BALOTELLI BELIEVES IN HIS POWERFUL PLAYS
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EDITORIAL Tel 020 8267 5661 Fax 020 8267 5725 Email [emailprotected]; or to contact an individual, email: [emailprotected] For work experience requests, please email: [emailprotected] Editor David Hall Deputy editor Hitesh Ratna Production editor Charlie Ghagan Art editor Anthony Moore Designer David Robinson Designer Tom Chase Staff writer/sub editor Huw Davies Staff writer Andrew Murray Performance editor Ben Welch FourFourTwo.com editor Gary Parkinson FourFourTwo.com news editor Gregg Davies FourFourTwo.com features editor James Maw FourFourTwo.com staff writer Jonathan Fadugba FourFourTwo.com staff writer Joe Brewin Editorial secretary Annika Baynham Thanks to Louis Massarella (contributing editor), Jeff Beasley (picture editor), John Munday (repro), Jason Eves, Mike Carre, Jordan Draper, Paul Beiboer, Jack Clarke, Samar Maguire Pictures Action Images, PA Photos, Getty, Offside, Rex, Alessandro Albert, Kai Stuht, Neale Haynes/Contour, WENN, Twitter
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“I can see why defenders don’t fancy facing Mario” Meeting Mario Balotelli for the frst time was an eye-opener. The frst thing that struck me was his sheer size. He walked into the makeshift studio we’d knocked up in the bowels of an Italian lower-league football ground and his presence and star quality were immediately evident. He was introduced to us all and did that odd thing that famous people feel obliged to do when shaking hands with strangers: “Hello, I’m Mario.” Yes, Mario, we know who you are, but that’s very polite of you. The Italian is someone I’ve been wanting us to interview for a while and, oddly, it was something that we never managed to make happen here in the UK. The tabloid chaos created around him made it virtually impossible to get anywhere near him. Trust a journalist? Why would he? After spending a good 45 minutes or so with the man himself, the feeling here at FourFourTwo is that all those reported shenanigans were probably wide of the mark. For a 23-year-old (yes, he’s still only 23) playing for one of the world’s most storied clubs and the weight of a passionate nation on his shoulders as we approach the World Cup, he’s handling it all rather well. Plus, he’s still one of the most exciting players on the planet right now. We hope you enjoy meeting him, too.
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FourFourTwo.com March 2014 5
M A RC H 2014
UPFRONT 20
Top 10 fans going too far
With enforced limbo dancing. “Be more fexible!”
32
Ask A Silly Question: Micky Quinn
“It’s wrong to stick your hand up a puppet’s arse”
43
FFT columnist: Forlan
45
FFT columnist: The Player
Marriage and football: a potentially toxic combo Mental owners – the view from the changing room
FEATURES 8
50
62
One-on-One: David Ginola The former Spurs, Newcastle and PSG winger on almost signing for Barcelona, his spat with Gerard Houllier and why it wasn’t his job to track back COVER STORY Mario Balotelli exclusive We travel to Milan to chat with the Italian forward, who is at his enigmatic best. Up for discussion: how racism, his time at City and the current plight of AC Milan have turned him from boy to man. And will he be back in the Premier League? “Defnitely”
Trending in the Champions League Hashtags everywhere as we predict which players, gaffers and gaffes will send Twitter into meltdown
68
“Where’s the passion?!”
74
Picture Special: Footballers in their fnery
80
Manuel Pellegrini exclusive
It’s the typical terrace refrain, but does giving ‘110 per cent’ help a team’s ability to think clearly on the pitch – or hinder it? We investigate FFT grabs a frontrow seat by the catwalk as the likes of Zlatan, David Beckham and er, Jordan Henderson strut their stuff. Someone call the fashion police! On winning the Champions League, playing the piano and how a degree in engineering helped build Europe’s top-scoring side. He talks, we listen
Origins of the terrace chant 86
Who was the frst to ‘eat all the pies’, ‘go marching in’ or ‘never walk alone’? FFT unearths the genesis of everyone’s favourite stadium songs
How to lose, with Hyde FC 92
Conceding last-minute goals, turning victories into defeats: the Conference side have made losing an art form. We inspect their latest masterpiece
Action Replay: England’s frst foreign legion
96
From Ossie Ardilles and Ricky Villa at Spurs to Frans Thijssen and Arnold Muhren at Ipswich, this is the story of what occured after the FA relaxed its policy on foreigners. Warning: short shorts on display
DESTINATION BRAZIL 103 104 110 Plus
Scolari the beer farmer! Cheers, Big Phil Teams & beauty queens – bizarre comp ahoy! Pele’s goal counter does mission: impossible Dante interviewed; a famous bendy zinger from Nelinho; how Brazil won the 1958 World Cup
PERFORMANCE 113 116 118 Plus
Kevlar boots that stop fouls as well as bullets Daniel Sturridge masterclass: no dancing now Training with Everton – we need a lie-down Heading with Tim Cahill; Jordi Alba’s mentality; what makes Diego Costa such a beast
6 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
M A RC H 2014
#GiveusacuddleGazzleDazzle p62
p80
MARIO SPEAKS p50
ONE-ON-ONE
Could he really have become a lawyer? Why go to Newcastle instead of Barcelona? Why was he upset when France won the World Cup? And can he out-act Cantona? YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY...
David Ginola Interview Sam PIlger Portrait David Clerihew
It is the afternoon of the World Cup draw and David Ginola is getting ready for his shift as a guest to discuss this summer’s tournament in Brazil at TalkSPORT’s studios in central London. Through the window of the studio Danny Kelly and Andy Jacobs, who are currently presenting on air, catch sight of Ginola. “Look at you, Andy,” chides Kelly. “Have you not met David before? You’ve suddenly got a funny look on your face. You’ve gone all warm and gooey!” In the 1990s, Ginola had this effect on grown men – not to mention women – as one of the most thrilling players in the world when he starred for Paris Saint Germain, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur. In 1999, when he was voted both the PFA Player of the Year and the Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year, the Dutch icon Johan Cruyff even hailed Ginola as the best player in the world. But his career was strewn with disappointment too, never playing for one of the European superpowers he believed would beft his talents and never playing for France at a major tournament either. FourFourTwo meets the immaculately dressed – and eternally handsome – Ginola to discuss missing out on signing for Barcelona, the culture shock of Newcastle, why he’ll never speak to Gerard Houllier, being called Mr Blobby by John Gregory and why he never tracked back on the pitch.
8 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
FACT FILE
Date of birth 25/1/1967 Height 6ft Position Forward Place of birth Gassin, France Clubs played for 1985-88 Toulon 81 games (4 goals); 1988-90 RC Paris 61 (8); 1990-92 Stade Brest 50 (10); 1992-95 Paris Saint-Germain 142 (38); 1995-97 Newcastle 76 (7); 1997-2000 Spurs 127 (22); 2000-02 Aston Villa 41 (5); 2002 Everton 7 (0) International Career 1990-95 France 17 (3) Playing Honours Ligue 1 1993-94; French Cup 1993, 1994, 1995; French League Cup 1995; English League Cup 1999 Individual Awards French Player of the Year 1993; PFA Player of the Year 1999; Football Writers’ Player of the Year 1999 Who were your football heroes growing up? Alfe Cranton, North London Always Cruyff – he made playing football seem so easy. I loved watching him, and he was the only poster on my bedroom wall. I wanted to play just like him. I was given Michel Platini’s book for my 12th birthday as I liked him too.
Below “I cannae wait ta gan doon the Bay for wor Sunday roast”
Is it correct that you studied law at the University of Nice? Would you have been a good lawyer? Ian Stokes, via Twitter Yes, that’s true. I would have been a fantastic lawyer. I would have started in France and gone to an international level. I found this very attractive as a job, to help people. I think I’m a good narrator. When I speak to people they listen to me. I don’t want to sound pretentious; it is just a fact that all through my career, when I make a point or statement, people listen. What are your favourite memories of winning what was only PSG’s second ever French title in the 1993-94 season? David Amos, via Twitter I was French Footballer of the Year that season, and we won the title by beating a great Marseille side, who were then the reigning European champions. Winning the league in your own country is a special feeling, and during the season we went 27 games unbeaten, too. I remember one game playing Sochaux, it was minus fve degrees and I was playing upfront with George Weah. George said to me, “David, it is too cold for me – I won’t play today.” I just said, “No problem George, we’re going to do it.” We won 2-0. George was on the pitch, but he didn’t move, he didn’t do anything because he was too cold. But we knew we could count on him in the following game, and there was a real team spirit and bond amongst us.
“ When I speak to people, they listen. I don’t want to sound pretentious; it is just a fact. I’m a good narrator”
ONE-ON-ONE
When you left PSG, how close did you come to joining Barcelona rather than Newcastle? Richard Kray, Uxbridge In the summer of 1995 the Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff invited me to play in his golf tournament for his foundation in Tarragona. He said to me there, “I want to sign you. I have been watching you and you’ve been fantastic. You are my priority for next season.” We played golf with Marco van Basten and other guys there, away from the city so there was not too much speculation. Cruyff told me he could only sign me if he could sell Gheorghe Hagi and Hristo Stoichkov. In my head I was already there, wearing that shirt and in my new house, but they couldn’t sell those two players so it never happened. A year later, when I was then at Newcastle, I got a phone call on holiday in France from Bobby Robson, who was then Barcelona manager. He said, “David, I am going to make an offer for you.” But Kevin Keegan called me and said, “I understand you want to go, but there is no way I am going to let you leave. When Andy Cole left for Man United I got so much trouble from the fans and I can’t risk that again.” What was it about Newcastle United that convinced you to go to England? Mark Croughton, South Shields I didn’t know much about Newcastle, to be honest; I just knew they had recently been promoted. It was Kevin Keegan who convinced me to come. I was waiting for Cruyff to Dixon knew the secret to stopping Ginola: wrestling
Was it a culture shock to move from Paris to Newcastle in the 1990s, on and off the pitch? Aiden Potts, Rottingdean Oh yes, it was a shock when I arrived! The football was fne; it was everything else that was so different. When you have lived in Paris for four years, with the food and culture, it is all very French, and then you arrive in the north-east of England, Geordieland – it is a big shock. It was July and it was still freezing cold. My wife went for a tour of the city in the Rolls Royce of the Newcastle chairman Sir John Hall, and she came back crying! We had to embrace our new life. We made new friends: I loved the Geordie people, who are loving and amazing. We went to Whitley Bay for a Sunday roast and I saw people swimming in the sea, but I put one toe in the water and it was too cold!
A title winner and Player of the Year at PSG
phone me back to join Barcelona, so I delayed going back to Paris for pre-season training, but it didn’t happen so I got an offer from Newcastle. I was in Amsterdam with Terry McDermott, about to sign for them, when I got another phone call at about midnight from the Arsenal chairman, David Dein, wanting to know if I had signed for Newcastle as they wanted me at Highbury. But I had given my word to Newcastle so I went there.
Left George Graham needed Ginola’s magic, but ended up transfer-listing him Below All things considered, he probably was worth it
What was it like to play for Kevin Keegan? What was the reaction in the dressing room to his infamous “I would love it” rant on live television? James Lloyd, Singapore Kevin Keegan is all about having fun. He is not about tactics; it is nothing to do with that in his pre-match speeches and in training. And with that rant? Well, we were in the dressing room, but he was shouting so loud we could still hear it. We went outside to fnd out what was happening – we thought he was in an argument. He was p*ssed off, in a really bad mood. At that moment we started to feel the pressure like him. We were 12 points clear, but then we started making mistakes. Keegan didn’t think too much about the tactics – he didn’t change anything towards the end of the season. How fun was it to play in that famous Newcastle side in the 1995-96 season, but also how agonising was it to throw away that large lead over Manchester United at the end? Why did you fall short? David Hornby, London When you have myself, Faustino Asprilla and Peter Beardsley, you give them their freedom, and I felt I could do whatever I wanted. We had a good midfeld with Rob Lee and David Batty, and then the rest of us were free. Keegan was fantastic, but the turning point was when we lost that famous game 4-3 to Liverpool. We were an entertaining team, but we realised then we could lose games. How hard was it to watch France win the World Cup in 1998 and not be on the pitch with them? Michelle Tennyson, Essex It was probably the worst time of my life. It was terrible. I was there in the Stade de France with the BBC and saw them win the World Cup. I went back to my hotel room and I was probably the only Frenchman crying. I was thinking, ‘What have I done not to be involved in this?’ as I had done everything to live in the right way. I realised my dream of winning the World Cup on my home soil was over. It wasn’t about me – I just wanted to make my mum and dad proud. I felt guilty I denied them the
10 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
“Quick, Ginola’s coming, ruuuun!” Des Walker is dazzled by David
chance to enjoy this moment in French history. I didn’t understand why I wasn’t playing as a year later I was Player of the Year in England. Do you feel you should have won more than 17 caps for France? Stuart Olds, Beckenham Of course! Not just because I think I’m good. It is because our generation was a lost generation [it included Eric Cantona] in the way we had great players, but we didn’t manage to do anything. Right away they had to step over us and change everything, bring in new players and start all over again. It was a failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, and then the European Championship was in England in 1996, and I was already there, yet I didn’t play. How do you look back at the night France lost to Bulgaria to miss out on the 1994 World Cup, and have you forgiven Gerard Houllier for blaming you for it? He said you had “committed a crime against the team” and “sent an Exocet through the heart of French football”. How is your relationship with him now? Lucy Stewart, Brighton I don’t think I will forgive anything. The words he used and what happened conditioned my entire future with the French team. I was always told as a child that you win and lose as a team. After that game I was made to feel as if I was playing an individual sport, and actually the other players didn’t say anything – they decided to hide behind the fact I was being blamed. I don’t have any relationship with Houllier now, and I don’t want one.
“I don’t have a relationship with Houllier and I don’t want one. I don’t think I will forgive him” When were you at your peak as a player? Howard Rittle, Wallington I think it was at Spurs, because they were relying on me a lot to make a difference in games, a little bit like Gareth Bale last season. George Graham would say, “David, we need a little bit of magic from you.” I loved that: I felt very important, so I had to achieve something for them, and to give back to them. I might have looked like an individual, but it was all about creating something for other players.
Did you get much stick from your team-mates about those L’Oreal adverts, and would your life have been very different if you had gone bald?
PAL’S POSER
?
Alan Brazil, former Ipswich, Tottenham, Manchester United and Scotland striker, and co-host on TalkSPORT No, I got no stick at all because I gave my team-mates plenty of bottles of shampoo, so they were happy with that! And I don’t think my life would be different if I had no hair. It was just a question of opportunity: my hair wasXxxxxxxxxx there and L’Oreal were interested inxxxxxxxxxxxxx doing something. xxxxxx
Who is better: you at your peak or Gareth Bale now? Grant Fuller, Hornchurch Gareth Bale. He is fantastic, and the main difference is that he is only 24 and can get better, whereas I was over 30 at Tottenham. The difference with players now is that they are so much more mature at an early age than when I played. At 24 I was good, but I wasn’t good enough to impose myself, and as a young player you had an understanding with the older players to know your position. How proud were you to win the 1999 PFA Player of the Year award [left], and did it help you recover from the blow of missing out on the 1998 World Cup? Nigel Cowdrey, Rochdale I didn’t play football to win individual awards. I wanted to win trophies with my team. However, it was great to win that award. I didn’t play in the 1998 World Cup so it was a diffcult time for me; maybe I could have stopped my career, but the fans were very supportive so I had to carry on, and I probably had the best season of my life in terms of consistency and ftness. What is the secret to dribbling with the ball? Matthew Deighton, London It is instinct and talent. It is not something you learn. However, the most important thing is
FourFourTwo.com March 2014 11
ONE-ON-ONE
to be really, really ft. You have to be at your peak of ftness, which means that you can dribble and get past players. No one could get close to me – defenders were saying, “David is a nightmare.” In my frst pre-season training with George Graham I worked very hard to impress him because a lot of people were saying I was a luxury player. I thought, “OK, I will prove you wrong.” Which defender did you have the most trouble getting past? Paul Patterson, Southend Lee Dixon. He understood how to stop me the best. He didn’t manage to do it all the time, but he just knew he couldn’t leave me with any space. If he gave me a couple of yards, boom, I was in, so he got really, really tight – everywhere on the pitch, I could feel him there. He was saying, “Don’t forget I am right here.” You said in your book you thought George Graham was jealous of you and not a big fan of yours. Why didn’t the two of you get along? Michael Sullivan, London George knew he had to manage me, and he knew I was loved at the Lane. He had quite a big ego, so if the club was going to be successful it would be about him. I didn’t have a problem with that, but I realised I had to be at my best all the time. I had some arguments with him. I know that after the game if we had done well, the journalists would say, “David was fantastic, wasn’t he?” But he didn’t want to talk too much about that, and I can understand that. In the dressing room George Graham could shout at you, and when you asked why, he’d give you a little wink and a smile to say, “I’m the boss.” There was a time he was in hospital and he couldn’t make the game so I called to ask him how he was and to tell him that we missed him. I think he was surprised as I was probably the only player to phone.
He was the funniest person I have ever met and I’m only sorry I didn’t share a dressing room with him for longer. I can remember the frst morning I trained with Everton: he came out onto the pitch wearing this wig with long fowing hair because my hair was long at the time. It made everybody laugh. I remember we played against each other when we were both 20 at the Under-21 Toulon Festival, and France beat England in the fnal. You could see then he was going to be an amazing player.
“Track back? I wasn’t meant to do that. Give me the ball and I do the rest” way it should be. I don’t want any favours, but after 10 years I knew what was good for me. I would have liked him to understand who I was. He said I was too fat, and then I pulled up my shirt to show I wasn’t. The end for me was when I saw the back of The Sun with my head placed on the body of Jimmy Five Bellies after he said, “David Ginola is Mr Blobby.” It was a lack of respect to me, and it was terrible for me.
Why did you leave Tottenham in the summer of 2000? Victoria Ledgeley, Chelmsford George Graham didn’t want me anymore. He said to Alan Sugar to put me on the transfer list. I think I had become too big for him – I had just been Player of the Year. I wanted to end my career at Spurs. I was 32; I could still play at my best. I didn’t want to leave. John Gregory talked about your ‘magnetism’ when you joined Aston Villa, but how do you look back at your two years there? Rob Sessions, Halesowen My magnetism? Wow! Thinking about my time at Villa right now I feel a bit of shame about it. [John Gregory] was a nightmare for me. I was with a manager who didn’t understand me. I was there to play on a Saturday, and not on a Wednesday against the reserves. If, on the Tuesday morning, rather than going running through the woods and getting injured I needed a bath and a massage, that is the
12 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
What do you say to those managers and pundits who claimed you were a luxury player who never tracked back? Bryan Shallcross, via Twitter I wasn’t meant to do that. The managers who were good to me were the ones who just let me do my stuff. You give me the ball and I do the rest.
Clockwise from top Red Cross worker, actor, Stars In Their Eyes contestant and ‘Mr Blobby’ according to John Gregory
Over your career, which manager got the best out of you? Ian Burns, Mansfeld Artur Jorge at PSG. Under him I was Player of the Year and we won the league. He gave me freedom, but he never said much to me. There were no words; you would just see a little smile underneath his large moustache. What was it like sharing a dressing room with Paul Gascoigne at Everton? Were you ever the victim of one of his famous pranks? Gill Bowden, Frodsham
You worked for the Red Cross on their antilandmine campaign. Do you think players should use their status to do more of this? Cade Rightley, via Twitter I think the world of football does do a lot of charity, but we can always do more. We should use football to raise money for different causes. This should be a duty for footballers. How did you enjoy your acting roles after your football career? Will you do more of it, and what would be your dream role? Frank Lowe, Rochester I really enjoyed it. I had never done it before. When I was nine I dreamed about being a footballer, not a movie star. My dream role? Maybe Iron Man – I would love to be Tony Stark. Who is a better actor: you or Eric Cantona? Jo Blockley, Cardiff Eric, I think. I haven’t done enough to be compared to him. He started acting straight after football, he has been working very hard and he is capable of being a really great actor. Your hand gesture to Jake Humphries on BT Sport was pretty funny. Do the French do that gesture or did you learn it here? Justin Harris, via Twitter The thing to stress is that I didn’t know we were live on air. It is the type of thing you do in a dressing room, but not on television. We don’t have this gesture in France – it is an English thing. But I am sorry I did it on TV. David Ginola co-hosts the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast on talkSPORT every Wednesday between 6-10am on 1089/1053 AM or digital radio. For more information go to talksport.com Who would you like to see quizzed here? And what question would you ask them? Tweet us @FourFourTwo with #1on1
performance needs preparation
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THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
ANOTHER EASY WIN FOR THE WEATHER
The FA Cup Third Round match between Bournemouth and Burton Albion at the Goldsands Stadium is a washout after torrential rain soaks the south coast. The tie is eventually won 4-1 by the Cherries, thanks to a brace from Brett Pitman, setting up a glamour tie with Liverpool. Picture Steve Bardens/Getty Images
THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
“CRISTIANO, YOUR BALL IS SO BIG AND SHINY ”
After seeing off Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery for the Ballon d’Or award, Cristiano Ronaldo shows Portuguese president Anibal Cavaco Silva his new prized possession at the Belem Palace in Lisbon. El presidente later confers the Real Madrid forward with the Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique (Order of Prince Henry), the Portuguese equivalent of a knighthood, the third-most senior presidential title. Arise, Sir Cristiano. Picture AP Photo/Andre Kosters
THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
REMEMBERING THE BLACK PANTHER
Combining goalscoring artistry with a brute of a shot, Eusebio - who died last month aged 71 following a heart attack - will be remembered for images such as this. One of the greatest players of all time, the Black Pearl scored 733 goals in 745 games for club and country, including this acrobatic effort for Benfca in their 2-1 defeat to AC Milan in the fnal of the 1963 European Cup at Wembley. Gone but never forgotten. Picture Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
TOP 10 The
FANS GOING TOO FAR
Neymar has to change his phone number every two weeks because fans keep pestering him. This lot took things even further not the 1 Pele: king of betting
“We’re going to demonstrate outside Pele’s house, put placards up and keep him awake at night,” claimed a delegation of concerned Colombia fans last month. The reason for their militancy? There were rumours that O Rei – commonly regarded as football’s anti-Nostradamus – was about to install Falcao’s mob as one of his World Cup favourites. “Look what happened when he tipped us to win in 1994,” wailed a spokesman, recalling Colombia’s group stage exit that also resulted in the death of own-goal villain Andres Escobar. “We could do without that kind of drama.”
Words Jon Spurling
limbo 2 Parker’s lesson
In 1990, Kings of Diamonds striker Wesley Parker was approached by an irate supporter, who lambasted the striker’s ineptitude in front of goal for the Jamaican amateurs. Parker was then taken to an “unknown location”, where he was forced –
20 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
police later learned – to limbo dance for two hours to “teach him to be more fexible”. The kidnapper then let Parker go, but not before he was told to “be more bendy” in future.
3 Roberto goes bananas
You’re a Corinthians fan, angry at your team’s lacklustre performances, shoddy tactics and boring formation. How to protest? Live in a tree for a week, obviously. Armed with a bag of bananas and identifed only as Roberto, our passionate afcionado scaled a timber outside the club’s stadium in 2003, tied himself to it and refused to come down until the team agreed to a more attractive style. There he stayed for seven full days, despite Corinthians players
“Stand up if you hate half-arsed publicity stunts”
hurling abuse and rotten fruit. “The players kept sticking their fngers up at me,” Roberto moaned. He retaliated with discarded banana skins.
and get the 4 “Go machete, lads!”
In 2003, Swaziland scraped a disappointing draw in a World Cup qualifer against Cape Verde. As the squad prepared to leave the ground on their team coach, a fan mob armed with baseball bats surrounded the bus. The players promptly hopped off the bus to confront the furious gaggle of supporters and pulled out their own array of weapons, before police quickly dispersed them. “We wouldn’t have used the bats – we just wanted to make a point,” claimed one fan. Yeah, right.
Robbie 5 Let entertain you
Anxious to convey his displeasure about Port Vale’s performances during the 2001-02 season, one fan decided to take the law into his own hands by jumping on his push bike and riding around the perimeter of the training ground, hurling abuse at his team. The irked Vale players drop-kicked balls at him to try to dislodge him from his bike, but the intruder kept them at arm’s length. “Robbie Williams could do a better job than you losers,” was one of his choicest insults. They never did manage to catch up with him.
in the 6 Flying face of the law
League One Stevenage had just knocked Newcastle out of the FA Cup in January 2011, so how did 24-year-old fan Robert
me at the 8 “Let World Cup”
SCARFACE 2013 – Testimonial
Gerrard’s favourite flm
2010 – Woy
22
Total Premier League goals scored in December, his busiest goalscoring month
Prem goals scored from the penalty spot
2009 – Brawl
Among his favourite replica shirts was that of Everton keeper Neville Southall
20%
2007 – Married
BINMAN’S SUIT
Only footballer to have scored in FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup and Champions League fnals
2006 – Queen
1
1. Packet of Weetabix 10% 2. Robin Thicke 10% 3. Ted 10% 4. A Meerkat 70%
2005 – Miracle
When Honduras travelled to arch rivals El Salvador for the second leg of a fractious 1970 World Cup qualifer, the army escort they got to the team hotel may have indicated fan unpleasantries were afoot. Around midnight, a barrage of rocks smashed all the hotel’s windows, followed closely by a volley of dead rats. “It occurred to me that I should have stayed at home,” admitted one petrifed Honduran.
THALL SOU
4
2003 – Captain
out 10 “Bring your rats!”
Testimonial amount he donated to Alder Hey Children’s Charity
FINAL COUNTDOWN
2
THINGS STEVIE G LOOKS 3 A BIT LIKE
2002 – Alex
Just why did groups of distinctly other-worldly looking fans, clad in black cloaks with circle insignia, start turning up at top matches across Europe last year? Their bizarre presence, plus a ‘meteor’ falling on Hackney Marshes inscribed with #WinnerTakesEarth, even prompted Franz Beckenbauer to proclaim the ghoulish fans from another planet, an alien invasion apparently imminent. Defnitely not a rather annoying Samsung ‘viral’ campaign for the Brazil World Cup, then. Oh.
£500,000
1
2000 – Lion
aren’t 7 Aliens among us
Keeps an autograph of Diego Maradona in his locker at Melwood
1998 – Debut
Fitzgerald celebrate? He stormed the pitch and punched Boro defender Scott Laird in the face on live TV. Laird had previously gone out with Fitzgerald’s girlfriend and “did not treat her correctly”, Stevenage magistrates were later told, but Fitzgerald was jailed for 12 weeks and banned from grounds for six years. His girlfriend’s view on the matter went unrecorded.
SQUIGGLE OF GOD
1989 – Academy
Mad hatter Jimmy Jump
A feisty clash between Brazilian giants Botafogo and Fluminese ended abruptly in 1957 when, having seen his team fuff several chances, a fuming Botafogo supporter jumped over the perimeter fencing, grabbed the ball which had gone out of play and proceeded to pump it full of bullets from his revolver. The reason? “I thought it was time to prove that at least someone connected with Botafogo could shoot properly,” he barked. Zing.
Nearly had big toe of right foot amputated as a child when he accidentally kicked a garden fork whilst trying to get a ball out of some nettles
Liverpool win ratio
1987 – Bluebell
fan 9 Brazilian fres at will
FORK OFF
52.9%
1980 – Born
He’d already thrown a Barcelona fa*g at Luis Figo in protest at the Portugal skipper’s defection to Real Madrid at Euro 2004, but Spanish prankster Jimmy Jump’s most famous moment arrived during the 2010 World Cup when he raced onto the feld wearing an “Against Racism” T-shirt and attempted to place a Barretina hat onto the trophy, before being taken out in spectacular fashion by a bouncer. The message? Pranks just aren’t your forte, Jimbo.
ONE-WORD TIMELINE
“Actually, I couldn’t do better”
FourFourTwo.com March 2014 21
UPFRONT
IN THIS MONTH FEBRUARY 1979
“THE NAME’S UNITED, For one barking Bulgarian, a love of the 1999
Inverness, Falkirk and the 27 postponements This Scottish Cup tie fell foul of the weather so often, some claim it’s a record Those managers who bemoan the distractions of domestic cup competitions should pull up a pew now. For it was in February 35 years ago that Inverness Thistle and Falkirk fnally played their Scottish Cup second round clash after 27 – twenty-seven! – postponements because of the Highland weather. After the game had been called off on two consecutive Saturdays from January 6, 1979, SFA rules dictated that the fxture must be fulflled at the frst opportunity. “A lot of the time there was little chance the game would be played, but we still had to prepare,” then-Falkirk manager Billy Little later recalled. “We were a part-time club playing in the second division – that meant players had to arrange for time off work only to cancel it when the game was off and ask for the following day off… and so on.” Mercifully, Falkirk only made the 300-mile, six-hour round trip in vain once. “But before we even got off the coach, the referee took one look at the pitch and called the game off!” said Little. “Even when we actually played the game, we had travelled up to Perth the previous night and an Inverness offcial contacted our hotel to say there was no chance the game would go ahead. But as the referee hadn’t called it off we had to travel the
22 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
rest of the way and we did manage to play, but conditions were horrendous.” Falkirk’s 4-0 win against the Highland Leaguers on February 22, after a 47-day wait, would be of little consolation. They had to play their third round match at Dundee just three days later – losing to a late penalty – and faced a huge fxture backlog. The Bairns missed promotion by two points and Little departed. It was the same across the UK, as an entire FA Cup programme – including Spurs v Altrincham (above) – was called off in the ‘Winter of Discontent’. Incredibly, some stattos claim an Airdrie v Stranraer game from 1963 was postponed 33 times, but confusion reins over whether that was because league games took priority. Either way – Big Sam, Paul Lambert… quit your whining.
Also in this month… ● Football’s frst movie, The Arsenal Stadium Mystery, is released in 1940 ● One of the greatest headlines in football – nay, history – hits the newsstands in 2000 as Inverness Caledonian Thistle beat Celtic in the Scottish Cup ● In 2004, substitute James Hayter scores the Football League’s fastest ever hat-trick for Bournemouth, in just two minutes and 20 seconds
Usually when a football fan is determined to make the love for their favourite team offcial, a tattoo that reads “Only God and Jose Mourinho can judge me” is the standard result. But when you live in Svishtov, a small town in northern Bulgaria, inherited your love of Manchester United from your late father and began watching games in the 1970s by stealing illegal signals from neighbouring Romania, getting some paltry ink done just won’t cut it. Meet Marin Zdravkov Levidzhov, who, hours after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored that injury-time winner to win the 1999 Champions League Final against Bayern Munich, began his battle to change his name to the club he adores. “I was still hungover when I went to see a lawyer the morning after the fnal,” he tells FFT. “He told me neither he, nor any of his colleagues, would take my case. But he did explain I could defend myself in court. So it all started.”
The goal that changed a name
Fifteen years later, the man now called Manchester Zdravkov Levidzhov-United is still fghting to get his wish. “They let me change my Christian name to Manchester, but not my surname to United out of fear that I would use it as a trademark. It’s ridiculous – I don’t want to be just a namesake of an English city,” says, er, Manchester, who has been allowed to put ‘United’ on his ID card only as an offcial nickname.
Wiki says what? Robert Pires Wiki says: “A dispute with France coach Raymond Domenech in late 2004 over Pires’ star sign led to the end of his international career.”
Pires says: “He’s mad when it comes to the astrology. He was saying you can’t have a Scorpio on the team, and I’m a Scorpio. But that’s a good reason – that and the fact I’m a bad person! “
UPFRONT
MANCHESTER UNITED. REALLY...” treble-winners kick-started a 15-year legal campaign to change his name me,” he says, adding he would call his son Manchester United too. “If he doesn’t like it, he could change his name when he turns 18.” “I have one unfulflled dream,” he concludes in full Martin Luther King mode. “To see England as world champions. Although some of my friends say that for this one I would have to live forever.” Well, at least England have qualifed – unlike Bulgaria, in fact.
me “Do you co ” n? te here of
“Those seats have my name on”
Words Metodi Shumanov
“I’d never let the club down by abusing their name. I’ve received so many offers to start selling merchandise with my name on it, but I’d never accept them.” The subject of a flm documentary of his struggles, called Manchester United from Svishtov, the 50-year-old has even changed religion from Catholicism to the Orthodox Church, so at least God now knows him by the name he has dreamed of for the last 15 years. “Now there’s no coming back,” he says. “Not only did I promise myself that I’d fght for the name change until my last breath, I also swore to God.” But what do the people who brought him into this world think? “My mother says that if I feel good, she’s also happy. My father watches me from above and is proud of
SHOP WINDOW Jose, Herbert Chapman, ’90s memories and an unlikely pioneer are on this month’s reading list
The Man from Uruguay Alive and Kicking Phil Brennan (Rose-Martin, £13)
Ash Rose (History Press, £9.99)
A skilful inside forward for Mallorca and Sevilla, Danny Bergara is best known in the UK for his six years as Stockport County boss from 1989, becoming the Football League’s frst manager whose mother tongue wasn’t English. It’s an intriguing story, as Brennan speaks to those who knew the Uruguayan pioneer.
