Table of contents for October 2020 in FourFourTwo UK

THE FARTHER CORNER Harry Pearson (Simon & Schuster, £16.99) ●●●●● In the late 1990s and early noughties, the leading lights of North East football looked like they may be on the verge of a golden era. Middlesbrough managed to sign Juninho, Newcastle bagged Tino Asprilla, then Sunderland brought together Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips. It proved a false dawn, but Harry Pearson shows there’s plenty of life – and some dark humour – to be found in the region’s non-league circuit, in a sequel to his excellent book The Far Corner. A veteran of the Northern League scene, Pearson chats to an eclectic mix of supporters and discovers that no matter how much their lives may have changed in the last quarter of a century, football is (usually) a source…

“When I started working with Donny, I immediately noticed his eagerness to learn and improve. He was part of a very interesting group of young talents at Ajax which also included Frenkie de Jong, Abdelhak ‘Appie’ Nouri, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. “At the time, they played together in the second team and it was a joy to watch them. They were a brilliant group of guys, and you could really feel that they liked each other and wanted one another to do well. I always looked forward to watching their matches, and you could sense the anticipation of Ajax supporters, too – more and more people came to see them play. In my 12 seasons at the club [across three spells], I never saw another group of young…

It would be both unfair and inaccurate to say that James Rodriguez can only enjoy his football under Carlo Ancelotti. His summer move to Goodison Park doesn’t point to a player scaling the dizzy heights of six years ago, but make no mistake: the Colombian is still capable of string-pulling displays no matter who dwells in the dugout. James was in excellent form for Bayern Munich at the start of 2018, for example, when Jupp Heynckes described the classy playmaker as a “God-send to the club”. There is little doubt that Ancelotti is the 29-year-old’s favourite coach, however. Thanks to the Italian, James enjoyed his best ever season at Real Madrid in 2014-15. Fresh from fending off giant insects and top scoring at the World Cup in Brazil – including…

Gabriel Magalhaes is the left-footed centre-back that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had so desperately been chasing for months. If it hadn’t been for the coronavirus outbreak, though, he might have had to look elsewhere for the reliable defender his rearguard has sorely lacked. “Earlier this year, Gabriel travelled to Liverpool to undergo a medical at Everton,” Guilherme Miranda, one of the Brazilian’s agents, reveals to FFT. “An agreement had been reached with Lille. But just when we were finalising the contract details, the pandemic exploded, which made Everton back down from the deal due to financial reasons. They got back in contact a while afterwards, by which time we were holding preliminary talks with Arsenal. But it was too late – at that point, Gabriel had made up his mind…

CLARENCE SEEDORF Pirlo’s old pal ended his playing career at Botafogo to take charge of mid-table Milan in 2014, but lasted a mere four months before being dumped for Pippo Inzaghi. The Dutchman exited with a 50 per cent win rate from his 22 matches and improved their position to 8th, but his fate was obvious when president Silvio Berlusconi declared that he was part of Milan’s “past”. ALAN SHEARER Wor Al was parachuted into St James’ Park as Newcastle’s fourth manager of a horrible 2008-09 season, and handed eight games to save the Magpies from relegation. Having arrived with his beloved club in the drop zone, two points from safety, Shearer oversaw just one victory and two draws to take a ragged Toon side down and depart “disappointed, hurt…

ASTON VILLA (1982) Ron Saunders guided Villa to their first league title in 71 years, but they were mid-table the next season when he controversially quit and joined rivals Birmingham, following a contract dispute. Assistant Tony Barton duly took over the reins and lifted the European Cup three months later. REAL MADRID (2000) In 2016, Zinedine Zidane replaced Rafa Benitez mid-campaign and won the Champions League; Vicente del Bosque had previously done the same. He came in for John Toshack, sacked for publicly criticising his players and refusing to apologise – “There’s more chance of a pig flying over the Bernabeu,” he said. ARSENAL (1934) It’s been 86 years since a team were crowned English champions after a mid-season manager change, and it came in tragic circumstances. Herbert Chapman had…

How did you end up at Celtic in 1998? To be honest, I didn’t expect it. When I was 33, I signed for Duisburg in Germany and my plan was to finish my career there or maybe in Austria, as it’s near Slovakia. But I wasn’t happy and wanted to leave. I had one offer from a Japanese club, but Duisburg wanted too much money for me. Then Jozef Venglos contacted me about joining Celtic. It wasn’t my plan, but I was happy. In the beginning I signed for only 18 months, but everything went well so I stayed for another two years. You cost only £300,000 and newspapers called you a panic buy. Did it bother you? No. The journalists were sceptical and didn’t write very nice stories about…

