Developing the

next generation of
Sport Scientists
and Coaches.

Sam Lawson, UCS Sport Science Graduate.

Now Director of Performance Analysis in the US.
Be bold. Be brave. Go far.
www.ucs.ac.uk/football #UCSgofar
 EDITORS WAnT
LETTER
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FourFourTwo.com March 2017 3

 54

8 UPFRONT
8
12
15
One-On-One: Robinho
Around the world in 12 stories
Ink Kings: realistic player tats
FEATURES
34 Ronaldinho
The Brazil and Bara legend on
Pep, nutmegs and Dele Alli

72
ARTURO
16 JTs Virtual Reality Academy 44 Deportivo Maldonado
VIDAL
18 Julio Baptista, Anfield hero How a tiny club from Uruguay
20 Quiz: which clubs sponsor? competes with Europes best
22 Jeff Stelling on dwarf-throwing 48 Pablo Zabaleta
24 Infographic: beware the 0-0 After nine years in the North
25 Scouted: Marco Asensio West, the Manchester City
27 Foxy goings on up at Carlisle defender feels right at home
28 Oscar on his move to China 54 South America vs Europe
29 Matt Le Tissiers best goal Fight! It all gets a bit punchy as
30 Rory Smith on... British gaffers clubs from two continents collide

107
ALEX IWOBI
MASTERCLASS

100
 48
62 66

YOUNG
MARADONA

78

FEATURES
62 Nelson Vivas calms down
The much-travelled Argentine
ACTION REPLAY
91
92
Eric Cantona goes artistic
Uruguays superstar gigolo
34
on finally finding his equilibrium 95 The bizarre history of Atletico
66 Young Maradona 96 1982: Mighty Leeds go down
A look back at Diegos early days 98 Best footballer musicians
72 Arturo Vidal interview
Bayerns Chilean hard man PERFORMANCE
shows us his softer side
78 Rebuilding Chapecoense 100 Alex Iwobi masterclass
How the Brazilian minnows are 105 Tried and tested: battle ropes
rebuilding two months on from 107 Victor Anichebe is on fire
the devastating plane crash 108 Shift that spare tyre
86 Salomon Rondon talks to FFT 110 Quinoa: healthier than rice?

91 86

SALOMON
RONDON
THE
BEa
UTI
FUL
GAM
E
OnE GRAHAM TAYLOR...!
One spring day in 2005, the phone rang at FFT Towers.
Hello, said the cheery voice on the other end of the
line, this is Graham Taylor. I did an interview with you
last week and I just wanted to check that everything
was OK with it. Forget the tabloid nonsense as England
manager, Taylor was a generous, astute coach who won
promotion with Watford from the Fourth Division to the
First and reached the 1984 FA Cup Final, celebrating with
chairman Elton John. Football will miss you, Graham.
Picture PA Archive
 UPFROnT
UPFROnT
> 2016 <
Plymouth pooch
jumpers on sale! p2
OnE-On-OnE
ROBInHO
Interview Marcus Alves Photography Gabo Morales
WAS IT TOUGH BEInG THE nEXT PELE?
WHY DID HIS MOVE TO CHELSEA FALL THROUGH?
DID HE REALLY GET THE BUS AROUnD MAnCHESTER?
FourFourTwo arrives at the training
ground of Atletico Mineiro to find
Robinho happily chatting away on
Facetime as pre-season preparations
continue for the Brazil Serie A side.
After his acrimonious exits from Real
Madrid and Manchester City, theres
a perception the 33-year-old is a little
surly. That couldnt be further from the
truth, and its not hard to see why last
season he hit 25 goals for the Roosters.
He insists, though, thats not the main
Upfront editor Chris Flanagan
reason for his joyful demeanour. One
day without smiling is a lost day for
me, says the former Santos star.
Robinho is still the same humble man
that happily used public transport to get
around Manchester, and thats just as
well, as FFT has a few questions to ask
8 March
February
2017 FourFourTwo.com
2016 FourFourTwo.com
STAGGERING DECISIONS Uruguayan Raul Marino refereed
a regional match while drunk, and was then arrested. I did
not have a grip on my faculties but I hit no one, he insisted
Whats a stuffed fox
doing at Carlisle? p27
I once watched a documentary on
Falcao, the futsal player, and you
turned up for a kickabout. How vital
was futsal to your development?
Jamie Baker, London
I used to spend a lot of time playing; it
is one of my passions. I even joked with
my son and told him that if its possible
I would play futsal in the last year of
my career. Its how I started and, to this
day, the dribbles I do all come from it.
Pele bigged you up from a very young
age, even comparing you to himself
did you feel pressured by his praise?
Sandro Dias, via Facebook
In the beginning it was very difficult
because Pele is incomparable theres
no way you can compare yourself to
Oscar tells FFT about
his move to China p28
someone who hit 1,000 goals, played
in four World Cups and is rated as the
greatest footballer ever. I have to thank
everyone that was by my side during
the early years, because I was always
very well guided during my time in the
academy at Santos, and then when
I got into the senior team I had my
coach Emerson Leao taking care of me,
too. He once told me: You are a great
player. You can look like him, but Pele is
Pele and Robinho is Robinho. Of course
it was nice to be compared to him, but
I always had it clear in my mind that
I had nothing on Pele. There will never
be another footballer quite like him.
Was your signature move the
pedalada your own invention or
did you see someone else do it first?
Jun Kaloustian, via Facebook
No, I had already seen other players
doing it, such as Zinho and Denilson.
I started to do it, too not as often as
them, but in almost every single game.
It couldnt have worked out better than
it did in the 2002 Brazil championship
final against Corinthians [which Santos
won 5-2 on aggregate]. I still get called
Pedaladas because of those games.
Denilson is a good friend of mine, and
he always tells me that hes the real
pedalada and I just took all the credit.
What actually happened during the
Shorts Dropping Crisis of 2004?
Victor de Souza, via Twitter
[Laughs] It was a disastrous prank
I pulled because [the former Brazil
midfielder] Diego was always pulling
my shorts down, and I could never get
revenge. I was waiting for my chance
for a long time, and then it came on the
day we were having our official photos
taken for the pre-Olympic qualifying
tournament in Chile. So while he was
posing for the cameraman, I did to
him what he had done to me so many
times, and everyone in Brazil got to see.
All of the headlines the next day were
about the photo. We thought it was
hilarious, but then when we failed to
qualify for the Olympics there was a lot
of anger about it. That was a turning
point for us we knew we had to leave
our childhood behind and become men;
we then realised exactly what it means
to wear the yellow shirt of the national
team in a very important competition.
Is it true you made your Real Madrid
debut 24 hours after landing in the
city? Its the best debut performance
I have seen. What are your memories
of that match and the reaction to
your good performance that day?
Mark Venn, Plymouth
It was a very good debut, a wonderful
one I was anxious to get a chance to
play alongside such fantastic players
as Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Raul.
I couldnt wait. I can even remember
planning the game in my head while
I was on the airplane. It was almost
perfect. When I got the ball for the very
first time, I lobbed the ball over a Cadiz
player and then started to dribble away.
It was a remarkable debut for me. Id
arrived in Madrid the day before, but
I was a kid and determined to play.
 CLUBS
2002-05 Santos
2005-08 Real Madrid
2008-10 Manchester City
2010 Santos (loan)
2010-15 Milan
2014-15 Santos (loan)
2015 Guangzhou Evergrande
2016- Atletico Mineiro

