Table of contents for April 2020 in FourFourTwo UK

It may seem inconceivable now, but at some point in the next 10 years, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will hang up their boots. To think of a time when those two aren’t scoring goals and breaking records is hard to imagine. But fear not: the future’s already here. In this issue, we celebrate that with the 50 players who are likely to own the next decade. Marcus Rashford is at the forefront of a new generation of exciting English talent, and invited us round for a chat about past, present and future – and the only thing that matters to him: trophies. Erling Haaland may still be a few months shy of his 20th birthday, meanwhile, but the Norwegian teenager is regarded as one of the hottest prospects…

MONACO XX KOMBAT RANGE £45-65 kappastore.co.uk We start by saying hello again to Kappa, who’ve created a special edition Monaco strip to honour the 20th anniversary of the sportswear giant’s Kombat 2000 jersey – the world’s first slimfit shirt (think Italy at Euro 2000). Les Monegasques may look like riders in the Tour de France but their pre-game gear is magnifique, featuring the Kappa logo loping from shoulder to sleeve. FAN ALES £13.50 fanales.co.uk How to become even more partisan about your side? Sometimes, keyboard wars on Twitter just aren’t enough. Well, now you can tweet, sleep and drink your club thanks to Fan Ales, whose range of tasty team-specific beverages come from the award-winning, Staffordshire-based Lymestone Brewery. Each package contains three types of beer, with a different design inspired…

THE KILLING OF EMILIANO SALA Harry Harris (Empire Publications, £10.95) The death of Emiliano Sala sparked a raft of enquiries into both the circumstances surrounding the accident and nature of the Argentine forward’s departure from Nantes in January 2019. Fleet Street veteran Harry Harris does his best to cut through the conjecture and rumour, and uncover the full truth. The transcripts of texts from Sala (“We are going to score lots of goals,” he tells agent Willie McKay) add a poignant angle to proceedings. However, with multiple investigations still ongoing, the book throws up more questions than answers. What’s certain is that Sala was having doubts about joining Cardiff in the days leading up to his ill-fated flight from west France. Despite the title seeming to imply foul play, Harris…

1 “Panathinaikos had no chance against this lad” Throughout our history, FourFourTwo have been on the lookout for the next big thing – back in 2006, we got a hot tip from none other than Ronaldinho. OK, Lionel Messi had started to establish himself at Barcelona, but only had one Champions League goal to his name – against Panathinaikos. His Argentina debut hadn’t gone well either: sent off against Hungary, 60 seconds after coming on. But Ronaldinho had seen enough. The Brazilian had just won the Ballon d’Or, and he had a simple message: watch out for this kid. “He’s like my little brother here,” said Ronnie. “He is going to be excellent.” The admiration was mutual. “Ronaldinho has got an ability to control the ball which makes me jealous,”…

As an 18-year-old breaking Lef to the Manchester United sifirst team, Rashford was like Pa kid on the playground ere . His obvious joy in celebrating pevery goal was em infectious . – and there were a lot of those goals in the beginning. He’s a lifelong fan who had joined the club when he was seven, and is now living the dream of United fans everywhere. He can also be relied upon to show up in the big games when things matter most. Even though he’s still only 22, he’s already got 13 goals to his name against Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal. And that injury-time penalty to knock PSG out of the Champions League last season? There’s no one we’d have rather seen stick that in. Rashford…

Like would-be England international Erling, these players had options thanks to their dad’s own pro career ANASTASIOS DONIS Greek wideman George Donis was playing for Blackburn when his son was born in the Lancashire town in 1996. “He may be a footballer just like his father!” his mother told the local paper that week. Anastasios now plays for Stade de Reims, and has become (surely) Greece’s only international born in Blackburn. GONZALO HIGUAIN The Juventus marksman was born in the French city of Brest, where his father Jorge was playing following a move from Boca Juniors, but the family returned to Argentina within a year. After making his name with River Plate, Higuain Jr once received a call-up from France but rejected it in order to represent La Albiceleste. DAVID…

ALPHONSO DAVIES BAYERN MUNICH, 19 Canada Born in a Ghanaian refugee camp, schooled in Canada – and now coming of age in Germany. Davies’ parents fled their homeland during the Second Liberian Civil War before eventually making it to their new lives, but little did they know what their boy would become: an MLS player with Vancouver Whitecaps at just 15, then Canada’s youngest debutant at 16 and a $22 million Bayern star at 17. At 19? Their first-choice left-back. RODRYGO REAL MADRID, 19 Brazil Rodrygo’s €45m switch from Santos in the summer of 2018 passed fairly quietly; partly because he actually joined a year later during a €300m splurge, and partly because Madrid had already shelled out a similar fee for Vinicius Jr 12 months earlier. The winger has…

