FourFourTwo UK
June 2021Every month, our team deliver the biggest names, the finest features and the most respected columnists in football. FourFourTwo is the only magazine that truly reflects football in all its extremes. Spectacular, dramatic, hilarious, opinionated, authoritative, intelligent, quirky - from the grass roots up, if it's in the game, it's in FourFourTwo.
in this issue
welcome
If good things really do come to those who wait, then those who’ve been thumb-twiddling in anticipation for Euro 2020 shouldn’t be disappointed. The year’s delay has been better for some than others, but all of us feel the same either way at this point: thank God it’s here. In this issue, our tournament special, we focus on the three Home Nations desperate to thrive. Raheem Sterling, Sir Geoff Hurst and more evaluate England’s chances on home soil, and their message couldn’t be simpler: believe. For Scotland, the long wait for a tournament appearance must have felt eternal, but the past is just that for proud and patriotic trio Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney and John McGinn. They’ll be hoping to emulate Wales’ glorious summer of 2016, which Dragons heroes old and new…
fabio capello
TEAMS (PLAYER) 1964-67 SPAL 1967-70 Roma 1970-76 Juventus 1976-80 Milan 1972-76 Italy TEAMS (MANAGER) 1982-86 Milan Primavera 1987 Milan (caretaker) 1991-96 Milan 1996-97 Real Madrid 1997-98 Milan 1999-2004 Roma 2004-06 Juventus 2006-07 Real Madrid 2007-12 England 2012-15 Russia 2017-18 Jiangsu Suning Even if he never coached at the Euros, Fabio Capello’s time as England manager began and ended there. The Italian was appointed as the Three Lions’ second overseas boss just a month after the ‘golden generation’ had disastrously failed to reach Euro 2008, losing at home to Croatia on the infamous night that Steve McClaren became the Wally with the Brolly. In a little over four years, Capello steered England through two qualifying campaigns – though the 2010 World Cup ended with defeat to Germany in the last 16, then he resigned only four months from the start of Euro 2012. Perhaps the most illustrious of those who have taken…
meanwhile in…
1 “SHIRTS VS SKINS TONIGHT, LADS?” It takes serious commitment to streak in an empty stadium, but the Naked Man of Granada proved himself up to the task. Olmo Garcia has earned the nickname after various nude adventures around the Spanish city of Granada – the 37-year-old is strongly opposed to the concept of wearing clothes, but hasn’t let it stop him getting out and about. The man’s got a life to live, after all. Garcia is also passionate about environmentalism, sustainability and world peace, so when Manchester United visited in the Europa League, he had a plan. The tie was played without supporters at the Nuevo Estadio de Los Carmenes, so the bearded nudist snuck into the stadium at 7am and hid beneath a massive canvas for 14 hours. Five minutes after kick-off,…
games that changed my life frank de boer
PEC Zwolle 4 Ajax 1 September 21, 1988 Eredivisie “You can’t forget your debut, especially when you’re in the academy at Ajax and that’s everything you’ve dreamed about as a kid. By 1988 I was knocking at that door and finally got an opportunity at the age of 18, coming on as a substitute in a match at Zwolle – even if the result didn’t go the way we wanted that day. It was the beginning of a great adventure for me. After that, I played regularly for the remainder of the season and ended up winning 14 trophies with Ajax. We were simply the best football team on the planet during that time and won everything – five Eredivisie titles, two KNVB Cups, the Champions League, UEFA Cup, Super Cup and…
the stickers king
For many people a major tournament means one thing: time for a new Panini album. But Gianni Bellini doesn’t just collect football stickers every other summer – he’s now got 2.5 million of them. Based near Bologna in northern Italy, Bellini is accustomed to couriers ringing his doorbell. On the day FFT phones him, three books have arrived, from Russia, Cyprus and Guatemala. Yesterday it was South Korea and Israel – the day before, one rocked up from Colombia. The 57-year-old retired print worker is the world’s most prolific football stickers accumulator. “When I was young, waiting for the postman was exciting - I chased him!” chuckles Bellini. “Now I’m more professional, but I still worry when the courier is a bit late.” After all, Bellini has an archive to maintain – he…
chelcee ‘pensioner’ grimes
Hi. You recently asked your Twitter followers to recommend someone to build you a driveway, then said, “I’ve never asked for anything so old in my life!” What’s so old about driveways? They’re a fascinating subject. Hi. It was one of those things. I started writing it and just thought, ‘This is such a pensioner kind of thing to be saying’. Not many of my friends have ever had a driveway done. I felt I was pushing it. But you know, some people helped me out and it’s getting sorted next week! What kind of driveway have you gone for? Tarmac? Pebble? Resin. Apparently it’s the new ‘in’ thing for driveways. I saw some nice ideas on Pinterest, and the fella said it was resin. God, this chat is putting years on me... Us…