COUNTRY
2003- Brazil

MY MOVE TO CHELSEA FELL IR

THROUGH BECAUSE THEY US
STARTED SELLING ROBINHO OW
SHIRTS. REAL MADRID WERE FA
NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS HO
 UPFROnT
I HAD A FIGHT WITH BELLAMY
REMEMBER
ONCE,
USED TO BUT WHO AT MAN CITY
BE THEIR
OWNERDIDNT?
AND HEOTHER
IS MY PLAYERS HAD
PROBLEMS
FAVOURITE SINGER!WITH
I HIM; HE
HOPE WAS VERY EXPLOSIVE
Why Real Madrid and not Barcelona?
Javier Lopez, via Twitter
It may seem like a difficult choice, but it
wasnt. Real Madrid was the team that
showed more interest in me. Both of
them are great clubs that have fans
all around the world, but when Madrid
came in for me, I saw that they had
a large Brazilian group in their squad,
the coaching staff was also from Brazil,
and Vanderlei Luxemburgo was the
coach. When you put all this together,
why would I have moved to Barcelona?
What was it like walking into the Real
dressing room as a 21-year-old with
the likes Zidane, Raul and Ronaldo
around? That cant have been easy...
Alan Page, via Facebook
It was a dream come true to play for
a big European club. I could not believe
it when I got inside the dressing room
for the first time. I was very young and
I couldnt even find my locker. But they
all treated me in the best way possible.
I was their kid, they looked after me.
What is David Beckham like? Is
he as great a guy as he seems?
Ryan Inns, via Twitter
Beckham was always hanging out with
the Brazilians. He was part of our group.
In fact, there was even a little jealousy
among the Spanish players because
he could speak Portuguese better than
Spanish [laughs], so he used to spend
10 March
February
2017 FourFourTwo.com
2016 FourFourTwo.com
most of his time with us. Hes a very
humble man Id say the most down
to Earth player Ive met. Hes amazing.
How well did you get on with Fabio
Capello? It seemed like you had
a hard time convincing him you
should be playing regularly
Roberto Gesualdi, via Twitter
I was given the chance to play by all my
coaches at Real Madrid. When Capello
first arrived, I was still starting games
regularly, but then, for some reason,
maybe because of my age, he put me
on the bench. I cant complain about it,
he was the coach and that was his
decision. I just couldnt be
happy with the role of
second-half substitute,
being forced to play out
of position and mark
the full-back.
Do you regret
leaving Real
Madrid? Were
you unhappy
that they tried
to offer you to
Manchester
United in
exchange for
Cristiano Ronaldo?
Tony Simon, Warrington
I dont regret leaving Real
Madrid, but I do regret falling
out with them when I moved on, as
Madrid was the club that opened doors
for me and offered me the opportunity
to conquer Europe. Perhaps the way
I had to fight my way out erased the
memories of some great things I did
for the team; I helped them become
champions and I think I played well
during my spell in the team. But I was
really determined to leave and I had
an explosive temper, and didnt give
things as much thought as I do now.
What happened regarding the
confusion about you signing for
Chelsea ahead of your move to
Manchester City? How close were
you to moving to London instead?
Sarah Davies, via Twitter
My main goal was to move to Chelsea
Big Phil [Scolari] had said I could
make the difference for him
as his squad, according to
him, was not creative
enough. But Real
Madrid had fallen
out with Chelsea
they didnt like
them selling shirts
with my name on before
the deal had been done.
I am pretty sure that this
error was one of the main
reasons why the transfer
failed, as it was a matter
of pride for Real Madrid.
And they were also reluctant to let me
move to a club that was playing in the
Champions League the same season
Chelsea were, but City werent. I moved
to a great club and they welcomed me
in the best way. I had one-and-a-half
years of joy in Manchester, despite the
city being a lot colder than Madrid!
Did you really believe that Man
Citys project was going to work?
Bruna Tavares, via Facebook
From the day I arrived, I could see Citys
project was destined to be a success
and the club would grow but I didnt
think it would be quite so fast! I didnt
know much about the club before I got
there, but I always felt very honoured
to have been the first marquee signing.
I started well, but unfortunately there
werent as many great names as there
are these days. Man City are the only
side Ive left without winning a title.
What was your relationship with Craig
Bellamy like? He wrote in his book
there was tension between you both?
Jonny Pringle, via Twitter
I had a fight with him once, but then
who at City didnt? [Laughs] Some other
players had problems with Bellamy, too;
he was very explosive. In one game we
played against Arsenal, I did not have
a great first half so he started yelling
at me in English when we got back to
the dressing room at half-time. I didnt
understand it, but from the little I could
work out, I could tell he wasnt saying
nice things. Glauber then helped me
by pushing him away, and he quickly
calmed down. I had just come back
from a marathon of a journey to play
for Brazil and I was feeling very tired.
But it was OK, and he came to me the
next day and asked me to forgive him.