YOURI TIELEMANS LEICESTER, 22 Belgium Tielemans has been tipped to become football’s next big thing, dismissed, sealed two high-profile transfers, gone to a World Cup and resurrected his career... by the age of 22. The Belgian midfielder could probably be forgiven for wanting a bit of calm, but appears to have it at Leicester. The Foxes made his terrific loan spell from Monaco permanent last summer, and he’s now helping them back into the Champions League. JOE GOMEZ LIVERPOOL, 22 England In an uninspiring generation of English centre-backs, former Charlton stopper Gomez has stood out from his peers as a genuine talent. He’s had to battle back from serious knee, ankle and leg injuries and force his way into one of the greatest Premier League teams in history, but achieved…

Three years ago, Steve Clarke was no one’s hot tip to take Scotland to within touching distance of a first major tournament since France 98. The Ayrshireman was already disillusioned after his spells in charge of West Bromwich Albion and Reading ended badly, and when he left his post as Roberto Di Matteo’s No.2 at Aston Villa in October 2016, he spent a year out of the game and wasn’t sure he had the appetite to return. “I said to myself, ‘That’s it, I just can’t be bothered – it’s not worth it’,” Clarke tells FFT inside an executive box perched high above Hampden Park. “Financially I was OK. Then, slowly, you watch five minutes of a match, then 10, and then suddenly you’re watching every game on the telly…

You joined Newcastle from Boca Juniors in 1998 – did your move to England make the Premier League popular in Peru? There haven’t been many Peruvian players in England, so going to play in one of Europe’s best competitions meant I was high profile. A lot of people started following the Premier League because I was in it. Newcastle were and still are hugely popular in Peru, and you still get a lot of people walking around Lima in Newcastle shirts! Peru qualified for both the 1978 and 1982 World Cups during your childhood. Did that inspire you? My mother once told me that football came ‘from the belly’. When she was pregnant with me, she said I’d be kicking, kicking, kicking! Football was always my passion – I’d play…

Having made two appearances at the end of 1997-98, your first-team breakthrough at Manchester United came in the season they won the Treble. So, are you their most effective academy graduate ever? Oh, I don’t know about that! [Laughs] I mean, there were so many of them. But it was good doing it – I was lucky enough to be there for that incredible season, and the expectations then were very high. You came in shortly before fellow defender John O’Shea, and then left with him to join Sunderland in 2011. How close were you? We’re still very close – there were a few of us. We both decided to go to Sunderland, but he wasn’t there on the day I arrived. I called him saying, “What’s going on?” He…

PETER SHILTON “Anyone who’s won 125 England caps deserves to get in – he was a fantastic shot-stopper and massive presence in goal. I was a teenager when I signed for Southampton, so to be around him at my age was a brilliant experience.” HENNING BERG “Henning morphed into a centre-back later in his career, but he was a seven or eight out of 10 every week. He didn’t make many mistakes at Blackburn and was one of those guys you knew would be a steady Eddie: never beaten in the air, never done for pace, never beaten one-on-one and very good on the ball.” COLIN HENDRY “Just a head on a stick! Anything that went in the penalty area, his great big blond head would just come out of…

CLUBS 1993-98 PSV 1998-2001 Barcelona 2001-04 Chelsea 2003-04 Middlesbrough (loan) 2004-05 Middlesbrough 2005-07 Liverpool 2007-09 Marseille 2009-11 Sunderland COUNTRY 1997-2004 Netherlands Driving from Eindhoven’s city centre to De Herdgang, PSV’s leafy training ground, you come across the club’s stadium. It’s a pretty route which brings back some good memories for Boudewijn Zenden, who spent many hours of his youth in these climes. As a kid, ‘Bolo’ would make the daily commute to Eindhoven by train from his native Maastricht. Now, after a long and illustrious playing career, he takes the same journey again – by car, these days – to inspire PSV’s next generation. Previously a first-team coach, Zenden became assistant manager earlier this campaign after a difficult period for the club led to changes behind the scenes. FFT arrives…

Hello Clive. We hear you’ve just been babysitting the grandkids, so what kind of grandad are you? Do you fill the infants full of sweets, then send them back to their parents ready for a sugar meltdown? Hi. Yeah, I think my son would say I’m that kind of grandad. I enjoy the role. I’ve got a couple of grandkids. One is five years old and was born in Paris – he’s declared that he’s going to play for France when he grows up. He says they’re world champions and better than England. They quickly figure it all out, don’t they? Oof, that’s brutal. He’s probably got a good chance, though – Paul Allen, Bradley Allen, Martin Allen, Dennis Allen, Les Allen and Charlie Allen... it must be the most…