There’s nothing like a 1990s nostalgia book to make you feel past it, but Rose’s look back at a decade that began without Soccer Saturday or squad numbers will bring a smile to the face of anyone over the age of 25. All the tat is on show (we still have a Gullit ‘smug’ in the offce), alongside some top on-feld memories.
•••••
Best quote David Pleat: “Danny came, he saw, he conquered. He was canny.”
3
2
1
•••••
Best quote “I want to switch on the TV on Saturday and see James Richardson.”
The Life & Times of Herbert Chapman Patrick Barclay (Orion, £20)
•••••
From artifcial pitches to foodlights, Chapman’s ideas made him a pioneer of the game, and Barclay’s eloquent writing is a fne tribute to the Arsenal legend. With a backdrop of war and accusations of illicit player payments while at Leeds City, there’s also plenty for non-Gooners. Best quote “He did everything football could ask of a mortal – and more.”
4 Rise of the Translator Ciaran Kelly (Bennion Kearny, £9.99)
•••••
Another month, another Mourinho study, but having dug deep for interviews, Kelly does succeed in bringing fresh insight into what makes the Chelsea gaffer tick. It’s Jose’s journey from failed player to Bobby Robson’s gofer that’s of most interest, with even his old uni tutors sharing tales. Best quote “Lampard remains one of the few to turn down his overtures [at Inter] and Mourinho never forgets this.”
FourFourTwo.com March 2014 23
UPFRONT
RANGERS CELTIC? GET YOURSELF DOWN TO WEST LONDON SUBURBIA
Words Nick Moore; Pictures Ian Tuttle
Over 400 miles south of Glasgow, the Old Firm have been battling it out in a supporters’ club league. But is it all slide tackles and swearing? FourFourTwo takes to the sidelines to fnd out...
“Ninety minutes of pure hatred is alive and well in west London,” chuckles Michael Stewart as he strides out into a mud bath to referee what looks like it could be, on paper, the dirtiest Sunday league game on the planet. Fans of Rangers are about to face their Celtic counterparts in Chiswick, and while there may not be 60,000 furious Glaswegians on the sidelines baying for blood as there are at an actual Old Firm meet, surely the combination of hangovers and diehard support means we’re about to witness carnage, right? Wrong. Today’s match is part of a far bigger picture: the cumbersomely named Association of Provincial Football Supporters’ Clubs in London (APFSCIL). The group, founded by ex-pat Scots 35 years ago, now acts as an umbrella for 53 different fan organisations within the M25, aiming to encourage friendly co-operation, co-ordinate travel arrangements, get together for social functions and – of course – compete at a variety of sports, foremost among them football. The result today is a match that, although potty-mouthed and occasionally tasty, is played in a mercifully respectful manner. “You wouldn’t get this in Glasgow,” says Terry Cecil, Secretary of the APFSCIL Football League, who started playing for Manchester City London Supporters 28 years ago. “I’ve been involved ever since. Back then we had three divisions of 12 teams, including three Rangers teams and three Celtic ones.” Numbers have reduced over the years, with two divisions of nine now competing, but the league is expanding again after opening its doors to non-British sides. Shamrock Rovers and Roma have each entered an XI this term while – be afraid – Barcelona are hoping to join up soon. “We’ve had some disasters with new clubs,” laughs Terry. “We had a pub team who entered as Wrexham and
24 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
“I respectfully disagree with you”
Change that green top, keeper!
It’s not Ibrox, but who cares?
kicked lumps out of everyone! But this isn’t that type of league – we play in friendly fashion, so we threw them out. But we’re feeling positive about the new foreign teams. It’ll make it interesting.” Today, however, is all about pride. Middlesbrough or Aberdeen are going to win the Division One title this year; Celtic are lying third, while Rangers, just like the real thing, are currently suffering compared to their city foes, and are looking to avoid relegation. But true to the derby cliché, the formbook has been both ripped up and thrown out of the window. Rangers go 2-0 up against the run of play, leading to much cussing and consternation among Celtic’s ranks. There are some amusing
scenes – Rangers’ Pete Postlethwaite lookalike goalkeeper; Celtic’s manager acting as linesman while simultaneously shouting abuse at the other lino and cheering on his own team – but while the Hoops battle back into contention, a hat-trick by battering ram Rangers forward Troy Raymond helps clinch a 4-2 victory for the underdogs. “It was a good result,” says Jason Cobine, Rangers chairman and player. “I’ve been playing for Rangers since 1993. You’d
think we’d be more up for a Celtic game, but while there is the odd angry person, there’s no hatred. It’s more about playing in your own colours, meeting people from home, keeping your roots.” “We were very poor today,” counters a mud-splattered Hoop, John Egan. “Defeat to Rangers is tough to take.” APFSCIL are keen to get more people involved. “The best thing is that if you come to work in London and don’t know anyone, we can often put you in touch with people from home and get you socially involved,” says APFSCIL secretary Neil Le Milliere. Why not? If they can run a peaceful Old Firm game, they’ve got to be The hat-trick doing something right. hero doesn’t want to swap shirts Want to get involved? Visit www.apfscil.org.uk for details
FOURFOURTWO PROMOTION
BAREFOOT POWER NAKED ACCURACY
PUMA has taken ball-striking back to its barest bones. No wonder Reus and Fabregas believe this is their year Did you know a bare foot delivers more power and accuracy when shooting than a foot in a boot? Science proves it – no mud-splattered leather gets in the way, and all that effort goes straight into the ball. Unfortunately going barefoot on a Saturday morning is a recipe for disaster. But what if a boot could harness the foot’s natural flexibility and capture the power of a barefoot shot? It can. Check out the new PUMA evoPOWER. It’s built so the shoe flexes with your foot, boosting your natural power and accuracy. Developed with help from biomechanical research experts at the University of Chemnitz, as well as superstar players Cesc
evoPOWER
Fabregas and Marco Reus, the evoPOWER has four key elements that deliver more firepower. The Everfit Cage gives stability without restriction, while the Gradual Stability Frame lets the outsole flex, mimicking the foot’s movement and tapping into its natural power. The upper (made from one-way stretchable ADAP-Lite microfibre) bends, and the evoPOWER’s Accufoam layer smooths out uneven bone surfaces – and gives better pressure distribution – for extra accuracy. By harnessing the naked potential of the bare foot, PUMA’s evoPOWER boot has broken new ground. Its design will improve your performance – and your belief.
FOURFOURTWO PROMOTION
THE evoPOWER 1 FG
1
2
3
4 1 EVERFIT CAGE
3 ADAP-LITE UPPER
The cage provides the perfect amount of stability without restricting the foot or its natural power.
The microfibre one-way stretchable upper bends with the foot, mimicking the bare-foot kicking motion.
2 STABILITY FRAME
4 ACCUFOAM
Gradual Stability tech lets the outsole flex in a way that mimics the bare foot – and unleashes its energy.
evoPOWER
Adapts to the foot and helps to provide a clean kicking surface for more firepower and accuracy with every kick.
WHAT IS POWER CELL?
Our feet are designed for power and efficiency, so shackling that potential inside boots makes little sense. PUMA’s powerCELL tech works with your body to get as close as possible to barefoot playing. Without the broken bones.
FOURFOURTWO PROMOTION
MARCO
RE US
CLUB BORUSSIA DORTMUND COUNTRY GERMANY Marco knows the evoPOWER boot will help him score every time. And it’s a feeling like no other… “So many things can happen in just one second. The score might be 0-0 for 90 minutes, and then you have one second; one situation in which you can completely change the match. “Just ahead of a shot on goal it is extremely important that you are focused. You don’t really get what happens, you just look after the ball. That extra bit of power is extremely critical. “You hear the fans screaming and that gives you a great feeling – the atmosphere in the stadium is unique in that moment. You just don’t want to swap with anyone. You feel so free, you could pull out trees from the ground.”
THEY BELIEVE THEY WILL SCORE WITH EVERY SHOT CESC
FABRE G AS
CLUB FC BARCELONA COUNTRY SPAIN If you want to get the ball through, accuracy is all. Cesc knows this – which is why he uses evoPOWER… “The way to score goals in modern football is to study the movement all over the pitch. You have to try to make holes where you can see the midelders or strikers. “When you have a team that is defending very well and very deep, you have to shoot from outside the box – so it’s always important to have boots you can rely on because your mind is just focused on trying to score. “The moment you hit the ball, you always know before you look up to see where it’s going. You have the feeling if you hit it well or not – and if it’s going to be a goal or not. “When the ball hits the back of the net and it’s an important goal, it’s an amazing feeling.”
pumafootballclub.com
facebook.com/puma
#startbelieving
UPFRONT
THE GAMES THAT CHANGED MY LIFE MICHAEL OWEN
May 6, 1997
Wimbledon 2 Liverpool 1 “When you’re playing youth and reserve team football, you dream of playing in the frst team. I was handed my chance away at Wimbledon and I wanted to make an impression. We’d just gone 2-0 down, so it was a diffcult time to be introduced. But Stig Inge Bjornebye slotted the ball into my path and I had a bit of time to pick my spot and put the ball past Neil Sullivan [left picture].”
June 30, 1998
Interview Andy Greeves
Argentina 2 England 2 “I was only 18 at the time and it was huge to get the opportunity to start such a massive World Cup game. After Gabriel Batistuta had given Argentina the lead, we got a reply pretty much instantly through Alan Shearer’s penalty. We defnitely shaded the frst half, and of all the goals I scored in my career the one against Argentina is probably the best [top picture]. I just felt confdent running at them and it was a great
28 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
“Against Germany I just had that feeling that we could go out and score plenty more. So it proved...” feeling to score. We ended up losing on penalties, but we’d given a magnifcent account of ourselves nevertheless.”
May 12, 2001
Arsenal 1 Liverpool 2 “It’s fair to say that Arsenal played very well in that game and took a deserved 1-0 lead. When you’re only a goal down, though, you’re always in a match. In the last 10 minutes, Gary McAllister took a free-kick which bounced around in the Arsenal penalty area and I managed to get a clean strike to score. Then, with only a minute of normal time remaining, Patrik Berger fed me with a glorious long pass and I beat Lee Dixon to the ball to fnish in the bottom corner. The FA Cup is a trophy you dream of winning as a kid and to win it like that is extra special.”
September 1, 2001
Germany 1 England 5 “We went 1-0 down to Carsten Jancker’s opener, but I scored a quick response and Steven Gerrard gave us the lead just before half-time with a wonderful strike. In the dressing room at the break, I just had that feeling you get sometimes that we could go out and score plenty more. So it proved. It was a fantastic night and to get a hat-trick in such a big match meant so much to me [middle picture]. Not many players score three in one game against Germany in their career.”
April 10, 2005
Real Madrid 4 Barcelona 2 “El Clasico is probably the biggest club match in the world and to score in a 4-2
win was fantastic. Our other scorers that night were Zinedine Zidane, Raul and Ronaldo, which tells you all you need to know about the quality of that Madrid side. The only disappointment came at the end of the season – Barcelona had pipped us to the title by four points.”
September 20, 2009
Manchester United 4 Manchester City 3 “It was a topsy-turvy match and watching from the bench, I was just hoping to get my chance to make an impact. Scoring a goal as dramatic as that in stoppage time was incredible – a moment I’ll never forget. The fact that it came in a game as big as that makes it even better. It’s probably the goal Man United fans will remember me best for.”
UPFRONT
WANT TO PLAY THE BRAZILIAN WAY? NOW’S YOUR CHANCE!
Words Jonathan Fadugba
Win a trip to the Samba nation for a Roberto Carlos masterclass Let’s face it: there are going to be few better places to be than Brazil in 2014. Beaches, babes, beers – and that’s without mentioning the planet’s biggest football feast landing on the shores of a nation that took the global game, added a fstful of fair and a dash of daring to make it utterly beautiful. If you’ve ever wondered what exactly they do out there to get so darn good at booting a ball around, you’re in luck. Umbro have teamed up with Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos to offer fve fans the chance to train at a top academy in Brazil learning how to play the Samba way. And all you have to do to win is show off your skills and upload them to Umbro’s ‘Golaco’ app. Carlos is no bad judge. In a star-studded career that spanned 19 years, his tub-thumping free-kick against France at Le Tournoi in
1997 was so mind-boggling it later became subject of a study by boffns in the New Journal of Physics. The moment has now been reinterpreted by two artists – Victor Beuren and Stanley Chow – and commissioned by Umbro to help launch the competition. Beuren’s design (top right) offers a psychedelic take on Carlos’ netbuster, with the full-back literally straddling Planet Earth as he wallops a ball that looks akin to something from a Hunter S Thompson novel around a giant French wall and into the net. As for Chow, he focuses less on the wow and more on the how, using measurements, shot speed, distance and minimalist descriptions to strip the strike down to its essentials. If you fancy winning a trip to meet Carlos, grab a mate, a smartphone and some talent. As long as you have the footage to back it up, you’re in with a shout. Good luck!
WIN!
To stand a chan ce of winning a fant astic football experie nce with Roberto Carlos in Brazil visit umbrogola co.com or download the app on iOS/Android an d enter your greatest go al
THE KIT CLASH
LIVERPOOL
Fan Adam Woods has away-day nightmares AWAY KIT 2006-07
AWAY KIT 2013-14
“One of Liverpool’s most shocking away kits of recent times, luminous yellow, I wouldn’t be surprised if it glowed in the dark. I got it for Christmas but never wanted to wear it to football training for fear of never-ending digs from my team-mates. I don’t blame them, though – it really was a rotter!” STYLE RATING ● ● ● ● ●
“This season’s effort is just too outrageous. The manufacturer, Warrior, have clearly tried to be clever, but it’s massively backfred and the result looks atrocious. Down the years, Liverpool have had some nice white-and-black away kits, but this year’s is a horror show. It looks like Space Invaders. On acid.” STYLE RATING ● ● ● ● ●
FourFourTwo.com March 2014 29
30 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
UEFA (Europe) Lorik Cana (Albania) Oscar Sonejee (Andorra) Roman Berezovsky (Armenia) Christian Fuchs (Austria) Rashad Sadigov (Azerbaijan) Siarhei Veremko (Belarus)
AFC (Asia) Zohib Islam Amiri (Afghanistan) Lucas Neill (Australia) Mohammed Husein (Bahrain) Mamunul Islam (Bangladesh) Passang Tshering (Bhutan) Adi Said (Brunei) Sok Rithy (Cambodia) Zheng Zhi (China) Lee Meng-Chian (Chinese Taipei) Jason Cunliffe (Guam) Chan Wai Ho (Hong Kong) Sunil Chhetri (India) Boaz Solossa (Indonesia) Javad Nekounam (Iran) Younis Khalaf (Iraq) Makoto Hasebe (Japan) Jang Song Hyok (North Korea) Lee Chung Yong (South Korea) Bader Al-Mutawa (Kuwait) Vadim Kharchenko (Kyrgyzstan) Khamphoumy Hanevilay (Laos) Che Chi Man (Macau) Safq Rahim (Malaysia) Ali Ashfaq (Maldives) Lumbengarav Donorov (Mongolia) Kyaw Zayar Win (Myanmar) Thapa Sagar (Nepal) Hassan Al Gheilani (Oman) Ishaq Samar (Pakistan) Fahed Attal (Palestine) Emelio Caligdong (Philippines) Bila Rajab (Qatar) Saud Kariri (Saudi Arabia) Shahril Ishak (Singapore) Thilina Bandara (Sri Lanka) Mosab Balhous (Syria) Alisher Tuychiev (Tajikistan) Sintha’chai Hathairattanakool (Thailand) Ismail Matar (UAE) Server Djeparov (Uzbekistan) Le Tan Tai (Vietnam)
PANEL MEMBER
1st CHOICE 2nd CHOICE 3rd CHOICE
NEYMAR
MANUEL NEUER
THOMAS MULLER
LIONEL MESSI
ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI
PHILIPP LAHM
ANDRES INIESTA
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC
RADAMEL FALCAO
EDEN HAZARD
EDINSON CAVANI
GARETH BALE
Ronaldo or Hazard?
CONCACAF (North, Central America) Girdon Connor (Anguilla) George Dublin (Antigua) Reinhard Breinburg (Aruba) Phieron Wilson (Bahamas) Rasheed Williams (Barbados) Dalton Eiley (Belize) John Barry Nusum (Bermuda) Andy Davis (British Virgin Islands) Atiba Hutchinson (Canada)
CAF (Africa) Madjid Bougherra (Algeria) Mateus Galiano (Angola) Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon) Marco Soares (Cape Verde Islands) Kevin Andzouana (Congo) Youssouf Mulumbu (Congo DR) Didier Drogba (Cote D’Ivoire) Wael Gomaa (Egypt) Haile Goitom (Eritrea) Degu Debebe (Ethiopia) Daniel Cousin (Gabon) Mustapha Jarju (Gambia) Kamil Zayatte (Guinea) Pansau Nhasse (Guinea-Bissau) Victor Wanyama (Kenya) Moitheri Ntobo (Lesotho) Solomon Wesseh (Liberia) Tahina Randrianarisoa (Madagascar) James Sangala (Malawi) Seydou Keita (Mali) Dominique Da Silva (Mauritania) Peter Donovan Colin Bell (Mauritius) Dario Ivan Khan (Mozambique) Ronald Ketjijere (Namibia) Ouwo Moussa Maazou (Niger) Vincent Enyeama (Nigeria) Derilson Neves (Sao Tome & Principe) Mohamed Diame (Senegal) Yasin Egal (Somalia) Itumeleng Khune (South Africa) Richard Justin Lado (South Sudan) Mohamed Osman Tahir (Sudan) Tony Tsabedze (Swaziland) Juma Kaseja (Tanzania) Serge Akakpo (Togo) Yassine Chikhaoui (Tunisia) Andrew Mwesigwa (Uganda) Masimba Mambare (Zimbabwe)
PANEL MEMBER
An obvious choice in the Ballon d’Or vote, you’d think, but Vincent Kompany opted for his Belgium team-mate ahead of CR7. And he wasn’t the only playing member of the panel to let personal allegiances sway his selection...
UPFRONT
Managers
CHRIS COLEMAN (WALES) “Oh, is Gareth Welsh?” is what the Dragons boss (right) probably didn’t think when choosing Bale as his number one.
DIDIER DESCHAMPS (FRANCE) Partisan, moi? Bleus skipper Hugo Lloris, Deschamps (right) and journo Gerard Ejnes all voted for Franck Ribery to win.
*The nominees’ inner circle represents votes for frst place, the middle circle second and outer circle third. So Ribery got more frst-choice votes from fellow players than Messi!
Vincent Kompany (Belgium) Emir Spahic (Bosnia-Herzegovina) Ivelin Popov (Bulgaria) Darijo Srna (Croatia) Constantinos Charalambidis (Cyprus) Tomas Rosicky (Czech Republic) Steven Gerrard (England) Ragnar Klavan (Estonia) Frodi Benjaminsen (Faroe Isles) Niklas Moisander (Finland) Hugo Lloris (France) Goran Pandev (FYR Macedonia) Jaba Kankava (Georgia) Philipp Lahm (Germany) Georgios Karagounis (Greece) Roland Juhasz (Hungary) Aron Gunnarsson (Iceland) Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) Kairat Nurdauletov (Kazakhstan) Kaspars Gorkss (Latvia) Reda Antar (Lebanon) Mario Frick (Liechtenstein) Tadas Kijanskas (Lithuania) Mario Mutsch (Luxembourg) Alexandru Epureanu (Moldova) Mirko Vucinic (Montenegro) Robin van Persie (Netherlands) Steven Davis (Northern Ireland) Brede Hangeland (Norway) Jakub Blaszczykowski (Poland) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Robbie Keane (Rep of Ireland) Vlad Chiriches (Romania) Roman Shirokov (Russia) Andy Selva (San Marino) Scott Brown (Scotland) Branislav Ivanovic (Serbia) Martin Skrtel (Slovakia) Bostjan Cesar (Slovenia) Iker Casillas (Spain) Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden) Gokhan Inler (Switzerland) Arda Turan (Turkey) Ruslan Rotan (Ukraine) Ashley Williams (Wales)
WINFRIED SCHAFER (JAMAICA) Robert Lewandowski is a big deal in Jamaica. So says Christopher Lloyd lookalike Schafer (right), anyway.
XAVI
ROBIN VAN PERSIE
YAYA TOURE
LUIS SUAREZ
THIAGO SILVA
BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER
CRISTIANO RONALDO
ARJEN ROBBEN
FRANCK RIBERY
ANDREA PIRLO
MESUT ÖZIL
GENLY TULEGENOV (KAZAKHSTAN) The Kazakh media love Arjen Robben (right), apparently. So do the Uzbeks, Guatemalans and Robin van Persie.
ADAM KHALIL (IVORY COAST) Five people had Yaya Toure (right) as frst pick. Two are Ivorian: Khalil and Didier Drogba.
OFC (Oceania) Tala Rafe Luvu (American Samoa) Mii Joseph (Cook Islands) Simione Tamanisau (Fiji) Roderick Briffa (Malta) Olivier Dokunengo (New Caledonia) Winston Reid (New Zealand) Andrew Setefano (Samoa) Henry Fa’arodo Jr (Solomon Islands) Nicolas Vallar (Tahiti) Jean Robert Yelou (Vanuatu)
CONMEBOL (South America) Lionel Messi (Argentina) Ronald Raldes (Bolivia) Thiago Silva (Brazil) Claudio Munoz (Chile) Mario Yepes (Colombia) Antonio Valencia (Ecuador) Roque Santa Cruz (Paraguay) Claudio Pizarro (Peru) Diego Lugano (Uruguay) Juan Arango (Venezuela)
Ian Lindo (Cayman Islands) Bryan Ruiz (Costa Rica) Odelin Molina (Cuba) Jurensley Martina (Curacao) Darwin Adelso Ceren (El Salvador) Marc Marshall (Grenada) Jose Contreras (Guatemala) Christopher Nurse (Guyana) Noel Valladares (Honduras) Rodolph Austin (Jamaica) Rafael Marquez (Mexico) David Solorzano Sanchez (Nicaragua) Noah Delgado (Puerto Rico) Atiba Harris (St. Kitts and Nevis) Elijah Joseph (St. Lucia) Cornelius Stewart (St. Vincent/Grenadines) Obrendo Huiswoud (Suriname) Kenwyne Jones (Trinidad and Tobago) James Rene (Turks and Caicos Islands) Alberto van Gurp (US Virgin Islands) Clint Dempsey (USA)
UPFRONT
FourFourTwo.com March 2014 31
Media
UPFRONT
ASK A SILLY QUESTION smashing up Old Trafford The pie-loving Scouser on Spit the Dog, strange-smelling steaks and
Micky ‘Carolgees’ Quinn Hi Micky. You’ve been involved in horse racing for years. What’s the daftest name for a steed you’ve ever heard? Hi mate. It used to be totally out of hand, but they’ve banned really silly ones now. The funniest one was Mary Hinge. You can imagine the commentators sweating pre-race about getting that wrong. Have you heard about the horse Little Plum? No… It was a lightweight – it was only carrying a stone! Heard about that other horse, Picnic Basket? Go on. It was hampered. Argh… There’s a horse called Premature ejacul*tion, too. It doesn’t like to come through too soon… Stop it, Mick! Have you named
one lad in the team spoke German. I asked him what it was, mooing. He said it was horse. I nearly choked. I felt like a cannibal. Let’s move on. You used to be nicknamed ‘Bob’ due to a likeness with ventriloquist Bob Carolgees. Were you a fan of him and Spit the Dog? Bob was great on Tiswas. He was a Scouser, too. Some say we were separated at birth. I remember once at West Ham, some lad shouted to me, “where’s Spit?” I’ve never been slow in reacting, so I grabbed hold of me bollocks and said, “Ask your missus!” He went bright red and all his mates turned the joke on him. That was fun. Why do you think ventriloquists are no longer popular?
any yourself? Yeah, although I usually keep it simple. I’ve got one called Anfeld. The sire [father] was Captain Gerrard. Nice. Americans go particularly barmy naming horses: there’s Olivia Loves Jesus, Cloak of Vagueness, Dog Meat. That one’s a bit much, especially after the horsemeat scandal. I went to my cafe at the time and the girl asked me “Tell us another what I’d like on my burger. horse gag, Micky I said “a fver each way”. !” Too close to home, surely… I’ve eaten horsemeat, actually. It was on a pre-season tour in Germany with PAOK Thessaloniki. I couldn’t understand the f***ing menu so I ordered whatever. This steak came out and it was like a cartoon – a Tom and Jerry meat slab, like it’d been made with a foot pump. It smelled odd.
They’re old hat now, I guess. Kids don’t want to see it. It’s probably seen as wrong to stick your hand up some furry puppet’s arse. It’s no competition for a PlayStation 4. No. It’s a shame, really. Spit was good. Didn’t say anything – just spat. Old school. In a Mighty Quinn-off between you and Niall Quinn, who would be proven the mightier? Nice fella, Niall. It depends on the competition. Niall would win on ftness. I’d win on eating pies. If it was scoring goals – sorry, Niall, but put your goals on the table. Best-looking? I’d win that as well. And in a street fght, I’d win. Really? Niall’s a big unit. He is, but I don’t play by the
Queensbury Rules. I’m a Liverpool street fghter. I wouldn’t like to fght Niall, though, he’s a lovely fella. Keith Gillespie reckons he can smash up Legoland Windsor with a golf club in under an hour. Do you agree? The whole of f***ing Legoland in under an hour? I reckon he’s being extremely ambitious there. It’ll take a good while, that. How long do you think it would take you, using the camshaft of an Eddie Stobart lorry? Do I have to smash up Legoland, or can I do anywhere? There are no rules. I’d smash up Old Trafford, using Miley Cyrus’ wrecking ball, preferably with her on it. It’d only take me an hour. Although nobody wants to smash up Old Trafford at the moment because everyone is taking three points from there! Finally, the big one: what are the worst taps in public toilets? Those stick-up drinking fountains. They don’t work very well, then you press the button too hard and you get f***ing drowned. Amen to that. Thanks for chatting. Micky Quinn presents Weekend Sports Breakfast on talkSPORT with Georgie Bingham every Saturday and Sunday between 7-11am
“It’s probably seen as wrong these days to stick you r hand up some furry puppe t’s arse”
Interview Nick Moore
How did it taste? A bit chewy. I didn’t like it. Only
FFT introduces the British minnows living in the shadow of their big(ish) neighbours CAMBRIDGE CITY FC
“That one’s for 1951!”
“Back of the net” and so on
NORWICH UNITED FC Who are ya? Founded in 1903, just a year after their Premier League neighbours. They play in the Eastern Counties League, the ninth tier. Glory-hunting prospects Boasting a proud, if local, cup-winning history, the Planters are yet to knock the Canaries off their perch. United lost to City in the 1986 Norfolk Senior Cup fnal – East Anglia’s very own Champions League. One thing you should know Their clubhouse features the Planters Bar, an Alan Partridge-friendly booze kiosk, and a turnstile that also functions as the tea hut. Jurassic Park!
NOTTINGHAM UNITED FC Who are ya? Established in 2008, they’re newcomers to the land of Robin Hood and play in the county’s top fight. Glory-hunting prospects Nottingham Forest may have twice been European champions, but United have continental pedigree of their own, lining up against CSKA Sofa, Tennis Borussia Berlin and Union Berlin. Anyone would think they’re trying to escape Blighty.
Cambridge City: independent, not insignifcant
One thing you should know They lost 6-0 to Vitosha Bistritsa while touring Bulgaria, a team whose 54-year-old striker, Boyko Borisov, is the country’s former prime minister. Let’s hope he’s a better footballer than David Cameron.
NEWCASTLE BENFIELD FC
One thing you should know The Geordie nation’s favourite Peruvian trumpeter, Nolberto Solano, joined the club as frst team coach while playing for Hartlepool in 2011-12. He was last seen applying for the Bury job in October.
MAINE ROAD FC
Who are ya? Who said Newcastle is Who are ya? A fan club that got out a one-club town? Well, they’ve of hand. Founded as Manchester been wrong since 1988, City Supporters Rusholme in when the Lions came into 1955, they became Maine existence. Benfeld merged Road in the late ’60s, Cameron: with St Columbas in 1999 taking on their idols’ prefers the and play in the Northern badge and the name of right wing League Division One. their pre-Etihad home. Glory-hunting prospects They’re in the ninth tier. The club won a 1994 Northern Glory-hunting prospects Alliance Premier Division league More than a park football team and cup double and lost 1-0 in the wearing a Premier League kit, fnal qualifying round of the FA Cup they won a league and cup in 2006 to York City. More trophies double in 1972 and four than the Magpies, then. consecutive Manchester
Premier Division titles between 1983-86. Their last cup win came in 2008. One thing you should know Their loyalty isn’t limited to being a mini-City, with just six managers in their 59-year history. Are you listening, Sheikh Mansour? And they’ve won a similar amount of trophies, since you ask.
OXFORD CITY NOMADS FC Who are ya? Initially a youth team from Quarry school, the Nomads became a men’s team after the Second World War. A team of students in Oxford? How appropriate. Glory-hunting prospects Slow climbers up the pyramid, they now play in the Hellenic league, the 11th tier. One thing you should know Bahamas international goalkeeper Dwayne Whylly played for Nomads between 2008 and 2010 while undertaking a law degree at Oxford. He’s no wally.
FourFourTwo.com March 2014 33
Words Greg Johnson Photos Dave Pettengell
Who are ya? Formed as Cambridge Town in 1908, they beat rivals Abbey United to the upgraded name when the university-friendly dwelling won city status in 1951. They play in the seventh tier. Glory-hunting prospects Former Southern League winners, they reached the FA Cup second round in 2004-05. Off the pitch, they defeated plans to merge with Conference neighbours Cambridge United in 2006 and are a proud fan-owned club. Prawn sandwiches: keep out! One thing you should know In 1951, defeated name-botherers Abbey instead became Cambridge United, subsequently overshadowing City in pretty much the most mediocre act of revenge imaginable.
The job: Managing Director, Football Executives Name: Darren Simmons Age: 34 How do you go about working in football recruitment? I had scouted and coached while running another recruitment agency, and people would ask why I couldn’t recruit for football clubs as well. Initially, we thought it was too far removed, but over time it made sense to go in a different direction.
Interview Richard Edwards; Picture Solent
What’s the purpose of the agency? To put people in jobs in the game, from ticket sales execs and marketing assistants through to chief executives and managers. In the last few months we’ve appointed the new Rangers chief exec and just appointed the Portsmouth frst-team manager, Richie Barker.
“You get people who play Championship Manager and fancy the real thing”
Isn’t this threatening to bring a new common sense approach to managerial appointments? Well, taking a bit more time and doing the proper diligence – speaking to players who have worked for them and so on – increases the chances of you making the right appointment. Football managers are the biggest expense if you get it wrong and you do get a huge amount of churn across English football. So, I’m a club looking to appoint a manager – what will you do for me? It’s an intense and detailed process. With Portsmouth, we asked the candidates to present their vision for the club, what they’d do in the frst 30 days
in charge, an assessment of the current playing squad, their playing style and their ethos. They appreciated we were going into so much depth. What does a manager’s CV look like? Handwritten? Some just list the clubs they’ve played for and the clubs they’ve managed on one page; others produce PowerPoint presentations. It’s fascinating seeing the applications roll in. You also get those who are really good at Championship Manager and fancy a crack at doing it in the real world. They all receive a reply. What sort of things really make you sit up and take notice? It’s more about using them in the right context. There are a lot of myths around win ratios, which can depend on budgets. If a League Two manager gets promoted and keeps them up on a similar budget, they’ve done a fantastic job. They might fnish ffth from bottom but that’s still a roaring success, even though their win ratio might not be great. Placing someone at a club who makes a difference is a very satisfying feeling. Do you look at some appointments and just shake your head in disbelief? I wouldn’t say that, but you do see knee-jerk reactions. Clubs will appoint the favour of the month. We’re now seeing more and more managers on rolling annual contracts and that makes sense.
