Table of contents for March 2020 in FourFourTwo UK

Tuesday, March 9, 2004 – the day that the cult of Jose Mourinho was born. The day that Porto’s firebrand manager emerged from the brick dugout at Old Trafford to sprint down the touchline and celebrate his team’s 90th-minute equaliser. The day his legend began. Porto went on to win the Champions League that year, leading to his startling self-proclamation as a ‘Special One’ and vindication of such hubris with victory at Inter in 2010. But where does Mourinho sit now? A decade on from his last triumph in the tournament, Jose is still desperately seeking win No.3 – but are his best days gone? We spoke with those who truly know him, to find out the reality. Elsewhere, Barcelona icon Andres Iniesta answers your posers, we speak to three-time…

OUTLINE STUDIO X INTER MILAN N/A outlinestudio milano.com Why is it that the best things are always those money can’t buy? Sadly, these glorious creations from Milanese graphic design maestros Outline Studio aren’t for retail. Instead, they form part of an unofficial artistic project, celebrating the city’s fine street football culture and its revered Nerazzurri. Nevertheless, look at them. Each piece is unique, using colours to represent both “the growth and multi-ethnic development of Milan”. FINAL THIRD SOCKS $20 thefinalthird.football Right now, old is the new… well, new. Clubs are engaged in a rapacious battle to re-release retro strips, but others are doing things differently. Sock connoisseurs The Final Third – in partnership with Classic Football Shirts – have picked 20 iconic jerseys as the basis for these stylish foot-warmers,…

In 1986, Pedro Pasculli helped Argentina to World Cup glory alongside one Diego Maradona. This season, he has been managing Bangor City in the Welsh second tier. Well, that seems like a perfectly logical career progression to us. When Pasculli’s goal gave Argentina victory against Uruguay in the last 16 at Mexico 86, the striker had moved from Argentinos Juniors to Lecce in Italy. He went into coaching in the Italian lower leagues, and even managed Uganda for a bit, but after leaving Serie D club Torres in 2017 he was unemployed until last October – when suddenly the 59-year-old was given an odd opportunity to return to management. The call came from Bangor City and their Italian chairman, Domenico Serafino, who had taken over from Stephen Vaughan Jr a…

Back in 1998, FFT predicted what David Beckham would look like  in 2020 because, well, why not? Balding in true Simon Grayson style, Beckham’s teeth also seem to have taken quite a beating. “Things went pear-shaped for the Man United starlet after his club just missed out on the 1998 championship and he lost his entire personal fortune in the Brylcreem crash of 2005,” we said, with tongue ever so slightly in cheek. “Now into his forties, he’s reduced to appearing for England veterans’ teams alongside fellow Fergie fledglings, and reminiscing wistfully about his glory days. “Posh Spice, who has ballooned up to 20st since her singing career collapsed, now models clothes for ‘the larger lady’.”…

What was the first football match you ever saw live? John Cockerill’s testimonial against his brother Glenn – of Southampton – in 1993. John’s mum was a receptionist at my school. My mum took me along, it was absolutely freezing and I sat in the upper tier of the Young’s Stand at Blundell Park, where you see the ships go by. I remember it being so cold that even the goalkeeper, Steve Sherwood, was basically in a boiler suit. That’s my abiding memory. No one in my family was a Grimsby fan. My auntie started going out with this bloke called Dave, who took me to the Pontoon End – it’s like our rowdy section. That’s where I got the bug. Then my cousin started going out with a guy…

“Who the f**k is that weird-looking kid playing upfront?” Former Real Madrid coach Luis Molowny was short of something to do one afternoon in September 1980, so he decided to watch a youth team friendly against San Lorenzo. Molowny couldn’t believe what he saw. Playing in attack for Madrid was a blue-eyed blond who was so frail, he looked as if he’d blow over in the slightest gust of wind. Already rejected once for a place in the Real Madrid cantera, this kid had long arms and short legs, and avoided physical contact with opposition defenders like a ballerina performing a grand jeté. Molowny sprinted to the other side of the pitch – a not inconsiderable effort for the thick-set Canary Islander –where he’d spied youth team coach Juan Gallego.…

The day I first heard that Channel Four wanted to film a documentary about Leyton Orient, I was sat in my office at Brisbane Road. I went to speak to the chairman and the vice-chairman, and they asked me what I thought. I said it could be a good thing. Leyton Orient are surrounded by big clubs. To the north, Tottenham and Arsenal. A few minutes down the road, West Ham. Through the Blackwall Tunnel, Millwall and Charlton. Leyton Orient are looked upon as the smallest club in London, so any publicity would be good and it might promote the club. The chairman and the vice-chairman said, ‘OK, we’ll do it’. But instead of being a fly-on-the-wall documentary about Leyton Orient, it ended up as a documentary about me. I…

