FourFourTwo UK

England may not have won the World Cup in December, but a new star was born as Jude Bellingham announced himself on the global stage. His performances as a 16-year-old for Birmingham in the Championship caught the attention of Borussia Dortmund in 2020, and since then he’s shone for the German giants in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. If anyone had missed the teenager’s remarkable rise, though, he made the rest of the world sit up and take notice in Qatar. Still only 19, Bellingham has the world at his feet, and every top club on the planet will be scrambling for his signature if he moves this summer – we speak to the people who know Jude best and have watched his ascent from close quarters. We also…

1 Which famous footballer’s dad helped inspire the story of Cool Runnings 2 Which team have taken on spoon bender Uri Geller as their chairman 3 Which player received crates of eggs for a man of the match display 4 Which future Oxford United boss kicked off the J.League in spring 1993 5 Which club retired their goalkeeper’s shirt in honour of the Pope SUBSCRIBE FROM £3.93 PER ISSUE Get FFT sent direct to your door every month for £12.75 per quarter – with 13 issues published each year, you’ll make great savings. Head to magazinesdirect.com and find FourFourTwo, or phone 0330 333 1113…

Yohan Cabaye is a busy man. Two years retired from playing, he is now working as assistant director of PSG’s academy while also completing a general manager degree and working through his coaching licences in Wales. FourFourTwo has to interview the man in two stages, such is his packed diary, with an apologetic Cabaye arriving late for round one but promising to finish answering our readers’ questions at a later stage. Some footballers struggle in retirement. They miss the routine, the adrenaline, the spotlight. Stories of boredom, financial troubles and mental health issues abound. It can take years to adjust to a new position; from being a player to being a pundit, coach or private citizen. Yohan Cabaye doesn’t seem to be having such issues. He has eased into his…

1 EARNING HIS CORN You know those weird newspaper stories where Boris Johnson’s face appears on a piece of toast or something? It’s only gone and happened in Argentina, too. OK, this wasn’t some bizarre accidental apparition like the Turin Shroud, or that ghost mascot at the World Cup – it was actually a very elaborate tribute by a farmer in Los Condores, near Cordoba. Lionel Messi’s historic triumph in Qatar has led to a whole raft of homages – tattoos, murals in several different countries, a hot air balloon redesigned into his number 10 jersey in Colombia, even giant papier maché Messi puppets roaming the streets in Ecuador to celebrate New Year. None, though, were quite as intricate as the work of Maximiliano Spinazze, who created Messi’s face in his…

“WE SHOWED WE COULD FILL WEMBLEY AT THE OLYMPICS – WE JUST NEEDED A PLATFORM” England 3-2 Finland June 5, 2005 European Championship “The Euros were in England and our opener was at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester – we had 29,000 people there. I was 17, and I got an assist and a goal – the winner in the 91st minute. Everybody always says to me that it was a massive moment for women’s football in England, but it was also a massive moment for me. It really put me on the map. My family were in the crowd and they couldn’t believe I was starting the game. My name was called out and they thought there was a mistake! They thought I’d be on the bench: ‘She’s only…

01 From which club did Manchester City sign Kevin De Bruyne during the summer of 2015? 02 In 2014, three Chelsea keepers featured in a 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid – one on loan at Atleti, another as a sub. Name them. 03 Newcastle’s fortress is St James’ Park, but which National League North side play at St James Park? 04 Which Peruvian Premier League hero used to ring his manager and play the trumpet down the phone as a practical joke? 05 Which legendary forward won consecutive trebles in 2009 and 2010 with two different teams? 06 Back in 2003, Franz Beckenbauer suggested that Bayern Munich could leave the Bundesliga and enter which other European top flight? 07 Which player’s first name is in fact Augustine: Jay-Jay Okocha, Enzo…