category_outlined / Sports
FourFourTwo UK
August 2019Every 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
editor’s letter
When I asked the FourFourTwo staff at an editorial meeting who they felt the coolest footballer around is, they all replied, “Andrea Pirlo”. The answers came one by one from around a boardroom table, a chain of admiration and appreciation. It was the shortest cover meeting I’ve ever held, and once we’d put together the supporting list of contemporary names, we were off commissioning a mix of football writers, style writers and fans with a basic brief: tell us why you love these guys away from the pitch. We’ve compiled a combination of shorter profiles and longer reads, like Chelsea fan Clive Martin’s loyal last stand on Jose Mourinho and sportswear expert Neal Heard’s fascinating back story on the coolest international shirts ever. The cover feature, though, is something else. I asked…
kevin phillips
CLUBS 1991-94 Baldock Town 1994-97 Watford 1997-2003 Sunderland 2003-05 Southampton 2005-06 Aston Villa 2006-08 West Bromwich Albion 2008-11 Birmingham 2011-13 Blackpool 2013 Crystal Palace (loan) 2013-14 Crystal Palace 2014 Leicester COUNTRY 1999-2002 England We’re deep inside the Staffordshire countryside, and Kevin Phillips’ goose is honking at us. “That’s our guard goose,” jokes Phillips. “If anything’s happening, it will let you know. It attacks you – it’s horrible!” We’re standing outside the home of the only Englishman ever to win the European Golden Boot, and as long as we keep a safe distance from the most fearsome goose in all of Christendom, it’s hard not to be impressed. A converted former gatehouse beside a quiet country lane, this may be one of the finest homes we’ve ever visited. Outside there are areas for the family horses, plus a full-sized football goal and space to practise his putting. Indoors, there’s…
the mixer the best of football
KLABU €59 klabu.org Klabu is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to creating sports clubs where young refugees are rebuilding their lives in camps, settlements and cities in the poorest parts of the world. To help launch their first side in northern Kenya’s Kalobeyei settlement, Klabu – which is Swahili for ‘club’ – have brought out the Kalobeyei Spirit strip in natty turquoise and brilliant pink. Every single penny raised will go towards empowering refugees through sport, so it’s a great cause and an even better kit. Buy it. PARK SCC X UNIQLO $19.90 uniqlo.com Melbourne social action brand Park SSC recently joined forces with the Japanese clothing colossus Uniqlo to launch a limited edition T-shirt range in celebration of women’s football. Modelled by Australia vice-captain Steph Catley, the unisex top features the banner, ‘Women’s football can…
bridge to success
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Frank Lampard, Eden Hazard. All have graced the playing surface at Stamford Bridge, and 11 junior teams have been given that very same opportunity as part of a new Hyundai initiative. a pleasant summer’s day, teams travelled to west London from various locations all across the UK. When they arrived, Chelsea legend Gus Poyet was there to greet them – and even Stamford The Lion, too. They were invited for the launch of Hyundai FC, a grass roots football programme that will run throughout 2019, as part of the motor company’s ‘For The Fans’ campaign. Hyundai are Chelsea’s global automotive partner and they’ve teamed up with the Premier League club to offer some top-level coaching to the 11 participating teams. Each team has an existing collaboration with one…
football notebook
1 NAIVE OFFER OF THE MONTH When a Miami bar offered freeshots for every USA goal ahead of their Women’s World Cup group game with Thailand, they probably didn’t expect it to finish 13-0. Little wonder: last year, Thailand inflicted an 11-0 thrashing on their southeast Asian rivals Cambodia, who had themselves tonked Timor-Leste 12-0 days earlier. Suddenly, USA vs Timor-Leste is the fixture everyone wants to see. Make it happen, FIFA... 2 MOST MERCILESS TEENAGER Leeds-born Erling Braut Haaland (right) scooped the Golden Boot at the Under-20 World Cup, going full Oleg Salenko and hammering nine goals past Honduras in a 12-0 Norway win. Son of Alf Inge, we have only one piece of advice for the 18-year-old: avoid the offspring of Roy Keane at all costs. 3 MOST DEMANDING OWNER Gigi Becali isn’t your…
defensa y justicia
It’s official: Argentina’s got talons. Many odd things have happened in the 59-year history of the Copa Libertadores, but what it’s always been missing is a player tunnel with a bloody great falcon sat on top of it. Thankfully, that’s set to change next year, courtesy of the Argentine side Defensa y Justicia. The name translates into English as ‘Defence and Justice’, so FFT likes to believe their back four is made up of Paolo Montero, Julian Dicks, Brian Kilcline and Kevin Muscat, meting out two-footed justice to anyone who dares approach their penalty area. Before they’ve even got that far, however, visiting players have to navigate the bizarre tunnel at the Estadio Norberto Tomaghello, which features a 20-foot inflatable bird of prey swooping – well, more like squatting – from above. That’s because…
