FourFourTwo UK

At some point, you wonder what more there is to say about Mohamed Salah. He’s been the Premier League’s outstanding performer in recent seasons, while many believe that this is his year to win the Ballon d’Or – a competition he’s never finished higher than fifth in. So we decided to ask the Egyptian king himself, getting Liverpool’s leading light to offer his take on the big talking points surrounding him right now. FFT was delighted to sit down for a lengthy chat with Salah himself, who discussed the highs and lows of his Anfield career to date, his highly ambitious hopes for the current campaign – and of course, the red-hot topic of his future on Merseyside. As well as being one of the world’s best players, Salah also proved himself…

Retirement is the life for Guus Hiddink these days, but he’s still in good nick. And no wonder: before reflecting with FFT on a distinguished career, the Dutch doyen had his weekly training session with other former pros such as Sjaak Swart and Danny Muller, something he relishes at the age of 75. Hiddink spent most of his modest playing career with De Graafschap and NEC Nijmegen before teaming up with George Best in the USA, but he tells us his left foot is “still functioning well”. He made his commute on a blue Vespa – a farewell gift from Chelsea players in 2016, and very handy when navigating Amsterdam’s busy traffic. It’s also a nice reminder of two short but sweet spells in west London, where Hiddink delivered an FA Cup…

1 GIRL POWER There was only one way to launch the kits for Women’s Euro 2022: by sending some models to a hotel and getting them to emulate the Spice Girls. One brand did just that as they unveiled six shirts for the tournament, which begins on July 6 and ends 25 days later with the final at Wembley. Adidas have made the kits for Germany, Belgium, Spain, Sweden and Northern Ireland, and revealed each of the home shirts on the staircase of the St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel – even adding in Belgium’s away jersey for good measure. The location previously staged “an iconic moment of pop-culture female empowerment 26 years ago”, as the press release put it, cryptically referring to the Spice Girls’ 1996 debut video Wannabe. In it, the five gallivanted…

Verona 1-2 Milan April 23, 1978 Serie A “The beginning of a beautiful football journey. I was a teenager and curious to see what would happen if I got into Milan’s first team, as I’d only been with the youth team for a couple of years. My debut was three games before the end of the season and it was a big surprise to play, but Maurizio Turone was suspended and I was called up by the coach, Nils Liedholm. We won, then Turone left and I was promoted to replace him the following season. When I took to the field for that first match at Verona, I could never have dreamt that I’d make more than 700 appearances across 20 years at one club.” Steaua Bucharest 0-4 Milan May 24, 1989 European Cup…

When a club from north-eastern Brazil were coming up with a new name in 2017, there was only one English team they wanted to pay tribute to: Crystal Palace. The Eagles’ links with the land of samba are not exactly renowned – the only Brazilians to appear for them are Championship playmaker Andre Moritz and midfielder Fumaca, a threegame loanee back in 1999 – but it didn’t stop a side from the state of Paraiba using them as inspiration after the arrival of new owners. Formerly known as Lucena Sport Clube, the team finished bottom of a regional second tier in 2016 – then came a takeover by Engenho Sao Paulo, a local producer of distilled spirit cachaca, and the name change. Lucena Sport Clube became Sao Paulo Crystal, a nod to…

Hi Hal. You’re now a top entrepreneur turning people onto turmeric – what made you become a spice merchant? Hi! When I was a teenager, I realised that my body had adverse effects to standard medications, so my dad and I went on a research binge down the library, studying natural remedies like pomegranate, pineapple, watermelon, ginger… and turmeric! It sounds like a refreshing smoothie. Well, it’s more of a shot format – you have it in one go. It’s a potent product. From when I was 17 up until a decade later, we probably ruined dozens and dozens of blenders; every kitchen top that you can imagine… If we order huge tikka masalas every night, with loads of turmeric in it, can we become international footballers? In a curry you’re having it in powdered…