It was reported that you used to
get the bus around Manchester
would you agree the city has the
best bus system in the world?
Jamie Henderson, via Twitter
[Laughs] Probably. It was indeed very
easy to go from one place to another
by bus and train! As Im a footballer,
people sometimes find it weird, but
I have always been very humble and
I didnt have any problem using public
transport. I had used it all my life before
I became a footballer, so why wouldnt
I use it in a city that had welcomed me
so warmly? I would use my car to drive
to training, though. I didnt want to risk
being late and upsetting the manager!
What really happened when Man City
accused you of going AWOL when you
went back to Rio de Janeiro during
their training camp in Tenerife? How
angry was Mark Hughes at the time?
Alan Brown, via Facebook
The truth is that [Hughes] didnt honour
his word to me. When I arrived at City,
I hadnt had any vacation time and he
promised me hed give me one week to
get some rest. I believed what he told
me. So when we travelled to Tenerife,
I went to him and said, Mister, can I
have my vacation now? He said, OK.
I packed my things, let the club know
that I was leaving, and enjoyed a week
back home, because he had allowed
me to go he had given me his word.
Did you feel like winning Serie A
in your first season in Italy with
Milan proved a point to any of
the doubters back in England?
Francesco Tarolli, via Facebook
When I moved to Milan, the main aim
was to win Serie A and the Champions
League. Unfortunately, we didnt lift
the Champions League, but we did
manage to reign in Italy once again.
We had a great side, with Thiago Silva,
Clarence Seedorf, Zlatan Ibrahimovic,
Filippo Inzaghi and Alexandre Pato.
I dont think I had much to prove to
Man City or anyone in England. I had
played well during my time there, but
I just didnt play there as long I wanted
there were some issues. If you want
to become a bigger club, then you need
more than one or two star names you
need a strong group and substitutes.
At Milan, I was surrounded by great
players; it wasnt the same at City.
Ibrahimovic, Pato and Robinho was
arguably Milans last great forward
line: how fun was it to play in?
Stuart Watford, via Facebook
I had a lot of fun with them. We also
had Ronaldinho, who didnt play a lot
then, as well as [Filippo] Inzaghi and
[Andrea] Pirlo. What a great side we
had, I still miss those days. We found
the chemistry on the field very quickly.
I had four wonderful years in Milan,
won the Serie A title and was happy.
Whats your best Zlatan story?
Jeff Ball, via Facebook
Actually, Milans former president
Adriano Galliani told me that it was
Zlatan who recommended they sign
me. He had respect from the board,
having just signed there from Bara,
which was when Galliani told him there
was the chance of also getting me, too.
According to Galliani, Zlatan then said,
go and bring him, hes a phenomenon, been my primary objective. I am not
were going to work well together and
score the goals the team needs. He
used to joke with me, saying, you are
here today because of me. [Laughs].
UPFROnT
You spent a few months playing for Was Copa America 2007 your best
Guangzhou Evergrande what is the moment with the national team?
appetite for football like in China? What was it that went so right at
Can you see it becoming the biggest that tournament in Venezuela?
league in the world in the future? Samuel Mitchell, via Twitter
Daniel Beagan, Cheltenham No doubt, at least individually speaking,
Football is growing fast in China the because I was top scorer and finished
foreign managers working there are as a champion theres nothing much
doing a lot to help develop the game more to say [laughs]. But I think that
and raise the level of coaching. I had when you get on the pitch, you want
a great experience at Guangzhou and to help your colleagues, and you can do
could see them improving. A few years that in many different ways. Back in my
ago it would be very unlikely for a top time, the four big names that we had
player to accept an offer from a Chinese in the frontline were all on a very high
club, but now they can challenge even level: Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ronaldo and
the biggest sides in Europe. Theres so Adriano. Theres no need to make any
much money being comment on them.
spent by the clubs In 2007, I was
that you do not the protagonist,
even think twice if
you have a chance
to move over there.
HIgHS & LOWS top scorer and
champion, but
I also helped
out in other
Whats the music LOW: 2005 competitions
like in China? Mother kidnapped by gunmen. we won the
Rich Esteves, Released unharmed six weeks Confederations
via Facebook later after a ransom is paid Cup in 2005 and
Damn, they were HIGH: 2006 again in 2009.
very cool at my Seals dream move to Real Madrid,
club; I put samba and then wins title in first season Do you think
songs on in the LOW: 2007 that your old
dressing room Falls down pecking order at Real mate Neymar
and they all used under manager Fabio Capello will be able to
to listen to them HIGH: 2008 surpass Lionel
and enjoy them. Seals shock move to Manchester Messi, as well
But dancing, er, City scores on debut vs Chelsea as Cristiano
I dont think so! LOW: 2009 Ronaldo, to
Misses three months of action become the
You have played with stress fracture of the ankle best player
in La Liga, the HIGH: 2011 in the world?
Premier League Wins Serie A title with Milan, Marcos A,
and Serie A so scoring 14 goals in the process via Twitter
which league was Our relationship
the best and why? is great, we get
Dean Manley, via Twitter along really well. As a fellow Brazilian,
The best and most organised league is I always hope he can achieve more day
the Premier League. The stadiums are after day. Hes the one among us that
always full to capacity, the pitches are has the most potential to be the best
always good and the teams are always in the world he carries the No.10 of
trying to attack. However, I think the the national team and also plays for
one I enjoyed playing in most was La Barcelona. But we all know that it is
Liga. Id say the league in Spain is like not easy to beat Messi and Cristiano
a better version of the league in Brazil, Ronaldo theyre both at such a high
in terms of pitches and organisation. level, scoring 60-70 goals per season.
Youve been stuck on 99 Brazil caps What will you do when you retire?
since 2015 - how keen are you to get Will you become a coach one day?
to 100? Do you think it will happen? And if you could do any other job
Clara Almeida, via Facebook in the world, what would it be?
Its certainly not impossible Im not George Richards, via Facebook
too far from the 100th cap, and I was I dont think about that much. Maybe
the top scorer in Brazil last season with Ill become an agent, or will work with
25 goals. The national team has always young footballers in academies. I want
to help footballers the same way that
anxious about it. I know that the best I was helped early in my career. Away
way to be called up once again is to from football, Id like to be a musician,
do some great work at Atletico Mineiro, especially a samba one I like to play
and thats what I look to do every day. the pandeiro and cavaquinho [laughs].
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 11
UPFROnT
UPFROnT
> 2016 <
AROUnD
THE WORLD
In 12 STORIES 6
A pitch-invading Spider-Man, Bulgarian aerobics and
Phil Scolari randomly turning up in Belfast 2017 is
off to flier. Right, where to begin? Guam, of course...
1 3
THERE'S ONLY ONE MATCH
HAPPENING HERE, SON
Guam Dededo
As usual, all the big football news is in
Micronesia. Theres nothing that makes
a man more alluring than netting a goal
for NAPA Rovers in the Guam Soccer
League, so Ashton Surber capitalised
on the moment: racing to the stand
and unveiling a Marry me? T-shirt,
even getting on one knee and pointing
sexily in the direction of his girlfriend.
She said yes, but the ref was less
impressed, issuing Surber a yellow card
and leaving him lumbered with a fine
just when hes got a wedding to pay for.
2 8
YOU AIN'T PUNCHING OUR FLAG
Australia Gosford
You know Tim Cahills trademark goal
celebration, where he does a spot of
shadow boxing with the corner flag?
A Central Coast Mariners ball boy
decided that it wasnt happening on
hiswatch: when Cahill found the net
for Melbourne City and darted over to
the flag, the teenager plucked it out of
the ground and cheekily held it out of
the ex-Everton mans reach. Brave lad.
SIX OF THE BEST FIXTURES
Chelsea vs Arsenal February 4
The Premier League leaders seek revenge for
their 3-0 loss at the Emirates in September
12 March
February
2017 FourFourTwo.com
2016 FourFourTwo.com
SADDAM BACKING Cristiano Ronaldo won FIFA's World
Player of the Year award aided by a vote from Saddam
Hussain. Pakistan captain Saddam Hussain, that is...
IS 'RED TIE' EVEN A THING?
Nigeria Abuja
When the organisers of the African
Player of the Year awards said black
tie, it didnt seem that hard to grasp.
Sadio Man turned up in smart black
suit and bow tie, as did Riyad Mahrez,
but Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang somehow got it very
wrong confusing black for red and
arriving in a garish red T-shirt and cap,
as if he was off to some sort of pool
party. In fairness, his luggage had got
lost in transit. At least he stood out
4
LET IT GO, MAN
Italy Bergamo
When hes not flying into two-footed
tackles on his own four-year-old son
on a beach (then posting the footage
online), Atalantas Papu Gomez is busy
customising his captains armbands.
Against Milan, he celebrated his love
of gaming with an armband containing
a picture of a PlayStation: at Chievo, he
marked his daughters birthday with
aFrozen-themed garment. Fittingly,
his performance was animated, too:
he bagged a brace in a 4-1 victory.
AFCON final February 5
Ivory Coast won the tournament two years ago:
who will secure victory this time in Libreville?
5 9
SO SPIDER-MAN CAN FLY NOW?
England London
It's only been a few months since
Spider-Man was spotted perched on
top of a dugout watching non-league
Nelson. This time he had bigger plans.
The superhero decided to run across
the London Stadium playing surface
midway through West Hams FA Cup
clash with Manchester City, only to be
comically taken out by another pitch
invader. Sadly, the BBC cut away from
the action as apparently nobody wants
to see that kind of thing er, everyone
wants to see that kind of thing, guys.
DEFOE... AND ET
England Sunderland
Jermain Defoes month on Instagram:
cryotherapy at minus 135 degrees and
pretending to punch the Incredible Hulk
on the chin, as well as posing with ET.
Just your average month then, and
the grin on Defoes face suggested he
was loving his meeting with everyones
favourite 1980s alien being. The picture
attracted comments from his followers:
we thought the one saying nice to see
Jermain taking Duncan Watmore out
of the house was harsh, to be fair.
7
MEET YOUR NEW AEROBICS
INSTRUCTOR, LADS
Bulgaria Plovdiv
Bad news for the squad of Lokomotiv
Plovdiv: extra aerobics sessions during
the winter break. Sorry boss, Ive got
the flu again, cant make it in today.
You sure? The aerobics instructor
is MissUniverse Plovdiv 2014, Lidia
Opalchenska. Actually, Im feeling
better boss, what time does it start?
RAINING CATS AND DOGS
Mexico Pachuca
Nothing improves a match like an
animal on the pitch, so the Liga MX
game between Pachuca and Chiapas
should go down as one of the games
of 2017. Despite it being played inside
a fully enclosed, modern 30,000-seater
stadium, first a dog legged it on to the
pitch, then a cat turned up, as if they
were in some sort of covert tag team.
Undeterred, the dog then brazenly
ventured into the first-team dressing
room, where it posed for pictures as
if it owned the place. The cheek of it.
Bayern vs Arsenal February 15
Arguably the biggest fixture in the Champions
League last 16 the first leg is at the Allianz
IS THAT A FULL MOON?
Spain Alcoyano
What do you do when your local rivals
are awarded a penalty during a derby
match? Climb to the front of the stand
behind the goal, turn your back and
moon at the penalty taker, obviously.
It worked a treat for Alcoyano after
one fan did just that against Hercules
the visitors lost 3-0 after a rather
distracted Chechu Flores ballooned
his spot-kick over the crossbar. Arse.
10
NOT THE KING OF ACTING
England London
If theres one thing weve learned this
month, its that Ledley King's chances
of a career in Hollywood are very slim.
When Mark Wahlberg dropped into
White Hart Lane during a spell filming
in London, he randomly gave King an
acting masterclass, helping him recite
lines from Gladiator and Jaws. We do
not think Ledley quite nailed: Youre
gonna need a bigger boat. You are
not supposed to say it with a smile,
youre about to be eaten by a shark...
11
I SWEAR I SAW BIG PHIL
ONTHE 212 BUS
Northern Ireland Belfast
Surprising scenes at St Georges Market
in Belfast: that bloke over by the fish
counter, isnt that Luiz Felipe Scolari?
Indeed it was the World Cup winner
randomly pottering about, also turning
up at a local blues night and on the 212
bus. Surely his big salary as Guangzhou
Evergrande boss would fund a hire car?
Scolaris son is a student in Northern
Ireland, so Big Phil decided to visit for
awhole two weeks. Maybe Belfast
seems strangely exotic to a Brazilian.
12
GINI IN A BATTLE
England Liverpool
More Instagram weirdness: Georginio
Wijnaldum didnt want to be outdone
by Jermain Defoes ET picture, so he
made his way down to Liverpool city
centre, found the nearest stormtrooper
and posed for photos holding a gun.
The Liverpool midfielders a big Star
Wars advocate, so Gini was no doubt
honoured when Everton supporters
started singing, Youre so Sith its
unbelievable at him. Thats pretty
much what it sounded like, anyway.
 50 UPFROnT
STILL GOING STRONG Forward Kazuyoshi Miura
has signed a new deal to play beyond his 50th
birthday at Japanese second-tier club Yokohama