MOUR SUCCESS IS COMING I’ve just read your absorbing article about the great that is Jose Mourinho. It brought back some brilliant memories but also introduced me to a different era for the ‘Special One’. As a Chelsea fan born in 2004, I was raised watching the likes of Drogba, Lampard and Terry, all of whom thrived under Jose. Spurs could find themselves in a similar position; without a trophy since 2008, but with plenty of quality and stacks of potential he can tap into. It’s time to forget Jose of the last five years – I know the real one is still there. Luke McClelland, via email…

“I first became aware of Erling because I played with his dad for Norway. A lot of us had kids who play football, so you ask how they’re doing. But Alfie never got over-excited about Erling; he was always very calm. That’s the advantage of having a dad who’s been there – you don’t have to fulfil your dreams through your kids. Erling has made great moves so far. People wondered why he didn’t go to Juventus instead of Red Bull Salzburg, and thought that maybe he should go to Manchester United. But they always put his development first, because his dad knows which traps you can fall into. I can tell you exactly the moment when I realised Erling was very special. I had seen him score a lot…

Ruben Neves is remembering the pain. “Five and a half hours,” he nods, looking down at his left bicep. FourFourTwo winces – we are delicate souls. He’s talking about the tattoo which completely covers his upper left arm: a wolf leering over a forest and a set of goalposts, inked in one December 2018 session by Northern Irish artist Willy G. Sadly for Wolves supporters, this isn’t a tribute to his current club, although the artwork is certainly apt for the Portugal international’s current surroundings. As we discover from our afternoon sit-down with Neves, the wolf says a lot for his personality, too: intelligent, competitive and fiercely loyal in protecting his family. As Neves smoulders and salutes on demand for our photography session, we remind ourselves why we’ve come to…

MARTIN ODEGAARD REAL SOCIEDAD, 21 Norway It has been five years since Odegaard’s high-profile move to Real Madrid, which in turn came four months after his record-breaking debut for Norway, aged 15. Loans to Heerenveen and Vitesse followed a difficult start in Spain. Now at Real Sociedad, however, he was named La Liga’s player of the month for September, then knocked his parent club out of the Copa del Rey in February – scoring in a 4-3 victory at the Bernabeu. FRENKIE DE JONG BARCELONA, 22 Netherlands Was there a more pleasing sight in the whole of last season than De Jong passing both Juventus and Real Madrid off their own pitches? The Dutch midfielder was the beating heart of an exhilarating Ajax team, and had his pick of Europe’s…

It was before Sheffield Wednesday’s top-flight match away at Ipswich Town when Tony Kay placed the bet that destroyed his career. The game was played on December 1, 1962. Kay, the red-haired captain of Wednesday, was 25 years old and the hottest property in English football. The Beatles’ debut single, Love Me Do, was 21st in the charts, Z-Cars was on the television and Alf Ramsey’s Tractor Boys were the reigning league champions. Team-mate David ‘Bronco’ Layne approached Kay and asked, “What do you reckon today?” It would be a tough game and Kay said that he didn’t fancy Wednesday’s chances at Portman Road. So, Layne made him an offer: “Give me £50 and I’ll get you twice your money.” Kay thought that sounded like a good deal. Fifty pounds…

Let’s play a game about perception. The manager is wearing a lustrous blue suit, crisp white shirt and brown suede brogues. His hair is swept back and he is tanned. The brow is slightly furrowed: he has spent the morning with his analyst, poring over videos of his team’s next opponents. And he wears a confident smile. Later on, he will talk with relish about management and how, as if it really isn’t that hard, it’s all about showing love and empathy to his players. Back when he was a player, this manager wanted to broaden his horizons; experience a new culture and learn a new language. He wanted his children to be bilingual. How did players approach their profession there? How did coaches work? And how could all of…

What was with the dad dancing at Sunderland with Asamoah Gyan? Lewis Wardrope, via Instagram I saw that on Instagram the other week! We won 3-0 away at Chelsea, and when he went to the corner to do his quirky dance, I joined in with him. [Laughs] It was always meant to be funny. I saw plenty of comical parodies afterwards; Strictly Come Dancing footage with our heads attached to the dancers. After that game, the Sunderland fans would sing: “Zenden, give us a dance…” I can appreciate that kind of banter.…