Interviews Richard Edwards
Fan vs Player Yeovil Town
Jamie McAllister The Glovers’ Scottish 35-year-old captain Seb White TV producer
Q: In which cup competition did Gary Johnson guide Yeovil to victory in 2001-02? JM: Hmm, not sure. I’ll take a punt on the FA Trophy. 3 SW: Defnitely the FA Trophy. What a day! 3
1-1
34 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
Q: Which team beat the Glovers in the 2006-07 League One play-off fnal at Wembley? JM: I’m pretty sure it was Blackpool. 3 SW: I can’t believe you asked that. The blackest of days. Blackpool. 3
2-2
Q: Who scored Yeovil’s goals in last year’s play-off semi-fnal win over Sheffeld United? JM: Kevin Dawson and Ed Upson. Easy. More of them, please. 3 SW: Oh crikey, this will be a total guess. Kevin Dawson, Ed Upson? 3
3-3
Q: Against which team did Yeovil record their frst ever Championship home win this season? JM: Took us a while, but Nottingham Forest. 3 SW: Come on, think… we haven’t won that many! Was it Sheffeld Wednesday? 7
Q: What was the score when non-league Yeovil beat top-fight Sunderland in the 1948-49 FA Cup? JM: Oh come on, really? I’ll guess at... 2-1. 3 SW: I’ve written about this hundreds of times. It was 2-1. 3
4-3 Player
5-4 Player wins!
UPFRONT
D 3 P P1M
Words James Maw
cking market cornered in de One Londoner has the out Prem stars’ cars with, well, whatever the customising king they desire. FFT meets If there’s one thing any self-respecting Premier League superstar won’t be seen dead without – aside from a free-chicken-for-life Nando’s black card – it’s a fash motor modifed to his own specifcation. But gone are the days when a personalised ‘5HE22A 10’ licence plate was enough (especially given that Teddy Sheringham retired six years ago). The
discerning top-fight footballer of 2014 craves something far more advanced. We’re talking fash body kits, glistening alloys, booming entertainment systems – the kind of stuff that would make Tim Westwood go weak at the knees. But who can make all those dreams come true? North London’s very own
“Sorry, sir, yo ur car is too rasc al”
THE 110% FOOTBALL QUIZ 1 2
How many England caps has Emile Heskey won: 42, 52 or 62?
Schwarzenegger: “I’ll be centre-back”
Name the fve professional English clubs for whom Luis Boa Morte has played.
Who is the only Senegalese to be voted the African Footballer of the Year?
What Japanese team did Arsene Wenger manage prior to joining Arsenal?
Who won the 2007-08 Pichichi (La Liga top scorer) and for which club?
5
Name one of the teams to play at the UPC-Arena, formerly known as the ‘Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium’?
6
Name one of the two joint-top all-time scorers for the Danish national team.
36 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
How many times did Alan Shearer captain England: 24, 34 or 44?
12
3
4
11
13
Who played his fnal match for Northern Ireland on his 41st birthday in their last group game of the 1986 World Cup?
“I’ve won how many caps?!”
7 8
Fill in the missing frst name _________ Michael Chopra.
Who was the only English player selected in the all-star squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany?
9
Bobby Moore left Britain to manage Eastern AA in 1981-82 – where were the club based?
10
Who was the only England player to score their penalty in the 2006 World Cup quarter-fnal defeat to Portugal?
Where did Bobby head to in the early ’80s?
UPFRONT
car-customiser Yianni Charalambous, who has spent much of the last six years modifying cars for international superstars including Didier Drogba, Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and, er, Hayden Mullins. “The frst player to come to me was Bacary Sagna, who I became friends with not long after he joined Arsenal,” Yianni tells FFT. “He called me round to his house one day and showed me a picture on his i’s as Yiann computer. It was a Range Sagna w t n frst clie Rover Sport, and he goes: ‘I want this body kit, these wheels and this wrap.’” Yianni pimped his Gallic chum’s ride, and before long, word had spread – and not just around the Arsenal dressing room, but the Premier You wouldn’ League and beyond. t miss this in the ca “Before I knew it, r park every player at every club had heard about me, and they were all ringing me. I spent my life going from training ground to training ground picking up cars – I pretty much cornered the football scene.
What, no popcorn holder?
“Erm, guys? Is anyone at the wheel?”
“Most footballers who visit want their car wrapped, which is when we cover it in different coloured vinyl. It costs half as much as having the car sprayed and can be changed whenever you want. “One of the most outrageous requests I’ve had was a chrome wrap, which I did for William Gallas in 2009. I dropped it off at the Emirates during a match – Arsenal won 4-0 and the papers printed pictures of him leaving in the
car with a headline ‘CHROME WIN’. One magazine reported that it cost £100,000. I wish – it was more like £5,000!” Sadly, not every player has ended up getting quite such a positive reaction from their pimped ride. “I also did a pearl white Cadillac Escalade for El Hadji Diouf and his wife Val, who wanted her initials on the seats. I tried to warn her, but she didn’t listen, so they had ‘VD’ embroidered in both headrests.” But if being reminded of sexually transmitted diseases every time you hop into your car isn’t for you, how about something a little more elaborate? “For Djbril Cisse, we removed the middle two seats of his Escalade and put in a big TV, an Xbox, a fridge and underfoor heating – all controlled by an iPad,” says Yianni, who insists there’s no request too outlandish for his team. “One player wanted a Nescafe Espresso machine. We had to get a huge inverter to run it, just like you’d get in a caravan, because it was using so much power it blew everything in the car. “I pretty much say yes to everything – I’ll make it happen, one way or another!” FFT can think of one or two footballers we’d like to see put this boast to the test. Visit yiannimize-refned.com for more
18 Name the four players pictured who have won the Ballon d’Or...
14 15
Who scored Manchester City’s 100th goal of this season?
Golden Boot winner Eusebio scored nine goals in the 1966 World Cup – but at which three grounds?
16
For which Italian team did Scottish legend Denis Law play between 1961-62?
17
Which Scottish club contested two FA Cup fnals in the 1880s, losing both to Blackburn Rovers?
A
B
C
D
Eusebio wowed the English crowds
19
Nigeria’s all-time top scorer played his last game for the Super Eagles in 1998 having scored 37 goals. Who is he?
20
What is the name of the condom brand endorsed by Ronaldinho?
21 22
Who was Brentford’s top scorer in 2012-13? Who is La Liga’s all-time top scorer?
23
Name the fve nations for whom Adnan Januzaj is eligible.
Januzaj: keeping his options open
24
In which decade were Wigan Athletic founded?
25
In which season were Premier League teams frst allowed to name seven substitutes? Turn to p47 for answers
FourFourTwo.com March 2014 37
Words Sam Delaney; Illustrations Matthew Stevens
UPFRONT
“RIGHT LADS, THERE’S SOMETHING I WANT YOU ALL TO KNOW...” Keane’s crochet, Giroud’s toupee, Pardew’s dressing gown – FourFourTwo imagines the incredible secrets that British football needs to get off its collective chest
38 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
UPFRONT
F
ootball fans have often been stereotyped as an old-fashioned and intolerant bunch. But the widely positive response to Thomas Hitzlsperger’s announcement that he was gay has proved that the beautiful game is adapting to the modern, diverse and colourful world in which we exist. We at FFT have a dream that one day soon, everyone in the football universe will have the same courage to stand up and admit to their lifestyle choices without fear of ridicule. Here are just some of the confessions we’ve dreamed about…
“My name is Alan Pardew and I’m having an afair. With myself” “I’m on the road a lot and, naturally, I get lonely. I was in a hotel suite in Ipswich when I caught someone’s eye in the mirror. Dressed in a monogrammed dressing gown, he was lean and distinguished, with a shock of silvery hair and a scent that screamed ‘success’. I was hypnotised. Animal instinct took over. Before I knew it, I was locked in a passionate embrace with myself. I thought it was only a one-night stand but I just couldn’t stop thinking about myself. I would constantly send myself firtatious texts during the day. I even wrote some romantic poetry. Since then, it’s become serious. There’s no point denying it any longer: I have fallen deeply in love with myself. But I have discussed it with my wife (an actual human lady), who has been very forgiving. Mike Ashley has been locked in a similarly singular extra-marital affair for many years and so he has also been very understanding about it.”
“My name is Roy Keane and I’m addicted to crochet” “My mammy got me started when I was a wee boy, but since I retired it has come to dominate my life. Some of the fellas fll up the long, lonely days with golf. But you just can’t beat sitting in your favourite armchair, stitching together a beautiful table decoration featuring a wee kitten. It’s very cathartic and I don’t care who knows. By coming forward, I hope to encourage other crochet fans in the professional ranks to speak up about their passion.”
“My name is Olivier Giroud and I wear a wig” “Look at the hold, the body, the sheen. Mai, oui! C’est une toupee! When I frst came to Arsenal, the lads would tease me when I took my wig out of its box before the game. They would laugh and call me the ‘big girl’s blouse’ just because it took me an hour to primp and tease it into position before kick-off.
But now they understand that the wig is part of who I am. Soon, I hope, all my team-mates will take to the feld with fake hair as luxuriant as my own.”
“My name is Roberto Martinez and I’m a long-ball manager” “We all have our football philosophies. Some think the game should be played on the deck; that possession is key; that fans pay to be entertained with elegance and majesty. Some people call those sorts of managers visionaries. I call them soppy tarts. If God had meant football to be played on the ground he wouldn’t have flled the balls with air. Unfortunately I’ve been cursed with cultured, technically gifted players at all of my clubs. One day I dream of assembling a squad of honest clodhoppers who are capable of delivering my footballing vision. Until then, I’ll work with the tools I’m given.”
“My name is Adnan Januzaj and I’m actually Scottish” “My mum told me she was half-Belgian,
half-English, half-Croat and a quarter-Chinese. I told her that made no sense but she just won’t listen to reason. My father, apparently, was a pirate wanted by Interpol who went by a number of pseudonyms including ‘The Scrooge From Bruges’, ‘Captain Columbia’, ‘Medicine Steve’ and ‘Mike From Neighbours.’ His ethnic heritage was unknown until I made a chilling discovery, buried deep in my mother’s wardrobe – my birth certifcate. I was born in Falkirk. I was Scottish. Forget competing in the World Cup; I was destined to room-share with Kris Boyd on an ill-fated away trip to Estonia.”
“My name is Tim Sherwood and I never thought they would actually give me the job” “I mean, come on. I’m a good bloke and all that. I’ve done a good job with the academy. But manage Spurs? One of the Premier League’s most star-studded squads? Nah, I couldn’t see it. Mr Levy is cannier than that. Of course, I told him I wanted to be considered, but it was
“You can’t beat sitting in your armchair, stitching up a table decoration featuring a kitten”
a joke! I even told them I’d get Les Ferdinand in as my wing-man, just to make sure they realised I was mucking about. I assumed they had Fabio Capello lined up all along.”
“My name is Mauricio Pochettino and I speak fluent English” “Ah, the rich, majestic and meandering wonder of the Shakespearian tongue! What colour! What music! What mysterious complexity and tantalising wonders are possessed by this richest of languages. I must confess I’ve been hopelessly enamoured with the words and phrases of this drizzly isle ever since I frst consumed Chaucer’s works as a young man. That interpreter is just for show. I mean, why should I have to converse with Geoff Shreeves?”
“My name is Charlie Adam and I desire a better understanding of James Joyce” “I’ve achieved a lot in my life. I’ve got 20 caps for Scotland. More than that, I’ve got a well-earned reputation as a tough bastard with an impressive range of passing. But what does any of it really mean without a solid grasp of Joyce’s oeuvre? Nothing. That’s why I’ve been attending a twice-weekly evening class called ‘Understanding Joyce’. The lads have had their suspicions for a while. Kenwyne Jones found a copy of Dubliners in my kit bag – I told him it was a car manual. Ryan Shawcross grabbed my Beats by Dre headphones and realised I was listening to an audiobook of Ulysses. I convinced him it was a new rapper from Brooklyn. If anyone tries to tell me that Samuel Beckett was Joyce’s equal then they’re going to fnd themselves on the wrong end of a two-footed lunge in training.”
“My name is Alvaro Negredo and I thought I’d signed for Manchester United” “My agent calls last summer and says, ‘Great news! You’ll be playing in Manchester next season!’ I fy to Manchester. I go to the hotel. I sign the papers. I meet my team-mates. I train. Eventually, I play. ‘But why is this kit blue?’ I wonder. I guessed that it must be the away strip but, deep inside, I knew something wasn’t quite right. I don’t like to ask questions. It wasn’t until we actually played against Manchester United that my fears were confrmed: there was another club in Manchester and I was playing for it. The biggest shock of all was that we were much better than United. None of this makes any sense to me and I’m very confused, to be honest.”
FourFourTwo.com March 2014 39
Working out what the pros are saying is about more than industrial profanities – it could be the difference between winning and losing
Words Joe Brewin
It was pivotal in putting John Terry and Luis Suarez on the naughty step, and helped reveal what made Zizou drive his noggin into Marco Materazzi’s chest in the 2006 World Cup Final. We saw Gary Lineker tell Bobby Robson to “have a word” with Gazza, and Alan Pardew call Manuel Pellegrini an elderly gentleman. Mind-reading? No, it’s much simpler: good old lip-reading. We all do it, trying to decipher those expletive-spouting scallywags on the pitch. Just ask La Liga stars, who dodge sneaky tabloids’ scorn by covering their mouths when communicating with team-mates and managers. It didn’t stop Cristiano Ronaldo being caught calling one referee a cagon (‘massive piece of sh*t’) in a recent Clasico, mind. But that’s where the fun lies for profoundly deaf professional lip-reader John Cassidy – not to mention the skill being rather handy. “I grew up lip-reading my family and friends, because I was the only deaf
YOU ASKING?
person and they never learned sign language,” John, a self-confessed armchair Tottenham fan, tells FFT. “Nowadays players and managers are more aware of where the cameras are, and they’ll regularly look at the big screen to check if they are on it and then cover their mouths. “In America there was a lip-reader relaying an opposition coach’s plays, which prevented a winning touchdown. There’s no reason why football clubs
“Have you seen Ronaldo’s pants advert yet?”
KEVIN KILBANE
Former Tofee
can’t do that too. They know where to fnd me!” Keeping scht um We can all pick out on the sidelin es sweary Marys on the telly, ” rd! wo a e but it’s the pros who are “Hav drafted in to decide the swearing, lip football’s contentious movements and the way that issues. When Terry (four games) and the tongue moves,” says John. “There’s Suarez (eight) were suspended, the guesswork involved, admittedly, but crucial evidence came via lip-readers. knowing the subject matter helps.” So how’s it done? For the likes of John, however, who “You look for has played for the deaf teams of facial expressions West Ham United and Dagenham & that accompany Redbridge, the prospect of on-pitch communication exposure isn’t an issue. Er, quite the opposite. “We use hand or eye signals,” he says, “and referees wave a white fa*g to tell us if there is a foul. Sometimes a player will run the whole pitch and score, not realising the goal’s been disallowed for a foul that took place fve minutes earlier.” But at least if you’re a Premier League club in search of a little advantage, you know who to call.
PATRIK BERGER
Ex-Liverpool star
BRIAN DEANE
MARK BRIGHT
Sarpsborg manager
Opinionated pundit
Words Joe Brewin
Interviews Richard Edwards
Where football folk ponder the issues of the day
Who will qualify for the Champions League this season?
“Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea for defnite, and I have a sneaking feeling that Manchester United will still do it.”
“Liverpool – come on, you knew that was coming – will join Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal.”
“That fourth place is a really tough one to call but I’m going to punt for Liverpool to join City, Arsenal and Chelsea.”
“Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City are nailed on. Fourth is trickier. I’ll say Spurs: Tim Sherwood’s had a positive infuence at the Lane.”
What’s the quickest you’ve broken a New Year’s resolution?
“Probably this year. I was planning to stay dry for most of January but that lasted until the 4th.”
“Load of old rubbish, if you ask me. I don’t do New Year resolutions – it only ends in disappointment.”
“I used to break most of them after two minutes so I don’t bother now. Maybe I should resolve to restart!”
“First week. I was going to try to be a vegetarian, but one day I had some chicken because I forgot.”
40 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
Words Louis Massarella; Illustration David Semple
God save our club Back-to-back relegations from the Championship to League Two, administration and a clear-out of their entire playing staff in 2012: if Portsmouth have God on their side, they could have fooled us. But that didn’t stop club chaplain, the Reverend Jonathan Jeffery, from penning a prayer for the beleaguered south coast side in March 2010, shortly after they were docked nine points for becoming the frst ever Premier League club to enter administration. Here is the prayer in full, with the frst letter of each line spelling out ‘POMPEY’: Praying for this club and its community, Order its affairs at this time, for Management and staff, Players and fans, Everyone who loves this club, You are God of all things, (Amen)
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Rev Jeffery, who invited churches across the Portsmouth Diocese to use the prayer in their services, didn’t believe turning to the Big Man would earn Pompey three points at Stoke exactly – “The role of Chaplain is not to pray for success on the feld,” he once wrote, “but to act as a spiritual safety net for players, offcials, employees and all involved with the club.” It was more a case of summoning strength from on high for the club’s ongoing fght for survival. “That passion [for Pompey] is incredibly important to the city’s morale, and no one wants to see the club die,” he explained. “People like me have obviously been praying for Pompey for years and we aren’t going to stop now.” Four years, six managers, four sets of new owners, more administration misery and three relegations later, the good reverend’s prayers have gone unanswered. Maybe the Almighty is a Saints fan; it would make sense, after all.
Find more stories like this, plus interviews with Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Yaya Toure, Marco Reus and Santi Cazorla, at www.puma.com/footballclub/global/en
Greatest. Comeback. Ever. With their team trailing 5-1 with just 27 minutes to go and down to 10 men since the 17thminute of their 1957 Division Two clash with Huddersfeld, having lost captain Derek Upton to injury, Charlton’s fans clearly believed the game was up, with several thousand heading for the exit. Manager Jimmy Trotter had other ideas. He decided that inside-left Johnny Summers, who had already moved to centre-forward and changed his battered boots as part of a half-time rethink (with the score at 0-2), would be more effective cutting in from the left wing. And so it proved – in spectacular fashion. Summers scored fve second-half goals as the Addicks won 7-6. Unbelievable.
And for my next trick… Known primarily as the coach who popularised catenaccio, Helenio Herrera also believed in the power of the mind. Or more specifcally, in the power of mind games. Alex Ferguson didn’t even
own a hairdryer and the Special One was a mere embryo when the Argentine was waging psychological warfare against opponents. “Before away games he would go onto the pitch frst to make the crowd yell at him, so that they were already tired by the time we came out,” recalled Adrian Escudero, who won consecutive La Liga titles under ‘The Magician’ at Atletico Madrid.
Waddle’s pants promotion The old adage ‘it it ain’t broke, don’t fx it’ was given a stomach-churning makeover by Chris Waddle in the 1983-84 season. When his Newcastle side won fve league games on the bounce in October and November, the notoriously superstitious winger, who once credited his mullet for keeping him injury-free, believed his lucky pants were weaving their magic. Waddle proceeded to wear the same pair for the rest of the season – washed between games, he insists – while his 18 goals helped the Toon to automatic promotion.
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UPFRONT
FORLÁN [ Columnist ]
Diego says it’s not easy moving country at a moment’s notice when you’ve just got married
I
use One player’s wife went crazy beca they’d just had a new kitchen ftted and now they had to move
had just returned to South America from my honeymoon in the Maldives and was looking forward to 2014 with my new wife, Paz. I was happy to start the year as a married man. I’m 34 and didn’t rush into marriage. I’ve seen football transfers push people into living together when that hadn’t been the plan. Sometimes it works for them and they stay together for life, but sometimes it doesn’t. We had a great time in the Indian Ocean. I was recognised, of course, but the people were friendly and left us alone to relax. I spend most of my life travelling so it was great to be in one place, with no cars and no appointments. I didn’t need to look at the time from day to day. No team meetings in a hotel reception, no training, no three-hour coach trips. Wonderful. We few back to our house in Montevideo and then on to Porto Alegre in Brazil, where I had a contract with Internacional until the end of 2014. We’re happy here in what is a big year for the country. My phone went. It was my brother, who’s also my agent. He explained that there had been several offers for me, from North America, Mexico, Brazil and Japan (but not from West Ham, as one rumour suggested). I listened as my brother explained that because of my high salary, Inter would consider selling me. They have a young squad and I was one of the few players whose sale would help them fnancially. They’d already sold my strike partner, Brazilian international Leandro Damiao, to Santos for R$41million (£11 million). Last season wasn’t a good one for Inter and the new manager has his own ideas for the team. The newspaper reports said I was going to Botafogo to play in the Copa Libertadores. I love the idea of playing in that competition, but Inter didn’t want to sell me to another Brazilian team. I understand that – the decision isn’t only mine. Inter hadn’t intended to sell me, but not being able to play at their stadium for a year as it’s renovated for the World Cup hasn’t helped their fnancial situation. I still got paid and I was happy there. I liked the club president, too, and enjoyed a good relationship with players and fans.
Contact Diego on Twitter @DiegoForlan7 and on Facebook: DiegoForlanOfcial
One offer intrigued me – from Japan to play for Cerezo Osaka. I’ve been to Japan four times and always enjoyed it. The standard of football is technically good in the J-League and the offer was an excellent one, worth considering seriously. My wife knows to ignore the rumours about me moving until I’ve told her, but this time I had to ask her opinion and tell her that we might not be living in Brazil for much longer. She was fne about that. She’s
studying medicine, but she can do that online. Like me, she doesn’t get attached to material objects. I’ve heard of a player’s wife going crazy because they’d just had a new kitchen ftted but had to move house a week later because he’d been sold. We have our main house in Uruguay – that’s the place we’re attached to. Paz understands my situation, especially in the transfer window and, like me, sees each move as a new opportunity. I’ve lived in Buenos Aires, Manchester, Villarreal, Madrid, Milan and Porto Alegre and met friends in all of them. I invited my closest friends from each to our wedding. One guy came from Manchester with his family. He would come and watch me play in Villarreal and Madrid. It’s not easy packing your life up and moving to the other side of the world. It would be harder with a family, but we don’t have children yet. Despite all the speculation, I was still contracted to Inter and returned to our pre-season training camp in the hills near Porto Alegre. Some of the players asked me about rumours I was leaving. I was careful what I said – I couldn’t tell everyone as information can be leaked. I said nothing to journalists. I just trained hard. I’d stay at Inter if needed and honour my contract. My friends in Porto Alegre were sad because they don’t want to lose a friend. I don’t want to lose them, but that’s football. Technology is much improved for keeping in contact – there was no Skype when I frst left home – but it’s not the same as meeting face-to-face. Then there are the people you don’t know well but who become part of your life, like the workers in the Uruguayan coffee house near my home or the kind lady in the supermarket. It’s sad saying goodbye, but it’s also good to meet new people. Over the past few weeks, I’ve looked back at all the cities I’ve lived in and the special people I’ve met. My life has been more interesting because of this, not less. So I sign off not quite knowing which continent I’ll be living in at the end of this week. Being a footballer is a great life, but an uncertain one, too.
FourFourTwo.com March 2014 43
[ Secret columnist ]
The Player has spent 15 years across all four divisions. He’s played in the Premier League and for his country.
THE PLAYER Club owners like Vincent Tan have big ideas, but not always great ideas, says our insider
Things turned sour when we hit t no , a bad patch. He told the manager ey on m s hi it’s ks in th Every owner to make life uncomfortable for a high earner who wasn’t playing the club’s. One told a manager to get a well – by dropping him. The manager blamed the owner. It didn’t help that the m hi ck sa ’d owner was rightly suspicious player of ‘his’ wage bill or he he talked football. Thankfully he didn’t interfere, but there are plenty who do. They don’t pretend to be players, pulling on a kit and ball-juggling around Old Trafford like Michael Knighton in 1989 – they’ll be more subversive, by passing their opinions to the manager. Who doesn’t want to be onside with the boss? Some owners get into football to fulfl their egos. They make their money in dull industries where nobody knows them. Buy a football club and you buy fame, the best seat in the house and a power which attracts beautiful women and infuence. I played under one owner who loved his new toy. Ignoring the adage about how you make a small fortune in football – by investing a big one – it was great for him at frst. He was full of ideas of how to turn around this loss-making Premier League club, like a crèche in the unused space under the main stand. He talked a good game and probably believed he could succeed because he’d done well in business. He also made a point of having a better car than any player and told us he could get anyone on the guest list for any nightclub. He was all over the media.
that the manager was getting backhanders from an agent. Results didn’t improve and the owner began to feel the heat: fans turned on him and he was abused after a game while with his wife, and he took it personally. He became petty and told the training ground staff to make sure there was no hot water in the showers. He’d try and belittle players with his superior intellect. He poked fun at one player who turned up with his passport to play an away game in Wales. He wanted to irritate people to whom he felt he was paying a lot of his money, but who weren’t performing. Every owner I’ve met thinks it’s his money, not the club’s. Our owner became even more frustrated, telling the manager to get a player off ‘his’ wage bill or he’d sack him. The owner eventually did that, too, before getting out of football after a huge personal loss. If, as a player, you’re a favourite of the owner then you’re well in. Contract negotiations are much easier, but I try not to get too close. It’s a double-edged sword, because you don’t want to be treated with suspicion in the dressing room. Ultimately, no one wants to be teacher’s pet or the school grass.
Illustration Spencer Wilson
O
ur old chairman sat in the stand complimenting the boss on our performance. “Impressive to be leading here,” he said. The manager told him delicately that we were actually losing. The owner hadn’t realised that we were wearing our away kit. The owner was made to look stupid, yet he was a successful businessman admired by players, partly because he kept his distance. Some had been at clubs where gangsters were in charge and used the club to launder money – or had owners on an ego trip. Players are reluctant to join a club where the owner interferes. Or puts in a chief executive who suggests to the manager that the tennis coach at his country club should “come in for a chat as he’s got some great motivational ideas”. My former manager told him to forget it, but would he have said that to the owner? Our wily old owner would go to games and see us occasionally in the team hotel. Aside from that, interaction would be limited to a chat at the start of the pre-season when his huge Bentley would show up at the training ground. He’d wish us all well. He was seen as a calm and stable force in an unstable industry. For all the talk of passion in football, the best owners are those not given to emotional outbursts. He was the boss and we knew it, but because he’d gone to public school and played rugby, his knowledge of the game was a bit sketchy so we just nodded when
UPFRONT
LETTERS WHERE’S ALL THE TALENT?
It’s time to end the long-lasting debate on the next generation of the English national team. The bottom line is: the young players coming through are simply not good enough. People might blame the FA for a lack of funding or blame clubs for not risking youth, but the reason these players aren’t making Premier League squads is because they don’t have the talent. England’s latest Under-21 squad had 11 players not plying their trade in the top fight this season. Compare that with Spain, and only reserve keeper Daniel Sotres is not playing in the highest division. Yes, Ross Barkley looks a real talent but if you compare him to Spain’s equivalent, Isco, the difference is massive. Barkley was playing well for Everton before his injury, but Isco lit up Real Madrid in his frst few La Liga games, is playing in the Champions League and learning from the best players in the world. We need to face the truth. I’d love it if the next generation could prove me wrong, but the only people to blame for England’s lack of success is the players for not being good enough. Ethan Sisterson, Newcastle
WE NEED MORE ZLATANS! I was lucky enough to receive Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s autobiography as a Christmas present and, though over the top, it made me think about today’s kids and their motivation to play football. Zlatan tells how he grew up in Sweden and had to steal food just so that he could eat. He would practise day after day on skills and tricks to make him different to what he perceived as the boring Swedes with whom he so often shared a pitch. On the whole, kids in the UK are very lucky to have modern gadgets and eat
46 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
mail FourFourTwo, Teddington Studios, Broom Road, Teddington, TW11 9BE Twitter @FourFourTwo Facebook FourFourTwo
what and whenever they like. Though I don’t think the youth systems in the UK help our kids that much, I do think that kids from overseas who have a tough upbringing have a greater hunger to succeed to make it in the game. It would be great to have a Zlatan come through in the UK but I won’t hold my breath. Mark Anderson, Felixstowe
MOYES IN, YOUNGSTERS IN
There’s been a lot of talk about how David Moyes has handled Manchester United so far. The fans who have stuck by him have done so either because of loyalty towards the club that has given them so much joy over the past two decades, or because of the uncanny yet plausible similarity to the early hardships faced by Sir Alex Ferguson. I belong to the former category. The heat has been on Moyes to spend big and add some quality to the squad with which Sir Alex Ferguson had won so much because of his own genius. But do we really lack the quality to live up to our reputation? Is it really time to hit the panic button? Instead of buying, we should culture what we already have. We don’t lack quality; we lack maturity. Sir Alex groomed the Class of ’92 by playing them alongside senior team players like Eric Cantona, Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis. With Adnan Januzaj, Jesse Lingard, Nick Powell and Wilfried Zaha we don’t lack talent. Neither do we lack experience to groom such talent. Xxxxxxx Think Wayne Rooney, Michael xxxxxxxxxxxx Carrick, Nemanja Vidic, Robin xxxxxxx Moyes’ message van Persie and Ryan Giggs. to the moaners After a management change of this magnitude, a little rough patch is to be expected. So I say: stop worrying and believe in the club. Vivek Ghosh, India
H STAR LETTER This summer, many Premier League teams headed to Asia for their pre-season tours. I understand how lucrative these are, with the huge numbers of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool fans in this part of the world, but I think clubs could do more. I’ve recently returned from volunteering in Uganda, working with
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football-crazy orphans and mentally-handicapped children. It was here I saw frst-hand not only Africa’s love for
A VERY SPECIALS FEATURE Thank you and congratulations on your ‘Too Much Too Young?’ feature on Coventry City [FFT 236]. As a distraught Sky Blues fan, given the near clinical and disgraceful lunacy of our owners and landlords (and a huge admirer of ‘2 Tone’ music to boot), this feature really hit the spot and brought me a warm glow. Whichever members of your team came up with the idea to mimic The Specials’ wonderful album cover [above] with Coventry’s young players was inspired. I’d ask the football community not to forget the Sky Blues as our stadium boycott is such a statement of fan discontent and discipline. Thanks for bringing us to national attention! Clive Black, Wirral Thanks, Clive, and many others. The Coventry piece was a joy to produce. Hat tips to all involved.
HOORAY FOR (FC) HOLLYWOOD! It’s not often that I feel compelled to write to a magazine after reading an article. Not even your excellent ‘Galacticos: 10 Years On’ issue made me pick up my pen (or computer, in this case). But the Bayern Munich cover story [FFT 236] was different. I found it fascinating how what has become such a massive commercial operation is run from the same headquarters it has always been on Sabener Strasse. Every department, from the frst team to president
Star letter & Spine Line prizes courtesy of
playing the game, but also watching the Premier League. Every matchday the betting shops and ‘cinemas’ – really just shacks with a projector – Adidas are packed with excitable 11 Pro fans, to the extent that boots their own league scrapes attendances of around 100. When Robin van Persie scored that
WIN!
belter against Swansea on the opening day of the season, the noise was deafening! Would it really hurt these teams to even make a stop in Africa to play just one game? Maybe they wouldn’t make quite as much money but the joy it would bring to these fans is indescribable. Josh Barrie, Pitlochry
UPFRONT
England need at least 10 more of these
TWEETS OF THE MONTH THE REAL PLAYERS Ashley Young @youngy18 BBC 1Xtra Old Skool Friday – raving in the car on the way to training!
Rio Ferdinand @rioferdy5 If u had to go in a toilet & smell a fresh poo or wee what would it be?! #PooOrWee Frowsy Wee Wee is a killa!!
Lambert: wrong
Kieran Gibbs
“Barkley’s a real talent but if you compare him to Isco, the diference is massive”
@KieranGibbs I can’t believe he [Theo Walcott] tried to blame his FIFA loss on “feeling drowsy”
THE FAKES Uli Hoeness, seems to be linked and in constant communication. The players all seem to be on message, and it’s easy to see why they are walking away with another Bundesliga title. On which note, the list of the 16 records they set last season was staggering. In years to come, I’m confdent we’ll be talking about this Bayern team in the same way as Barcelona. The constant is obvious: Pep Guardiola. What struck me most about the piece, though, were the photos. Lahm, Muller, Robben, Gotze and Thaigo all look so happy. So often you see the moody poses, players trying to look hard, but these guys are clearly loving their football and can’t stop smiling. If I was in their shoes, I’d probably be doing the same. Keep up the good work! Ivan Mendoza, via email
SAVE THE FA CUP! It seems such a shame to say, but the love for the FA Cup is fading. After Paul Lambert made ‘out of context’ comments saying that Premier League survival was the priority and top-fight managers could do without the cup, I watched the Forest vs West Ham game and was stunned by the empty seats at the City Ground. It was a similar story watching the evening’s highlights. Being a Wrexham fan, I believe the FA Cup is football’s greatest competition, with the possible exception of the World Cup. Two years ago, we took 2,000 fans to Championship side Brighton and 8,316 flled the Racecourse for the replay. But now only lower-league teams and fans seem to enjoy an FA Cup match in the frst, second or third round. Take Lambert’s Aston Villa against Sheffeld United. There was no one there! Was this a result of Villa fans believing that they would brush their League One opponents aside or are they just not that bothered? I don’t believe that top-fight teams could do without the FA Cup. Yes, maybe some teams would rather keep their Premier league status, but if you gave any manager or fan the chance to be part of a sell-out Wembley atmosphere, lift a trophy and have a crack at Europe, they’d take it, wouldn’t they? Just ask Wigan.