01 02 03

04 05

06

07

08 09

10 11 12

Sevilla vs Leicester February 22
The Foxes may be struggling in the Premier
League, but will the dream live on in Europe?
Norwich vs Ipswich February 26 League Cup final February 26
Live from Carrow Road, its the East Anglian derby
sometimes known as the Old Farm derby Wembley is the stage for the showpiece event:
who will succeed Manchester City as winners?

FourFourTwo.com March 2017 13

 HELLO? Stars often evade interviews by pretending
to be on the phone Thomas Muller didnt have
his phone, so held his passport to his ear instead
VALDERRAMAS HAIR Ronaldo and Messi are
used toplaying out of
their skin and now a
WAS A nIGHTMARE! Colombian tattoo artist
has them playing out of
other peoples skin, too
H
ave you ever really wanted
a screaming Gianluigi Buffon
inked into your skin? Maybe
a smiling Carlos Valderrama?
Or how about a sullen Sebastian Viera?
If your answer to any of the above
questions is yes and, lets be honest,
everyself-respecting football fan has
wanted a tattoo of ex-Villarreal and
Uruguay goalkeeper Viera at some
point in their life then get yourself on
the next flightto the Colombian city of
Barranquilla. There you will find tattoo
artist Ronald Horta, who has a growing
reputation for his stunningly realistic
inkworks of a growing list of footballers.
To date, he has created tattoos of
Ronaldo, Messi, Buffon, Valderrama,
FFTs cover star Ronaldinho, Colombia
striker Carlos Bacca and even Viera, the
ex-Nacional gloveman who now plays
for local club Junior de Barranquilla.
The technique I use is called realistic
colour, but its only a technique, Horta
tells FourFourTwo. You need to capture
the way that they look, the smiles, the
features youreally have to take into
account all of the little details if you
expect to create a real-looking tattoo.
It can take around eight to 10 hours
to finish a Messi or Ronaldo his most
requested tattoos though Horta won
threeawards at Panama City Ink Fest
UPFROnT
for his Buffon creation. I have been
tattooinglots of fans, he explains.
The fact that they want to have
images of their idols with them for
their entire life is a big responsibility.
A Junior de Barranquilla ultra once
asked me for a Sebastian Viera tattoo
as a way of gratitude for what Viera
had done for the club. For the people
of Barranquilla, Viera is like a saint.
Horta has also collaberated with
footballers themselves, although his
job requires him to keep the names
confidential. When asked which of his
tattoos has been the most challenging,
he is in no doubt: Carlos Valderrama.
All that hair! Horta laughs. I spent
far more time working on those curls
than on the face itself. But when Im
working on something new, no matter
how hard it looks, I just dedicate the
time I need until I come up with the
result Im looking for. In Valderramas
case, Im happy because I think that
after the patience, I finally achieved
a true effect of this curly hair that he
has. When Im done, its time to start
thinking of someone else to tattoo.
FFT waits with interest for his next
creation its surely only a matter
of time before a Colombian Swansea
City fan rocks up and asks Horta to
design a tattoo of Leon Britton.
Words Martin Mazur
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 15
 UPFROnT
UPFROnT QUOTE OF THE MONTH Emmanuel Eboue talks meeting
the Queen: I said, Maam, I dont want to be a footballer,
> 016 I want to look after your dogs, and take them for walks

BEHOLD, ITS EMPEROR PARDS!

John Terry recently launched his own Virtual Reality Academy FFT gets a sneak peek at some other VR tours

Alan Pardews Self- he realises hes massively homesick,

Appreciation Mind Dojo theleague hes playing in only has
Alan Tours, masterminded and led three other good players and he is
byAlan Pardew himself, presents the pretty useless at working chopsticks.
ultimate immersive Alan Appreciation
Experience. You can marvel at a vast Its Complicated
lobby mural of a heroic Roman Alan, withAnthony Martial
clad in atoga and vanquishing all of The Frenchman gives a masterclass
his pitiful enemies Derek Llambias, in modern technology direct from his
Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini virtual love nest: how to juggle several
witha net and trident. Then enter different mobile phones, the correct
thedojo itself, where you can get etiquette for Snapchatting X Factor
aselfie with The CyberAlans, laze wannabes and aspiring actress-models,
about in Alans all-mirror trysting all of the proper sad faces to pull when
cubbyhole, feasting on chocolate publicly insisting you didnt do them
Alans glazed with Alans special bad things and WhatsApp phrases for
sauce before losing the dressing pleading with your wife to come home.
room and getting axed, Alan-style.
Crushing Reality
Lee Cattermoles withGerard Pique
Battletoads Digitally enter Piques opulent Catalan
A beat-em-up tour that lets the citadel which he shares with his
users experience first-hand the celebrated Colombian missus and
ultra-violence meted out by the delightful children Milan and Sasha
Stockton maiming machine. You and youll immediately get that pages
can rake studs across apampered of Hello! magazine feeling. Surely the
Spanish players glistening calves, magnificently bestubbled defender has
pop your eyes psychopathically at achieved the perfect life? Think again.
a referee who has just suggested Footballers are just human beings with
the opposition have won a corner, everyday annoyances: donthe virtual
and enjoy the sound of some cruciate reality headset and youll soon find old
ligaments twanging in Dolby Surround. Piqu-o forgetting to take the bins out,
Later for no apparent reason team stubbing his toe on his Miele kitchen
up with Nicolas Otamendi and Ragnar appliances and then being unable to
Klavan, becoming anthropomorphic concentrate on playing Halo because
toads toarm-wrestle sailors, put cats Shakira keeps wailing out anew tune
in bins, hunt Cecil the Lion and fight about the equator that she has just
the end-level boss Nemanja Vidic. bashed out on her Casio keyboard.