Crawley Town midfielder Dannie Bulman is the oldest active Football League player, but Ellison and Wilbraham believe their rival’s claim should be discounted on a technicality. Bulman’s career includes seven campaigns outside the EFL with Stevenage, Crawley and Oxford United, whereas their membership has been continuous ever since turning pro. The 41-year-old isn’t best pleased. ‘‘Us oldies should stick together, so this is an outrageous slur,’’ he chuckles. ‘‘Whatever level you play at, to have the longevity I’ve had should be applauded, not discounted. I saw Kev in Magaluf a few years ago. We were both a bit worse for wear! He always asks when I’m going to retire. I’ve got to pay the bills and he wants the placard of oldest player in the EFL. He’s a good lad…

HEURELHO GOMES “Your goalkeeper must be fearless and good at fighting for aerial balls. He was exactly like that at Spurs. He made the whole team feel safe in every dead-ball situation, which is important in English football. A born leader.” KYLE WALKER “Kyle’s incredibly strong and fast. It felt like almost every time he was dribbled past at Spurs, he got the ball back after a few seconds and began the build-up of an attack. A threat for the opposition whenever he goes up the pitch.” MICHAEL DAWSON “Michael was our captain, our leader, and he won almost every aerial duel at White Hart Lane. That gave strength to defensive players like me. He was very strong and efficient at marking, and on the ball he had an excellent…

CLUBS 2002-2018 Barcelona 2018- Vissel Kobe COUNTRY 2006-2018 Spain Andres Iniesta’s face is all over Kobe. Across Japan’s sixth-largest city, he stares from posters advertising J1 League fixtures, as well as from Tube tickets and packets of biscuits. Kobe is a compact port city, situated between the sea and the mountains. However, FourFourTwo soon finds out that Vissel Kobe’s training ground is an hour away from the central core. Some 30 hours after leaving Europe for our meeting with Iniesta, we take the last leg of a journey that has involved plane, train, subway, another train and then taxi, turning up 10 minutes before the end of Vissel’s training session. It’s a cold, sunny day and we’re the only media here. David Villa trots past, then Lukas Podolski. Vissel acquired…

PEP’S CITY Pol Ballus & Lu Martin (BackPage & Polaris, £14.99) When the actual subject of a biography describes it as a ‘great read’ on the cover, there’s always a danger it could be a hagiography. This book avoids the trap, for the most part, due to the writers’ forensic eyes for detail and their access to Manchester City players. Guardiola’s meticulous nature is clear; whether it was redesigning office space after the departure of Manuel Pellegrini, or the need for keeper Ederson to distribute the ball faster, the authors tease out all the ways he upgraded an already talented team. Pep is reluctant to stick to absolutes. “We study the data, but we don’t go crazy over the details – it’s a help rather than an absolute indication of…

25 ESTADIO DA LUZ 24 KARAISKAKIS STADIUM 23 DONBASS ARENA 22 SUKRU SARACOGLU 21 PARC DES PRINCES 20 MESTALLA 19 STADIO SAN PAOLO 18 WHITE HART LANE 17 VICENTE CALDERON 16 HIGHBURY 15 STADIO OLIMPICO 14 STAMFORD BRIDGE 13 AMSTERDAM ARENA 12 STADE VELODROME 11 MARAKANA 10 SAN SIRO 9 ALLIANZ ARENA 8 OLD TRAFFORD 7 IBROX 6 ALI SAMI YEN 5 SANTIAGO BERNABEU 4 CELTIC PARK 3 CAMP NOU 2 ANFIELD 1 WESTFALENSTADION Incredible choreographies, a wall of sound and yellow, and dramatic football – there’s so much to love about Borussia Dortmund’s home, the Westfalenstadion. The closed corners of the stadium create a roaring atmosphere that rolls off the iconic Yellow Wall. Even without the famous standing section on show during European nights, it remains remarkable. What’s really…

The manager of Spurs’ last-16 opponents this season, Julian Nagelsmann, had been a first team coach for only a few weeks when he was initially likened to Mourinho. The current RB Leipzig supremo’s playing career was ended by injury at the tender age of 20. By 2012, when he was still only 25, he had become Hoffenheim’s assistant. “I only experienced him as a coach for four weeks, but it was enough to give him a nickname – Mini Mourinho,” revealed former Germany goalkeeper Tim Wiese, who was impressed by Nagelsmann’s meticulous methodology. At 28, he became the Bundesliga’s youngest-ever manager and guided Hoffenheim to their first Champions League qualifying tie – against Liverpool two seasons ago – then to the group stage last season. This term, he’s steered Leipzig…

RYAN GIGGS COULD HAVE PLAYED FOR ENGLAND Yes, he did play for England schoolboys, because – wait for it – he went to school in England. But Giggs wasn’t eligible for England proper, having been born in Cardiff to Welsh parents. FIFA’s eligibility criteria didn’t change until 2009. His grandfather hailed from Sierra Leone, though, and in 2013 the African nation were rumoured to be calling up Ryan’s brother, Rhodri. They didn’t. Obviously. TREVOR FRANCIS WAS THE FIRST £1M FOOTBALLER Brian Clough always maintained that Francis’ 1979 transfer fee was £999,999, to prevent the cachet of being Britain’s first £1m player going to the new Nottingham Forest striker’s head. Yet added fees meant he was Britain’s first £1m man – he just wasn’t the world’s first. Four years earlier, Giuseppe…