The FA Cup should have a place in the heart of any fan and should be thoroughly loved and supported. Maybe you should think before you speak, Mr Lambert. Joshua Astley, via email
PENALTIES SOLVED: AN ONGOING SERIES With the 2014 World Cup fast approaching, no doubt we will be treated to some painful penalty shootouts, resulting in some poor bugger missing a spot-kick to become the nation’s newest villain. The current penalty shootout tends to produce fall guys rather than heroes, as typically most players score and just one misses. I propose players shooting from further out, the edge of the ‘D’ for example, or 18 yards out. With this set-up, most shots would be stopped and only excellent shooting ability would propel your nation to the next round, thus producing a singular goalscoring hero rather than a penalty-missing villain. Who knows, England might get somewhere, then. Dave Hampson, Shanghai
SPINE LINE COMPETITION This is only the second time I’ve solved the spine line, and I only did this time with the help of my fance’s football-mad primary school class. If I win, I’ll donate the football to them! ‘Friaça (47)’ is the goalscorer and minute of Brazil’s only goal in their 2-1 defeat to Uruguay in e Nike Strik the 1950 World Cup Final at FA ball the Maracana. Alan Brewer (plus Class 4HP), via email Congrats, Alan. Or should we say Class 4HP? A shiny Nike football is on its way.
WIN!
Shinji Kagawa @evilkagawa Moyes say very BIG player will come United summer. Kagawa laugh, maybe he going bring Anderson back from loan
Arsene Wenger @wengerknowsbest Do United need to rebuild their team completely? No. Not necessarily. I believe they need only 10-11 players
YOU @FOURFOURTWO Ryan Bailey @RyanBailey77 Great article in FourFourTwo about unknown British coaches working abroad ! FA should be taking note! #qualifcations
Graeme Thompson @geegraeme01 I recommend that all footy fans read the Bayern Munich feature in FourFourTwo – one of the magazine’s best articles ever I feel!
Joshua Thursby @JoshuaThursby Imagine working for FourFourTwo #dream
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110% FOOTBALL QUIZ (p36-37): 1. 62 2. Arsenal, Southampton, Fulham, West Ham, Chesterfeld 3. Nagoya Grampus Eight 4. Dani Guiza for Mallorca 5. Sturm Graz & Grazer AK 6. Poul Nielsen or Jon Dahl Tomasson 7. Rocky 8. John Terry 9. Hong Kong 10. Owen Hargreaves 11. 34 12. El Hadji Diouf 13. Pat Jennings 14. Edin Dzeko 15. Goodison Park, Old Trafford and Wembley 16. Torino 17. Queen’s Park 18. A) Oleg Blokhin, B) Pavel Nedved, C) Allan Simonsen, D) Johan Cruyff 19. Rashidi Yekini 20. Sex Free 21. Clayton Donaldson 22. Telmo Zarra (251) 23. Albania, Belgium, Kosovo, Serbia and Turkey 24. 1930s (1932) 25. 2008-09
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S
re lotelli? In a ra a B o ri a M l a the re eves he r both: who is o why he beli o w s rT iu u n o e g rF .. u d o o F s that T-shirt. lanet tells u p misundersto , ll e e le s th ib n rr to o s te r e t ie y n tr Enfa ut pla even st talked-abo England and o to m e rn th tu , e re l iv ’l s e exclu says h d’s greatest, rl o w e th e b can Words Matt Barker Port raits Tom Oldham
FourFourTwo.com March 2014 51
MARIO BALOTELLI
“H
as Peter Pan landed?” FourFourTwo is sitting deep in the bowels of the Stadio Brianteo, home of AC Monza Brianza, currently mid-table in Italian football’s fourth tier. We’re less than a half-hour drive from central Milan, but looking around the municipal stadium’s graffti-splattered, crumbling concrete walls and cheerily basic amenities, it’s obvious that this is no San Siro. Anxious faces abound. A flm crew, huddled against the cold in puffa jackets, chatter away via walkie-talkies. The photographer and his assistant check the lighting once more, run through a couple of set-ups and fnally kick back to play a game of iPhone chess. FFT ambles over to the buffet table for another shot of espresso and a handful of those little amaretti biscuits. “No,” the answer comes back over a walkie-talkie. “No sign of Peter Pan.” Earlier that morning, jumping into a cab at Milan’s Linate Airport in the teeming rain, FFT had fumbled around trying to fnd the Briantero’s address. “Yeah, yeah! I know where you mean,” the driver yelled over his shoulder. “You want the stadium? What on earth are you going there for?” Doing an interview. “Who with? A footballer? At Monza?” A footballer, yes, but not a Monza player. It’s actually Mario Balotelli. “Balotelli?!! Whoa, really? Balotelli?! Ha, ha, ha! F***ing hell…” It’s been a year since Mario Balotelli arrived back in Italy, signing for Milan from Manchester City, but he continues to provoke strong reactions, and not just among the nation’s cab drivers. The Italian media welcomed him back to Serie A as the poster boy for a reboot of the one-time ‘Most Beautiful League in the World’. However, it didn’t take too long for the sniping to start. Arriving at a Milan side shackled by fnancial constraints (generally self-inficted) and struggling to play catch-up with a rejuvenated Juventus and buoyant Napoli, Balotelli found himself burdened with new expectations and, with them, new responsibilities. Having spent the previous season as something of a bit-part player at the Etihad, Super Mario was suddenly very much the main man, a rallying point for fans still fuming after the club sold off prize assets Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva to balance the books the previous summer. Despite progressing in the Champions League (the only Italian club to do so), Milan have continued to struggle this season. At the time of writing, going into calcio’s winter break, they were foundering in 13th place, just fve points clear of the drop zone and staring down the barrel of their worst domestic campaign of the Silvio Berlusconi era. Balotelli’s recent downturn in form was mercilessly dissected in the country’s three daily sports papers, with the striker’s goal tally narrowly eclipsed by his number of bookings and sendings-off (10 yellows, one red, compared with 10 goals in all competitions at the end of December). Most of those goals came at crucial moments in crucial games, rescuing precious points for a dangerously underperforming team. No matter. Having been a symbol of a rosier rossoneri future, Balotelli is now in danger of becoming
52 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
Could Balotelli join PSG and former team-mate Zlatan (below right)?
Out with the old, in with the new? Galliani and new gaffer Seedorf
At Milan, Balotelli found himself burdened with new expectations and responsibilities a symbol of Milan’s malaise, of a club increasingly trading on past glories and beset with boardroom squabbles. On December 28, a story appeared in the Genoa-based newspaper Il Secolo XIX, claiming that Berlusconi was now ready to sell the player following an unspecifed disagreement. The move had been agreed with Berlusconi’s daughter Barbara, recently given a role on the club’s board of directors, taking charge of marketing and other commercial activities. Adriano Galliani, Milan CEO and Silvio’s right-hand man in all footballing matters for the best part of three decades, was, according to the newspaper’s version of events, the last to know.
A chip off the old block, Barbara Berlusconi is displaying her ruthless streak
The club issued a statement within hours, “strongly denying” the story. However, in Italy these things rarely happen by chance. Media whispers have long claimed that Galliani and Barbara Berlusconi don’t get on; a spat that goes back to January 2012, when the former was trying to sell off the inconsistent Brazilian striker Pato to PSG for a very useful €35 million, a chunk of which would fnance the signing of Carlos Tevez. Barbara was in a very public relationship with Pato at the time and, the theory goes, persuaded Papa Silvio to put the blockers on any move, thus derailing the Tevez transfer, despite a deal having apparently been agreed with the then-Manchester City player.
MARIO BALOTELLI
Mario: an italian tabloid sensation ‘Balotelli Dealt Drugs For A Joke’ La Gazzetta dello Sport, May 30, 2013 A Camorra turncoat claims in court that Balotelli, on a tour of Naples’ notorious Scampia district, asked known clan members if he could do a spot of drug dealing, just for a laugh. No one really believed the tale – but Mario, understandably, wasn’t happy, tweeting: “Ha, ha, ha, now I’m a drug dealer! SHAME ON YOU.”
‘Balotelli Outburst On Twitter’ Leggo, June 8 Always an entertaining Twitter follow, Mario used his 140 characters to let rip at journalists after being sent off for Italy against the Czech Republic. “Write what you want, you can support another country during the Confederations Cup.” An apology followed: “It wasn’t the right reaction. I have to learn… still.”
‘Balotelli Doesn’t Sign Autographs And His Ferrari Pays The Price’ Il Giorno, August 17 Enjoying a night out in swanky Lugano, just over the Swiss border, Balotelli upsets a group of teenagers by refusing to pose for snaps or sign any autographs. “Forza Napoli!” one irate bystander reportedly yelled. “Forza nothing, I don’t care…” a grumpy Mario allegedly replied. Unimpressed, the locals set about covering his lovely Ferrari 458 Italia in toilet roll.
‘Balotelli: Missed Penalty, Goal And Red Card’ La Repubblica, September 22 The striker sees red during a 2-1 home defeat against Napoli after arguing with the referee. “I’ll kill you!” the cameras catch the striker yelling at the startled man in black. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to say that...” Mario insists afterwards, before copping a three-match ban.
‘Balotelli Strikes The Sport Mediaset Crew’ mediaset.it, October 14 The Italian national team arrive in Naples by train. A TV camera gets a little too close to Balotelli who administers a slap to the offending lens, sending the cameraman sprawling. It turns out to be part of a Sport Mediaset broadcasting unit, the company owned by one Silvio Berlusconi. “I was nervous, I don’t know why,” Mario explains.
MARIO BALOTELLI
According to this particular storyline, Berlusconi’s daughter has never been too enamoured with the idea of Balotelli in a Milan shirt. Silvio famously described the player as a “bad apple… someone who I would never accept in the Milan team” in the days leading up to his signing from City. The move had been instigated by Galliani, who was widely congratulated in the media for landing such a big name at a relatively low price (thought to be around £20m). This was all given extra spice in November last year, when Galliani stated that he was quitting. Two days later, the club announced that their CEO was to stay on and that a new power-sharing agreement with Barbara had been agreed. An uneasy peace has since broken out, though few expect Galliani to be at the club for too much longer. Even without the executive soap opera bubbling away in the background, the question remains whether Milan can actually afford to keep hold of Balotelli. The player has had to get to grips with daily turmoil at the club he supported as a boy, one he would have assumed would be fghting ft and challenging on all fronts. The recent departure of coach Massimiliano Allegri (right), replaced by Clarence Seedorf – hugely successful in his time as a Milan midfelder, but with no managerial experience whatsoever – adds another potential problem to the mix. There have been rumours that Il Presidente is upset by the alleged disrespectful behaviour of Balotelli’s friends, and that the player’s reluctance to don a suit while on Milan duty is a breach of club etiquette. On the pitch, Berlusconi reportedly demanded that he “play closer to the goal”, but under Allegri the striker had fourished in a more creative role, working alongside young attack partners
Super Mario has often had to do it all on his own for Milan this season
Stephan El Shaarawy and M’Baye Niang (now out on loan). Following a rare penalty miss during an uninspiring 1-1 draw at home to Genoa in November, Balotelli tweeted “This is the end” to his 1.6 million-plus followers. He was clearly being sarcastic (the message came with a little smileycon), but it didn’t do much to diffuse an already explosive situation. Within days of the story in Il Secolo XIX, Balotelli’s agent, Mino Raiola, was quoted
RATED: MARIO’S KARTS
in Emirates paper The National saying that the player had all but packed his bags: “Mario wants to leave Milan. We don’t know where he will go; we’re evaluating different opportunities. Chelsea is one option… maybe it was a mistake to bring him to Italy.” A swift denial (“This is low-level journalism”) followed, but the belief persists that the player could be on his way out of Milan in the summer. Links with Chelsea, Real Madrid, Monaco and, most tantalising of all, a reunion with Zlatan Ibrahimovic at PSG still regularly surface. Cashing in on the player,
Chas Hallett, editor-in-chief of What Car?, runs the rule over Balotelli’s rides Bentley Continental GT The Bentley Continental has become the defnitive footballer’s wheels because it’s easy to drive fast, has enough space for the entourage and has one of the poshest badges on the planet. Mario’s twist is, of course, the Action Man-style Camoufa*ge paint job, which does neither the car nor him any favours. Verdict HHHHH (and HHHHH for the colour)
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MARIO BALOTELLI
Tabloid fodder: Mario’s girlfriend Fanny Neguesha
He can still be wonderfully eccentric at times but there’s also a maturity, a certain dignity especially on the back of a decent showing with the Azzurri this summer in Brazil and with fees of £20m and £25m bandied about in the press, could further ease the fnancial pressure elsewhere in the Berlusconi media empire. And so here we are, in the chilly corridors of the Stadio Brianteo. The flm crew’s dubbing of the 23-year-old as Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up, seems a touch harsh. Clearly he can still be wonderfully eccentric at times,
but there’s a maturity as well – even a certain dignity – in his dealings with matters both on the pitch and, increasingly, off it, whether it be poisonous racism in the stadium or confusion in the boardroom. His private life can still be a bit messy, mind. Stories about his relationship with Belgian model Fanny Neguesha have been a constant bugbear, while an ongoing legal paternity battle with a former girlfriend has kept the gossip columns busy.
The crew have been fown over from Portland to produce a video for Balotelli’s new boot manufacturers, Puma. A tarpaulin covers the muddy centre circle out on the pitch, but it’s still chucking it down with rain, there’s an icy wind and darkness has descended. The idea is to get Mario out there in skimpy training kit and his brand new boots, doing a bit of keepy-uppy and throwing some shapes against a green screen. And then he’s going to pose for a few snaps in the freezing corridors of the stadium, and then he’s going to settle down for a little chat with FFT. Hmmm. Suddenly he’s here. He strolls in, casually, almost on the sly. There’s no entourage-pumped fanfare, no pimp roll, no chewing up of space. There is, however, a brooding stillness to his face, breaking out into polite but easy grins as he’s introduced to everyone gathered in the room and, bless his cotton socks, giving a cheery wave and a “Ciao!” to FFT in the corner, out of harm’s way. He defnitely has presence, Mario. And he’s a big old unit to boot. You really wouldn’t want to mess with him. Which may explain why the photographer visibly finches while explaining the set-up for our cover shoot. Balotelli scowls for a moment, then smiles. And then sets about posing for the camera like a trooper, dutifully following directions and yelling at the lens with abandon. This might turn out to be OK after all. However, by the time he’s fnished doing his bit for the flm crew and modelled some natty new gear, his mood has turned decidedly stroppy. You can hardly blame him. “I’m going to get a cold now, I know I am. I know it. I know myself, I’m going to get a cold. What a stupid idea, sitting in the rain in a T-shirt. Look at me.” An attentive member of Team Mario quickly moves a heater towards the shivering striker as he attempts to bury himself further in an outsized touchline jacket. Balotelli sits there smouldering for a moment or two, then turns to a now slightly apprehensive FFT, shrugs and laughs. Which might be by way of an apology. “Right, come on then…” he grins. Which might well be by way of a challenge.
Audi R8 V10
Ferrari 458 Spider
Maserati GranTurismo
Range Rover Evoque
Starting to feel its age now but it still has a good dose of glamour, with the speed and handling to back it up – even if Mario evidenly couldn’t handle it (see post-prang picture below). The 10-cylinder V10 engine is impressive, but this motor and a few other bits are shared with a Lamborghini. With Mario’s wages we’d have bought the real thing. Verdict HHHHH
The latest Ferrari looks amazing, sounds amazing and tears off down the road like a stabbed rat. You can get up to 200mph without even trying that hard. The downsides? Well, it costs a fortune to buy and run – but in Balotelli’s world that’s a mere trife. The problem is that it’s one of the world most conspicuous cars – so not one for attending secret transfer meetings. Verdict HHHHH
This is a proper haute couture car; a proper gentleman’s express – as long as that gentleman likes to carry three friends at warp speed, sat upon lovely stitched Italian leather and listening to one of the fnest V8s in the business. The one downside is that many big, posh coupés handle better, even if they don’t have quite the same kudos. Verdict HHHHH
Land Rover literally can’t make enough of these at the moment. The baby Range Rover was the hottest car of 2013 because it drives well but looks amazing. And it can climb mountains to boot – not that many owners will fnd out. In fact, it may end up being a victim of its own success: if everyone’s got one, will it stay cool? Verdict HHHHH
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MARIO BALOTELLI
We’re both sitting here shivering away. Do you ever fnd yourself missing Manchester at times like these…? [straight away] I miss the fans. I’ll tell you what I don’t miss, though. I don’t miss the food, or the weather, or the stupid way you’re always expected to drive over there... But yeah, the City fans, I miss them. Even though the Milan fans are just as good. I have to say, most of my memories of Manchester are really happy ones. I enjoyed myself there. It wasn’t that much of a culture shock for me to go to England. There’s not a great deal of difference between the two clubs, the way they treat the players or whatever. There was a lot of fuss in the British press after your training ground bust-ups at City. Now you’re back in Italy, we don’t hear about similar incidents at Milan. Does that say more about you, or more about the media in Britain? Unfortunately, some people always want to make a big deal out of this sort of thing. It happens. There’s nothing wrong with it, not really. Even on the training ground everybody wants to win. People have little bust-ups at work all the time – why should football be any different? The important thing is that everyone gets on afterwards. And at City we always did. And anyway, what was it – two times, I think? Once it was with Micah [Richards], who’s a really good friend of mine. [shrugs] These things happen in Italy as well, all the time. No one gets uptight about it. Why should they? I’m not saying that the Italian press are any better than in England – they can both be as bad as each other, to be honest. But in England they always seemed to want to make up stuff about my private life, much more than they ever do over here, which used to p*ss me off quite a bit. They would talk about my family, which really isn’t on at all. I don’t mind being criticised in the press if I’m not playing well – of course I don’t – but I think that the big problem in England is that they have to exaggerate everything all the time, whether it’s an argument in training or something that happens off the pitch. What was the worst thing they said about me? Oh, I don’t know. I don’t want to remember any of that stuff. Do you have a better relationship with the Italian press, then? I don’t have a relationship with the press. There’s a long pause and FFT is worried – two questions in and Balotelli isn’t entirely happy. Not a good start. Briefy we wonder whether Balotelli’s reputation for diffcult behavior isn’t simply a tabloid construct. It turns out, however, that it’s not our line of questioning that he objects to, but the language in which these questions have been put to him. “Actually, do you want to speak in English?” he asks. We’re happy to combine English and Italian if that’s easier, we tell him. [In English] “No, I want to speak in English, OK?” Sure. There was a sense, in England at least, that your career might have stalled a bit
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“You let go.” “No, you let go.” “You frst...”
“In England,they wanted to make stuff up about my private life, which p*ssed me off” when you left City. Did you ever feel the same way? Did you ever doubt your ability? No. I know that I have qualities and that I have plenty to offer as a player. That’s never been in doubt for me. I know that I work hard, that I can be part of a team. I take care of myself. But you know, it was pretty tough at City. Getting into the team, I mean. They have so many attacking players, and it looked increasingly like my options were going to be limited, with new players always coming in. And I really wanted to play, all the time. Do I have any regrets? No, no, the total opposite. It was diffcult at frst, but I went to Manchester as a boy and I came back as a man. Whatever happened to that ‘Why Always Me’ T-shirt you wore during the Manchester derby? [laughs] I’m not sure. Why, did you want to buy it? We’ll give you 10 euros. What? It’s got to be worth more than that! Are you still in touch with any of your former team-mates? Yeah, I got a text from Micah just the
other day. And I see Carlos [Tevez] occasionally now that he’s at Juventus. What about Roberto Mancini…? No. I’ve not spoken to him since I left the club. But, y’know, he’s busy in Turkey, isn’t he? [laughs] I like him, he was a really important fgure in my development as a player. I like him as a person and as a coach. Yes, we had a few misunderstandings, but there’s nothing wrong [between us] and as I say, these things happen. You can’t like each other all the time, can you? Life’s not like that. I don’t think he’s the sort of person who sees such things as being a big problem or whatever, either. Would I work with him again? Yeah. Yeah, I would.
“I like Mancini as a person and a coach. I’d play for him again, yeah”
Milan are having a bit of a tough time of it this season, domestically at least. Do you feel a greater responsibility now as a player? [shrugs] Not especially, no. You’re right, it’s not been an easy season, but we have plenty of good young players. Maybe there’s a bit more responsibility for me
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Balotelli locked horns with Catania’s Nicolas Spolli over alleged racial abuse
There haven’t been many reasons to smile at Milan lately
working with younger players like Stephan [El Shaarawy], but it hasn’t been like it’s a big decision that I had to take. Having Kaka back at the club has helped as well, I think. He’s a very experienced player – someone you can always learn from.
“I don’t know who he is, but I like his goal celebration”
“Would I walk off the pitch if there was racist chanting? Yes. I can be an example to people”
There’s been a lot of talk in the Italian press about your disciplinary record this season. You’ve had one red card, in the game against Napoli. Are you worried that opposition players are now deliberately setting out to provoke you? I don’t know if people deliberately single me out – maybe that’s just something that comes with being a striker. Some opposition players can’t handle you, so they have to try to wind you up. Most referees know what’s going on. They can see it. The fans? If it’s not racist chanting or something, then it’s not really that much of a problem. You grow up with it, really. Would I walk off if there was racist chanting? Yes. If only it were that simple. Of all the challenges facing Balotelli, from reviving an ailing Milan side to winning the World Cup with Italy (more on that later), the most daunting is facing up to the issue of racism. Because in a league where racist chants can still be heard, the question of how you stand by your moral beliefs without compromising your professional obligations is particularly vexing. This
Italy’s frst black MP, Cecile Kyenge, has Mario’s support
was in evidence when Milan played Roma in their penultimate match last season: a game where a win for the Rossoneri would have all but guaranteed Champions League qualifcation. So when the monkey chants descended from the stands, Balotelli bought his index fnger to his lips and shushed the Roma fans, but he stayed on the pitch. Earlier this season, Italian football’s governing body cleared Catania’s Nicolas Spolli of racially abusing Balotelli following an altercation between the pair during a 3-1 win for Milan, leading Balotelli to ironically tweet: ‘Haha, fortunately there is justice in this country’. Outright anger appears to have given way to an understanding (with perhaps a touch of resignation) that it might take time for attitudes to change. But progress is being made: when the country’s frst black MP, Cecile Kyenge, was appointed Italian Minister for Integration last year, Balotelli described the selection as a “big step forward towards a more civil and more responsible society”. While he says he doesn’t want to work with her, he supports her and “is honoured to be associated to her”. While it might seem strange to link a footballer and a politician who have nothing in
common beyond skin colour, it’s almost inevitable; the natural by-product of being cast as the modern, multicultural face of Italy. A responsibility Balotelli is happy to accept. “It’s something that I’m proud of, but it’s not something that I think about every day; I don’t feel like it’s this great weight. I live my life, but yeah, it’s certainly something that I’m conscious of. And that has a certain responsibility that comes with it, I guess, but I don’t feel that I’m some great role model; just that I can be an example to people, to show them that they can live their life how they want. You’ve been quoted in the past as saying that racism makes you feel alone… No, no, no, I never said that. I’m never alone with my family around me. And my friends. But you have spoken about feeling abandoned as a child. Did that feeling drive your ambitions to become a professional footballer? Maybe even made you a little bit ruthless? No, but look, I’m not saying I wasn’t determined, just that I always knew... growing up, I always said to Mama, “I’m going to be a footballer.” I always believed,
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“A word in private if you don’t mind, young man...”
I always knew I would do it. Did racism make me more determined? No, it really didn’t come into it. I really only ever thought about football, and I’m still a bit like that. I don’t think that’s being ruthless. I don’t think it means you’re this or that; just that you know what you want to do. And now that I’m a player, your whole life is based around the game, so maybe nothing’s changed. But I don’t always enjoy the stuff that comes with it. I mean, today isn’t so bad, but I really hate having my photo taken, all the attention. When I do something important on the pitch, when people are proud of me, that’s when it all means a lot. That’s when I love being a footballer. But all this [he makes a sweeping gesture with his arm, directing it toward the camera and lighting equipment] is part of the job. I’m OK with it. Balotelli’s ease with these press commitments certainly comes as a surprise to FFT, having fnally secured some face time with the forward despite numerous failed attempts to speak to him during his time in England. Mario, we were told by many, doesn’t do interviews. Yet here he is, discussing a myriad of topics, knocking them off, one by one. Silvio Berlusconi? “He’s a good football man; whenever I speak to him he always has advice on how we can move the club forward.”
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“I wish my bad side was badder. Sometimes I’d like to really p*ss people of on the pitch” Barbara Berlusconi? [Not particularly convincingly] “Yeah, it’s good to have her at the club as well.” This season’s missed penalties? “No, I haven’t changed anything since missing those penalties. You just have to stay confdent and know what you can do as a player.” Super, his pet pig? “It was a present, from him. He’s always giving away his pigs…” [A friend of Mario’s, in the room with us, proudly shows off a selection of photos of his pet pigs on his phone, including one, presumably of Super’s mother, sporting a rather fetching pair of spectacles. Super, we’re reliably informed, is doing very well.] The Pope and what he discussed during his private audience? “I’m keeping that to myself. He’s a very inspirational man: it meant a lot to me to have an audience with him like that. I took a lot from it and it’s something that I’ll always have with me. Yeah, I believe in God. There have been some moments when I’ve
Above Super, Mario’s pet pig, is doing very well. That’s a relief
used that to help me. To calm me down? Sometimes, yes.” As if to demonstrate the complexity of his character, talk of the Pope’s soothing infuence is followed by a discussion of his heroes growing up: Brazilian Ronaldo and Mike Tyson. “When I was younger, I used to really like boxing. And Tyson was the greatest. And Ronaldo was just fantastic, such a good player. He reminds me of why I love football. Do I have a bit of Tyson’s attitude when I’m playing? [serious] No, I don’t know... I don’t think so... [shrugs] Maybe sometimes. A little bit.” The Pope. Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson. The Pope. FFT can’t imagine two more contrasting role models. Does this ying and yang infuence, we wonder, lead to a constant battle between good Mario and bad Mario? “I don’t know, maybe there have been times when my good side has been too big! Maybe I wish it wasn’t
MARIO BALOTELLI
What can we expect from the Azzurri this summer? Could they surprise a few people? I think we could do OK. Playing in the Confederations Cup was a really good learning process for us – it helped us bond further as a squad, to get used to the conditions there. And now we’re looking forward to it as a squad, because we know what to expect there. [Cesare] Prandelli’s a great coach – you can learn so much technically from him. And he has created a really good atmosphere among the squad. Has he helped me? Yes, absolutely. And you’ve got England in the frst game. Yeah, England. It made me smile. It’s funny. It’ll be nice to catch up with some old friends. Do I have a prediction for the score? No, no, I never make predictions... [laughs] Right. But let’s say Italy are awarded a penalty during the game. Would you fancy taking one against Joe Hart again? Yeah, yeah. [shrugs] Will I score? [laughs] Ask him if he’s going to save it... Are we ever going to see you back playing in the Premier League? [straight away] Yes. When will that be? I don’t know. But yes. [laughs] I answered the question, didn’t I?
The Pope (left), Ronaldo (top) and Tyson: Mario’s idols, of course
sometimes. I wish my bad side was badder. Yes, I do. I’d like to really p*ss people off. On the pitch, I’m talking about. Sometimes, I think I should be a bit tougher out there...” Talk then turns to Balotelli’s ambitions. As a young player, he very publicly stated his aim to be the best player in the world, even claiming earlier this season that “only Messi and Ronaldo are better than me”. We wonder if the development of a player like Franck Ribéry, who’s also had his ups and downs but is now a Ballon d’Or runner-up, gives Balotelli hope that this aspiration isn’t merely wishful thinking. [straight away] “Yes, I still want to be the best player in the world. I’m a different player from Ribery, though... Our personalities are similar? Maybe, I don’t really know... I think every good player, no matter what their personality is or whatever, can be an inspiration for you.” Ibrahimovic? “Zlatan’s an incredible player, yes. Guys like him can show you what it’s possible to achieve. You just have to believe in yourself, I suppose.” Would you agree that performing well at the World Cup could go a long way to helping you achieve this aim? I’m going to enjoy myself. It’s in Brazil, it’s my frst World Cup and I want to have a good
Above Reckon you could save one of these, Joe Hart?
time. I’m really looking forward to it. Really, I don’t see it as being some sort of big stage for me – I just want to go there and enjoy the experience. And I will. Playing for the Italian national team is really important for you, isn’t it? I don’t understand these players who don’t want to get involved in international football, who say they’re tired or whatever. For me, it’s a really big deal to play for the Azzurri. And I know that for the other guys in the team, it means a lot. I’m very proud to play for Italy, I love playing for Italy. I don’t know, is it really so different in England?
A man from the crew clears his throat. “Would it be possible to squeeze in another photo shoot?” Balotelli sighs, raises his eyebrows at me, pauses for a second or two and jumps out of his seat. There’s no Kevin the Teenager-type strop, just a matter-of-fact “OK, let’s go...” He’s back out in the cold corridors of the Brianteo, patiently striking a pose to order, before the day’s fnally wrapped up and he heads out into the chilly night air, heading east over towards Brescia and home. Three days later, he’ll line up for Milan, playing against his former club Inter in a strangely fat derby. Scoring the only goal late on, Inter just edge a poor match between two out-of-sorts city rivals. Balotelli has a quiet game, often cut adrift by poor service from the Rossoneri midfeld (pretty much summing up Milan’s season so far). It’s just the sort of occasion where you would expect the player to grow increasingly frustrated and agitated, baited by opposition fans and players, adding, at best, another yellow card to his collection. But no. The biggest Mario-commotion in the following day’s papers comes courtesy of his new boots. The British tabloid portrayal of Balotelli as an arrogant, gormless hothead really doesn’t ring true. He’s lucid, sharp, sometimes even self-effacing (though never modest). And it’s clear he’s increasingly aware of his responsibilities to his club and country, both on and off the pitch. Peter Pan, it would appear, has grown up. Mario Balotelli wears PUMA evoPOWER boots to optimise his kicking power and accuracy
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#CHAMPIONSLEAGUE
TRENDING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WILL BE... IN THE
From defecting Drogba to dirty, dirty Dortmund, get a load of the sensational and shocking hashtags we predict the knockout stages are about to throw up... Words Nick Moore and Andrew Murray
62 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
#CHAMPIONSLEAGUE
#BalevsCR7
In the biggest show of one-upmanship since the Cuban missile crisis, the ‘friendly’ Real Madrid competitive streak between Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo goes supernova against Schalke. Ronaldo makes it 1-0; Bale hits back for 2-0. Ronaldo arcs in a trademark free-kick; Bale breaches copyright with an identical one. Ronny scores with a roundhouse based on Bruce Lee; Bale beats fve men and nets using footwork from traditional Welsh Nantgarw folk dancing. Both sign grooming contracts at half- time, and the fxture is abandoned at 6-0 when CR7 comes out for the second half wearing the Ballon d’Or trophy as a hat and everyone realises Schalke have gone home.
#CityTheNewBarça
#GetOnsideOllie Arsenal’s Oliver Giroud is the Champions League’s most offside player, a record he holds jointly with Olympiakos’ schemer Konstantinos Mitroglou, with 10 calls. He spends the entire fxture against Bayern Munich in a futile argument with the assistant referee.
In their attempt to turn east Manchester into the next Catalonia, City snatched former Barcelona Director of Football Txiki Begiristain and placed him in the same role, bagged ex-Barca Vice-President Ferran Soriano as their CEO and hired Manuel Pellegrini with the remit of playing the most beautiful and successful football in Europe. Barça feared this fxture – Spanish sports paper Mundo Deportivo prayed ‘EL CITY, NO’ before the draw took place, and no wonder: City’s Champions League games have been the biggest goalfests of any team this season (18 for, 10 against). Now the pendulum of power truly swings towards Manchester – as Messi and chums are defeated in fne style by Pellegrini’s men (this single match ends 18-10 on aggregate). Worse, Yaya Toure does most of the damage – a player Barcelona never deployed as an attacking option. “!YAYA – NO, NO¡” booms Mundo. Is a new European dynasty approaching?
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#DrogbaIsABlue Chelsea vs Galatasaray begins 12 vs 10, and confusion reigns until it is noticed that Didier Drogba has – like a young boy accidentally heading to school on a Saturday – absent-mindedly put on a Chelsea kit and run out for Mourinho’s men, bagging more goals in the frst 10 minutes than Torres has got all season.
#XaviWho?