Carlos Tevezs Shanghai Downfall: The Last

Shopping Shemozzle DaysofBlatter
Watch Tevez pound the streets Welcome to Sepps subterranean
ofChina with his weekly wage blatterbunker: in the countryside
(600,000 in small denominations just outside Zurich. Virtualvisitors
of yuan) stuffed into an Armani can witness karma inaction asthe
jacket with 742 pockets. Chuckle once-invincible FIFA grandee hunches
as he discovers that it only costs over a desk in aformer air raidshelter,
about 3 to feed a family of four wearing a grubby coat and muttering
and that hes living a real-life about the FBI closing in. His faithful
Words Nick Moore

Brewsters Millions, in which he assistant Fabienne brings him fake

is going to have to start buying good news bulletins on the hour
actual skyscrapers if hes going (homophobia worldwide eradicated
to spend his wages. Weep as thanks to those T-shirts Sepp got
printed, Pele thinks Vladimir Putin
MARVEL AT A VAST LOBBY is nice and that Qatar is going to be
fun), but the Swiss simply mutters,
MURAL OF A HEROIC ROMAN refuses toeat and tugs at his voodoo

ALAN, CLAD IN HIS TOGA dolls of Gianni Infantino, Jerome

Champagne and Tokyo Sexwale.

16 March
b 2017
y FourFourTwo.com
6 ou ou T o.com
 WEIRD WIKI PICS During the 90s, Man United
man Clayton Blackmore was the hippest hipster
UPFROnT
in town. It was always sunny indoors then, too

A VIRTUAL THE FOOTBALL GRID FFT looks into the wonderful world of wacky club
chiefs. For some reason, most of them are Italian...

WHAT-
SCAPE?
Youre only here for
the culture, has
become a chant at
Hulls KCOM Stadium,
and now you dont
have to be at the
ground to hear it.
Some scoffed when
Hull was selected as
the UKs 2017 City MASSIMO LOUIS MAURIZIO MASSIMO VINCENT
Who?
of Culture, but locals CELLINO NICOLLIN ZAMPARINI FERRERO TAN
have always been (LEEDS) (MONTPELLIER) (PALERMO) (SAMPDORIA) (CARDIFF)
proud of the places
artistic heritage. And
now that art includes
a sonic installation The Fonz after
French Les Genial uncle Once described Trousers around
in the city: mics were Look many years of
Dawson if only... as crazed hobo the neck
placed all around the chain-smoking
Tigers pitch during
Novembers League
Cup quarter-final
win over Newcastle, Perfectly Constantly Using scarve
Going through Bizarrely
recording the sound normal Going through insulting to dress up a
almost 40 changing
of the home fans. chap, seven managers absolutely Rambo and
managers Cardiffs kit from
The result, entitled apart in three years anyone and Mother Teresa
in 15 years blue to red
105db and edited from... everyone during games
down to 21 minutes,
is being played back
at Hulls Zebedees Paddy Kenny He threatened He jokingly He reportedly
At the age of 68,
Yard, with speakers And there had to leave to cut off his screamed in the questioned why
he dyed his hair
located strategically was also because he was players testicles face of a female keeper David
in Montpelliers
to try to recreate the the time born on the and eat journalist who Marshall was
orange
virtual landscape when... 17th Cellinos them in asked about not scoring
and blue
of the game. Got it? unlucky number a salad transfers any goals
Fans can wander
over to where they
were sitting, or go The fans of The critics? I didnt mean Man United
into the middle to Weirdest Leeds are tired I piss in their to offend Adrian He who is born and Liverpool
experience what its quote of eating s**t a*** cracks. Mutu when round cannot are red they
like for the players, and shutting A good answer, I called him die square are much more
explains Richard their mouths dont you think? a crafty Gypsy successful
Warburton, of arts
collective Invisible Where to start? His thoughts on Worlds
Flock. It really was He denied
He was even Marcelo Bielsa: Described as biggest
a tremendous game threatening to
Biggest pictured arguing I never liked insane by grudge
Hull words Nick Moore; Grid words Chris Flanagan

it got the hairs all kill Massimo

feud with a jar of him. Why dont Maurizio against
standing up on the Ferrero, and
tomato sauce I? Because he Zamparini Malky
back of your neck. vowed to sue
in Tesco once is a d**khead Mackay

That rude New star of

Lead in classic
French bloke The Godfather A geriatric
American war
in the castle sacks Corleones Jim Carrey in The greatest
Ideal film Stalag 17,
in Monty and replaces remake of Ace Bond villain
film role which hed
Python and them with Ventura: Pet of all time
rename
the Holy Francesco Detective
Stalag 16b
Grail Guidolin

FourFourTwo.com March 2017 17

 UPFROnT
UPFROnT
> 2016 <

GAMES
THAT
CHAnGED
MY LIFE Sevilla 1 Osasuna 0
May 23, 2004 La Liga

JULIO
I scored a lot of goals during my first
season with Sevilla, but probably the
most important was against Osasuna,
who ended up with three red cards! The

BAPTISTA
win secured a spot in the UEFA Cup for
the club, for the first time in nine years.
In the second half Dani Alves crossed,
the ball fell at my feet and I scored.

Liverpool 3 Arsenal 6
January 9, 2007 League Cup

What a crazy game this was I scored

four goals and missed a penalty! The
atmosphere was amazing and at the
end Liverpool fans applauded me, even
though I helped to eliminate their team.
That is why I love the English game, and
Ive still got that image inside my head.

Brazil 3 Argentina 0
July 15, 2007 Copa America final

The most memorable game of my life

had happened three years earlier in the
Copa America final against Argentina.
I didnt play: Argentina were 2-1 ahead
in stoppage time but Adriano equalised
and we won on penalties. In the 2007
final I played, scored the opening goal
and won my second trophy with Brazil.
They had a team for the ages Messi,
Tevez, Veron while we were missing
key players. We shocked the world.

Barcelona 0 Real Madrid 1

December 23, 2007 La Liga

The most important goal I scored for

Interview Martin Harasimowicz

Real was the one that gave us a win at

the Camp Nou. It was a beautiful goal.

THE LIVERPOOL FANS APPLAUDED ME, EVEN THOUGH I HELPED
ELIMINATE THEIR TEAM. THATS WHY I LOVE ENGLISH FOOTBALL
Many considered Barcelona as the best
team in the world. They had Ronaldinho
in his prime. Nobody gave us a chance,
but we beat them and went on to win
the title it was a huge achievement.

18 March
February
2017 FourFourTwo.com
2016 FourFourTwo.com
WHO
COULD
YOU
BECOME?

TRAIN LIKE A CITY PLAYER AT

CITY FOOTBALL ACADEMY
SUMMER 2017 AGES 12-17

CITYFOOTBALL-PERFORMANCE.COM
 UPFROnT
UPFROnT WHY URUGUAY? Felipe Melo is making friends after
joining Palmeiras: The story that Im violent is made
> 2016 < by the media. But if I have to slap a Uruguayan, I will

OnE QUESTIOn QUIZ Can you cut

the (Colmans)
mustard and

wHICH CLUBS SPOnSOR? name the 20

teams with
these logos?