Portuguesa 3 Vasco 3 September 3, 1995 Brazilian Serie A “I scored an absolute screamer in this game! I dribbled past two opponents from my own half and rattled the ball in the top corner from outside the box. That was important because I was only 21, and I grabbed national attention with what I did. Also, the move was quite similar to what Dener – my hero, who had played for Portuguesa and Brazil, too – used to do. So you could say that I was very pleased with that as well.” Brazil 3 Bolivia 1 June 29, 1997 Copa America Final “This cup was significant because I was young, only 22, and our team was full of great players like Ronaldo, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Denilson and Dunga. The…

What was the first game you ever saw live? That was Nottingham Forest 2-0 Sunderland in the 1990-91 season, when I was eight. I stood in the old Kop end, which is now the Bridgford End, and saw Nigel Clough and Steve Chettle both score. I already loved football but fell in love with football culture that day. Who was your childhood hero, and did you ever meet them? Brian Clough and Stuart Pearce, and I’m really lucky to have met them both; Clough, when I was a mascot at Forest once. I used to get Pearce’s autograph before every home game. There was one time when I saw him getting out of his car and he said, “Oh, you again?” I was delighted that he remembered me! Last year…

Erling Haaland has a confession to tell FourFourTwo. Ever since he was a small child, he’s had a problem, and it’s only getting worse. Every single day, it’s on his mind. Every time he steps onto a football field, it totally consumes him. He must score goals. He needs to score goals. Over the past 10 months, his goalscoring has hit ludicrous levels. Hat-tricks have become a regular occurrence. In one match, he scored a ridiculous nine times. But it will never be enough. He will always want more. “I think I’m addicted…” reveals Haaland, bursting into laughter. “It’s a good addiction!” So far, it’s an addiction that has turned the 19-year-old striker into arguably the most exciting teenager in world football. Rarely has a player so young produced a…

RUBEN DIAS BENFICA, 22 Portugal Dias is expected to be one of the best centre-backs of this decade, although some would argue that he’s world-class already. The 22-year-old is a key presence for a dominant Benfica side and now first-choice for Portugal, with whom he was man of the match in the 2019 Nations League Final against the Netherlands. He has a release clause of €100 million but will likely be moving soon. Manchester City are strongly linked. KAI HAVERTZ BAYER LEVERKUSEN, 20 Germany The towering midfielder, often compared to Michael Ballack, may be 20 but already has more than three campaigns of Bundesliga experience for Leverkusen. Havertz famously missed a 2017 Champions League tie due to a school exam, and his trajectory since has been remarkable. He netted 20…

n January, when Paris Saint-Germain were preparing to unveil I their fourth kit, there was one certainty; one player in the frame to front it. It wasn’t Neymar, Thiago Silva nor Angel Di Maria; it was always going to be Kylian Mbappe. In that picture taken in the Parc des Princes’ home team dressing room, the forward – adorned in the menacing black strip of France’s biggest football club – was more prominent than anyone else. Triumphing like a Roman emperor, he had Neymar to his right and Thiago Silva perching on the left, while Mauro Icardi and Marquinhos sunk into the background. But then that’s just how things are these days. Mbappe, 21 years old, is the face of PSG. Neymar may have been their best player this season,…

SILLY BILLY me to Welsh fe wideman glers Fulham Billy Meredith , was one of the best players n of out of theation. But on the final day of the 1904-05 campaign, with Meredith’s Manchester City requiring a win at Aston Villa for a chance of securing the title, he offered opposing captain Alec Leake £10 to lose the game. Leake said no, Villa triumphed 3-2 and Meredith was suspended for a season. LIVERPOOL UNITED Liverpool and Manchester United have long been rivals, but in 1915, players from both teams conspired to save the latter from relegation. Jackie Sheldon, Liverpool’s ex-United player, was the ringleader and arranged a 2-0 United victory at odds of 7/1. Seven players received lifetime bans – Billy Meredith, who had moved to Old Trafford, wasn’t…

You arrived in England with Portsmouth in 2003, then helped them win promotion to the Premier League straight away. Take us through that journey... It was an amazing time in my career, with so many good things happening in my life back then. Portsmouth is like my first home, and sometimes I’ll drive my kids down there just to show them where everything started for me in England. I disguise myself and visit the places where I used to get coffee – let me tell you, not a lot has changed around there! The people still love their football, but it’s sad that one of English football’s truly legendary clubs is struggling to return to its rightful place. We were lucky to have some really great players back then: Matt…