#RobertoPotter Whenever Roberto Mancini moves job, local wool manufacturers – if not the local sheep population – must clang their knitting needles together with barely-contained glee. Now he’s in charge of Galatasaray, the latest addition to the Italian’s sartorial knitwear collection gives Mancini the look of someone auditioning for Harry Potter: 40 Years Later. All that’s missing to complete the look is a pair of round-rimmed glasses and a slightly more bewildered default expression than the Mediterranean fre that usually explodes from Mancini’s features. He’ll need all the wizardry he can muster to get past old foe Jose Mourinho, very much the Voldemort to Roberto’s Potter (except he has hair).
Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Motta has achieved the near-impossible by out-passing Xavi in the Champions League so far this season. He’s only narrowly ahead: with 647 completed efforts compared to the Barcelona Sat-Nav’s 638, it’ll only take a few mis-kicks to turn the tables, but the Brazilian-born Italian can currently wear the accuracy crown. Bayern’s Toni Kroos holds third spot with 537, while Sergio Busquets (492) and Motta’s midfeld mate, Marco Verratti (478), make up the top fve. Motta then records a 99 per cent completion rate against poor Bayer Leverkusen.
#BVBWTF? Borussia Dortmund unexpectedly line up with a bunch of kids to play against Zenit St Petersburg after a number of the frst team call in feeling “poorly”. The next day, Bayern Munich unveil their new signings for next season: Marco Reus, Ilkay Gundogan, Lukasz Piszczek, Mats
Hummels, Sven Bender and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. And those kids? They beat a Zenit side that have won just one game and scored only fve goals in the Champions League this season, continuing Dortmund’s unbeaten run against Russian sides.
#ACMeltdown While slipping closer to the relegation mire in Serie A, AC Milan are humiliated 4-0 by Atletico Madrid – their ffth straight failure to beat a Spanish side in a Champions League knockout tie. Their top scorer in the tournament remains Own Goals. A furious Silvio Berlusconi blasts his players as “simpering, impotent ladyboys”, and appoints a Danish lingerie model, a weathergirl and his dental hygienist to the Milan Bunga Bunga Board in response.
#CHAMPIONSLEAGUE
#FortressCalderon Atletico have won their last three encounters with Italian sides, conceding just one goal. They have let in only three strikes in the Champions League this season, the best tally overall alongside Chelsea and Manchester United. And they are unbeaten in this tournament. Drawn against a goal-shy AC Milan, a clean sheet in Madrid helps Diego Simeone’s men ease into the quarters.
#MakeItStop
#BayerPain
#DuckInRowZ! Of the players left in the tournament, Burak Yilmaz is the least accurate in front of goal: he’s had the greatest number of shots, 10, without scoring. Chin up, though: the Galatasaray man was joint top scorer in last year’s Champions League group stages (with six), so he has pedigree at this level – and manages to trouble Chelsea with a couple of efforts on target in this round.
Bayer Leverkusen have lost their last fve games in the Champions League knockout stages (fve goals for, 18 against), and have scored only one goal in their last three Champions League games. Faced with a rampant PSG side completing 90 per cent of their passes and spearheaded by Zlatan, they are humped 8-1 on aggregate.
Arsenal are having a hell of a season, but German sides seem to be their nemeses. Bayern beat the Gunners the other two times the clubs met in this tournament, and the North London team have lost their last three home games with Teutonic teams (against Bayern, Dortmund and Schalke). The defending champions have made it to three of the last four fnals, and despite Arsenal’s high-fying Premier League performances – and their win at the Allianz in March 2013 – it’d be unwise to bet against that happening again. A thrashing it ain’t, but Pep’s men edge past English oppo again – with Arsene Wenger raging at a ref also nailed on…
#CHAMPIONSLEAGUE
#ChopperKlopp Bayern Munich are the cleanest side left in the Champions League, with just 61 fouls conceded. But while Pep’s men are virtual saints, fellow Germans Borrussia Dortmund are sinners: with 100 fouls committed, Chopper Klopp’s men are the dirtiest side left in the last 16. Zenit take to the feld wearing two pairs of shinpads each as a precaution.
#ForFuchsSake Christian Fuchs (yes, yes, settle down at the back), may not be a guaranteed starter for Schalke, but the lank-haired Austrian left-back is a diligent defender who can also provide cover in midfeld. That said, expect English-speaking Folen fans to groan with disappointment if the naughtily-named full-back comes off the bench to take on the world’s most expensive player – Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale. Or not: Schalke fans with an intimate knowledge of Anglo-Saxon slang probably aren’t too numerous, in fairness.
#SpallettiForVendetta “I don’t look very nice,” Zenit St Petersburg coach Luciano Spalletti once sighed. “I look like a villain.” Don’t do yourself down, Luciano: you actually resemble the titular freedom fghter from 2006 action thriller V for Vendetta. The pencil beard, pallid complexion and chiselled cheekbones – allied to swashbuckling never-say-die charisma – all echo the Guy Fawkes-inspired masked man perfectly. The anti-hero tag goes further: despite an attacking philosophy, Zenit reached the last 16 with a record-low six points and -4 goal difference. Spalletti has yet to blow up parliament, though.
#CHAMPIONSLEAGUE
#BulutInTheHead You can prove anything with statistics, including the fact that Galatasaray’s Umut Bulut is a better striker than Lionel Messi. The rangy Turk has a 75 per cent conversion rate of chances to goals in this year’s tournament, as opposed to Leo’s paltry 60 per cent. Of course, you could argue that Bulut’s three from four chances were of a lower quality than Messi’s six goals from 10, but that would ruin things. Bayern’s Mario Goetze (50 per cent conversion), Schalke’s Julian Draxler (43 per cent) and PSG’s Edinson Cavani (40 per cent) make up the top fve. Against Chelsea, Bulut scores one goal from one chance, propelling his ratio up to 80 per cent. Where’s that Ballon d’Or voting slip?
#HitHimGabi Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone once said he played football “as if clenching a knife between my teeth”, but which kitchen utensil he encourages captain and midfeld growler Gabi to imagine biting is anyone’s guess. A meat cleaver, maybe? With 19 fouls in the group stage, the 30-year-old tough guy conceded more free-kicks than anyone bar Celtic’s Jesus lookalike, Georgios Samaras. AC Milan had better have their wits about them when coming up against this wily fox, who is still going strong in La Liga.
#AriseSirMoyesy Fans of other English sides have been so busy chortling at David Moyes’ teething pains as he gets to grips with his new job that the possibility of Manchester United actually winning the Champions League – and him emerging from his frst season as a Mancunian hero with a better strike rate in Europe than Sir Alex – hasn’t really entered anyone’s mind. But as they pummel Olympiakos both home and away, the possibility of this happening suddenly arises. “It’s too early to talk about knighthoods,” says Moyes afterwards coyly, as fans across Europe suddenly realise that if Liverpool’s dodgy 2005 side can win this tournament, why can’t United’s shonky 2014 vintage? With the Reds unbeaten in the Champions League so far, having conceded just three goals, and with four straight clean sheets under their belts, stranger things have happened. And they do, as Sir Alex is pictured actually smiling and applauding a convincing Old Trafford victory while Sir Bobby Charlton performs a small jig.
PASSION
68 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
PASSION
WHERE’S THE Fans demand it, many of today’s players are accused of lacking it, and most of us mistake it for effort. But can a footballer really give his best if he doesn’t love the game or his team? Words Nick Moore
It is a football fan’s divine right, it seems, to sit in judgement of those lucky people whose wages we pay. We loll in stands with our beer bellies, tiny lung capacities and inability to run a bath, accusing fnely-tuned athletes with seven per cent body fat of being lazy bastards. Through mouths crammed with pie we inform men who will be dropped and could lose their livelihood should they not perform to the highest standard every week that they are not trying. That they are not passionate, perhaps because they don’t know the words to the club song, as we do. It would seem ridiculous, were it not for the fact that such an attitude seems to pervade the game at every level. Witness Neil Warnock’s recent TV diatribe about Cardiff City at Anfeld, where, at half-time, the Welsh side had so far been comprehensively outplayed. The fact that Liverpool simply boasted better players was not mentioned. They’re not applying themselves, implored Warnock, a bastion of Yorkshire graft. They need some fre. His colleagues nodded sagely. FourFourTwo once personally witnessed a demonstration of why such thinking can be barmy: allowed into the dressing room at Gateshead, we met a pumped-up, testosterone-crazed group of men roaring about eating the other lot alive. Captain
Ben Clark, every other word a Saxon curse, seemed ready to run onto the pitch through breezeblocks. We were convinced that they were about to destroy their foe, but once playing, they barely seemed bothered. Opponents Southport were frst to everything – appearing as if they wanted it more – even though the changing room scenes amply demonstrated that this was not the case. “Where’s the commitment?” roared the Gateshead loyalists, not privy to the communal pre-match chest-beating, convinced conviction was the problem. Afterwards, the players quietly admitted that they’d simply been outplayed. They were spent, exhausted. The 110 per cent of cliché had been put in – Southport were just physically superior specimens. And yet, could the terrace judges, the letter-writers, the phone-in moaners have a point? Passion is a great intangible, and many believe strongly in its power. Could it be true that those players we hold up as heroes, driven by regional pride or a personal will to win
Below Monday night’s all right for fghting when Carra and G-Nev are there
that has gone into overdrive, are genuinely better at football than those who are quieter or more sophisticated in their strategic approach? Is money ruining the sport, feathering the nests of pampered professionals so lavishly that they genuinely don’t need to bother themselves as much as they perhaps did in the past? And what is passion anyway, when you actually boil it down? FFT gave itself a motivational talk, yelled into a mirror and set about fnding out whether passion still exists – and if it really matters.
“There is a saying in Bulgaria that great quality doesn’t require much effort” Benoit Assou-Ekotto hasn’t helped. The Spurs man, now on loan at QPR, articulated what many suspected in an extremely candid Guardian interview three years ago. “Is there one player in the world who signs for a club and says:
PASSION
‘Oh, I love your shirt, your shirt is red?’ He doesn’t care,” confessed Benny. “The frst thing that you speak about is the money. All people, when they go to a job, it’s for the money. I don’t say that I hate football – but it’s not my passion. I don’t understand why everybody lies. When I say I play for the money, people are shocked: ‘Oh, he’s a mercenary’. Every player is like that.” The widely-ignored footnote was, of course, that Assou-Ekotto also insisted that, despite not fghting for any particular shirt, “when I’m at work, I do my job 100 per cent.” He may not be passionate, but he is trying. Then there’s Dimitar Berbatov, perhaps the English game’s bête noir in terms of looking like he doesn’t give a monkey’s. Every time he appears, Twitter seethes at the fact the Bulgarian isn’t tearing around the pitch like Lee Cattermole pursued by angry bees. Instead, he drifts majestically like the royal barge, which is immediately translated as indifference. But is it even possible that a man with 78 international caps over 11 years, once worth £30m to Manchester United, doesn’t attempt to make the best of his abilities, which is surely the defnition of effort? “I’m a proud person,” said Berbatov. “I don’t like to show my weaknesses. I don’t want to show my emotions in public. That is probably why people sometimes misjudge me. I always play like this. That is what got me here. You’re not going to see me puffng around the pitch.” While maintaining that he “gives 100 per cent” he added: “There is a saying in Bulgaria that great quality doesn’t require much effort. I like to play with beauty and grace – that has always been my philosophy from a young age. You see games where the ball is fying from one box to another and it makes my neck hurt. That’s not football for me.” The best team on the planet meanwhile, Spain, aren’t exactly
Alonso displays Spain’s passion for being ace
“When a player is earning £200,000, he’s happy to take the cash... passion is missing”
Michael Gray, blood and thunder
exponents of blood and thunder. Real Madrid midfeld schemer Xabi Alonso may always look unruffed, but he has often spoken of feeling mentally exhausted after a game, more than physically. Surely this total commitment to maintaining a tactical position, rather than bombing around mindlessly, is dedication in another form?
“Spain may look relaxed, but we also give everything, and have competitive tension,” he says. “We didn’t win the World Cup lying back on a lounger. We put a lot into it. It is vital that you have things that you know how to do. We have created that and it is a huge advantage.” Such thinking is absent from those who deepen the debate by extolling the virtues of the lower leagues. They almost universally argue that their version is ‘real’ football played
FIVE MOST FIRED-UP PLAYERS
GENNARO GATTUSO
ROY KEANE
EDGAR DAVIDS
ANDONI GOIKOETXEA
KEVIN MUSCAT
Capable of growing a beard in under a minute, threatening to take his own life if found guilty of match-fxing, nicknamed ‘Rhino’, ‘The Growl’, ‘Braveheart’, Il Gladiatore and Il Diavolo, the Italian midfelder liked winning a lot.
Abusing prawn sandwich noshers, adding “take that you c*nt” to Alf-Inge Haaland’s career-ending injury, grapples with Patrick Vieira – it’s fair to say the Irishman had a will to win. “Maybe I should’ve played rugby,” he refected recently.
A warmonger for Ajax, Milan, Barça, Inter and Spurs, even at 40 and playing for Barnet in the Skrill Premier, Davids couldn’t contain himself: this season, after his third red card in six games, The Pitbull vowed to hang up his muzzle.
Perhaps angered by having to constantly spell his surname to people, the ‘Butcher of Bilbao’ could be a trife hot-headed on the pitch. He once shredded Maradona’s ligaments and later had the offending boot mounted in a glass display case.
When does a will to win end and a will to maim begin? With Kevin Muscat, believe many. Spanish football website El Gol crowned the Aussie former Wolves, Millwall and Palace man as history’s dirtiest player last year.
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PASSION
Sami Hyypia, once a fercely committed Finn at the heart of Liverpool’s defence, now a relatively young manager at Bayer Leverkusen, claims that hefty paychecks are a disincentive to fght for your life. “I see some games and think: ‘What’s happening?’” he says. “Maybe the game has developed in a wrong direction. When a player is earning £200,000 a week, he is happy just to get the money. Somehow passion is missing. I wonder if they are trying hard enough.” Shaun Derry, an archetypical Duracell Bunny-like whizzer as a player, concurs. Currently manager of Notts County, Derry won credit in the middle of last year’s hideous QPR relegation mire when he told of being “absolutely gutted” by a lack of effort from some team-mates. “I don’t resent them for their money,” he said of some of the recent signings who were raking in far more than he was. “What I do get upset about is if they don’t earn that. You have got to work hard for your money, regardless of whether you get £10 a week or £100,000. The most upsetting side was seeing certain players with a pedigree not contributing. You know as a pro when players aren’t giving their all. I’ve been in the game for 20 years and I know when people are fghting for the cause and when they are winging it.”
“How dare you dive when I’m trying to commit an honest foul?”
by ‘real’ people, salt-of-the-earth workhorses rather than moisturised money-bots. Recent research by the University of Sunderland goes some way towards explaining why this is. Dr Paul Bradley, a senior lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science, analysed the movements of 300 players in the Premier League, Championship and League One. He discovered that those in the third tier cover signifcantly more ground per outing than those in the second, and at a higher intensity – while Championship individuals themselves out-run top-fight players. Bradley also discovered that when players were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship, they began to run greater
distances at a higher intensity – while it wasn’t true for those going in the opposite direction. “The results were quite surprising,” he says. “We expected there would be differences in the technical areas between the leagues, but not the physical nature.” Oddly, Bradley does not believe that this data points to evidence of diminishing effort higher up – merely that long-ball tactics prevalent further down the divisions was the reason that players run further. Either way, “graft” is more visibly evident the further you descend the chain, making it easy to reinforce the impression of overpaid loafers at the top. Many esteemed observers, however, propose this impression is not a false one.
“By the time the match came round, I was frothing at the mouth”
More money = less passion, says Hyypia
The overtly emotional likes of Derry are the fip-side to the debate. Virtually every side has had an individual or two adored for their perceived fghting qualities, and most of them will suggest that giving the extra couple of per cent really does make a difference. “I worked hard every day, because a big word in Sunderland is passion,” says Michael Gray, the Mackem-born-and-bred former Black Cats defender who was worshiped for busting a gut on Wearside. “I used that
FIVE LEAST FIRED-UP PLAYERS
ESPEN BAARDSEN
MATT LE TISSIER
WILLIAM ‘FATTY’ FOULKE
JUAN ROMAN RIQUELME
TOMAS BROLIN
A Norwegian Assou-Ekotto, the former Spurs stopper left football at 25 because he didn’t really like it any more. “I got bored,” he says. He now works at an asset management company, which sounds much more exciting.
“If Matt Le Tissier was a comedian, he’d stand in silence for 90 minutes, then tell the funniest joke in history,” said Frank Skinner once about the Saints legend who once confessed to cheating on ftness runs.
Sheffeld United’s 24-stone goalkeeper between 1894 and 1905 was not an athlete. He once said, “I don’t care what they call me as long as they don’t call me late for my lunch” – but still won a league title, two FA Cups and an England cap.
The Argentine Le Tiss, albeit slimmer, ‘the Lazy Magician’ was, as the moniker suggests, an undeniably sublime playmaker, but he infuriated Villarreal fans as much as he bewitched them with his utter refusal to track back.
Often regarded as the worst ever import to the Premier League, the once-dazzling Swede has since confessed to deliberately playing badly for Leeds because “running like an idiot wasn’t me; I decided I was going to be p*ss-poor”.
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PASSION
passion on the feld, because it was something I felt myself as a fan. Pulling on that shirt was an ambition. It was something all my friends had wanted to do; something I’d dreamed of since I was a kid. So I couldn’t go out there and let anybody down. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself. “I believe you can use passion on the pitch to help you win. At Sunderland we had an amazing team spirit – unbelievable levels of motivation. Sometimes, standing in the tunnel we knew the opposition were beaten, simply because we were so totally up for it.” Alan Shearer also claims that commitment can outgun ability, The dangers of too his sentiments the reverse of much passion, kids Assou-Ekotto’s. “I’d have played football even if I hadn’t got paid,” he says. “At Blackburn we had a great team spirit, which is why we won the league. There might have been better teams, but there wasn’t a team with better spirit. It got us over the line in the end. And at Newcastle we all got on well. We went out together – we were a real unit.” What is actually going on in the brains of such players, scientifcally speaking? Dr Steve Peters, a consultant psychiatrist who has worked with Liverpool as well as British Cycling during their period of Olympic dominance, explains. “Testosterone is a natural steroid produced by the body to create dominance behaviour,” he says. “Not very much research has been done looking at passion to win, but we know that anticipation of winning in competition can increase testosterone levels. Below Assou-Ekotto: “So it’s not being passionate about winning, not even bothered but rather having a belief that you are about about matching boots to win, that can increase levels. Better performances because of increased testosterone levels are brought about by increased muscle mass and power, and also by an increased drive to dominate.” However, it is unwise to equate this with being a better player, says Dr Peters, whose book, The Chimp Paradox, is all about optimising performance through emotional management. “There is little evidence to suggest that increasing testosterone levels will result in improvement on the feld. Being ‘extra fred-up’ will mean different things to different people. If the interpretation is one of being extremely driven but under emotional control, then the result is likely to increase the chances of success. Some studies show that when athletes enter ‘the zone’, they are in a fairly calm state and can execute actions quickly and with accuracy. But if the interpretation is one of being highly emotional, the chances increase of poor judgement and inappropriate emotions being expressed, such as uncontrolled aggression.” Micky Quinn, who played over 500 league games during a career that he says was “powered by a hunger, a will to win”, admits that sometimes he completely boiled over and became an example of passion working negatively. “I wasn’t like Michael Owen, living
“Hands up if you’d do this for free!”
“There is little evidence to suggest increased testosterone levels improve performance” in Cheshire and getting helicoptered into Newcastle – I lived among the Geordies,” he laughs, when considering his old Tyne-Wear Derby days. “It’d start a week before, going into a shop. Grannies would be saying, ‘Get stuck into them Mackems.’ It was drummed into you. By the time the match came round, I was frothing at the mouth, ready to kick anything in red and white. I never really played well as a result. I let the passion overspill. “I didn’t have nightmares, but I couldn’t control my natural game. I’d be out of position, fying into tackles, kicking people, being silly, getting in faces. I wasn’t concentrating on what I had to do – be cool, calm and collected and wait for a chance in the box. I was too busy overdoing it.” Dr Peters explains Quinn’s overexcitement. “If we have heightened emotions then it is natural to try and express these,” he says. “But this emotional energy can quickly change form, from excitement to anger. It can then be linked to thoughts such as ‘this game should be fair’, and if a player then perceives unfairness on the pitch it can result in a severe aggressive reaction.” The equation that “getting stuck in” equals trying is fawed, thinks Xabi Alonso. “I don’t think tackling is a quality,” he once said. “It’s something you have to resort to, not a characteristic of your game. It’s hard to change because it’s so rooted in English football culture, but I don’t understand it.”
His former Liverpool team-mate, Jamie Carragher, agrees. “We think of my type of player, blocking shots, putting tackles in, as being passionate,” he says. “Passion exists and it’s not a bad thing – I’d sometimes get annoyed at players not putting a shift in. If you switch off for a minute, that can cost you a game. But for Spanish players, their passion is getting on the ball and passing it, making angles, keeping position and possession. Passion can mean different things. It’s easy to say ‘they wanted it more’, but everyone goes out there wanting to win.” So should we hold back our abuse the next time we deem that one of our team’s players is a lazy swine? Dr Peters thinks so. “It doesn’t make any sense to assume that if someone is not performing well, they are not trying. Footballers rely on a good performance in order to be selected again and for their own reputation. In my experience, players give everything during the game. I have never seen anything other than true professionalism.” The truth of the matter probably lies in some middle ground. Wanting to win is clearly important, but dedication is only one part of the jigsaw. Micky Quinn maintains: “Fans can tell when someone isn’t up for it.” But Alonso says: “Passion is necessary, but it’s more important to have footballing foundations. Passion isn’t something you work on. It’s more important to truly understand the game.” A look at his medal collection suggests he might have a point.
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PICTURE SPECIAL
That’s sooooo last season DAAAHLING February means London Fashion Week – but more importantly, an excuse for FFT to revisit some horror show photoshoots. Thankfully, a half-naked Ribery won’t be on the catwalk...
PICTURE SPECIAL
Messi tries to muscle in on Ronaldo’s territory
“The name’s Henderson. Jordan Henderson.”
Becks shows off his new sleeves, apparently after being sewn together along his left side
Did Franck Ribery mention he’s French?
Christian Karembeu’s audition for the role of the Old Spice man wasn’t successful
A lead role in a BBC1 drama surely awaits for Gerard Pique
“Lend us your cardy, Robin, my arms are cold”; “Get your own, you big Cisse”
If Mutu’s fies ever came undone, he’d certainly know about it
PICTURE SPECIAL
Jari Litmanen, looking about as comfortable as he did at Fulham
Wrighty’s been raiding Chris Eubank’s wardrobe
PICTURE SPECIAL Frank “Oh, I didn’t notice you were taking a picture” Leboeuf
In fairness to Freddie Ljungberg, you’d be smug in his position
“I average 95 per cent pass completion, you know...”
Christophe Dugarry was never known for being all-action
PICTURE SPECIAL “When you said you wanted a photo of me poolside...”
“Oi, Jose – pick me or I’m off!”
Hollywood has yet to hear of Vinnie’s Big Break years
Thierry’s evil lair is still under construction
MANUEL PELLEGRINI
MEET THE ENGINEER A relative unknown on these shores when he succeeded Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini has quietly turned Man City into goal-hungry glory chasers. FourFourTwo asks him how...
Words Andrew Murray
F
ootball stadiums on non-matchdays can be eerily undead places. There’s no bustling hum of anticipation, slowly rusting burger vans sit mournfully unused and solitary fgures tend the grass alone amid a sea of unoccupied seats. When leaden grey skies, gale-force winds and horizontal rain buffet this empty ground, the howling scene becomes increasingly Biblical, the apocalypse seemingly imminent. Welcome to Manchester. It’s early December as FourFourTwo, a laptop and a sweaty chicken sandwich await Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini in one of the Etihad’s opulent directors’ boxes. Trains are being cancelled – FFT will have to fy back to London later that evening – and trees block the Cheshire roads that lead to City’s cavernous ground, one such fallen timber delaying Pellegrini for the only one-on-one interview he has given to the print media. As 4pm comes and goes, 24 hours after City had won 3-2 at West Bromwich Albion, a lonely FFT starts to worry that if the Chilean doesn’t emerge from his club dinner soon, we’ll be seriously eating into Pellegrini’s time
80 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
on what is effectively his day off. We needn’t have worried. No sooner is the City boss aware he’ll be talking to the world’s biggest football magazine – one he requested be available at the club’s Carrington training ground – than he is sat beneath a photo of Colin Bell, explaining what el sello Pellegrini (‘the Pellegrini stamp’) means to any team he manages. You get the impression that, unlike some head coaches, Pellegrini likes being interviewed. It’s a chance to have a conversation about football: something that will be useful for both parties to better understand each other. Dressed in dark chinos, a white shirt and navy sweater, he is articulate, speaking with a warm timbre. Every sentence, though
delivered in breakneck Chilean-infected Spanish, is carefully considered. “From the moment I signed, I only worried myself with fnding out more about Manchester City, its history, the culture,” he says. “You have to get to the heart of a club as quickly as possible, to understand its philosophy. Only once you’ve done that can you achieve your objectives.” Since inheriting a fractious dressing room from Roberto Mancini last June, Pellegrini has been doing a lot of improving. By the turn of the year, City were already within touching distance of bettering last season’s 66 Premier League goals, and had won 73 per cent of their games in all competitions. In the
“From the moment I signed, I only worried about fnding out about Man City, its history, the culture”
MANUEL PELLEGRINI
MANUEL PELLEGRINI
same period in 2012-13, Mancini’s men had won under half. But cold, hard statistics tell only half the story. The style, panache and daring with which Pellegrini’s charges have dispatched local rivals Manchester United 4-1, Tottenham 6-0 and Arsenal 6-3, among others, has been mouth-watering. “First and foremost, I want my teams to be creative,” he says. “I want them to win by playing attacking football. They must have balance so there isn’t a disparity between defence and attack, and I want them to entertain. To do that, I need players with the characteristics I like. “Creative central midfelders, players capable of keeping possession of the ball, technically strong players in every position, a team with clear tactical concepts and players that are capable of implementing these plans.” But there’s more to Manchester City than a gaggle of supremely talented footballers who express themselves when they feel so compelled. Arguably the biggest adjustment he’s brought to the club is the insistence of blending that freedom with the pressing-based hard work that is the bedrock of el sello Pellegrini. “The best players are those who can decide and alter the course of a game with their quality. Without doubt there are a lot of South American footballers who come to Europe without the physique or mentality to succeed, despite having great technical quality,” he says. FFT certainly has more than a few names that spring to mind. “Look at me,” he continues. “I was a normal player. Average. I played more than 500 games in 15 years in the Chilean frst division and I always described myself as a useful player in the squad, but that’s as far as I’d go.
Pellegrini won his last trophy 10 years ago with River Plate, and was rewarded with the sack
Intelligent footballers with persistence can go a long way in the game. When determination and desire to improve combines with a very talented individual, that’s when you get top players who lead their feld. As a basic rule, every team needs players with personality and others who are extremely talented.”
His route since that middling career may have been meandering, but as he will tell us, it’s all fed into the evolution of el sello Pellegrini. The ffth of eight children born to Italian immigrant parents in the Chilean capital Santiago, there can be little doubt there’s something self-referential when Pellegrini talks about “players with personality”. A tall, slim centre-back for Universidad de Chile (top left), Pellegrini stayed behind after training so frequently, his mother Silvia once said: “For football, Manuel has made superhuman sacrifces.”
“JUST CALL ME PAPERCLIP”
Where does The Engineer rank among managers’ nicknames?
Jupp Heynckes Osram
Joe Kinnear JFK
Luis Aragones Zapatones
Max Merkel Mr Whip
Ernest Faber Paperclip
A Teutonic take on The Hairdryer: former Bayern boss Heynckes is tagged after a Munich-based lightbulb conglomerate because his face turns bright red when he dispenses angry half-time rollickings.
Known for his fruity linguistics, Joe ‘F***ing’ Kinnear’s rants have seen him usurp Barry Fry as football’s grandmaster of cursing, earning him the same not-always-affectionate sobriquet as the assassinated US President.
The former Spain gaffer isn’t dubbed Big Shoes due to oversized footwear, but thanks to an odd gait, which he looks like he’s overcompensating for by wearing clown shoes. He’s no joker, mind: he’s also known as the Wise Man of Hortaleza.
At Sevilla, the German’s severe approach earned him a moniker beftting a jockey. The ftness obsessive produced great teams, and he even wrote a coaching manual called With Cake and Whip, suggesting the odd reward was also dispensed.
One of the dullest reasons for a epithet: Faber, currently PSV assistant boss, became known as Paperclip for his willingness to dispense advice about word processing. If he’s reading: Ern, what are the best ink cartridges for a Hewlett-Packard Offcejet?
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MANUEL PELLEGRINI
That self-awareness, and ability to spot the ingredients needed to make a good footballer – and when they’re on the wane – are Pellegrini cornerstones learned frst-hand. When a 17-year-old Cobreandino striker consistently out-jumped the then 33-year-old defender in a Chilean Cup tie in 1986, Pellegrini retired from professional football. That youngster was Ivan Zamorano, who went on to become one of Chile’s greatest players. Pellegrini later said that if he’d known who he was up against, he’d have carried on for another couple of years. “I would’ve retired anyway,” he now admits, “but I think that game helped make the decision a little easier. Zamorano was all over me in the air.” There’s another lesson that Pellegrini has taken with him from those formative years as a player – the dedication to his studies in completing a university degree in Civil Engineering. He has admitted that “it was tempting to be fooling around in team hotels rather than reading and reading”, but – that word again – the sacrifces were ultimately worth it, especially when he made the decision to turn his back on engineering to pursue a coaching career. “Studying engineering has undoubtedly had a great effect on my life: solving problems in a logical order,” he says. “In this job, any additional preparation is important. I think managers are the protagonists more so now than ever before. Each season there’s more press, you have to prepare better for every game, so anything extra you can do to help your preparations is a massive help.” Built on a solid base, with aesthetic fourishes as garnish, you can see how Pellegrini applies a building’s structure to his team’s formation. It’s easy to see why his nickname El Ingeniero (‘The Engineer’) has long since stuck. Yet it took Pellegrini a few attempts to fnd the structure that best suited him. Spells at former club Universidad, Palestino, O’Higgins and Universidad Catolica were mixed, before he came to the wider attention of South America by winning the 1999 Ecuadorian title with Quito, followed by a giant-killing run in the Copa Libertadores. Moving to Argentines San Lorenzo, Pellegrini excelled, winning the 2001 Clausura (leagues in many South American countries are split into two campaigns) with a record points haul and the sort of relentless attacking intent of which Premier League defences are now very aware. It was also here that he frst came into contact with assistant Ruben Cousillas, a former San Lorenzo keeper who has accompanied Pellegrini to every job since. The pair are inseparable, and similarly amiable: this is no Good Cop, Bad Cop routine. “Manuel has lots of personality, is always clear and handles his team brilliantly. His drive comes naturally – you cannot learn it or buy it,” Cousillas once told Argentine paper El Clarin. “He has a way of convincing others to fall in love with his ideas. He is
I love nothing more than trying out an activity that I know absolutely nothing about. I speak Spanish, Italian, French and English, so that’s why I wanted to learn German, not for any footballing reasons.” With Pellegrini’s family still based in Chile – his wife is also an engineer and they have three sons – one a lawyer, one a doctor, the other a graphic designer – he’s still waiting for a new hobby in England, reading apart. One of his favourite books is Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, which follows a young Andalusian shepherd’s quest to achieve his personal goals. “What I’ve learned from The Alchemist is to follow your own path in life,” he says, philosophical in tone. “I’ve tried to complete my story as best I can. You can’t worry about the choices you’ve made – you have to believe in your actions. Always.”
Pellegrini gives his attacking players freedom
“Think only about football and you end up knowing nothing about anything”
The book that taught Pellegrini to “follow your own path”. Deep
Cazorla thrived under Pellegrini at Villarreal
a mix of football intellectual and super-intelligent person, and his blend of engineering studies and football career is one which is hard to fnd.” From there came River Plate, an experience through which the iron entered Pellegrini’s soul. The 60-year-old wears something of a lived-in, slightly haunted hue and there are those who would suggest that’s thanks to the year he spent at the Monumental. Despite winning the 2003 Clausura, the fans never took to Pellegrini and he was sacked within months. Ever the optimist, Pellegrini found the positive, recognising the importance of disconnecting from football and taking time out to relax. “A head coach who thinks only about football ends up knowing nothing about anything,” he says with supreme conviction. “It’s crucial to combine this profession with other hobbies or pastimes because otherwise you’re not in the right condition to manage effectively. I try to do other sports, to lead a normal life. These are the small steps you must take if you’re to succeed in this job.” Is it true playing the piano is one of these pastimes? “No way – I try to play the piano, but I’m no pianist!” he laughs, modestly. “I practise, but it doesn’t always get me very far.