PUT THAT 1 2 3 4
PHOnE
AWAY!
When the fixtures
were released for
the new season,
Darlington boss
Martin Gray knew 5 6 7 8
he had a problem.
Unexpectedly, the
Quakers had been
given a match on
New Years Day

Answers 1) Southampton; 2) Juventus; 3) Chelsea; 4) Valencia; 5) Portsmouth; 6) Aston Villa; 7) Sheffield Wednesday; 8) Bayer Leverkusen; 9) Porto; 10) Tottenham;
11) Norwich; 12) Scarborough; 13) Dortmund; 14) Seattle Sounders; 15) Getafe; 16) Philadelphia Union; 17) West Ham; 18) West Brom; 19) Clydebank; 20) Arsenal
the same day Gray
was getting married,
with his assistant
Brian Atkinson down
to be his best man.
What did I think
when I realised it?
9 10 11 12
Sh*t! Gray tells FFT.
The wedding was
arranged a couple
ofyears back. Wed
paid the money.
Initial attempts to
rearrange the game
with Halifax were
rebuffed, but Gray
opted not to tell the
players until the day 13 14 15 16
of the game, when
he gave ateam talk
on the bus, which
informed them he
wouldnt be going.
Coach Sean Gregan
and chief scout Harry
Dunn guided Darlo to
a 2-2 draw, as Gray
got regular updates.
Between speeches 17 18 19 20
my phone was going
mad, and my wife
was saying, Will you
Words Chris Flanagan

leave it alone! Gray

laughs. It was like
having my right leg
cut off, but it was the
best day of my life.

20 March
February
2017 FourFourTwo.com
2016 FourFourTw
 THE WHEELS HAVE FALLEN OFF Fans of Championship
ide Blackburn Rovers had a scare en route to a match
UPFROnT
when the bus bizarrely shed its wheels on the motorway

FAn REQUIRED
VS READInG
PLAYER

THE nEW SAInTS

Footballs
Coming Out
Ian Brazier Neil Beasley, Seth
Managing director, 55 Burkett (Floodlit
Greg Draper Dreams, 9.99)
New Zealand striker, 27

RAnDOM CLUB PROFILE

DEPORTIVO
Q: Against which club Theres been much
did TNS begin their debate lately about
world-record run of the depressing truth:
27 victories in a row? the game in England
IB: Aberystwyth Town. has yet to create the
We won 2-1, I think. correct environment

MORON
GD: It was Aberystwyth for any player to feel
it seems like a very they are comfortable
long time ago now! coming out as gay.
Ive been asking
1-1 the gay community:
How can we provide
Q: In what year did some more support
the club change its if people want to be
name from Total No, theyre not really a bunch of idiots although fans threaten open regarding their
Network Solutions sexuality? the FAs
to The New Saints? players with guns and team-mates fight among themselves chairman Greg Clarke

W
IB: It was 2006. has recently asked.
GD: Hard one. 06? e wouldnt want to besmirch the fans often unveil a big banner of a cock, resembling Clarke would do

Fan vs Player interviews Richard Edwards; Moron words Tom Payne; Review Leo Moynihan
reputation of the good people of an incandescent Foghorn Leghorn, behind one goal well to pick up Neil
2-2 Argentina, but if you go to Buenos at the Estadio Nuevo Francisco Urbano. Beasleys book, that
Aires, youll find at least one Moron. The club launched the career of Roma winger Diego chronicles his own
Q: TNS beat Tre Penne in Thats the name of a 130,000-strong city lying in Perotti, but things have been tougher in recent times struggles as a gay
the qualifying rounds of the greater metropolitan area of the capital, and it when forward Javier Rossi spoke out about unpaid footballer, supporter
this seasons Champions is home to third-tier outfit Deportivo Moron. wages last season, fans ambushed him, threatening and club chairman.
League. Which country Formed in 1947, Moron have only spent one season him with a gun. Luckily, they didnt shoot or I would Beasleys honest,
do Tre Penne come from? in Argentinas top flight but theyre now managed by not be talking to you, Rossi said, displaying a strong funny and evocative
IB: I definitely know this a former Walsall striker, Walter Otta. He briefly played grasp of ballistics. The Argentine government called story gives us an idea
one. Its San Marino! at the Bescot in 1998, before deciding the Midlands off Morons next match just to be on the safe side. of life at his level of
GD: Ill go San Marino. was no place for an Otta. Fair enough, really. And theres been trouble on the pitch, too: in 2014, the game, with an
Morons club badge features a cockerel balancing on players Jonathan Paez and Gaston Montero both saw amateur club called
3-3 a ball, Spurs style: the bird is the symbol of the city and red after fighting each other. Morons. Birmingham Blaze,
and of the sort of
Q: Who is TNS all-time rubbish gay men
record goalscorer? would have to face
IB: Is it the man Im up in ignorant dressing
against, Greg Draper? FANS OFTEN UNVEIL A BANNER rooms and stadiums.
GD: Its Mike Wilde. But, at its core, the
OF A COCK WHICH RESEMBLES AN book is also a love
4-3
Player wins INCANDESCENT FOGHORN LEGHORN story, told with care
and compassion.

FourFourTwo.com March 2017 21

 UPFROnT

ASK A SILLY QUESTIOn

JEFF LEOPARD STELLInG

Skys Soccer Saturday presenter ponders Kamara karaoke and snaring Merson in a bear trap
Good morning Jeff. Your name is an
Interview Nick Moore Illustration Bill McConkey
Of all the unbelievable things that
anagram of Elf Jest Fling. Would you Chris Kamara has told you, which of
ever consider giving dwarf-throwing them has been the least believable?
a go, given a consenting little person? That he can actually sing. He claims he
Well, the Soccer Saturday team would has performed in front of 2,000 people
tell you that its me who is the dwarf or in Birmingham. I tell him, as a footballer,
elf. I get a lot of comments. I always maybe, Kammy. As a singer? I think not.
reply that five feet, seven-and-a-half During the 2002 World Cup, we all spent
inches is above the average height for the whole summer in karaoke bars, with
a male, in Guatemala. I was born in the Kammy belting out Brown Eyed Girl. He
wrong country. So far from me throwing has a better voice than me, or anyone
dwarves, it would be me getting thrown. on The X Factor. But thats all relative.
Which of your colleagues could What about your own super-fast
launch a dwarf the furthest? chatting voice, Jeff? Do you treat it
Phil Thompson would like to throw me like a precious instrument pre-show?
the most, but Matt Le Tissier would be I make sure that it is well lubricated on
the clear winner. Hes quite a big bloke. a Friday night! A couple of pints of John
Weve canvassed the Soccer Saturday Smiths and a couple of glasses of red
team about how a Lord of the Flies wine. It doesnt matter if I croak a bit.
desert island situation might pan out. I can always talk fast, unless Hartlepool
Paul Merson and Le Tiss both believe concede. That will always silence me.
that theyd prevail. Whats your take? Would you have been an auctioneer
Firstly, Merson would start betting on or a rap singer in an alternative life?
whod be the one to survive. Then Id I could have been an auctioneer, maybe
outwit them. Every Saturday I will lead although Id most likely have driven
them down the garden path and then a forklift truck. A rapper no. Although
jump on them, in a verbal sense. I could I can probably rap better than Honey G.
do the same thing while marooned on Who cant? FFT has recently acquired
the island, in the physical sense. Theyd some midnight fig handwash. Do you
all be in bear traps before they knew it. think scents have gone too far now?
Have you ever put on some ragtime Theyve gone completely mad. I mean,
music and walked around the house what is a midnight fig, anyway? What
while yelling out, Im Jazzy Jeff? does it mean? Im only vaguely familiar
I havent, and I am not a very jazzy with what a fig is. Even grapefruit it all
person. My kids would tell you that Im smells all right, I guess, but do you really
actually the opposite of anything jazzy. want to rub this stuff all over your body?
Music-wise, Im more into heavy metal. Amen. Its now midday. How many of
We could call you Jeff Leopard your five-a-day have you had so far?
I like old stuff Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull. None at all, Im afraid. Im not very good
Id be Heavy Jeff, rather than Jazzy Jeff. with fruits, to be honest. English fruit
Heavy Jeff has a good ring to it. But doesnt taste of fruit the way good
who is the greatest of all the Jeffs? European fruit does. I have only had
There arent many good Jeffs. My first a coffee so far today. Does that count?
name is actually Robert, and Id rather Nope. As a former host of Countdown,
have been a Rob. But I ended up as Jeff. whats the best word in the world?
Can I say a Geoff? I used to like Geoff They always used to insist that it was
Lewis, the jockey, when I was a kid. leotard when I was on Countdown.
But my favourite word is Beaujolais.
Tasty. Thanks for chatting, Heavy Jeff.
ED KAMMY CLAIMS THAT HE No problem. Take care.

