

firmastella.com Few do signed football memorabilia better than Firma Stella, who deal only in 100 per cent authentic signed shirts, balls, boots and photos. All of their items also come with a Certificate of Authenticity and, in most cases, a picture

Euro 2020 is just seven months away now, and that can mean only one thing: Skillzy on tour. The tournament’s official mascot was unveiled back in March. He’s a curious humanoid character with a name a bit like a rapper’s and a head even bigger than H

“This match began my path of winning important titles. We, Criciuma, were at home to Gremio in the second leg of the Copa do Brasil final. Gremio were very strong but we drew 0-0: that won us the title because we’d scored an away goal in the first le

When Jim Bentley ended his eight-year tenure as Morecambe manager in late October, Wycombe’s Gareth Ainsworth was declared English football’s new longest-serving gaffer at a single club. On the Kent coast, Neil Cugley knew better. The 63-year-old ma

Three league titles. Two domestic doubles. One unbeaten season. The question isn’t if Wenger – two-time LMA Manager of the Year, three-time Premier League Manager of the Year – is the best foreign manager in its history, but: how could he not be? Th

Defensive organisation, well-drilled set-pieces and absolute discipline: that’s how Tony Pulis became one of Britain’s most trusted managers. Now he’s inspiring someone across the Atlantic, just a Rory Delap throw away. It’s his own son, Tony Pulis –

Hello Michael. You’re a horse trainer and all-round big fan of the gee-gees, but have you ever been offered, or eaten, horse meat? Hi there. No, I haven’t – I’m a bit weird in terms of what I eat. I don’t want to eat snails or frogs’ legs if I’m in

LadBaby. Bob the Builder. Mr Blobby. Chris Kamara? That’s the company Kammy wants to keep, as he aims to be No.1 in the singles chart for Christmas Day. The midfielder-turned-TV-personality celebrates his 62nd birthday on December 25 and, naturally,

It’s been 18 years since we introduced Perfect XI at the back of FourFourTwo (you can read Per Mertesacker’s choices on p114 of this issue). In it, every interviewee selects a manager to coach their dream team. Unsurprisingly, Alex Ferguson has bee

What was the first game you saw live? You’ve got me already! I feel like it was against Everton at White Hart Lane in about 1995 – I would have been eight. I just wanted to see Jurgen Klinsmann play. It was really mid-table or below in those days, b

How are you finding Roman life? It’s great. The club and the city have so much history. The weather is similar to Armenia’s, where we have 300 days of sun, and the Italian people are a bit like Armenians – funny, ironic, with a similar mentality. So

Sunday March 22, 2015 was supposed to be all about Steven Gerrard, as he made his 35th and final appearance against Manchester United. But the Liverpool legend was thwarted, first by Brendan Rodgers benching him, then by his own rashness bringing a r

BEST: Lee Camp, Des Lyttle, Michael Dawson, Colin Cooper, Stuart Pearce, Michail Antonio, Lars Bohinen, Chris Cohen, Andy Reid, Stan Collymore, David Johnson. WORST: Iain Turner, Nicky Eaden, Andy Melville, Danny Cullip, Gino Padula, Nicolao Dumitru

Having been faithful to FFT for many years as a teenager, I decided that I didn’t need you for my football fix anymore, so I simply walked away. Fast-forward to issue 305 and the awesome interview by John Bishop with Jurgen Klopp. I thought this was

The rain is pouring down on the Wirral, but we have a treat in store. Rafa Benitez wants to show us his holiday photos. Normally, such a prospect would fill FourFourTwo with dread; memories are immediately flooding back of family gatherings during ou

Footballers are notoriously superstitious – a ludicrous number have sock-donning and tunnel-emerging protocol – but Carlos Bilardo, 1986 World Cup-winning manager with Argentina, was the daddy of delusional ritualists. On one occasion, the team bus b

Graham Potter doesn’t like coaching. Or at least, he didn’t. It’s not the sort of confession you would expect to hear from one of the Premier League’s brightest managerial prospects. Yet as the Brighton & Hove Albion manager sits down with FFT at the

When Sven-Goran Eriksson took over Swedish third-tier side Degerfors in 1977, he could not possibly have known where his managerial career would eventually lead. His time as a player was restricted to the Swedish lower leagues, but things have been d

“Do you think you can make it work?” I’m sitting in a small London office. It’s near the end of November 1986, and I’m with two producers looking to pitch a drama to Channel 4. It’s about a woman managing a men’s football team, and my response to the

Diego Simeone can smell the alcohol on Ariel Ortega’s breath. The River Plate boss knows that his captain hasn’t been to bed. It’s 11am on Saturday June 22, 2008. In a little over 24 hours, River will conclude their title-winning Clausura campaign at

“The football pitch is like two hemispheres: if you create on the right, then you need a player on the left who is comfortable without the ball and enjoys the space. That’s how I scored 12 goals from the left of midfield when Atletico won the title i

Two days into his new life in Kashmir, David Robertson had already seen enough. Perhaps it didn’t help that the journey from Phoenix, his previous home, had taken nearly three days and involved four energy-sapping flights. The former Aberdeen, Ranger

Remember when Jose Mourinho fell out with Roman Abramovich in 2007, and left Chelsea after two league titles and two Champions League semi-finals? Imagine if he then thought, ‘What the hell, let’s manage a team in League One’. After winning the leagu

The weather is grey and gloomy on this Saturday morning, though you wouldn’t know it as Eni Aluko walks through the door. The Juventus forward has been through a lot during the last three years, yet she greets FourFourTwo with a beaming smile. Clouds

Not every boss can be like Spurs legend Bill Nicholson, who oversaw a 10-4 pasting of Everton in his first ever game in management. Alf Ramsey and Pep Guardiola found things a bit trickier. Eleven years before winning the World Cup with England, Ram

You left Celtic to join Manchester United in 1987. Was that a difficult decision? Not really. Alex Ferguson romanced me more than anyone else. When I signed, the big thing was that George Best had been the last United player to score 20 league goals

You were possibly the first Portuguese star to thrive abroad. Did you find it difficult to adapt back then? It definitely wasn’t easy, no. After winning the European Cup with Porto in 1987, I was chased by several clubs but one thing intrigued me –

You’re still young, so why did you decide that this summer was the right time to retire? I just wanted to move forward with my life. Even though I’m only 28, I’ve played football for a very long time and I got to a point where I didn’t enjoy being a

You retired at 43. What was your secret to such a long career? Focus, discipline and professionalism to keep playing well. When I became a professional footballer, I was 18 and everything happened really quickly. I joined Real Madrid when I was only

“He has an aura – it’s difficult to explain. He demands a lot, but makes you feel comfortable, too. It’s about trust. In hard times, he was a rock protecting us. I’ll always be very grateful to him.” “He was a very good friend – his story is so tragi