Soon after leaving River in 2003, he could have come to Manchester a decade earlier than his arrival last summer. That June, rumours abounded that Sir Alex Ferguson wanted Pellegrini to replace Real Madrid-bound assistant Carlos Queiroz as his right-hand man at Manchester United. “My intention was always to work in my own way, not as assistant or helper to someone else,” says Pellegrini. “No approach was ever made and I wouldn’t have accepted any hypothetical offer because it would’ve changed the route I’ve taken ever since.” One wonders if without The Alchemist, his decision may have been altogether different. Instead, he joined Villarreal in 2004, the job that established his name in Europe. Under Pellegrini, the Yellow Submarine were transformed from La Liga also-rans into Champions League challengers, who reached the 2005-06 semi-fnals and the last eight three years later. Underpinned by Juan Roman Riquelme’s creative excellence, the blossoming Santi Cazorla and goals from Diego Forlan and Nihat Kahveci, Villarreal’s intoxicating brand of attacking fair was a genuine affront to the Barcelona-Real Madrid duopoly that has since infected Spanish football, before Atletico Madrid’s 2013-14 renaissance. “I have always given my teams a lot of freedom of movement in attack,” explains Pellegrini, still looking directly at FFT, while his hands air-sketch a blur of interchangeable chaos. “But this can only be achieved within a fexible tactical framework. My players know that in the fnal 25-30 metres of the pitch they have the autonomy to choose the best option for the team, whether it’s a pass, a shot or whatever, and help each other function as part of an organised unit.” While Pellegrini’s basic set-up at Manchester City remains the same – a 4-4-2 born of expression – his work in last summer’s transfer market proves that he isn’t averse to evolution. Signing Jesus Navas was a marked contrast for someone who prefers what the Spanish call interiores – essentially very narrow wide midfelders in the mould of David Silva – instead of natural wingers. “Normally, yes, I’ve played midfelders on the wing,” he says. “They have the extra mobility
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to drift inside and create space for the full-backs to push on or provide more options for the central creators infeld. But Jesus is a guy that gives a lot of creativity in one-against-one situations but also a lot of passes that can unlock closed defences. He’s very important for the system we want to play.” Pellegrini’s other summer recruit is similarly indicative of how the Engineer spots a player and when best to use them. One of his frst decisions as Real Madrid coach in June 2009 was to sell Alvaro Negredo, then 23, to Sevilla. “He’d just had a great season at Almeria, and I thought that sitting him on the Madrid bench for a year would cut a career that was clearly on the rise,” he recalls. “Alvaro knew that in Madrid there were Raul, Cristiano, Benzema, Higuain, Van Nistelrooy, Huntelaar. That’s six very good strikers. We spoke at length about the offer from Sevilla and he was very successful there.” Was it diffcult to convince him to join City? “All I had to do was pick up the phone and have a fve-minute chat. There’s little doubt the Premier League is the championship for him. He’s made for this league.” With 19 goals in Negredo’s frst 30 games, it’s hard to disagree. From Real Madrid – where he won 75 per cent of his games from a solitary season in charge, a better record than his successor Jose Mourinho – Pellegrini enjoyed a fruitful two-and-a-half years at Malaga. His ability to work with hands-on owners at the Rosaleda, and the mandate for Champions League success that usually ensues, was undoubtedly part of City’s decision to hire Pellegrini, not least after successive failures under Mancini. “The Champions League is about a way of thinking,” he says as City prepare to face Barcelona in a mouth-watering last 16 clash. “If you’re not going to win away from home, you have to score. Secondly, you have to remember you have two matches, so you have to be patient. You must use your intelligence to get the better of your rival. “I think we can win it this season. We’re fghting against the best squads in Europe, but we’ve got just the same chance to win it as other teams, at the very least.” Given it’s been 10 years since a Pellegrini side last lifted a trophy (that title with River Plate), FFT wonders aloud if the second half of the season will see a more pragmatic system from City to secure the Prem or Champions League. For the frst time, a passionate verve takes hold of Pellegrini’s voice. “Our philosophy couldn’t be any less about the counter-attack – we want to dominate,” he says frmly. “Study our games and you can see it at all times. Look at the statistics for overall possession in the league. We’re top. “Look at our performance against Tottenham. Whenever you score six goals against such an important team and barely allow them a shot at goal, it’s diffcult to say you could’ve played any better, but that has to be the aim.”
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Savvy signing Negredo and (inset) assistant Ruben Cousillas
“I have never been scared about anything – not just in football but in life in general” With time running out, FFT wants to know if that briefest display of fervour is what’s reserved for the dressing room. Shaped by his own route to Manchester City, his response is fascinating. “When I was a player, I was very explosive and it was the same when I frst became a coach. But as time’s gone by, and I’ve become more experienced, I’ve learned that players need tranquillity in the changing room,” he says. “The last thing they want is a tense coach who transmits a nervous energy to the squad from pitchside. “I try to be as calm as possible and transmit this to the players. To do this, I’ve had to change my character.” So, if you don’t want to appear uptight – like, for example, opposite number Alan Pardew calling Pellegrini “a f***ing old c***” during January’s victory at Newcastle – how are you really feeling? “Tense. But you have to have the capacity not to show this externally. It’s all so the team feels comfortable to play, and that comes from the coach.
Pards might not have crossed a young Pellegrini
“Personally, I’ve never been scared about anything – not just in football, but in life in general. When you’ve prepared properly for something, with the correct mentality, there’s no legitimate reason why you should be fearful of anything. The thing I try to transmit to my team, whether they’re the best in the world or a group of kids, is to have no fear.” As the last of what little sunlight there has been on this squally Manchester afternoon disappears behind the Etihad’s sweeping curves, there’s time for one more question. “Describe myself in three words? That’s not many!” begins Pellegrini, laughing at the implausibility of summing someone up in such a crass way. “Constant, intelligent, ambitious.” With that, hands are shaken and Pellegrini stands to leave and again negotiate the fallen trees that lie between the ground and home. Incidentally, how are you fnding the weather, Manuel? “Ah, I’ve got more important things to worry about.” Ambitious, indeed. The Engineer’s 10-year trophy itch may be about to be defnitively scratched.
Get more on Manuel at You’ve read our interview with Pellegrini. Now go even deeper into the chilled-out Chilean’s story with extra features on FourFourTwo.com, from our selection of worldwide football experts
1
Zonal Marking uses our Stats Zone app to analyse Pellegrini’s tactical evolution at Manchester City
2
Our regular Spanish expert, La Liga Loca, explains how and why it went wrong for Manuel at Madrid
3
Pochettino, Pellegrini and Poyet in England, Martino and Simeone in Spain: why are South American coaches now conquering Europe?
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TERRACE SONGS
Words Paul Brown Illustrations Peter Quinnell
p song ll numbers to po a h c si u m d n a s From hymn a, terrace chants er p o f o it b a en lf adaptation and ev odern game itse m e th s a r fa s a go back almost
Y
ou’re not singing any more? Well, in fact, football fans have barely stopped singing since the game frst became popular in the late 19th century. You’ve only got one song? Actually, we have thousands, adopted and adapted from hymn books and pop charts, music halls and operas. They’re sung in celebration and adulation, and to berate and mock opponents (and the referee). While modern fans might reserve their singing for the terraces, early fans sang pretty much everywhere. Communal singing was extremely popular at a time when other forms of entertainment were few and far between. Whenever people gathered together – at family occasions, in the pub, in church – they would indulge in a good old sing-song. Nowhere was this more evident than in
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music halls, where packed houses warbled along to crowd-pleasing songs of the day. At the 1888 FA Cup Final, West Brom and Preston fans joined together to sing Rule Britannia and Two Lovely Black Eyes, the latter a popular music hall number featuring the chorus: “Two lovely black eyes / Oh what a surprise / Only for telling a man he was wrong / Two lovely black eyes!” At least one song from this era can still be heard in modern football – Newcastle United’s anthem The Blaydon Races originated in the city’s Victorian music halls. Early football fans didn’t just appropriate popular songs – they also invented new ones. The frst specifc football song is thought to be Forty Years On, which was written at Harrow School in 1872. The song recalls Harrow’s part in the early development of the game before the creation of the Football Association and the Laws of the Game. It soon became a school anthem, and its chorus is still sung at Harrow today: “Follow up! Follow up! / Till the feld ring again and again / With the tramp of the twenty-two men / Follow up! Follow up!” In 1884, Blackburn coffee merchant Charles Frederick James Nightingale Stott wrote a song for his town’s two successful clubs. Blackburn
Olympic had won the FA Cup in 1883, and Rovers had won it in 1884 (and would do so again in 1885 and 1886). Stott’s Football Song went: “Cheer the blues, The dark and light, The ’lympic and the Rovers, Our merry teams, The Blackburn pride, Renowned the nation over.” Local paper the Blackburn Standard published the lyrics for fans to take along to games. Around the same time, Wolverhampton Wanderers had a song written in their honour by Sir Edward Elgar, the revered composer of Land of Hope and Glory. Elgar was a huge Wolves fan who cycled 40 miles from his home in Malvern for every match at Molineux. In 1898, he wrote Banged the Leather for Goal, dedicated to Wolves centre-forward Billy Malpas. Sadly, Elgar’s song didn’t catch on with fans. “The melody may be too complex for the grandstands,” commented The Times. A hundred years later, in 1998,
the song was fnally sung at Molineux, during the unveiling of a plaque commemorating Elgar’s association with Wolves. Songs were only part of an early spectator’s repartee, and they were mixed with shouts and yells and other exhortations. A sketch from the 1895 FA Cup Final has Aston Villa fans yelling “Foul!” and booing, just as their modern contemporaries might do today. Other shouts included, “Lay ’em out!”, “Play the game!” and “Bust ’em up, Villains!” After winning the fnal 1-0, the fans fled out of the old Crystal Palace ground singing a song that went, “Rum tum tiddle dee um, All in a row!” Also around this time, fans of some clubs developed chants known as ‘whispers’ – although they were more like war cries. One of the most famous was the Southampton Whisper, an ear-splitting yell of “Yi! Yi! Yi!” Hibernian
Elgar wrote a song in honour of Wolves.“The melody may be too complex,” said The Times
TERRACE SONGS
KNOW YOUR SONGS
FFT traces the origins of football’s most memorable ditties
WHO ATE ALL THE PIES? Popular myth says that this ode to overweight footballers was inspired by one of the game’s biggest early stars, Sheffeld United and Chelsea keeper William Foulke, who weighed up to 24 stone during his playing days. But Fatty was dead long before the song was heard at a match. It’s sung to the tune of co*ckney music hall number Knees Up Mother Brown, and became popular on terraces in the 1980s, when it was used to insult portly players such as striker Micky Quinn – who subsequently called his autobiography Who Ate All The Pies?
YOU’RE NOT SINGING ANYMORE Football’s favourite taunt at opposition fans is set to the tune of Welsh hymn Cwm Rhondda, also known as Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer or Bread of Heaven in its English translations. It was written by colliery worker John Hughes in the early 1900s, at a time when hymns were popular communal songs that weren’t just sung in church. This one soon became a favourite on football terraces, and also inspired the chants We Can See You Sneaking Out, and We Support Our Local Team.
GLORY, GLORY, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR Or Leeds United, or Man United – all three English clubs can claim this as an anthem. But it’s a Scottish club, Hibernian, who may have frst claim to the song, which is adapted from American Civil War song The Battle Hymn of the Republic (“Glory, Glory, Hallelujah”). Glory, Glory to the Hibees was frst sung in the 1950s. The Tottenham version became synonymous with the trophy-winning Spurs side of the early 1960s, Leeds fans sang their version from around 1968, and the Man United version was frst heard in the early 1980s. Conveniently for opposing fans, “Glory, Glory…” is easily replaced by “Who the F*** Are…”
HERE WE GO
Perhaps the simplest of all football songs, the stirring Here We Go, Here We Go, Here We Go is based on part of Stars and Stripes Forever, the ‘Offcial National March’ of the US of A. It was composed in 1896 by John Philip Sousa – ironically, while he was holidaying in Europe. The same tune is used to mock relegation-bound rivals with Going Down, Going Down, Going Down, and to celebrate various three-syllable teams such as Everton.
fans sang the similar Easter Road Whisper, and the war cry of Third Lanark fans was “Hi! Hi! Hi!”, leading the club to be nicknamed the Hi Hi. There are also reports of ‘unkind dirges’ being sung at rival teams during football’s formative years. One of the frst examples of supporters mocking their rivals can be found in reports from 1892, which suggest that fans of the then-named Royal Arsenal sang “Get your hair cut!” during a 3-2 win against Chatham. After the match they sang “Ta ra boom de ray, the Arsenal’s won today”. Fans also nicked songs from rival teams. The Pompey Chimes was originally a song for Royal Engineers FC before being adapted and adopted by Portsmouth fans in the late 1890s. And On the Ball, City was originally sung for several Norfolk teams before being appropriated by Norwich City. Both of these enduring football songs are still sung today. The early 20th century saw a boom in terrace singing, particularly in choreographed pre-match events. The Daily Express sponsored elaborate community sing-alongs ahead of big games, hiring marching bands and issuing lyric sheets. Led by the band of the Grenadier Guards and conductor TP Ratcliff – known to fans as the Man in White – fans sang popular tunes such as Pack Up Your Troubles and It’s a Long Way to Tipperary, as well as the hymn Abide With Me, which is still sung at FA Cup Finals. In 1927, a recording of 92,000 Cardiff and Arsenal fans singing Abide With Me at Wembley was released as a 78rpm disc, billed as “The most amazing record yet!” Although the hymn quickly became a football institution, it wasn’t familiar to everyone. After the 1935 Cup Final, the British press reported with glee on a mistake that had appeared in a Paris newspaper, which had stated that “the crowd sang a well-known hymn, A Bite With Me”. Choreographed singing remained popular at football right through until the 1960s. But by that time fans were preferring to sing their own favourites. “Rewriting traditional tunes; bawdy songs; hurling toilet rolls; these are the hallmarks of British soccer in the ’60s,” wrote The Guardian. A major catalyst for change on the terraces was the arrival of pop music, and nowhere was this more evident than in Liverpool – hometown of The Beatles. Anfeld was one of the frst grounds to have a DJ, and at every match fans would sing along to the latest hits, many of them by local Merseybeat favourites. In 1964, BBC Panorama cameras captured famous footage of the Kop singing songs such as She Loves You by the Fab Four and Anyone Who Had a Heart by Cilla Black. Another popular Merseybeat hit was Gerry and the Pacemakers’ cover version of a Broadway show tune, You’ll Never Walk Alone. Now fans had their own songs, and they began to turn their back on choreographed singing. At the 1966 FA Cup Final, Everton fans eschewed “God save our gracious Queen” in favour of “God save our gracious team”. And at the 1971 Final, Liverpool fans completely drowned out the organised community songs with their own You’ll Never Walk Alone, which had by then become the club’s anthem.
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KNOW YOUR SONGS (CONT.) WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN Although tailor-made for Southampton fans, When The Saints Go Marching In is actually an American gospel standard that has become associated with marching jazz bands. In New Orleans, where gospel songs and hymns are often turned into Dixieland jazz numbers, it’s traditional to play the song on funeral marches. First sung at The Dell in the 1950s, the football version has been modifed so that Saints is replaced by ‘Reds’, ‘Blues’, ‘Spurs’ and so on.
THERE’S ONLY ONE [PLAYER NAME]
This song can be made applicable to virtually any footballer (OK, maybe not Ricky van Wolfswinkel), and it shares a tune with You Only Sing When You’re Winning and You’re Getting Sacked In The Morning. That tune is Guantanamera, a Cuban song from the 1920s that tells the unusual story of a woman from Guantanamo who once brought the composer, Jose Fernandez, a sandwich. It became a UK chart hit in 1966 after being recorded by The Sandpipers, and then, like many ’60s pop songs, also became a hit on the terraces.
WE’VE GOT [PLAYER NAME]
How many fans realise, when singing this song or one of its many variations (We’ve Got Mourinho, We’ve Got More Fans Than You, You Stole Our Stereo…), that they’re singing part of a Verdi opera? The tune is La Donna e Mobile (‘The Woman is Fickle’) from Rigoletto, the tragic tale of a hunchbacked court jester, which premiered in 1851. Football adopted the tune much later, following its use in TV ads.
YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE
This Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune, from the 1945 Broadway musical Carousel, was a number one hit for Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1963. There’s some debate over when it was frst sung by Liverpool fans, who adopted pop songs for the terraces throughout the 1960s. According to research used by the author David Peace for his novel Red or Dead, it was frst aired after an FA Cup semi-fnal defeat against Leicester in 1963. Although later adopted by Celtic fans after a 1966 Cup Winners’ Cup semi-fnal at Anfeld, and also sung by fans of several German teams, perhaps no song is more closely associated with a football club than You’ll Never Walk Alone is with Liverpool.
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THE POMPEY CHIMES The Pompey Chimes is a familiar clock bell melody that peals out every 15 minutes from the tower at Portsmouth’s Guildhall. Shortly after the Guildhall was completed in 1890, fans watching then-popular Southern League team Royal Artillery FC on a nearby pitch began to sing along with the chimes. The practice was soon adopted by Portsmouth fans at their new Fratton Park ground, just a mile away from the Guildhall. Now sung as “Play up Pompey, Pompey play up,” the original lyrics, published in 1901, were “Play up Pompey / Just one more goal / Make tracks, what ho / Hallo, hallo!”
ON THE BALL, CITY
“Kick it off, Throw it in, Have a little scrimmage, Keep it low, Splendid rush, Bravo, win or die.” One of the oldest football songs still around, this Norwich City anthem predates the club’s formation in 1902. It’s thought to have been
written in the 1890s by music hall singer Albert Smith, and was originally sung for various local teams, including Norwich Teachers, before being adopted by City in the early 1900s.
THE BLAYDON RACES
The Newcastle United fans’ anthem, which has been adapted by fans of other clubs including Manchester United, is a raucous music hall number that’s more than 150 years old. It was written and frst performed in 1862 by the aptly-named Geordie Ridley. The song’s lyrics recount an eventful trip, involving “two black eyes and a broken nose”, to see a horse race at Blaydon, near Newcastle.
I’M FOREVER BLOWING BUBBLES Broadway musical The Passing Show of 1918 gave the world two gifts: a talented young dancer named Fred Astaire, and this song. The musical was a hit, the dancer became a star and the song crossed the Atlantic, where it became popular in Britain’s music halls. By the ’20s, Bubbles was being sung communally before games by West Ham fans, who quickly adopted the song as a club anthem.
VOLARE
“Vieira, Whoa-oh-oh-oh, He comes from Senegal, He plays for Arsenal.” Who knew that when the Highbury faithful were serenading Patrick Vieira they were borrowing the tune from a 1958 Eurovision Song Contest entry? Although popularly known as Volare, the song’s original Italian title is Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (‘In the Blue Painted Blue’). Written and performed by Domenico Modugno, it didn’t win Eurovision, but did become a worldwide hit. It’s been covered many times, most famously by Rat Packer Dean Martin, and also by West Brom and Everton fans in favour of on-loan striker Romelu Lukaku: “Lukaku, Whoa-oh-oh-oh, He came from Stamford Bridge, He’s bigger than a fridge.”
CAREFREE
“Carefree, wherever we may be, We are the famous CFC.” So begins this sweary Chelsea anthem, sung to the tune Simple Gifts, which was composed in 1848 by members of non-sweary religious sect the Shakers. The tune remained virtually unknown until the 1960s, when it was used by English songwriter Sydney Carter for his hymn Lord of the Dance. Chelsea fans began singing Carefree in the early 1980s, and it was more recently appropriated by Man United fans in, er, praise of Korean midfelder Park Ji-Sung (“Park, Park, whoever you may be, You eat dogs in your home country...”
TERRACE SONGS
In 1964, three Bolton fans were fined for “singing and shouting” after a win at Anfield Inevitably, the press began to associate football singing with boisterous behaviour, and even hooliganism. In 1964, The Guardian reported that three Bolton fans had been fned for “singing and shouting” on a train after a victory at Liverpool. “I can imagine their high spirits because their team had won,” said one of the lads’ mothers. “That’s normal, isn’t it?” Some songs do cause genuine consternation, few more so than the sectarian chants that can occasionally be heard at Rangers and Celtic matches. As far back as the 1960s, the Rangers matchday programme was deploring “those who would, by their vile sentiment in song, shock all right-thinking spectators”. And controversial songs haven’t gone away. Earlier this season, Spurs fans were warned by the FA that they could be prosecuted over their ‘Yid Army’ chant, which has been branded anti-Semitic. Spurs fans have themselves been subjected to songs about Auschwitz, while Man United’s have been mocked with songs about Munich. And there are plenty of other football songs that, when considered away from the the terraces, are more offensive than amusing.
For the most part, though, terrace chants are celebratory and upbeat – and often catchy. Even rivals must surely tap a toe when Liverpool fans croon “A-Mignolet, A-Mignolet” to the tune of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, or when Newcastle fans belt out “Oh, Shola Ameobi” to the tune of The Hokey co*key. As well as scores of universal favourites (You Only Sing When You’re Winning, Who Ate All The Pies, We’re Going to Wember-lee…), there are thousands of individual ditties, based on a huge range of popular tunes (Volare, Go West, Seven Nation Army…). Each team and virtually every player and manager has their own song, lovingly composed by fans, or fendishly crafted by rivals, and learnt and spread at away matches and around home grounds – and increasingly via Twitter and Facebook. Terrace singing is a tradition that shows no signs of being lost. This season, Arsenal fans have morphed their Village People-inspired One Nil to the Arsenal song into “Ozil to the Arsenal” in honour of their big summer signing. Liverpool fans have turned the Depeche Mode song Just Can’t Get Enough into a jaunty ode to their top
goalscorer: “I just can’t seem to get enough, Suarez.” And Newcastle fans have pleaded with club owner Mike Ashley to the tune of Achy Breaky Heart: “Don’t sell Cabaye, Yohan Cabaye / I just don’t think you understand / ’Cos if you sell Cabaye, Yohan Cabaye / You’re gonna have a riot on your hands.” In a real turnaround of events, opposition fans have been heard to mock the underperforming Man United with “Can we play you every week?” The returning Jose Mourinho, struggling to regain his winning touch at Chelsea, has been serenaded by opposition fans with the chant, “You’re not special anymore”. At Southampton, when a fan went onto the pitch at half-time to offer his beloved a marriage proposal, fans unleashed the old favourite “You don’t know what you’re doing!” And after Nicklas Bendtner scored his frst League goal for Arsenal in almost three years, he was serenaded with the deeply ironic “He scores when he wants!” The best football songs are inspiring, amusing and often ingenious. It’s diffcult to imagine a match being played without a lilting backdrop of terrace anthems, and football just wouldn’t be the same without the sound of fans singing their hearts out from the stands.
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HYDE FC
“I
f this club was a horse, we’d punching above our weight, but it have been taken down the seems like this season has been sent as knacker’s yard, had a bolt some kind of endurance test. It would in the back of the head almost be better if we could just concede and been sent off for dog meat by now,” like a frame of snooker and come back in says a middle-aged man named Bob spring when our nerves have recovered.” in a milk-curdling Mancunian rasp. Downbeat he may be, but Bob’s Welcome to Hyde FC, the side he is demeanour is understandable. played 24 matches, cursed to follow, as a bible-black, drizzlePromoted to the ffth tier, these days winning none, losing 21, and drawing drenched and vaguely hungover New the Skrill Premier, for the frst time in just three. With a goal difference of Year’s Day greets us outside Ewen Fields. their history in 2011-12, and clinging minus 44, they’re surely doomed to “I don’t know why I’m here,” he on in the league last year (they fnished relegation – if not mathematically, yet. continues, in a disposition that would 18th), Hyde’s Conference adventure has Worse, their dismal run of losses (eight make local miserablist Morrissey seem recently transformed into nightmarish in a row at the time of writing) is sunny. “I know we’re a small side, and Scott of the Antarctic stuff. They have attracting national attention, including
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HYDE FC
Winless but not witless, gallows humour is the best way to cope when you’re as bad as Manchester minnows and Conference whipping boys Hyde. But, as FourFourTwo discovers, three points wouldn’t go amiss Words Nick Moore
vultures like FourFourTwo, as they hurtle “Blow the whistle referee, end this game this season!” comes towards breaking the record for the torture now.” the excited opening tweet league’s lowest ever points total of 18. “It’s too cold to type. And the Bovril of that game. “Could this be Fans of the Tigers have maintained was terrible. Worst day ever.” the day?” they speculate, an admirable gallows humour through it “Full time: Macclesfeld 3-0 Hyde. as the Tigers take a 2-1 all. This is most evident on their Twitter Can’t win ’em all.” lead. Inevitably, it isn’t. feed, @hydefclive, documenting the Capitulation to Wrexham three days “Hyde 2-2 Wrexham. Well it meltdown with a droll resignation worthy later is even worse. Infuriatingly, Hyde was nice while it lasted I suppose.” of Alan Bennett. “Hyde fans in fne voice. have been playing decent, on-the-deck “Hyde 2-3 Wrexham. Arses.” We’re in double fgures today too,” it football all term, but simply cannot stay “Hyde 2-4 Wrexham. Bollocks.” reads breezily before the Macclesfeld in front. They’ve thrown away games in “#PrayForHyde.” fxture on Boxing Day. But as the injury time, against 10 men, the lot. In “Full time: Hyde 2-5 Wrexham. opposition overrun them, doom sets in. fact, if they’d held on to each lead, Hyde Can’t win ’em all.” “Still waiting for a shot on target from wouldn’t even be in the relegation zone. The next day, the club tweets: “Finally Hyde. We’ll have a party if it happens.” “Another corner to Hyde! Best start to a found the team picture of the starting 11
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HYDE FC
Others are more pragmatic (“At least my petrol bills will drop if we go back to the Conference North,” ponders John’s brother, Ian), while many seem to share Bob’s dire outlook. “We’re doomed,” says an oddly cheerful man called Carl from the terraces. “I’ve followed them through thick and thin since 1979. Mainly thin. But these players aren’t good enough, and the manager isn’t good enough. They aren’t fghting, and he’s not a motivator. We’ll lose 3-0 today. Typical Hyde.”
“At the end of the day... we’re crap”
“We almost lost our club”
the last time we won a game.” The image image is from around 1885. Gracious, yes. Funny, certainly. But ultimately, it’s painful. “My strangest year in football was defnitely 2013,” explains manager Scott McNiven. “Everyone has been hurting. My wife will tell you I’ve not been a pleasure to live with.” A likeable northerner who previously managed Hyde in the successful 2010-11 season, even his relentless optimism is beginning to show some cracks. “You won’t get odds on us staying up, and it’s a long shot, but there is still belief in there,” he tells us, gesturing towards a changing room hooting out dreadful R&B pre-game. “They think it can happen, and we’ll keep believing. The pressure is on, but that frst win can click us into gear. Hopefully today.” McNiven has tried everything to stop the rot. Sports psychologists have been commissioned. Team bonding meals have been eaten. McNiven even begged Manchester City for some young players to help the cause, but was snubbed. Frustratingly, there’s potential. By all accounts, they should have been 3-0 up against Forest Green in the opening match of their season, but following an early sending off, lost 8-0. “I regret not shutting up shop,” admits Niven now. “But for the rest of the season we need to attack. We need the points.” Captain Scott Spencer also “stays optimistic”, he tells us. “It’s my birthday today so it’d be good to cap it with that win. It’s horrible after a loss. I go home and give my brother a kick. But you have to get out there and have a bash.”
As FFT witnessed, at least the Tigers are losing in style
Hyde is known for being home to Myra Hindley, Ian Brady and Harold Shipman And Lawrence Vigoroux – a Chile U20 keeper on loan from Spurs – is convinced a clean sheet is looming. “The mood is upbeat,” he says. “We won’t change our style, and the win will come.” Some of the fans share his feelings, despite the raw facts. “We can stay up,” says John, who helps run the club shop. “This is a big league for us, but I come to every game thinking we’ll win.” “We can beat the drop,” adds club communications offcer Luke Edwards, a season ticket holder for half of his 30-year-old life. “But we need to remember we’re little old Hyde, doing well to be in this division.”
BRITAIN’S MOST MISERABLE TEAMS
Heaven knows Morrissey would have had a feld day with this lot Glossop North End
Harraby Athletic
Darwen
Telford
Just a stone’s throw from Hyde, Glossop spent one inglorious season in the English top fight. In the 1899-1900 season they failed to register a single away win, won just four at home and were relegated with 18 points (two points for a win). They did better than Derby in 2007-08, mind – The Rams went down with just 11 points. The Hillmen now play in the North West Counties League Premier Division.
The under-14s side dubbed ‘Britain’s worst team’ were pumped 19-0 in their debut fxture and went on to concede over 400 goals in three seasons in the Longhorn Youth Football League in Cumbria. The tragic teens ended a 90-game losing streak in 2009. “Pure determination got us there, and their faces after the game meant everything,” said joint-gaffer Billy Jackson after a 3-2 defeat of Edenvale Hawks.
Another cold Lancastrian corner, Darwen were among northern England’s early football pioneers, hosting the frst ever foodlit game in 1878 and making the FA Cup semi-fnal in 1881 – but a decade later things were less impressive. Elected to the Football League in 1891, Darwen lost 18 matches in a row – still a record in the top four divisions. After going bust in 2009, the club reformed as AFC Darwen.
Last year’s Skrill Premier whipping boys went down after setting a divisional record of 30 games without a win between October and April. It’s a refection on Hyde’s form that their eventual points total of 35 is looking like dreamland. Yet they can take hope from the fact that Telford regrouped, employing former Southport manager Liam Watson, and are now playing well in the Conference North. Whoop.
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A little local history helps to understand this negative attitude. Both the club and the area itself seem to have been born under a bad sign. A mill town seven miles east of Manchester, Hyde is probably best known for having been home to three of Britain’s most notorious monsters. In the ’60s, Myra Hindley and Ian Brady stalked the back streets and local moorlands, committing sickening child murders; their home in the Hattersley estate was demolished to ensure that it couldn’t become a ghoulish shrine. The following decade, the UK’s most prolifc serial killer, Dr Harold Shipman, began a 20-year spree of quiet euthanasia from his surgery in the town centre. More recently, PC Nicola Hughes and PC Fiona Bone were shot close to Ewen Fields. Neither does the football club boast a reputation for glamour. Founded in 1885, it took Hyde only two years to be handed what still stands as the worst defeat in English football history: 26-0 to Preston in the 1887 FA Cup (that gallows humour again: Hyde’s match commentary website is called 26nil.com). The club reformed as Hyde United in 1919 and spent decades paddling between non-league divisions, before almost disappearing completely in 2009. Saddled with £120,000 debts, they were wound up by the High Court in London, but a fundraising push – and the fnancial assistance of chairman John Manship and Manchester City – raised enough to see off liquidation. As a result, they reverted to being Hyde FC, City’s reserves moved in to play at their ground, and the team briefy abandoned their old red shirts in favour of blue (they’re now back in their original hue). City’s crest adorns the Ewen Fields entrance, while the advertising hoardings blare out the wonders of Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi. The Tigers’ strip, meanwhile, is sponsored by the City In The Community scheme. Rivals have rejoiced in accusing Hyde of being a micro-Cardiff City, casting aside tradition for cash. “You sold your history” is a common away-end chant, but put in context, the accusation is ludicrous. Compromise was clearly better than oblivion – and it’s not as if they’re rolling in Sheikh Mansour’s zillions. In fact, Hyde have the lowest budget of any Skrill Premier side. In a league where Luton and Forest Green can muster hefty sums, Hyde simply can’t hang on to their best players. “We have to be responsible,” chief executive Pete Ainger, a fan of three decades, tells us. “We’ve all seen what can happen if you don’t. We almost lost our club. And now our income
HYDE FC “OK, I’m warm. Can I go home now?”
The bloke on the left is only 27
has dropped due to poor form, and some unexpected repair expenses. We’re feeling the pinch. This is a tough league to compete in. We’re getting a tenth of the crowd at Luton.” There have been highs: successive promotions from the Northern Premier League and Conference North, then staying up last year. But a couple of weeks after Hyde maintained Skrill Premier status, boss Gary Lowe left, irked at being denied a longer contract and anything resembling a war chest. The team’s fulcrum, Scott Hogan, went to Rochdale. To misquote Morrissey, it was over before it even began.