IS CAN ACTUALLY SING. NOW, Sky Sports customers can watch Premier

R! I THATS UNBELIEVABLE League football, Lions rugby, F1, England

cricket, golf, tennis, NFL and more in 2017

22 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com

 UPFRONT SPELL OUT OF ACTION Rwandas FA have banned
the use of witchcraft after a player was accused
> 2016 < of casting a spell on his opponents during a game

BEWARE THE 0-0 DRAW

Think a goalless home leg sets you up
Confused? OK, then let us walk you through this.
InChampions League history, nine teams have
progressed after drawing 0-0 at home in the first
leg ofa post-Christmas knockout match; 21 have
been eliminated. So draw 0-0 at home, and youve
only got a 28 per cent chance of advancing. Look at
nicely in the Champions League? Well it CHANCES OF REACHING other scores and that compares to 32 per cent for
NEXT ROUND AFTER
really doesnt. Oddly, even 1-1 is better FIRST LEG AT HOME
1-1, and 70 per cent for 1-0. But b 0
than win 3-2: youve got a 17 per h h n.*

AWA
OALS YG
AY G OAL
AW S
100%
A LS
GO 2 0
AY
90%
AW
1-0

80%

1 70%
1
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60%
0

2 50%
2

AW
AY
40%

G
OA
L S

30%
OA

L
S
G

1 20% 1 3
AY

Shakhtar drew 0-0 at

9-2
AW

1- home but then lost 7-0

1 10%
3-1 away at Bayern (2015)
0%
17
2-

0 5-0 Milan 4-1 Deportivo

G
HOME OALS 4
13
(2004) is the only
5 0-
time a three-goal 0-4
lead from the first
4 0 0-1
leg wasnt enough
3 0-1 0-1 5
3
1-5* 1
0- 21-9
2 5 11-
2 23 0
1

0-
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0-1
OALS

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7-4
AY G

Schalke 1-6 Real

Madrid (2014)
AW

2-10

1 1

0
4-
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11-11

AY
GO
AL
S

5 3
13-3

4 6
Design Richard Scott

3 0
LS 2 1
GOA
AWAY

24 March
February
2017 FourFourTwo.com
2016 FourFourTwo.com
 UPFROnT

OnE DAY, TWO

HAT-TRICKS
SCOUTING REPORT
Think two games
inthree days was
Marco Asensio
CLUB Real Madrid
aheavy Christmas
POSITION Midfielder
period schedule?
The non-league
striker George
Gaskin played two VALUE
games on Boxing
Day, and netted
a hat-trick in both.
PHYSICAL
First he notched 40m TECHNICAL MENTAL
a treble for ninth-tier
Littlehampton in their
11am kick-off away
at Worthing, then Blessed with a rocket Despite only having six Possesses enough pace
drove 20 miles to sit FOOT of a left foot that saw months of consistent to motor away from an
on the subs bench him light up the early top-flight experience in opponent, and can carry
for fellow Sussex club weeks of the season LaLiga, the 21-year-old the ball at high speeds,

L
Horsham in their 2pm with some incredible has shown he isnt fazed too. He is not the most
encounter against strikes. Happy to carry by the big occasion, and imposing physically
Godalming in Ryman the ball at pace, with possesses some excellent standing at just under
League Division One smart close control, decision-making skills for 6ft tall and of average
South. Coming on for and he can drift infield his age. After aloan spell build but what he lacks
his Horsham debut HEIGHT from wide areas to craft with Espanyol, hes proved in terms of stature, he
15 minutes from the a chance for himself or that he can stay focused more than makes up
end, he scored three his team-mates. He is despite pulling on one of for with his speed and
more in an 8-1 win. technically gifted with the most famous shirts technical ability. Asensio
The Horsham boss 1.80m the balance and stature in world football, with offers little aerially, but
is my mate, and so required for navigating Asensios scoring record itis unlikely that anyone
he asked if Id help his way through various showing that he simply will capitalise on these
them out a bit over close-quarter situations, doesnt feel the pressure. weaknesses as hes not
Christmas because meaning that hes a real With the wise words of being selected to provide
Littlehampton didnt NATION player to keep an eye on Zinedine Zidane flowing the team with defensive
have many games, when Real Madrid are into his ears from the solidity. As anattacking
says Gaskin, who attempting to unlock touchline, he should midfield player, Asensio

ESP
signed for the club a resilient defence that continue to progress as does not appear to have
on dual-registration. is camped on the edge his exposure to first-team glaring weaknesses for
He didnt expect of their penalty area. action continues at pace. atricky player of his ilk.
me to be playing two
games in a day, but
I wanted to come on. AGE MANAGERS NOTES
Thats one way of
working off your big
lunch. I just did my
usual on Christmas
Day, he says. I had
21
a few beers and ate
loads of food. Maybe
I should be doing
Hat-tricks words Chris Evans Scouting report Simon Harrison

that more often.

WOULD P LY M O U T H A R G Y L E D O G J U M P E R
Has your dog been feeling a bit chilly during the winter? And has your

YOU BUY
poochalways had a soft spot for the Football Leagues southernmost
club, sitting faithfully by the television and barking encouragement at
Graham Carey & Co. during their recent FA Cup clash with Liverpool?

THIS?
Obviously, the answer to both of those questions is yes, so why not
buy it a knitted jumper with the words PAFC top dog on the back?
A bargain at just 14, its now available in small, medium and large.