JAMES COPPINGER The ex-Newcastle United hopeful still gets game time at Doncaster Rovers in League One having just turned 39, and helped inspire a 7-1 thrashing at Southend United in October. “I never wanted to be a pro footballer – it was a hobby,” the midfielder admitted last year. Not bad for a backup career... NEAL BISHOP Another seasoned veteran maintaining a first-team place is Mansfield Town midfielder Bishop, 38 and going strong. He didn’t get his Football League break at Barnet until he was 26, but has made up for lost time with further stints at Notts County, Blackpool and Scunthorpe United. PETER CLARKE The former Everton defender, 38, made seven top-tier outings back in 2001-02, but Joseph Yobo’s arrival meant that was as good as it got at…

What was it like playing for Norway in the early 1990s as a youngster? We beat Brazil twice, we beat England and we beat the Netherlands. In 1993, I think we were number two in the FIFA rankings after Brazil. I don’t think we’ll ever see that again. It was the start of about 10 years of success. We had 20-25 players in the Premier League. How many have we got now? Three or four? You scored in the 2-0 win against England, which ultimately led to Norway qualifying for the 1994 World Cup ahead of Graham Taylor’s side. Did the goal change your life? It probably did. It was the goal that opened up England for me. The mood in Norway was unbelievable and there were parties all over…

I’m a Celtic fan and I won’t ever forget our win over Barça in 2012. What was the players’ reaction to losing with 84 per cent possession? Stephen Malcolm, via Twitter I remember that well: one goal from a corner and another on the counter. Football is wonderful for reasons like these – the team who has the ball or the better players doesn’t always win. I’ll never forget playing against Celtic, either: the atmosphere is one of the best in the world. I was fortunate to play there several times and it was always so intense. It was an honour to play amid such incredible noise.…

XI BEST: David Seaman, David Bardsley, Clive Wilson, Alan McDonald, Roy Wegerle, Ray Wilkins, Adel Taarabt, Ebere Eze, Andy Sinton, Les Ferdinand [bottom right], Charlie Austin. WORST: Nicky Johns, Karl Ready, Bob Malcolm, Zesh Rehman, Georges Santos, Christer Warren, Ned Zelic, Tony Scully, George Kulcsar, Mark Hateley, Dominic Iorfa. PLAYER B: The best to ever wear the hoops is Stan Bowles, but he was before my time. The most complete player I’ve seen was Ray Wilkins [right]. W: Dominic Iorfa. I understand that his son – also called Dominic - is something of a prospect. His mum must have been a good footballer. MOMENT B: Bobby Zamora [below] scoring in the 2014 Championship Play-off Final. W: Going into freefall after relegation during the mid-90s, including administration a few years later.…

The club’s fans waited so long that they began supporting an under-13s team instead, but the excruciating wait for Inter Miami’s MLS debut is almost over. When David Beckham was given the green light to secure an MLS franchise after the end of his decorated playing career, he would never have envisaged it taking six years for his plans to fall into place. The push to finalise a stadium site in Miami has been drowning in a sea of red tape for months on end, but when Inter Miami run out at Los Angeles FC on March 1 for their first MLS fixture, Becks will breathe a huge sigh of relief. A 20,000-seater stadium in nearby Fort Lauderdale will be their home for at least two seasons. Their opening home…

It’s easy to be distracted by what Mourinho stands for. He’s been such a prominent personality over the past decade and a half that it’s a challenge to separate the provocative character from the training-ground coach. When he was announced by Tottenham, many fans were concerned by how he might act with the media, how he might bond with a group of players who weren’t his own, and what kind of football he’d preach – and understandably so, given the utter debacle at Manchester United and the way he salted the earth at Chelsea and Real Madrid. But nothing matters more than the dynamic between employee and employer. That is where the most obvious mismatch appears to be – between the methods that Mourinho has used to manage successfully in…

English football’s greatest survivors haven’t spoken to each other for a while, so they start with the big issues. ‘‘Do you remember when you were dressed up as a chicken on that night out in Manchester?’’ asks Aaron Wilbraham. “I do...’’ chuckles Kevin Ellison, who adds, ‘‘What did Rickie Lambert come out as?’’ Wilbraham ponders for a second, then replies, ‘‘I think it was Sylvester the Cat.’’ When the 6ft 1in chicken that was Ellison crossed the road, he and Wilbraham were in their early-20s and playing for Stockport County. They are now 40, as two of only three quadragenarians in English football’s top four divisions. Ellison, oldest of the pair by eight months – and briefly joint caretaker player-manager of League Two Morecambe this season – is 30 days…

You’re now managing the youth team at Real Valladolid. How did that come about? I’d finished all my coaching courses and was analysing a few offers. I had options such as Leganes, staying in Madrid. But one day I met my old pal Ronaldo, who’s now the president of Real Valladolid, and he offered me the job. Valladolid’s project is ambitious – it’s a club with huge potential – so I could only say yes. What’s Ronaldo like as a president? Very focused. He’s a hard-working man and seems to have one thought in mind: making Valladolid grow in every aspect. A top leader. Do you have big management ambitions? I’m getting more experience, step by step, and hopefully I’ll build a solid career. At the moment I’m totally focused…