Hyde’s second meeting in a week with Macclesfeld goes as well as the frst
“What’s it like to milk a goat?” Will the misery continue into 2014? As the barmy Twitter feed boasts, “Eight hours into the new year and we’re still unbeaten!”, FFT takes its place in the Shed, Hyde’s raucous singing section. Today’s opponents are Macclesfeld again, who beat Hyde on Boxing Day in the frst leg of a festive doubleheader. “Are you here to write about us being sh*te?” says a bearded fellow who, we later fnd out, runs the supporters’ club. “Because we are sh*te. You can quote me.” The Tigers prowl out to Welcome To The Jungle, with the visitors kicking towards their travelling contingent in the vaguely euphemistic Tinker’s Passage End. The Shed are loud and funny. Macclesfeld are taunted with “Did you come on a skateboard?” and their choruses of “Silkmen!” are met with the surreal “Milkmen!”, “What’s it like to milk a goat?”, “You’re just a small town in Stockport” and assorted allegations of incest involving uncles, sisters, brothers and mothers. Meanwhile, a contingent of Stockport County fans have joined the party, apparently visiting Hyde especially to goad their rivals. On the pitch, Macclesfeld’s Paul Turnbull sticks a good chance hopelessly up the Tinker’s Passage. “We’ll sing on our own!” roar the Shed in response to Macc’s silence, along with “We’ve not lost this year.” On 17 minutes, the Silkmen blow a simple chance. “You half-born calves!” shrieks a loon in the Shed, who then “pretend they’ve scored a goal” and do a ridiculous version of West Brom’s ‘Boing Boing Baggies’, known as ‘bouncy bouncy’.
Above Even stiffer than £14 entry
We drag towards half-time in what is a fairly desperate sporting contest, before hostilities truly break out between the Stockport imposters and their Macclesfeld equivalent – with around fve Stone Island-clad nutjobs from each side gesturing pointlessly at each other, somehow kept apart by one bemused female steward. “Hired ultras, hired ultras!” yell the Shed, before the police arrive, serenaded with “We pay for your hats / What a waste of council tax”. All I Need Is A Miracle is aptly piped through the PA at half time, and amiable 26nil.com commentators Ian and Luke speculate with FFT that today really could be the day things improve. “Maybe you’re a lucky omen,” ponders Ian. We predict a 1-0 home win on their live show, but reality bites 16 minutes after kick-off in the second period as D’Arcy O’Connor turns the ball into his own net. Four minutes later it’s even worse, as Macc’s Scott Boden thumps into the top corner from just outside the box. Hyde’s
Even dressed like this, he could get a game
Not much to smile about at Hyde FC
fate is sealed on 75 minutes, as Boden calmly converts a controversially awarded penalty to make it 0-3. It’s too much for some natives. “What’s the bloody point?” speculates one pensioner to himself as he wanders out early in the drizzle. Several players are lambasted as fat, useless wastes of skin. McNiven’s suitability is scrutinised loudly. But the Shed remain cheery, and the weird love-in between Stockport and Hyde continues. “Stockport Tigers,” chant Hyde at their visitors, who reply “We support who we want,” before joining together for that famous hymn to misery: “We never win at home, we never win away, we lost last week and we lost today.” At least they can agree on that, along with a shared loathing of Macclesfeld. “We’ll see you outside, you six-fngered b**tards!” howls a furious Stockport ultra as the whistle blows. “Thanks for turning up on an unpleasant afternoon,” deadpans the PA announcer. The thought of a new year full of new hope has been shattered. Even the Twitter feed can’t muster a gag for its 19,000 enthusiasts (today’s attendance, meanwhile, is 979). McNiven doesn’t want to talk about minimum points records, or the fact that people are wondering whether Hyde may match Telford’s record 30-game winless run, set last season. “It’s not on my mind,” he says. The supporters, however, are. “The fans have been magnifcent. I’m upset that we can’t put a smile on those faces. You imagine it will explode when that frst win comes.” Terrace moaner Carl – who was spot on with his 3-0 prediction – looks incapable of such an explosion. “I’m used to the misery,” he says. “I don’t go home and kick the cat. I’ve kicked him so many times he’s buried. A bit like Hyde.” Even Upbeat John from the Shed has begun to seem resigned. “If we do go down, we can build on it and come back stronger,” he grasps. “The problem is that the community don’t really support the club. £14 to watch this is far too much. Hyde’s not a big place, and the board are doing their best on an impossible budget. But I keep coming back because this club is like a family. Even in dark days, there’s something to laugh about.” In which case, 2014 is already shaping up to be a hoot. Two weeks after FFT’s visit, Hyde won their frst match of the season, beating Welling United 2-0. There’s no stopping them now.
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They came, they saw, they had lustrous hair and murderous moustaches, and enjoyed mixed fortunes on the pitch. But the British game’s frst major inf*ck of overseas stars also turned gloom into glamour and started a revolution 96 March 2014 FourFourTwo.com
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A
s they shuffed up garden paths on the morning of Tuesday July 11 1978, the nation’s paperboys could scarcely believe the story on the back page of one particular newspaper. ‘SPURS SCOOP THE WORLD’ yelled the headline of the Daily Express as it exclusively revealed the biggest transfer coup in English football for years. Barely a fortnight after the tickertape-strewn World Cup fnal in Buenos Aires, two members of the winning Argentina squad – bearded wide man Ricky Villa and, more notably, pivotal playmaker Osvaldo Ardiles – had put pen to paper and were now to ply their trade in a certain corner of North London. It was nothing short of sensational. As The Guardian’s David Lacey wrote: “It was as if the janitor had gone to buy a tin of paint and had returned with a Velazquez.”
Above (left to right) Argenties Ossie Ardiles, Sunderland’s Claudio Marangoni, Alex Sabella – then of Leeds – and Ricky Villa pose in 1980
More than 35 years on, and with 100 different nationalities now having been represented in English football’s top fight, it’s diffcult to explain just how revolutionary this double signing was. A ban on foreign players had been in place for almost half a century, following Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman’s attempted signing of Austrian goalkeeper Rudy Hiden in 1930. Chapman’s intentions had been met by a volley of opposition; one senior Football League offcial described the approach as “repulsive”, “offensive” and “a terrible confession of weakness in the management of a club”. With the backing of the Ministry of Labour, the FA brought in a rule the following year that declared players who weren’t British-born subjects could only play for English teams if they’d been living here
for at least two years, a qualifcation that allowed foreign players such as Chilean striker George Robledo and German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann to subsequently make their names in the league (Trautmann qualifed through time spent in a prisoner-of-war camp in Lancashire). But in February 1978, the European Community ruled that the football associations of its member states could no longer deny access to players based on nationality. That summer, the Football League lifted the 47-year-old ban at its AGM. When Ardiles and Villa were unveiled to the press, among all the excitement were plenty of words of caution and opposition, many voiced by the executives of the PFA. “It could spread like wildfre,” complained secretary Cliff Lloyd. “Every foreign player of standing in our league represents
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a denial to a UK player of a place in the team.” Newly-installed PFA chairman Gordon Taylor (right) agreed: “There could already be two players out of a job at Tottenham.” Nearly four decades on, Taylor defends the rhetoric. “It was about making sure that players weren’t coming in who were no better than what was available here. We’ve always kept an eye on that.” With questions being asked over the matter in the House of Commons – and the story migrating from the sports pages to the leader columns – it would have been understandable for the diminutive shoulders of Ardiles to have buckled under the weight of expectation when he stepped out to make his debut against Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the 1978-79 season. “There was so much hullabaloo and speculation,” he recalls, “so I was very happy once I crossed the touchline and got onto the pitch.” England wasn’t the most obvious destination for Ardiles after the Ossie: better. Ricky: cooler
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Below Trautmann: a rare foreign success story before 1978 Bottom “What do you mean those English lessons were a waste of money?”
World Cup. He was eyeing a move to Europe, but clubs from Spain, Italy and France were further up his wish list. Then Spurs boss Keith Burkinshaw arrived in the Argentine capital. “I was in my home city of Cordoba and the president of my club Huracan telephoned me to tell me about this guy from England,” Ardiles tells FFT. “So I went to Buenos Aires, we met in a hotel and the deal was done very, very quickly. There were no agents involved. It was just him. “He asked me if I could recommend anyone else. They wanted someone I had a good relationship with and Ricky was my room-mate during the World Cup. He arrived the next day and again a deal was done very, very quickly.” While Villa made the most immediate impact, scoring on that debut against Forest, it was Ardiles who settled quickest in North London. “I had a big advantage over him as I had been studying English in Argentina. Ricky took a long, long time to acclimatise. The frst two years were very diffcult for him and this was refected in the way he played football. After the goal [Villa’s legendary winner in the 1981 FA Cup Final], he was another player – he
then loved it here and was full of confdence.” Both players had to adapt to the ways of Division One. “At the time, English football was very insular,” says Ardiles. “There was one way to play and it was not particularly our style. But we found a happy medium. Glenn Hoddle helped a lot with that because he played like us anyway.” Although he missed the 1982 FA Cup Final due to the Falklands War, Ossie’s 10 years with Spurs yielded both FA Cup and UEFA Cup winner’s medals – and, of course, a part in the flm Escape To Victory alongside Pele. Of the dozen or so foreign players who arrived in English football during the 1978-79 season, Ardiles is the only one to still live here. “I thought I would be here for three years and then go back to Argentina. Then it was three years more. Then another three years. Then the children were growing up and moving would have been diffcult. I was happy here, so why move?” Another of Argentina’s World Cup winners signed for an English club at the start of that season, but stayed for a rather shorter time. Alberto Tarantini was a long-haired full-back who played just 23 games for Birmingham City
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“English? It’s Double Dutch to us”
“I was just running up and down without the ball. ‘Welcome to English football, son!’” and who’s most remembered for contretemps with opposition players and fans alike. His manager at St Andrews, Jim Smith, believes he wasn’t the diffcult player everyone remembers. “In Argentina, he would probably be a handful to manage but, being in a strange land and at a strange club, he relied on me quite a bit – sorting out houses, getting people to pick him up… We had quite a close relationship.” Tarantini left England’s second city after just one season. “Nothing seemed to go right for him. It took forever to get a work permit and then we got relegated. I wanted to keep him, but the board said he was too expensive. We went down but were promoted the following season. I bumped into Alberto when he was over with Argentina to play England at Wembley in 1980. He gave me a telling-off for having a good team that got promoted after having a crap team that got relegated!” Despite their union’s complaints, players were warmly welcoming these foreign imports into the dressing rooms. Gary Hamson was a young Sheffeld United midfelder when Blades manager Harry Haslam signed his own Argentine, Alex Sabella (having decided that the £400,000 being asked for the teenage Diego Maradona was too expensive). Hamson recalls the effect the new player had on his team-mates. “When a player of that ability comes into the side, it gives the whole team a lift. It was a bit like sprinkling gold dust on your team, that extra bit of glamour. But when he frst came, I realised he was left-footed like me. I thought, ‘Is he going to be playing in my position? Is Harry Haslam going to sell me?’” As it was, Sabella lined up alongside Hamson and was an instant hit in Division Two, praising the English way of “playing more honestly and with fewer bad intentions”. With the support of United’s Uruguayan coach Danny Bergara,
Sabella was a new breed of modern footballer. “We used to have steak around midday before a match,” remembers Hamson, who also played with the Argentine later at Leeds. “Alex turned up and had cornfakes with peaches. ‘What’s going on? Have you only just got up? That’s breakfast, that is.’” An elegant and classy midfelder, Sabella’s subsequent spell in Division One with Leeds might not have equalled the impact made by Ardiles at Spurs, but that didn’t hold him back professionally. Alex Sabella, now known as Alejandro, is the current boss of the Argentina national team.
Above All those great performances and Ossie is remembered for this one Below Sabella was inspirational (bottom); Tarantini was combustible
It wasn’t all about the South Americans. This pioneering foreign legion were also recruited from closer to home, most notably Ipswich’s pair of fying Dutchmen. Arnold Muhren was frst to sign in August 1978, with his compatriot Frans Thijssen’s signature captured the following February. Like Ardiles had been with Burkinshaw, Muhren was impressed by his future manager’s hands-on approach when Bobby Robson turned up unannounced at his house in Volendam.
Xxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxx
“He was selling Ipswich, he was selling the club. But he was also in a hurry to sign me so that I would be eligible to play in Europe. It was very diffcult for me and my missus to say we were defnitely coming. Mr Robson said: ‘Well, the door is always open. If you want to play for Ipswich, you are always welcome.’ I said to my wife, ‘I just want to play for Mr Robson. He’s such a gentleman.’” Muhren received a swift lesson in the ways of his new workplace. On his debut against Liverpool, the Dutchman’s delicate skills were bypassed, the ball continually hoofed upfeld towards striker Paul Mariner. “I was just running up and down the pitch without the ball. After the game, Terry McDermott asked if I enjoyed it. I said, ‘No, not really. I only touched the ball three times.’ He replied, ‘Welcome to English football, son!’” Nonetheless, Muhren’s delicate skills soon became absorbed into Ipswich’s style of play; that season, he scored 10 goals from left midfeld, missing just a single league game. When his old FC Twente colleague Thijssen arrived at Portman Road, they dovetailed beautifully, dictating the pace and rhythm of Ipswich’s play and masterminding the club’s UEFA Cup triumph in 1981. A year later, Muhren – somewhat surprisingly – left Suffolk for Old Trafford. “I thought it was my last chance to play for such a big club,” he confesses. “But I didn’t know that I’d play for Ajax again for another three years after that.” While at United, Muhren fulflled a career-long ambition by playing in the FA Cup Final in 1983, scoring in the replay against Brighton. “I played in the fnal of the European Championship in 1988 [when, of course, his looping cross set up Marco Van Basten’s extraordinary volley] but I genuinely think that the FA Cup fnal was a bigger game than when we beat Russia.” The pleasure that seven seasons in English football brought Arnold Muhren remains undimmed three decades on. “Everybody was so kind to me. I felt so at home from day one, right up until I left Manchester to go back to Holland. Not for one minute did I ever have a single regret.” If Muhren and Thijssen had to impose their way of playing, another overseas signing ftted straight into the cut and thrust of the Football League in 1978. Ivan Golac was a combative right-back for Partizan Belgrade whose love of English football was well-established by the time Lawrie McMenemy and Southampton
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came calling. He recalls watching Yugoslavia play England on TV in 1960 as a nine-year-old, the sight of the Wembley playing surface and a six-fgure capacity crowd leaving a deep impression. “I said right then: ‘That’s the only other country I’ll be playing in.’” Six years later, being selected as a ballboy for the European Cup semi-fnal between Partizan and star-studded Manchester United only crystallised these intentions. However, Golac had to put those dreams on ice, as Yugoslavian players couldn’t leave the domestic game for foreign football until they reached the age of 28. “On the 15th of June 1978,” he says, “I turned 28. On the 29th of July, I joined Southampton.” Not that it was as simple as that. With the British government slapping a temporary ban on the signing of non-EC players, Golac had to join as an amateur to sidestep the red tape. And his status as a mature student back in Belgrade allowed him to play while still waiting for his work permit to be approved. From the off, McMenemy’s “little £50,000-er” proved a hit with the Southampton fans, his marauding, no-nonsense style instantly suited to the pace of football at The Dell (“The game was very physical in my country, so it was no problem to settle in”). With McMenemy, Alan Ball, Phil Boyer and Chris Nicholl among his neighbours in Chandlers Ford, Golac’s popularity among his team-mates was helped by the enormous record collection he brought from Belgrade. “My music helped me so much with language,” he reveals, before reeling off a list of favourite bands, including The Who, The Kinks, The Dave Clark Five and The Troggs, “from just down the road in Andover, 10 miles from our home!” Golac became the frst of that season’s foreign inf*ck to play at Wembley for their new team, appearing in the League Cup Final defeat to Nottingham Forest that March. Two years later, his spectacular goal against West Brom won the Goal of the Month award on Match Of The Day. “Ron Atkinson came out of his dugout to applaud it,” he smiles. Golac wasn’t the only signing from Eastern Europe that season. In early 1979, two other Yugoslavs – striker Bozo Jankovic and goalkeeper Petar Borota – signed for Middlesbrough and Chelsea respectively. Of the two, the colourful Borota was the more successful, captaining the side and keeping 16 clean sheets during the 1980-81 season, a feat that earned him the club’s player of the year award. The captain of Poland, Kazimerz Deyna, joined the revolution, too. Signed by Manchester City manager Tony Book from Legia Warsaw, the transfer fee was unusual. As Legia were the offcial team of the Polish Army, Deyna’s signature was secured in return for photocopying equipment and other hardware diffcult to get hold of in Poland. His time in England, though, was troubled by homesickness, although he’ll always be remembered by fans for six goals in the fnal six games of that frst season, which ensured City’s top-fight survival.
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Class of 1978-79: the greatest hits VICTORIOUS VILLA Ricky Villa’s mazy dribble to win the 1981 FA Cup comes top of the pile, being named Wembley Goal of the Century in 2001. It was also the Argentine’s pile-driver against Wolves in the semi-fnal that set up the trip to the Twin Towers. As Ardiles points out: “Ricky doesn’t score sh*tty goals!”
“And still Ricky Villa...”
Golac saw Wembley on TV and said: “That’s the country I’ll be playing in”
STRIKE THIJSSEN The spring of 1981 was a fruitful time for Ipswich playmaker Frans Thijssen. Named as Footballer Of The Year (the frst overseas winner since Bert Trautmann), he celebrated by grabbing a goal in each leg of Town’s UEFA Cup Final triumph over his compatriots AZ Alkmaar.
DUTCH MASTER Although best remembered for his elegant displays for Ipswich, Arnold Muhren’s three seasons at Old Trafford yielded a place on the scoresheet in the ’83 FA Cup Final and a belter against QPR the same year with his weaker right peg.
Top Golac proved popular at The Dell and not just because of his record collection (above) Above right A ball for each clean sheet for Boro’s Borota
If Deyna’s English experience was disappointing for a man of his undeniable abilities, that original brigade were, in the main, both extremely successful and symbolic. Certainly Gordon Taylor’s stance towards those pioneering players seems to have softened since 1978: “Lads like Ossie and Ricky and Muhren and Thijssen helped English football through its bad decade of the 1980s. Suddenly football became the game to be seen at – politicians were queuing up to say they were fans. It was a remarkable turnaround and a lot of that was due to foreign players.” Had the class of 1978-79 fopped, though, Ossie Ardiles believes that the level of foreign players in today’s game wouldn’t be any less. “Even if we had been very, very bad, it was still the future. It might have taken a little more time, but it was going to happen sooner or later. We just happened to be the frst.”
OSSIE LEAVES IT LATE Tempting though it is to nominate Ardiles’ appearance on Top Of The Pops with Chas & Dave, we salute his most memorable goal, which knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup in 1980, a perfectlyfighted shot from the edge of the area with just three minutes of extra time left.
IVAN’S PRIZE-WINNER “Ooooh, Golac!” Alan Parry’s commentary did justice to this rare goal from Saints’ right-back, a half-volley against West Brom that scooped a Goal of the Month award in February 1981.
DISCOVER A WORLD OF FOOTBALL AT YOUR FINGERTIPS THE ALL NEW DIGITAL EDITION
wOrld Cup 2014
N O I T A N I DEST
Y O u r m O n t h lY t r i p i n s i d e t h e w O r l d ’ s s e x i e s t f O O t b a l l n at i O n
the drinks are on farmer phil
Brahma are making beer in Brazil’s training ground – and gaffer Scolari is getting in on the act during the World Cup. Being Brazilian, the ex-Chelsea boss agreed. Obviously. The beer, Selecao Especial (Special Selection), hails from the Granja Comary region – famous for producing a number of footballers for the national team – and will be part of a limited collectors’ edition, made available to a select few punters ahead of the World Cup. Scolari’s delighted with his agricultural skills. “Such a special beer could only be produced in a special place: Granja Comary, our national team home,” he tells FFT. “I hope it will be used to toast a year of wins in every single aspect for all Brazilians.” Your move, Carling.
Scolari: Tough guy
“Is the beer ready yet?”
Words: Marcus Alves
If you’re thinking about going to Brazil next June, there’s a famous saying worth learning: ‘colhendo os frutos’. This translates to ‘reaping what you sow’. And after winning the FIFA Confederations Cup last year, that’s what Luiz Felipe Scolari is doing – but not in the way you’d imagine. Big Phil has been hired to help cultivate a special one-off tipple for Brazilian beer manufacturers Brahma. As one of the national team’s offcial sponsors, they asked the Gene Hackman doppelganger to plant seeds on a farm next to the training ground where Neymar & Co. will train
teur rest, 700 ama fo in ra n ia il z tournament into the Bra ll p a e e tb d o r, fo a t e y n ia Every in a g l ether to play ly-clad mode g ti n to a e c s m a o c t u s o e sid with not allowed in – and they’re size maTTers
Girls, Girls, Girls
Peledao – ‘The Big Kickabout’ – is reputed to be the world’s biggest football tournament, involving more than 700 teams from Manaus, a city of about two million people in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. Although the players are amateur, the money that is spent by the richest teams – usually sponsored by local businesses – can be as much as the local professional sides. Last year 506 sides entered in the main category, 134 in the seniors’ competition, 43 in the women’s and 53 in the juniors’ tournament.
The Big Kickabout has a unique approach to female participation. Every team in the main tournament is required to submit a girl to contest the title of Kickabout Queen. The event is the most high-profle beauty pageant in the Amazon. The rules for the men are strict: if you don’t have a beauty queen, your team is not allowed to take part. At the Kickabout opening ceremony, all the beauty queens parade around the stadium wearing the team shirt, short shorts and trainers.
Words Alex Bellos
FooTball aT iTs mosT Tribal Manaus is 1,000 miles up the Amazon river and surrounded by rainforest, making it one of the most isolated places in the world. It is not connected by road to any of Brazil’s other major cities. Tens of thousands of indigenous Indians still live in the Amazon, and in 2005, the Kickabout introduced a new category for Indian communities living near Manaus. They play barefoot, often dressed in war paint.
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Franca: Beauty? No. Kickabout star? Yes.
openinG weekend: 258 Games!
The tournament lasts between September and December. Last year, 258 games were held on the opening weekend on 50 pitches throughout the city. All types of pitch are used, only one of which has any grass on it. The rules keep the spirit of kickabouts: no offside, throw-ins can be taken with your feet, and penalties are taken at 15 paces.
Below A victorious beauty queen can get a bad team into the fnal stages – so chest out, shoulders back...
Teams must also submit their own referees and linesmen to offciate other games.
nineTy minuTes and penalTies, Followed by The swimsuiT compeTiTion At the opening ceremony, judges select 100 of the beauty queens to qualify for the next phase. Over the following months, there are events – and ample photo opportunities – in which the girls model swimwear and are interviewed about their lives and ambitions. In December, 12 contestants are chosen for the
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fnal round. The football teams follow the pageant closely because if a beauty queen is in the fnal 12, her football team qualifes automatically for the fnal rounds of the football tournament. This rule was introduced to make sure that the football teams strive to have the most attractive queens, since it gives the men a way of returning to the competition if they have been knocked out due to their performances on the pitch. In 1988 a team called Arsenal (named after a road in Manaus, not the Gunners) had been eliminated, but returned thanks to its queen and won the title.
FronT paGe news The Big Kickabout was founded in 1973 by journalist Messias Sampaio, as a promotional event for the local paper. Manaus had been a backwater until the late 1960s, when tax breaks led many companies to open factories there, attracting a large number of Brazilians
Arena de Amazonia: Welcome, England!
Above Kickabout On Board: well worth your time on YouTube
looking for work. With little infrastructure and a tiny professional scene, the Kickabout soon became the biggest show in town. The local TV and newspaper conglomerate still run it. The teams are made up from all sections of society, most commonly the neighbours in a particular street, members of the same extended family or colleagues at a local frm. Over the years, the most successful teams have become major focal points in their communities. History’s most famous Kickabout player was Franca, who grew up in Manaus before turning professional and making the Brazilian national side in 2000, even scoring at Wembley.
Take noTe, roy In its early stages, crowds at the Kickabout are low, but the fnals are always big events. In 2012 more than 42,000 went to the fnal at the Vivaldo Lima stadium, Manaus’ main stadium, which has since been demolished to make way for the
Arena da Amazonia, where England will play Italy in June (but minus the beauty contest).
“i’m a celebriTy – GeT me oFF This boaT” For the last two years, the fnal round of the beauty pageant has been a reality TV show, called Kickabout On Board, which is broadcast locally (and uploaded on Youtube). The 12 fnalists live on a yacht moored on the Amazon near Manaus, where cameras record their every move. Each day a new contestant is eliminated, and the winner is chosen by public vote. Last year 100,000 votes were cast and the title of Kickabout Queen went to Brenda Carioca, aged 18. She won a car.
playinG buTT-naked One reason the tournament has caught the public imagination in Brazil is linguistic. The word for a kickabout in Portuguese is ‘pelada’, which is also the word for naked, possibly because casual games in tropical countries often take place on pitches with no grass. The offcial name is ‘Peladao’, the augmentative of pelada, which means ‘Big Kickabout’ but also ‘butt-naked’. Players don’t strip off mid-game but we wouldn’t rule it out happening one day...
If a beauty queen makes it into the fnal 12, her football team qualifes automatically for the fnal rounds of the tournament “Who are you calling pretty?”
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After a patient career Dante has established himself as one of the world’s best centre-backs, winning the treble with Bayern Munich and the Confederations Cup with Brazil. Just don’t call him a late bloomer
D
ante seems a remarkably slight fgure in person, considering all the heavy lifting his arms have done over the past 12 months. Like the rest of the Bayern Munich troupe who swept all before them last season, he has become accustomed to hauling football bling aloft in front of a roaring red crowd. This season, he has added the sweeteners of the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup to the Bavarians’ triple, raising them to the sky with the same child-like glee. And now, though he might frst and foremost be focused on replicating another silverware trolley-dash with Bayern, there is another glittering prize heaving into view, one whose lustre has enchanted him since childhood and whose capture would crown a career that has been characterised by incredible tenacity and an unwavering self-belief. Dante Bonfm Costa Santos was born in Salvador, one of the 12 cities that will host Brazil’s second ever World Cup. And though the national team will not be playing there, that Dante could feature for them at all on that rarest of occasions – a World Cup on home soil – is something of a miracle. His return to source at the age of 30 will be just reward for never abandoning his dreams, despite some painful setbacks along the way. As a young player, Dante was turned down at so many trials that his parents simply could not afford for him to attend any more. When his pleading got him nowhere, there was only one course of action for the football-obsessed 15-year-old. “My family was very poor,” he says, remembering the
disappointment. “I sat in my bedroom, looked at the games console there and said to myself, ‘Oh well…’ – and a couple of days later I had managed to sell it. It was the only way I could afford the bus ticket – and it was the only way I got my chance in the game.” Parting with a treasured possession to travel 1,600 miles
The joy of a man who has fnally found his home
for a shot at the big time clearly motivated the determined young Dante. That one big trial paid off. And soon he was taking his frst steps as a player in the Juventude youth ranks, a club many, many miles from home. “On one hand,” says Dante, “I still miss my console. But on the other hand, I made my dream of being a footballer come true.” Perhaps it is because he has never forgotten the adversity he had to overcome to make it in the game, but there is something wonderfully joyous about Dante. A ferce competitor on the pitch, he is warm and humble away from it – even when thrown to a demanding press pack one winter’s day in Munich. His affability might also be down to the fact that he is considered by many to be a late bloomer. He won the Champions League with Bayern having only made his debut in the competition proper that season, after an itinerant career around Europe’s leagues and clubs, from Lille in Ligue 1 to then-relegation scrappers Borussia Monchengladbach, via stints at Charleroi and Standard Liege in Belgium. It is almost as if, having gone slow and steady instead of haring to the front of the pack, Dante has had time to savour every step, rather than overload on glitz and glamour early on and become jaded. Dante’s Bayern move in 2012 was the culmination of a long journey, but the skilful centre-half dislikes the ‘late bloomer’ tag. “I think it’s fair to say there has been an evolution in the clubs I have played for, but in terms of my quality as a player, I disagree,” he says. “I think when you get a chance to play in France as an 18- or 19-year-old, that’s a huge step. I then went on to win the title in Belgium – another step. And then I arrived at Borussia Monchengladbach, which was another step forward, and so on. Every player has a story. Every player has their own path to follow. So I don’t think I developed late – that is just the path my career followed.”
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Words Titus Chalk
“I owe my career to a games console”
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While it may have been a long and winding road, it ended up earning him a frst Brazil cap last season – an honour many would have thought impossible at the age of 29. It came against England at Wembley and though the match was an eye-catching 2-1 win for Roy Hodgson’s side, nothing could take the sheen off a magical evening for Dante. Asked if any of England’s players made an impression on him that night, he is refreshingly candid. “Sure,” he says. “But honestly, I was so happy that I was fnally playing for Brazil that I barely noticed who I was playing against. I just wanted to savour the moment, because it was the moment I had waited for my whole life. Of course, playing against players like Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney was great – both are world-class players.” Having gone on to cement his place in Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side with a decent showing in the Confederations Cup, it looks set to be an experience that Dante will go on to enjoy a few more times yet. He and Chelsea’s David Luiz will most likely be competing for a starting berth alongside Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Silva when Brazil kick off the World Cup against Croatia on June 12. The smart money would be on Dante to pip the erratic Chelsea man to the job – although both provide a beguiling blend of steel and silk, Dante’s sorties upfeld tend not to compromise his positional sense or concentration. Yes, like all Bayern’s players this season, Dante has had occasional diffculties adapting to Pep Gaurdiola’s demands. But Scolari will have been pleased overall with the Brazilian’s performances. How does the returning Brazil boss compare to other coaches Dante has played for? The key, he says, is Scolari’s paternal approach – something that proved his undoing in an uppity Chelsea dressing room, but clearly works well for a group with thick ties and national pride on the line. “He is frst and foremost a coach who wants to build a strong group, like a family,” says Dante. “He knows we will perform better with a strong team spirit amongst us.” That is not to say Big Phil is a one-trick pony – heart alone does not suffce to beat Spain 3-0, as Brazil did in last summer’s Confederations Cup fnal. “Tactically, he is as good as any coach I have played for and he communicates with us a lot,” says Dante. “His way of coaching has won him one World Cup – now we hope it will win him a second.” If that is to be the case, Brazil must frst overcome a group that, on paper, looks like
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Clockwise from right Champions League glory with Bayern; outmuscling our cover star; getting ready for parties in Brazil; turning heads with Standard Liege
a walkover. That task might be complicated, though, by soaring home expectation and a possible backdrop of social unrest. Dante says all opponents will have to be treated with the utmost respect. He names Croatia – with his Bayern team-mate Mario Mandzukic leading the line – as the biggest threat in the group, but acknowledges that both Cameroon and Mexico can prove tricksome foes on their days. “They will all be tough games,” he says with the diplomacy of a seasoned professional. There is no doubt that Brazil’s mission is a singular one: to triumph on home soil where their 1950 counterparts did not, hopefully in
fnished, packed, joyful stadia. On that front, Dante promises it will be a special World Cup. “People are going to love the philosophy of the Brazilian people and the special atmosphere in the country,” he says. “Every stadium will be buzzing and I’m sure fans will love it. That’s what will make the World Cup Brazilian.” Sprinkle in some sandy beaches, add a dash of barbecued meat, a pinch of samba and a healthy splash of sun, stir well, and it should be the recipe for a memorable tournament. If Dante can clinch it with his hands on yet another trophy, can we expect a hell a party, too? “Oh, no matter what,” he says. “There’s always a party in Brazil!”
[ Great goals retold ]
Interview Mauricio Savarese; Illustration German Aczel
O H IN L E N vs Italy, World Cup 1978
“It wasn’t a cross, it wasn’t a cross, it wasn’t a cross.” FFT hasn’t even asked Nelinho a question yet. But ever since the former Brazil right-back scored against Italy in the third-place play-off victory at the 1978 World Cup, he’s had to make this point again and again. “I started my career as a striker,” he explains. “It certainly shows in the way
I hit the ball. But I still have to tell people it wasn’t a cross!” His wildly bending strike was scant consolation for Brazil, coming in a match they never expected to be in. Brazil looked set for the fnal until Argentina beat Peru 6-0 in their fnal group game to take the Selecao’s place on goal difference. “I prefer to believe it wasn’t a set-up,” says Nelinho. “But I understand
that might be because I was too overwhelmed by scoring that goal in a World Cup.” Nelinho reveals that he wasn’t thinking of shooting at frst. “When Roberto gave me the ball,” he recalls, “I tried to fnd someone to make a one-two with, so I could get into the penalty box. But there wasn’t anyone around. I’d have had to wait a little to cross because nobody near
outside because I wanted some spin on it. “Besides, it was freaking Dino Zoff in goal! How can anyone be lucky when they’re scoring against one of the greatest goalkeepers ever?!” Now running a gym in Belo Horizonte, Nelinho still kicks the ball about in the Mineirao Stadium now and then. “But not that hard any more, son,” he laughs.
the goal was ready. But then I noticed [Dino] Zoff was eager for me to decide. So I hit it as hard as I could.” But was the goal that Brazilians say “defed physics” a f*cke? “Not at all. I practised that from even tougher spots. I scored many goals for Cruzeiro in a similar fashion. If that had been a lucky goal I’d have hit the ball with the inside of my foot; I used the
[ Derbies Deconstructed #2: Palmeiras vs Corinthians ]
ROMEO & JULIET – WITHOUT THE LOVE Sao Paulo stops for the Derby Paulista, where showboating on the pitch is not recommended
Words Paul Beiboer and Mike Carre
So what’s all the fuss about? The derby is the biggest in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city. The 100-year-old rivalry between the ‘Big Green’, Palmeiras, and the ‘People’s Club’, Corinthians, is so passionate a movie remake of Romeo & Juliet was produced with Montagues and Capulets replaced by the two clubs. Bill Shakespeare would be proud.
