There’s a brilliant Simpsons episode in which Homer is given free rein to design a car by his long-lost brother, Herb (voiced by Danny DeVito). Herb empowers Homer because he is “an average schmo”, so in touch with the common man that his design is s

The legendary Italian defender recalls Arrigo Sacchi’s teething problems and winning five European Cups – plus losing a certain final in Istanbul… TEAMS Milan Monza (loan) Italy You spent 21 years at Milan, making more than 650 appearances for the cl

UNDERDOGS OF THE YEAR You swapped playing for coaching in your teens while at college. Did that always feel like your true calling? Not initially. I got involved in coaching through a youth team coach I played under at Oxford United – a guy called Mi

Robbie Savage leans across the table tapping at his fitness watch screen. “My resting heart rate is 49, and my maximum heart rate is around 170,” Macclesfield FC’s manager tells FFT. “I play [newfangled racket sport] padel for two hours and it peaks

TORQUAY 6 NEWPORT COUNTY 1 Fourth Division, 1988 “I made my debut aged 16 that season, and had been attracting a lot of attention from clubs. I agreed to sign for Manchester United and went up there for a few days to train with the reserves and meet

The Scottish goal-getter tells FFT about joining El Tel at the Camp Nou and how he inspired Alex Ferguson’s 1999 Champions League Final team talk TEAMS Clyde Aberdeen Tottenham Barcelona Blackburn (loan) Hibernian Espanyol St Mirren Reading Ayr Unite

The former striker on Gareth Southgate’s class, a continued lack of black managers in the game, and how the Crazy Gang “made me who I am” TEAMS Wimbledon Charlton Middlesbrough Southampton Blackpool Doncaster AFC Wimbledon Jamaica What did you learn

There have been some extraordinary football matches in 2024, so to narrow it down I’ve picked my favourite game from the ones I was lucky enough to be in the stadium for. It was pretty close between two. Manchester City’s 3-2 win at Newcastle was up

IN MEMORIAM To live is the rarest thing in the world. For a time it must have seemed to Sven-Goran Eriksson that he might not get to. Born in the tiny Swedish village of Sunne, Svennis – a nickname chosen by his little brother – grew up dreaming of p

X @JamesAndrew_ E [email protected] When Manchester City got in touch and asked whether we fancied interviewing newly-crowned Ballon d’Or winner Rodri in Madrid, we dropped everything, jumped on a plane and flew to the Spanish capital. There

Life back in the second tier started pretty awfully for Luton Town – maybe things went awry when their quirkly away turnstiles depressingly went all commercial last year, via a sponsorship sign for Domino’s. Is nothing sacred any more? The local kids

The path from professional football to coaching, scouting and punditry is well trodden. But hanging up your boots to become Sammy Davis Jr? That is exactly what happened to former Manchester City and Wrexham midfielder Jim Whitley, who’s been starrin

MOMENT OF THE YEAR “It only takes a second to score a goal,” Brian Clough famously said. At the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, Ollie Watkins timed it to perfection. On July 10, the scoreboard clock read 89:59 when Aston Villa’s talisman fired his shot

Inverness Caledonian Thistle have been one of the great Scottish football stories. Now, after a nightmare 2024, they find themelves locked in a survival battle on and off the pitch – a possible drop to the fourth tier overshadowed only by the fight t

MANAGER OF THE YEAR When Emma Hayes started out as a manager more than 20 years ago, she didn’t anticipate that, one day, her team would score a goal that made Tom Cruise scream at the top of his lungs and punch the air with both fists. The girl from

What was the first game that you ever saw live? I have no recollection at all. When I was a baby, mum used to take me to Celtic, but women and kids weren’t allowed in because it was the ’70s – we used to wait outside with the fans for my dad to come

FFT HEAD OF VIDEO @AdamClery CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MANAGER OF THE YEAR The Italian may not be famed for his tactics like Pep Guardiola, but he didn’t exactly win a record fifth Champions League crown by accident, you know… Close your eyes and picture the

FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR “To be named the best player in the world, it’s a bit… scary, to be honest,” Rodri confesses, as he sits opposite FFT in Madrid, his Ballon d’Or perched next to him on the table. “It’s quite heavy – 10 kilogrammes, I think,” ex

Two strikers called Shearer joined Blackburn in 1992 – yes, Alan may have led the club to the Premier League title three years later, but did he inspire the career of football’s most famed illustrator? He did not. The man responsible for that was Dun

01 Which two EFL clubs have a rivalry dubbed ‘the university derby’? 02 Which club did Paul Gascoigne (right) begin his career with? 03 What nationality is cult Premier League star Temuri Ketsbaia? 04 Joe Mercer, Ron Saunders, Tony Barton, Graham Tay

GK “When I came to Liverpool he was the number-one keeper. A good shot-stopper but also very good with his feet. He’s a nice guy, which helps the team.” RB “I was usually a right centre-back and we communicated well on the pitch. We’re good friends o

BEST: Martin Taylor, Jason Cousins, Roger Johnson, Mike Williamson, Joe Jacobson, Dave Carroll, Keith Ryan, Matt Bloomfield, Steve Brown, Adebayo Akinfenwa, Nathan Tyson. WORST: Brian Parkin, Leon Crooks, Michael Duberry, Carlos Lopez, Alan Beeton, M

Martin Keown is explaining how he ensured that his club’s attacking talents never became complacent. “I used to kick our strikers’ arses in training,” he tells FourFourTwo with a smile. “I wanted to let them know about the demands that were coming. B

FourFourTwo are deep inside the 62,000-capacity King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, and a saxophonist is wistfully playing Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On in the corner of the room, an hour before kick-off. Few people are paying any attent

His stock dropped the year after Napoli’s 2023 title triumph, but ‘Kvaradona’, 23, dragged Georgia to the knockouts of Euro 2024 – their first-ever tournament – and was the star of the side, netting in the 2-0 group-stage win over Portugal. DID YOU K

CULT HERO OF THE YEAR If you hadn’t been a footballer, what would you have done? I’d probably be in my small village. I like cars, tractors and agriculture. Both of my parents worked in agriculture for a long time and many people in our family still

KIT • FASHION • ART DESIGN • TECH adidas.co.uk David Beckham’s 30-year association with the boot continues with this brilliant collaboration. For the first time ever, an Adidas trefoil adorns a Predator boot, with lucky ducks such as Alessia Russo, T

TEAM OF THE YEAR “Werder f**king Bremen – it just had to be them” Otto Buhm and his fellow Bayer Leverkusen fans could be forgiven for cursing the fixture computer. With Xabi Alonso’s surprise Bundesliga leaders closing in on a maiden title in late A

Time stands still when you’re not winning. Andoni Iraola held his breath for his first 15 hours of English football. The Basque landed in England as an enigma in June 2023, unwanted in some circles before he’d even posed with a red-and-black scarf as