As a player with Aberdeen, a young Alex McLeish was nurtured by Alex Ferguson – under whom he lifted three Scottish titles and the 1982-83 European Cup Winners’ Cup, the Dons vanquishing Real Madrid in that final. After 16 years as a hero at Pittodrie, McLeish claimed a stack of silverware in the dugout. Having cut his teeth at Motherwell and Hibernian, the Scot was responsible for two final-day title wins at Rangers, one in their Treble-winning campaign of 2002-03. He spent several years as a Premier League gaffer, too, and stunned Arsenal to capture the League Cup with Birmingham before moving to the Blues’ rivals, Aston Villa. McLeish also managed Scotland in two different spells, having already represented his country at three World Cup finals – and yet he’d…

“AT PORT VALE, I HAD A GO ON A POTTER’S WHEEL. SADLY, THE, RESULTS WERE NOT IMPRESSIVE” Hi Brian. On the Amazon page for your book, your biography currently reads: “Brian Horton is an American pianist, who fell in love with gospel and jazz music aged 16.” Do you think this captures you accurately? Haha! I’ll need to have a word about getting it changed. I don’t like gospel or jazz, and I’ve never played a piano. My only moment in music came when I sang a Christmas carol on stage with Dame Vera Lynn. How on earth did that happen?! It was a service at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Myself, Mark Lawrenson and Peter Ward started it off, singing a line each, and then Vera took over. I…

You signed for Inter in 2016 [bottom, right] shortly after winning Olympic gold with Brazil. Do you have any regrets that it didn’t work out there? After the Olympics I had a good chat with the manager [Frank de Boer] and board about Inter’s future, and that was crucial. They have a huge history and are a giant club. I don’t have any regrets at all – everything was worth living. I’m now 24 and can definitely say that I’m a more complete player thanks to every experience I’ve had, good and bad. There were other clubs interested, but I decided to join Inter as I was convinced their project was the best one for me at that moment. [FFT: Were rumours of interest from Manchester United true?] I know…

“OLE UNDERSTANDS OUR MINDS AND KEEPS US MOTIVATED. IT’S A PRIVILEGE TO PLAY FOR HIM” How do you reflect on Manchester United’s 2019-20 season? We can’t say it was a good one, because we didn’t win a trophy. For a club like Manchester United, it’s not a good season without a title. We managed to reach three semi-finals but lost them all. We were close to our goals, but they just didn’t come our way – I was really confident that we would win something, but it didn’t happen. At least we managed to play good football at times during the campaign, and qualifying for the Champions League was very important because this club must be in that competition. It was crucial to get our place back, but that alone…

Valencia fans knew Ferran Torres was a bit different the day before his 18th birthday. After 23 minutes of his side’s La Liga tussle with Athletic Bilbao in February 2018, the lithe young wideman picked up possession on the right wing. With a cross both obvious and imminent, Athletic’s defence backed off. But it never came. Instead, Los Che’s kid bamboozled a backline with wandering eyes by squaring a pass to Geoffrey Kondogbia, who curled home from outside the box. It was typical of the teen’s early intelligence – a first assist for his boyhood club, and the proudest moment of his fledgling career. Just like his parents before him, Torres is a lifelong Valencia fan. He signed for their academy aged seven and never considered anyone else, despite interest…

For 20 long years, Rio Ferdinand remained Leeds’ record signing, bought for £18m from West Ham. But finally, the resurgent Whites are able to pull off statement signings and show they can compete with the best again, after promotion back to the Premier League. Ferdinand’s record was gone, after Rodrigo Moreno’s £27m move from the Mestalla to Elland Road. Not only have Leeds recruited a forward with serious pedigree, they also got their man for a knockdown fee. When Real Madrid were interested in the Spain international two years ago, they were quoted his €120m release clause. Born in Brazil, Rodrigo moved to Spain as a teenager when his dad – former Flamengo defender Adalberto – opened a new soccer school in Vigo with ex-Celta star Mazinho, father of Thiago…

Razor, a poll previously rated you the 17th hardest footballer ever – happy with that? I’d rather be the 17th best player! It depends who the other 16 are – if Robbie Savage is above me, I’ll be fuming… Good news: Robbie didn’t make the list. Roy Keane was No.1, though – would you beat him in a fight? Yeah, I’d smash Roy Keane all over the shop, and he knows it as well. Funnily enough, Roy never came up to me and had a go. Who was the hardest guy you played with? Jimmy Case at Southampton. If you ask any player from the ’80s, Jimmy was an absolute assassin. He was a brilliant player – he’d won three European Cups and four league titles – and was the…

You’ve spoken on a podcast about impostor syndrome. What are your experiences of it? It’s feeling like you don’t belong in a certain environment. When I signed for Tottenham, that was a tough moment for me. Everything had been positive – I’d joined Newcastle for a big fee at a young age, and been PFA Young Player of the Year. That breeds confidence, but in a way it’s fake. It’s come from things you’ve achieved, but the foundations aren’t strong. It doesn’t take much to wobble them. What wobbled your confidence? I’ll never forget my first game for Tottenham. Myself and Grzegorz Rasiak both signed on deadline day – the announcer went, “Here’s No.9, Grzegorz Rasiak!” and the whole place erupted, like, ‘Yeah, we’ve got a new signing!’ Then, “We’ve…