Reasons for aggro
Maddest moment
Cult fgures
Corinthians were founded after an English team travelled to Sao Paulo, but a split emerged when a group of Italian members broke away to form Palmeiras. The group began as a cooking collective before creating a football team, earning them the nickname ‘Betrayers’ among Corinthians fans. Tasty.
Even in Brazil, showboating is frowned upon. So when, in 1999, Corinthians forward Edilson did keepy-uppies on the halfway line, he was viciously ‘tackled’ by full-back Junior, who then booted the ball at him. Palmeiras players then chased Edilson around the pitch. Eventually, Corinthians won the game and the title.
Palmeiras’ Ademir da Guia, ‘the divine one’, was a veteran of over 50 derbies while keeper Marcos spent his 19-year career with the club and saved a penalty from Corinthians’ Marcelinho Carioca in the 2000 Copa Libertadores semi-fnal shootout. Carioca himself is a Corinthians hero with over 200 goals – 13 against their rivals.
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“I’m up to 1,144!” t
hiS Guy haS to Count thiS Guy’S GoalS
Pele netted a fair few – so imagine trawling through reports, photos and videos to fnd exactly how many
I
t’s a question that’s been debated the football world over: just how many career goals did Pele score? And until now, nobody has come up with the defnitive answer. So why should Rogerio Lopes Zilli be any different? Because since 2011 it’s been his job to count them – yes, all of them – after he was hired by Edson Arantes do Nascimento himself. Not that you’ll hear the researcher complain. A Santos, Brazil and Pele fanatic who, as a young boy, watched the striker during his last two years at Santos, Zilli’s number-crunchathon is only part of the work he’s doing in
preparation for the opening of the Pele Museum in time for this summer’s World Cup. And having scrutinised every available resource to arrive at the golden number, Zilli can now reveal that Pele scored a grand total of 1,282 goals (including friendlies and exhibitions), and that’s fnal. Or is it? “I cannot assure you that this is going to be the number everyone will take seriously from now on,” Zilli tells FourFourTwo. “Take FIFA, for example. Did you watch the World Player of the Year ceremony? They said Pele scored 1,281 times.” Football’s
Milestone: Pele reaches 1,000 (or was it 1,001?)
Words Marcus Alves
se Coutinho and Pele: who ? way any it was goal
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other fountain of truth, Wikipedia, also has it at 1,281, while some sources claim Pele bagged 1,283. “That’s the funniest thing about all this,” says Zilli, clearly tickled by it all. “No one knows.” The primary cause of the discrepancy is a game between Poland and a touring Santos side in the 1960s, explains Zilli: “The Brazilian team won it 5-0 and according to reports, Pele scored all fve goals that day, though it still remains unclear if he was really responsible for the ffth one. No one will ever be able to establish that for certain, for one simple reason. We have this picture of what seems to be Coutinho [Pele’s long-time club partner] touching the ball towards the goal, but everyone said it was actually Pele.” The diffculty, continues Zilli, is that Pele, Coutinho and other Santos attackers that day such as Mengalvio and Durval, are all black, all wearing short-sleeved white Santos shirts, and all had short hair. What’s more, the few grainy pictures that exist of the ffth goal against Poland were taken from behind the goal – through the net. “That pretty much confrms what I am trying to say: nobody can ever truly end this debate,” says Zilli. “I’m not even sure if, after the launching of the museum, people will take my research as fnal proof. I will honestly understand if others believe 1,281 or 1,283 is right. In fact, I prefer to leave it a debate.” Stranger still is Zilli’s hope that an Argentine can fnally put an end to the squabbling. “I’m really hoping Lionel Messi reaches this mark one day. Romario came close; perhaps Tulio can do it.”
Why Brazil Won the World Cup in… Above Pele scores goal number eight hundred and... oh, forget it Below “Yeah, I’m pretty awesome”
[Tulio Maravilha is still waddling about at 44, searching for his 1,000th goal] Not that The Flea will ever truly trump The King, says Zilli. “Everyone loves to talk about Messi having netted 91 or 92 goals in a year, but there’s a great thing about Pele in 1959,” he says. “That year he scored 125 goals. I don’t think anyone will ever beat this. Pele also started playing at 16 years old, and by 21 he had already scored 500 goals.” Our superstatto clearly needs to get out more. But having fnished counting goals, he’s now totting up air miles, building a map pinpointing all the places the great man visited during his career – including 150-odd round trips to the USA. Rather than take his subject’s word for it, though, Zilli will be collecting all the relevant passport documents as proof of travel and logging them on a couple of Word documents. You don’t have to be mad to work at the Pele Museum, but it helps.
BIGGEST. ENTOURAGE. EVER. Taking a more professional approach than in previous years, the Brazil team that arrived in Sweden was the most organised to attend a World Cup. The players had already had lengthy training under the guidance of a specially created ‘technical commission’, and the tour party included, among others, a doctor, a psychologist who put them through a series of bizarre mental tests, and a dentist to manage the apparently precarious state of their gnashers.
THEIR MANAGER TOOK A PUNT ON AN INJURED TEENAGER Three days before travelling, Pele was scythed down in a friendly between Brazil and Corinthians, injuring his knee so badly it was touch and go whether he’d remain with the squad. Coach Vincente Feola chose to gamble on the 17-year-old after the team doctor pledged to get him ft for the fnal group game. After missing the frst two, Pele set Sweden alight. He was the youngest World Cup debutant against the Soviet Union, became the youngest goalscorer against Wales (the record still stands), blew France away in the semi with a hat-trick in 23 minutes, and scored two more to help beat the hosts in the fnal.
THE PLAYERS WEREN’T DISTRACTED BY SEX
Can Messi overhaul Pele’s total?
The Brazilian FA were so determined to win their frst World Cup, they even tried to keep their players away from temptation. This followed newspaper reports of two young women doing more than discussing the offside rule with players at the team’s hotel. The FA had all 28 female staff of their Swedish base replaced by men and even asked that a nearby nudist camp, visible from the hotel, covered up. The naturists refused and players bought binoculars.
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As a high-resistance material that’s also highly fexible, Kevlar is used for a variety of items, including frying pans, brake pads, military helmets and body armour. And now the boffns at Adidas have taken the material used to absorb the impact of bullets and shrapnel and stuck it on a pair of football boots. The Adidas Nitrocharge has been reinforced with Kevlar technology to make it more resilient to collisions – ideal for Sunday League players trying to protect themselves against two-footed lunges and nasty stamps. How will it shield sensitive tootsies from fying studs? Kevlar is forged with aramid, a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fbres, which are bonded closer together, making them harder to penetrate.
Officially five times stronger than steel
Premier League players such as Jack Rodwell – who wears the boots – might be wise to slip on a pair when facing Charlie Adam, but mere mortals of park football will have to be quick to snap up the armour-plated beauties. Only 400 pairs of these Nitrocharges will be available in the UK and they’ll damage your wallet to the tune of £220. Not cheap, but better than carrying a severed foot to A&E. The gold Nitrocharge boots are available to buy at prodirectsoccer.com
THE fourfourtwo PERFORMANCE PANEL Meet the experts available to answer your questions about every aspect of the game PLAYING
MASTERCLASS
PSYCHOLOGY
TECHNIQUE
Roberto Soldado Tottenham striker
Daniel Sturridge Liverpool goalsmith
Tom Bates Performance coach
Tim Cahill Australia midfelder
Spurs’ special Spaniard advises a reader on how to improve his attacking movement and one-touch play upfront.
The light-footed Reds forward shares the secrets of how to run rings around opposition defenders.
West Brom’s peak performance coach tells FFT how to deal with abuse from the crowd.
The New York Red Bulls man on how to dominate the game in the air – even when up against giant opponents.
Performance editor Ben Welch; Words Ben Welch; Pictures Adam Warner
Introducing the incredible armour-plated footwear that will toughen up your toes against any tackle...
PERFORMANCE
altitude lacks advantage Playing at high altitude reduces the amount of ground elite players cover – on average – but doesn’t affect the pace at which they play. Tests carried out on Australian and Bolivian players revealed that even living at high altitude had no dramatic impact on performance.
Resistance is WoRthWhile
Strikers can improve shot power with muscle-strengthening drills focused on improving leg swing. In a 10-week trial, 20 amateur players improved accuracy and power after doing backward-forward drills with a resistance band on the leg.
BRain tRains to spot Fakes
pass the Bucks
Great players’ minds are hard-wired to spot deceptive football moves such as step-overs, according to MRI brain scans. Experts in cognition and neuro-imaging found that highly-skilled pros activate otherwise underused brain functions to spot a dummy when observing players.
A recent analysis of 300 players from the Premier League, Championship and League One found that those in the lower leagues cover a much greater distance at a higher intensity when playing – but the top-fight players make many more successful passes.
hiit the taRget
Players looking to sharpen their ftness levels should try HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) – performing near-maximum heart-rate sprints between bouts of less intense jogging. Research shows players can boost their VO2 max ftness by up to eight per cent after fve weeks of HIIT work.
10 things
we’ve learneD this month kicking out canceR
Danish researchers have launched a trial into how effective football is in combating cancer. ‘FC Prostate’ is an ongoing experiment seeing how regular football training and matches can help 80 men in their treatment for prostate cancer.
climate spRains Experts examining the effects of climate on injuries found that ankle sprains and anterior cruciate ligament injuries are more likely in teams playing in warmer climate zones, whereas achilles tendon problems are more likely in teams playing in cooler countries.
second-halF is haRd FoR lasses Spanish researchers studying 100 male and female players in UEFA Champions League matches found that women run a shorter distance overall but at high intensities and, unlike the men, display fatigue during the second half of the match.
Beach Ball
Trials with 27 US footballers, comparing running performance on grass, astroturf and sand, have revealed that beach running has some solid benefts. Players run slower but more intensely, have less post-training stiffness and a reduced risk of impact injuries.
WoRld cup Well chaRt Watching football competitions can have a positive impact on a nation’s health, say researchers. A study of data collated from four World Cups and four European Championships highlighted a decrease in the incidence of strokes in the French city of Dijon.
Studies and authors: British Journal of Sports Medicine (‘Altitude lacks advantage’); Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (‘Resistance is worthwhile’); Brunel University / University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia / Institute of Human Performance, University of Hong Kong (‘Brain trains to spot fakes’); University of Sunderland (‘Pass the bucks’); Willamette University, Oregon, USA (‘HIIT the target’); Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark (‘Kicking out cancer’); Linkoping University, Sweden / Australian Football League Medical Offcers Association (‘Climate sprains’); Basque University, Spain (‘Ladies fatigue frst’); Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport (‘Beach ball’); University of Burgundy, France / National Stroke Association (‘World Cup well chart’)
PERFORMANCE
[ You ask, we answer ]
Master a deft touch The skilful Spurs sharpshooter tells you how to disable the opposition using close control “My team-mates give me stick for taking too many touches up front and slowing the game down. How can I improve my one-touch skills?” Graham Dobson, via email
Roberto Soldado Tottenham Hotspur’s Spanish striker “Playing with one touch is an innate part of my game. Luckily, every team I’ve played for has played a style of football that has suited my main strengths. You must always be looking for the ball – go and fnd it if it’s not coming to you. Having team-mates close by brings chances to play one-touch football around defenders, which is diffcult for them. I’m always looking for space; for the best place for me to go to cause the defence the most harm. These movements are fundamental. I enjoy facing our frst-choice back four in training; facing good defenders helps you fnd the sharpness you need in a game. The more you practise these movements in training, the more you anticipate the best moments to play with one touch and either keep the move going or shoot frst time.” Roberto Soldado wears adiZero F50 boots, part of the Adidas Samba Collection. Visit www.adidas.com or join the conversation @adidasUK #F50 #allin or nothing
DID YOU KNOW?
Soldado escapes Morgan Schneiderlin’s groping hand
We’ve got a fair few egos in our team. What can we do to improve our mentality? Charles Schutze, via Facebook
Jordi Alba
Interviews Andrew Murray
Barcelona and Spain’s gung-ho full-back “Everybody at Barcelona is very humble and hard-working. Nobody is more important than anyone else, from the players to the coaching staff, physios, doctors and admin staff.
e skills s used thes Soldado ha as of s st si as ur to rack up fo emier Pr . Only four January 17 Rooney, ne ay (W s er League strik ez ud, Luis Suar Olivier Giro rt) be m La ie and Rick have more
We’re all very close and that develops a bond. It’s a big club, but we’re just normal people. This attitiude is one of the biggest virtues in the Barça dressing room. It begins at age seven in La Masia and continues up to the frst-team. I’ve learned a lot from the club from a football perspective, but they also teach you respect.
We work together as a unit during training. From time to time we go out for meals as a squad to help form a bond between everyone. It’s diffcult when you play twice a week, but you have to make time. If someone in the Barça squad had too much of an ego, it’d be bad for the team and I’m sure the squad would talk to this player.” Jordi Alba wears the new adiZero F50 boots. www.adidas.com @adidasUK #F50 #allin or nothing
Barça succeed through team spirit, says Alba
Performance.FourFourTwo.com February 2014 115
PERFORMANCE
s] [ Masterclas
L E I N A D
: E G D I R R STU OUND R A S G N RUN RI OSITION P P O E H T Study your he roes and spen d hours practising in the garden if you want to become a dribble king, s ays the Liverpool and England strik er
DID YOU KNOW?
tio al-to-game ra Sturridge’s go print) to es go T FF s of 0.82 (a est in the is the third-high hind only be , ue ag Le Premier Suarez is Lu e his team-mat io rg Se d an ) (1.38 Aguero (0.87)
PERFORMANCE
1
Keep the oppo guessing Vary your approach
“Be direct and run at opponents at speed. Sometimes you can slow it down and then suddenly speed it up if you have good acceleration. It depends on the opponent. If you can’t beat them for speed you need to start doing a few tricks to get past them. The key is to mix up your game and not rely on one particular style of dribbling.”
Interview Paul Hassall
4
Learn from the greats Watch the best and take note
“It’s vital to watch great players and see how they get past opponents. When I was younger I watched Michael Owen’s Soccer Skills and then studied Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Ronaldo – R9 – used to do skills and tricks that got me out of my seat all the time. I used to watch Ronaldinho at Barcelona and think, ‘Oh my god, what am I seeing here?!’ Then you’ve got Zidane, who was so elegant that everything was effortless for him. He would glide past people at will.”
Interview Aleksandar Holiga
PRO TIP
IVAN RAKITIC Sevilla’s Croatian captain on how to calm down team-mates in the middle of a heated battle
2
Sell your marker a dummy Wrong-foot the defender with misdirection
“My dad made me watch old Betamax video tapes that focused on skill and technique. It involved a Dutch coach called Wiel Coerver. He was in charge of Feyenoord in the 1970s and he created the Coerver coaching technique. In terms of dribbling, it focused on misdirection – so the defender moved one way and you could go the other. It’s things like the Matthews move, the Rivelino move and the Maradona move – I used to practise it all in the front garden.”
5
Be fearless Don’t think about failure
“Be direct. Don’t doubt yourself. Be aggressive with your skills and don’t worry about losing the ball. Look to make it happen and be committed to the dribble. You also need to suss out your opponent. If he’s quicker than you, then you need to think of a skill that will get you past him. It depends where you are on the feld, too. Different skills work better in certain situations.”
“I like the responsibility that comes with being captain. When my team-mates aren’t pulling their weight I raise the intensity of their performance with encouragement, and when they’re getting carried away I calm them down. If a team-mate is on the verge of getting sent off because he’s fying into tackles, I do my best to pacify him. I talk calmly and walk him away from the situation. They leave it to me to
3
Never stop practising Train hard and you’ll get results
“If you want to be a great dribbler, or great at any aspect of the game, you have to work hard. It doesn’t just happen overnight; you have to work at it and train hard. Even when I was six years old playing at Cadbury Athletic, the coach worked with me on my skills. I still do that to this day. I want to develop every part of my game. It’s important to realise you can always get better. You should never feel you are the fnished article, because that’s a backward step.”
6
Tailor your game Work out your opponent’s weaknesses
“Adapt your game to each defender you face. It’s a bit like boxing, where you suss out your opponent in the ring: you can watch videos, but in a fght between two individuals it can be different. It’s the same on a football pitch. Learn to understand how your opponent reacts to different scenarios in the heat of the action. As the game wears on, you get a better picture of how that player reacts. Does he dive into the tackle or drop off and let you turn? Every defender is different.”
address the referee if they feel something needs to be communicated. We are footballers, not ballet dancers. As in any other walk of life, you have people who play dirty and you have to be aware of that. It can get rough; it can get unsporting. When someone steps over the line with their behaviour, I speak to the referee about it. I think I manage to keep things under control both on and off the pitch. We are a collective, a team – not 25 individuals just gathered together.”
Performance.FourFourTwo.com February 2014 117
Crunching tackles, aerial duels, shoulder-to-shoulder collisions – top-fight battlegrounds are ferocious. FFT spent the day at Everton’s training ground to see how players prepare for war
1 Welcome to hell
Words: Rob McGarr
As FFT walks through the gates at Finch Farm, Everton’s impressive training complex, John Heitinga drives past on his way out. We’ve got no reason to believe he knows why we’re there, but the glint in his eye makes this correspondent think he knows I’m in for a day of suffering. Although we’re expecting it to be tough, I’m quietly confident. I’m the fittest player on my Sunday League team, although I suppose that’s not saying much considering half of my team-mates come to games straight from South Essex’s premier nightspot, ‘Bas Vegas’.
“What? That 2 was just the warm-up?” Sports scientist and senior fitness coach Steve Tashjian takes us through some short runs, gradually upping the
intensity and then introducing a ball. It’s tough, but I cope well. “That’s a nice, easy warm-up,” he says, as my face falls. We do some high-intensity sprints, focusing on changing direction quickly. “Deceleration is as important as acceleration,” says Tashjian. “All the runs we do are short and sharp, as this replicates the running you do in a game.”
and power,” adds Tashjian. We both ignore the noise coming from my knees, which sounds like I’ve missed a gear in an M-reg Fiesta.
4 Dodgy feet
FFT’s 3 knees creak like an old banger
As I hoist two dumbbells onto my shoulders, Tashjian gets me to adopt a split stance as I sink into a raised lunge, with the toes of my rear foot raised on a bench. “We want to mimic the position you’ll be in during a game during stability work,” he says. “This exercise builds strength in the glutes and upper legs, which is key for explosive pace
118 March 2014 Performance.FourFourTwo.com
“Are those your knees or the foorboards creaking?”
Picking up a huge, green disc that makes me feel like a small boy trying to drive his dad’s articulated lorry, I adopt the split-stance again, but this time on an even surface. I start with the weight beside my left hip, lifting it up across my body with straight arms, twisting my torso. I can’t stop my front foot from turning inward. “Doing that during the wood chop exercise makes the base of support wider. We want to keep it narrow, to test the glutes and hip stability as much as possible,” explains Tashjian.
PERFORMANCE
Runs are short and sharp, to replicate game movements
Tashjian gets his point across
It’s a gruelling day for FFT
“Don’t throw up, don’t throw up...”
continually adapt to support your weight as it shifts around, which replicates the way your body has to readjust constantly during a game.” given Our core is st”... te od “a go
...while pr ess-ups are made harder
Not pictured: stereo playing the Rocky theme
for a 5 Time three-way Maintaining the split stance, dumbbells
in hand, I’m instructed to perform a three-way shoulder press – driving the weights up, out, and across, alternating hands each time. I’m shocked by how quickly it gets tough. “Focus on tempo,” says Tashjian. “The quicker you go, the more diffcult it is to stabilise, which gives the core a good test. Your lower body is having to
6Shake down “Using the cables of a TRX training system adds a stability element to the press-up, making it harder for your shoulders and abdominals to stabilise,” says Tashjian. He’s not kidding: I can force out 30 regular press-ups, but as soon as I grab the handles, my arms shake like I’m trying to fa*g down a taxi in Mumbai rush hour. Players do 16-20 in a set, but I’m long past comparing myself to them – I just want to fnish this without breaking my nose on the gym foor.
is a 7 “Heitinga beast!” “Some players can do 20 pull-ups or
more,” he adds, as I tremble to the top of my fourth rep. Collapsing after six, I’m foolish enough to ask who can do the most. “Probably Sylvain Distin or Johnny Heitinga – those guys are beasts. They can do 30 or 40 in one go, smoking a cigar. I strap a belt to Heitinga and hang a 15kg plate from it, and he can still do eight to 12.” No wonder he looked so bloody pleased with himself.
8 Embarrassing results I consider myself to be in reasonable shape, and the basic movements were pretty standard fare, but the stability element to each exercise really tested my fexibility and core strength, with embarrassing results. Players go through it three times, and do fexibility training four or fve times a week, including weights at least twice a week. I’d like to see them turn in a winning performance after a night on the town, though. Visit www.theproteinworks.com for info
Performance.FourFourTwo.com March 2014 119
PERFORMANCE
[ Technique ]
Out-jumpa giant You don’t have to be tall to dominate the skies, says Australian international and aerial master Tim Cahill – you’ve just got to get the technique right 1 winning heaDerS StartS in the gYm
“In your face, ball!”
“To leap above your opponent you need to have explosive power in your legs. This is forged in the gym. Having that power in your lower body gives you added spring and that is what launches you into the air. Focus on plyometrics and dynamic exercises like lunges and squats. Once you’re airborne and colliding with an opponent, you need upper body strength to hold off his challenge and win the ball.”
2 time it right
3 uSe YOur armS “Once you’re in the air it’s important to have your arms out so you can use them as an elevation tool. They will help to propel you upwards, and then hold off challengers. They will also help you set your position so that you can get extra power into your header. Watch the ball the whole way as it approaches, then use your forehead to direct the ball where you want.” A huge 59 per cent of Cahill’s Premier League goals were headers
the tim Cahill wOrkOut
To be light on your feet and loaded with power, dig out your weighted vest and follow these three exercises from the New York Red Bulls midfelder
120 March 2014 Performance.FourFourTwo.com
posture has to be right so you can use your neck muscles to either power a downward header into the bottom corner or lob it over a goalkeeper. Get up, be powerful and execute the fnish with fnesse.”
5 Be BraVe “I’m fearless when it comes to attacking the ball. In my mind, there’s only ever going to be one winner. You need to be the guy who’s willing to put his head in where it hurts. Do that and nine times out of 10 you’ll win the battle. I attack the ball like it’s the last thing I’m ever going to do. Believe in your ability and place the ball out of the goalkeeper’s reach.”
4 put YOur neCk intO it “Now you’ve got in a position to score, it’s about getting the technique right. To direct the ball accurately with your head, your upper body
Tim Cahill wears Warrior’s new Skreamer Pro Camouflage Boots. For more information visit warriorfootball.com
BOX jumpS
SQuatS
running
“Put on a weighted vest and stand in front of a box. I choose a box three-quarters my height, but start with one 12 inches high. Position your feed shoulder-width apart and bend your knees. Jump onto the box, landing softly, knees bent slightly. Step down and repeat.” Reps: 10 Sets: 3
“Keep the weighted vest. Toes pointing forward, set your feet a little further than shoulder-width apart. Engage your core; keep your back straight. Push your hips back, bend at the knees and sink into a squat. Drive up through your heels to the start position and repeat.” Reps: 6 Sets: 3
“Even when I’m on a treadmill I put on a weighted vest to work the lower and upper body. Use a vest 5-10% of your body weight. When you take it off you really notice the difference. You’ll feel lighter and more powerful on the pitch.” Reps: Run for two minutes, walk for one – this is one repetition Sets: 7-8
Interview Aidan Ormond
“Every week I play against someone who is a lot taller than me and to beat them I have to time my run into the box just right. I watch the man with the ball, react to his delivery, track its fight and arrive to make the perfect connection. Don’t just head it – meet it. If you jump just before your opponent, you’re in the air with time to decide where you’re going to head the ball.”
PERFORMANCE
Player of the month
Diego Costa
LINK-uP
telepathic Partnership More than half of Costa’s goals in this campaign have been assisted by Koke. “We talk after training about the way we should link up,” Costa told FFT.
FFT analyses the spearhead of Atletico Madrid’s resurgence – with insider info from the Rojiblancos on what’s behind his phenomenal strike rate…
NuTRITION
Post-match meal Fresh fsh is a staple for Atletico players, with lots of fresh tomatoes and steamed vegetables. This meal is low in fat, aiding muscle recovery.
TECHNICAL
surgical accuracy 38.8 per cent – that’s the Costa conversion rate of shots to goals. He has the best shot accuracy in La Liga, too: 71 per cent of his strikes are on target, ahead of Lionel Messi (hitting the spot 70 per cent of the time) and Cristiano Ronaldo (59 per cent).
PSyCHOLOgy
Mindset “It’s not been easy, with loans, operations and rehabilitation, but life is a constant lesson we must learn from. Sometimes you don’t have the same touch of inspiration as other days, but if I give it everything, I’ll reap the rewards.”
wORKOuT
Power up Diego’s upper body strength is a key factor in his ability to overcome opponents. Focused drills that develop the chest, arms and shoulders help him maintain this asset.
TRANSFER FEE
,
,
The amount of money a club would have to pay to activate Costa’s buyout clause. FINISH LIKE COSTA RECOvERy
Dulce de leche This is a popular post-match drink among Atletico players, especially after a late-night La Liga tie – the caramelised milk can help relax the body and mind after a game.
Set up Arrange two teams of attackers (in red) and defenders (in white) outside the box with a wall passer on the edge of the area. Action An attacker passes to a defender and overlaps behind him. The defender gives it to the wall passer, who lays the ball off for the attacker to shoot (frst taking at least one touch). The defender sprints to stop the shot.
Performance.FourFourTwo.com March 2014 121
PERFORMANCE
Wash baG essentials Want to look like a winner off the pitch? Pack Premier League grooming products
Day n u s gue l learviva su iDe gu “
Kiehl’s facial fuel energising scrub After the opposition’s hard man has sent you face-frst into a pile of dog’s mess, you need something to freshen up your dirty chops. This is packed with scrub particles to clear away the brown stuff. Price: £17.00 (100ml)
Feed oFF CRoWd* abuse *one man anD his Dog Getting an earful from the oppo’s solitary fan? Rise above it, advises West Brom’s peak performance coach, Tom Bates 1 criticism is a compliment If you’re playing well then it’s inevitable that the opposition’s supporter will try to put you off. They see you as the player who carries the greatest threat, so you should see it as a positive reaction. They fear you – remind yourself of this fact and thrive off of it.
2 Drown the fan out
Interview Ben Welch
Weak characters make lots of negative noise. Instead of listening to insults, make your voice heard by shouting encouragement to team-mates. If he starts to distract you, assert yourself in fve-minute bursts – close down twice as fast or make sure you win your headers.
3 a still tongue Keeps a wise heaD Do not react to anything that lonely fan says or does. As far as you’re concerned, they’re invisible. This will agitate them and eventually they’ll give up. Ask yourself: if you react, will that help or hinder your team?
Will it give you energy or take it away? Remember: the best way to respond is by playing well.
4 Keep your team-mates out of it If your team-mates start defending you, tell them to focus on the game. You could decide on some strategies: for example, the louder the fan gets, the more you encourage each other, and you fght hard until the fnal whistle, regardless of the score.
5 hear your inner voice If the fan’s abuse starts to affect your performance, focus on your inner voice and use three tools. Firstly, ‘snapback triggers’: tell yourself positive statements of intent, such as ‘I can score here’. Secondly, try employing one of these physical anchors to break attention: clap your hands, clench your fsts or tackle hard but fair. Finally, don’t forget to breathe: inhale deeply and exhale to let go of stress and frustration.
Don’t stain your performance
Interview Richard Edwards
Rid your kit of stubborn stains and the smell of damp with expert laundry tips from Reading’s kitman, Selby Armstrong
1
Get your kit of
“Don’t leave your kit lying in someone’s car boot for days on end – get it in the wash as soon as you can. If there are some particularly nasty stains, soak it in hot water with a stain-buster immediately. If you’re unfortunate enough to wear a white shirt, shorts or socks, this is absolutely crucial to get it looking good as new.”
2
Choose the right temperature
“This is really important. If the socks are cotton they can shrink, so wash them on 60 degrees and shirts and shorts on 50. You also have to be careful if the shirts and shorts are different colours. Do a pre-wash, clean the kit twice if you need to and use a softener as this can really help.”
122 March 2014 Performance.FourFourTwo.com
3
Dry it carefully
“Tumble drying is great, but if you have a sponsor on your shirts it can easily peel off. Leave your shirts to hang naturally, ideally on a washing line but if not, then on a hanger. There’s always the danger of shrinkage with polyester and tumble dryers. It may take a bit longer, but drying naturally will give the best results.”
superfish fishglue matt styling gel Whether you’re rocking cornrows, a quiff or a samurai ponytail, your barnet needs to look the business at the bar. Stick this in your hair and the style, no matter how dodgy, will stand frm. It won’t protect you from the abuse, mind… Price: £4.10 (150ml)
l’oreal paris men expert hydra energetic quenching gel After 90 minutes of chasing shadows and a shower hot enough to burn through steel, you need to cool down. Slap this moisturising gel on your face and let the menthol peppermint leaf extract send a chill over your bright red mug. Price: £10.99 (50ml)
right guard Xtreme Dry 96h stick You might have kicked up a stink on the pitch, but don’t do the same in the pub afterwards. By coating your sweaty pits with this pong-fghting deodorant you’ll protect your team-mates from your whiff, if not your singing in the karaoke bar. Price: £2.50 (50ml)
adidas deep energy shower gel Laced with a woody, dynamic fragrance and made from a formula containing ginseng and other natural delights, this shower gel is designed for the passionate man looking for vivifying sensations. Saucy. Watch out, ladies (or your team-mates). Price: £2.30 (250ml)
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The Legend V FG provides the perfect first touch with premium kangaroo leather and Kanga-Lite with All Conditions Control (ACC) while delivering long-lasting comfort with a HyperShield technology that blocks moisture.
TIEMPO GENIO
The Genio is a core-level shoe with all the style of the Legend, which has a soft, full-grain leather upper and a Lightweight TPU plate with optimal cleat configuration for flexibility, traction and comfort.
FG - 72289 - £49.99
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soccer : the professional’s choice
Nike HyperVenom Phantom FG - 72123 - £159.99
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collection 2014
Nike Mercurial Vapor IX
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Nike Tiempo Legend V
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FG - 72133 - £169.99
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soccer : the professional’s choice
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Deluxe Collection Pantofola d’Oro’s are made according to acient methods of handicraft, they are the fruit of centuries old traditions of the master shoemakers in the foot hills of Ascoli Piceno, Italy. Using only the most valuable leathers, each boot is set-up and sewn totally by hand; in fact, each Pantofola d’Oro has minor differences which prove the boots unique quality and represent the distinctive signs of handmade shoes.
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LAZZARINI DELUXE PRO Firm Ground Studs Mixed Studs Soft Ground Studs
£179.99 -
LAZZARINI DELUXE Firm Ground Studs Mixed Studs Soft Ground Studs
76390 76391 76389
£179.99 -
76393 76394 76392
Deluxe Collection Handmade in Ascoli Piceno, Italy
SEE ONLINE FOR FULL PANTOFOLA D’ORO COLLECTION - PRICES FROM £39.99 The stand out boot in the Deluxe Collection has to be these extravagant camouflage Lazzarini’s. A boot which represents a new era in Pantofola d’Oro’s rich football boot history. Buried beneath the camo exterior you can still see the sleek traditional styling of the Lazzarini, Pantofola’s flagship boot and as with all ‘Golden Slippers’ they are made from the finest materials. In this instance a premium synthetic leather with an stunning camouflage paint job, which makes this the most exciting release yet. Available in a special edition box with a storage bag.
Deluxe Collection Handmade in Ascoli Piceno, Italy
LAZZARINI CAMO Firm Ground Studs Mixed Studs
£179.99 -
76395 76397
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FUSSBALL
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£99.99
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TOTAL ZONE PLAY BY FLORIN SIRBU / £12.47 For football coaches in charge of change. This book is inspired by the desire to find answers to fundamental game-related questions emerging from experiences with Manchester United and Ajax Amsterdam.
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146 March 2014
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March 2014 147
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Premium Football Scarves
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