ALLY: NOT MY PALLY Firstly, I just want to say that I love FFT – the best football magazine by far. I may have green-tinted specs on, but Ally McCoist being lauded alongside Eusebio, Jackie Milburn and Kenny Dalglish [FFT 316] was going too far. McCoist was a good player, but benefited from English clubs not competing in Europe after Heysel, English stars going abroad and [ex-Rangers chairman] David Murray throwing money away. Not only this, but Scottish football then went on the decline as teams tried to spend and keep up, including my beloved Celtic, who nearly folded… David Kelly, via email FFT: We hear you, David – but we’re still justifying the Rangers great in a piece about ‘icons who defined an era’ at their respective clubs. Nine…

JOEL AND AVRAM GLAZER Co-chairmen United’s American owners will never be popular figures – not while they continue to reap millions in dividends and interest from the club each year (circa £200m since their 2005 takeover) – but run the show from Washington. The highly-involved Joel takes charge, having the final say on major transfer deals and sometimes even contracts. ED WOODWARD Executive vice-chairman The link man for the Glazers. Woodward advised them on their takeover and has been involved at United since 2007 – initially masterminding their incredible commercial rise before succeeding David Gill in 2013. Transfer activity has been wayward under his stewardship, however, while some fans will never accept his strong Glazer affiliations. MATT JUDGE Corporate development head Colloquially referred to as the club’s ‘chief negotiator’, Judge…

Only four players have thumped in more Premier League goals than Frank Lampard, who cracked home 177 in his 609 games. The next-best midfielder, Steven Gerrard (rank: 18th), is some 57 goals back on 120. Is it any wonder, then, that Chelsea’s boss was so keen to bring Bayer Leverkusen youngster Kai Havertz to Stamford Bridge? Just like his new manager, the prodigious Germany international – snapped up for an initial £71m – is already renowned for his keeper-bothering abilities. The celebrated youngster introduced ball to net 46 times in 150 appearances for Die Werkself – an even better scoring ratio than Lampard’s – with all but three of those strikes coming before his 21st birthday. After the cake and candles, Havertz netted in Leverkusen’s DFB-Pokal final defeat to Bayern…

PETR CECH Chelsea appearances: 494 “He’s someone that I look up to, for the courage to come through everything he has been through. He shows the fighting spirit that everyone in any walk of life should have.” – Daniel Sturridge JOHN TERRY Chelsea appearances: 717 “His trademarks were anticipation and judgement. He could calm the panicky behaviour of other players. John was a resolute defender and such a natural leader, too.” – Andriy Shevchenko FRANK LAMPARD Chelsea appearances: 648 “This guy was such an astonishing professional. I never saw him lowering his level, regardless of the result. He became a role model for everyone at the club.” – Juliano Belletti DIDIER DROGBA Chelsea appearances: 381 “He was a man you’d go to war with. When he went onto the pitch,…

HODDLE’S REINCARNATION VIEWS END LIFE AS ENGLAND BOSS 1999 When the Three Lions chief aired his opinion that people with disabilities were being punished for past sins, the blowback was immediate – not least for Matt Dickinson in the eye of a media storm “After the 1998 World Cup, there had been a few road bumps for England – they’d lost their first Euro 2000 qualifier in Sweden, where Paul Ince was sent off, then drawn 0-0 at home to Bulgaria. It’s fair to say the wheels were a little bit wobbly. “As it was back then, the FA embarked on something of a charm offensive and had offered Glenn Hoddle around to some media outlets for interview. As the joke now goes, though, he just forgot the charm bit…

What was Roberto Mancini like to play for during your time at Inter? Mancini was the most important coach I had in Europe. He believed in me and made me first choice, putting a legend like Francesco Toldo – the No.1 goalkeeper for Italy – on the bench. I had the chance to show the whole world what I could do. He changed my life. How odd was it to be awarded the Serie A title after the Calciopoli scandal? We came third in 2005-06, and thought that was that. Then people in Italy began to learn what had happened – Juventus, Milan and Fiorentina were punished and all of a sudden we were the champions. It’s not the same, of course, but we had no problem celebrating! You have…

IKER CASILLAS “Look at what he’s achieved with titles and appearances as the No.1 goalkeeper for Real Madrid and Spain. I’ve played with a lot of terrific goalkeepers, but Iker was part of the generation which changed the national team – not to mention the game internationally – so that makes him the best we’ve ever had.” ROBERTO AYALA “Roberto was amazing: aggressive, but good technically and he could mark anyone. He wasn’t the tallest defender, but because he was strong, clever and could jump, he was hugely talented. We used to score loads of goals from corners and free-kicks with him.” CARLES PUYOL “For Casillas with Real, see Puyol at Barcelona. Carles wasn’t the most skilful or attractive player to watch, but he was always going at 150 per…