.com March 2017 25

 SLITHER OFF Sydney FC fans pelted keeper Vedran
Janjetovic with rubber snakes while he was lining up
UPFROnT
against his old club for Western Sydney Wanderers

OLGA
THIS
THE FOX
Carlisle Uniteds mascot has a stuffed
SAMIR nASRIS
MOnTH In MUSIC
LEAGUE friend and its all down to John Peel

IS A I
f you want to see a fox carrying another fox
out onto a football pitch, then Brunton Park
is certainly the place for you.
vulpine being carried onto the pitch and put on the
California
centre spot before kick-off.
Confusingly, Carlisle introduced another Olga the
Vacation

DODDLE Carlisle Uniteds bizarre tradition stems back

to John Peel not the famous radio DJ, but a revered
huntsman from Cumbrian folklore. Almost a century
Fox, a new giant furry mascot, to carry original Olga
out onto the playing surface.
If the 7ft 1in mascot has a weird grin on his face, he
The Game,
feat. Snoop
Dogg & Xzibit
ago, when a chap called Colonel Salkeld caught a live is probably remembering his fondest moment. When
fox during a hunt, Peels story inspired him to send it Oldhams mascot, Chaddy the Owl, came to Brunton
Its all been a stroll toCarlisle and the local football club. Park, he jumped on one of the caretakers bikes, fell
L.A. Woman
for the Portuguese The fox that was named offand broke his ankle! Olga, aka Raymond Tinnion, The Doors
side Canelas 2010 Olga, after Salkelds young tells FFT. It was great.
so far this season. daughter later died, and Poor Chaddy. Still, at Gimme Gimme
The fourth-tier club was stuffed and mounted least he managed to Shock Treatment
stormed into a huge on a plinth. So began the leave Carlisle without
14-point lead at the tradition of the deceased getting stuffed, eh?
The Ramones
top of Portos elite
division, even though Intravenous
they won just five Saint Saviour
of their opening 17
scheduled fixtures.
Theres a good reason
Drip
for that: 11 of those Young Joc,
fixtures didnt take feat. Lil Wayne
place, because their
opponents have been Pump It Up
forfeiting the games.
The team features
Elvis Costello
five members of the & The Attractions
Super Dragoes, an
FC Porto ultras group, Night Nurse
and their aggressive Gregory Isaacs
playing style has seen
a growing list of clubs
refuse to take them
Damn, Sam
on preferring to pay Ryan Adams
a750 fine instead.
Portugal words Felipe Rocha; Mascot Daniel Steeden; Month in music Si Hawkins

We know theyre Hacked To Pieces

afraid of us, Canelas Six Feet Under
club president Bruno
Canastro tells FFT.
The Needle and

SHALL WE
But their fear should
be only on the pitch, FESTIVE HECKLE FOR the Damage Done
as weve managed to JERMAINE EASTER Neil Young
be better than them STOCKPORT COUNTY FANS

SInG A SOnG
with asmall budget. Deep, Deep
But Canelas got an YOURE NOT AS GOOD Trouble
early January surprise,
having to play a first AS CHRISTMAS! Bart Simpson

FOR YOU?
league fixture since
October. Struggling YOURENOT AS GOOD Four Years
Candal agreed to turn
up, and actually won.
ASCHRISTMAS! Jon McLaughlin
Brave men...

FourFourTwo.com March 2017 27

 UPFROnT

INTERVIEW

OSCAR
The 25-year-old explains why
swapping Chelsea for China
could aid his Brazil chances

You have joined Shanghai SIPG for 52 million

what was it like when you arrived in the city?
There were many supporters waiting for me, it
was a special day in my life. My first impression
was that Chinese people are crazy about football.
It was my first time in Shanghai and it is a nice
city. It reminds me of New York in many ways.

Why did you opt to swap Chelsea for Shanghai?

I had an offer from Chinese football last year as
well, but I didnt want to talk further at that time.
This time I listened to their offer and the project
sounds perfect. In every conversation we had,
they were coming with an even more attractive
offer. The financial aspect was important, yes,
but its not all about money. I am not going by
myself, I have my wife and kids with me, so the
city had to be nice. I wasnt playing that much
for Chelsea recently as well, so when I heard
about Shanghais interest I was happy to go.

When Axel Witsel moved to China, he said it

was because the wages will look after his
family for years. You were reportedly offered
400,000 a week is your family a factor, too?
Obviously every employee would prefer to work
for the company that pays you the best. Money
MONEY IS IMPORTANT,
is important, of course, but the lifestyle in China
and the clubs project were also crucial aspects. BUT THE LIFESTYLE IN
Does it help that youd already made a big move CHINA AND THE CLUBS
Interview Felipe Rocha

from Brazil to London, so you know how to adapt?

I think so. When youre a young boy in Brazil, you
dream of going to Europe. Everything I experienced
PROJECT WERE CRUCIAL
there will be helpful now. Im not the boy who went
to England five years ago. Im much more mature.

3 CAREER
HIGHLIGHTS
Final hat-trick
Hits three as Brazil win the 2011
Under-20 World Cup final against
Portugal only Geoff Hurst had
previously notched a World Cup
final hat-trick, in any age group.
Opening-night strike
Scores in injury time as Brazil
beat Croatia 3-1 in the opening
game of the 2014 World Cup in
Sao Paulo. He is later included in
overall team of the tournament.
Champion of England
Helps Chelsea to secure the
League Cup and Premier League
title in 2014-15, having already
lifted the Europa League in his
first season at Stamford Bridge.

28 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com

 17 UPFROnT
GOAL FEST Torquay Uniteds festive double-header
with Forest Green produced 17 goals in six days
they won 4-3 at home, and then drew 5-5 away

How hard was it to leave Chelsea?

Very hard. I played there for five years
and lived so many nice moments with
the club. I have a lot of respect for all
the supporters and the team. Beyond
that, I knew people would be quite
surprised to see a 25-year-old player
leaving the Premier League to go and
play in China, but I cannot make life
decisions based on what others think.

People have said 25 is too early to

move to China is that a fair view?
I can understand their point. The best
football is played in Europe, no doubt.
But I just want people to respect my
decision. I didnt stay only one season
in Europe, I did many things there and
played for one of the biggest clubs in
Europe. One day I might come back,
who knows? But now Im convinced
I took the best decision. Ill have fun.

Did you speak to Chelsea boss

Antonio Conte about the move?
Conte is a nice guy. He respected my
decision and understood I wanted to
play more regularly. When he arrived
at Chelsea, I told him there were clubs
interested in me. He said I was part of

GREAT
his plans and so I decided to stay. But
things change quickly and I soon lost
my place in the team, which is quite

GOALS
normal. There were some offers from
European sides too, but some things

Matt Le Tissier
just didnt work for all parties. Then

RETOLD
the Shanghai offer appeared and it
was perfect for both me and Chelsea.

Youll be working with Hulk as well vs Blackburn Rovers, Premier League, 1994
as manager Andre Villas-Boas. Did
they make the club more attractive?
BFDS BFDSBF DSA BFDS
Yes, and theres also Ricardo Carvalho
and Elkeson. Ive discovered a huge You know youve scored a i g G f ed his way around

GFNSNBGF SNGFS BGFS

level of professionalism at this club
much more than I expected, to be
when your opponents fan
and applaud it. Such was
p a f efore unleashing
a thunderous

NGFDSNGDFN GFDS NGFS

honest. Shanghai are much more
organised than many big clubs in
ability of Southampton le
Matt Le Tissier to conjure
35-yard shot.
Both the power
up something spectacula
!MIH TEET TEG I EPOH
Europe and they want to get bigger. a d h trajectory were
Attendances are around 30,000 and there was more than one t f ld Southampton
the board expects them to increase occasion when he would t i l in the Rovers goal.
this season. Im confident we can do experience just that. T f goal of my career,
great things and try to be champions. I can remember scoring L i ll FFT. h ly disappointment
goal in front of the Kop at f h n a defeat, which
Paulinho, Gil and Renato Augusto Liverpool and the Liverpool t k l l b f h l ss off it at the time.
Interview Andy Greeves; Illustration German Aczel

were selected for the most recent fans applauded me for tha N d h h i strike that I look
Brazil squad while playing in China. says the man known simpl b k h ount of fondness.
Can you get a recall to the squad? Le God by the Saints faithf L effort was named
Nowadays, people have access to all then it happened at Blackb as M h f h ys Goal of the Season
leagues in the world and there are With Southampton losing dh b l d d list of the top 10
other guys in the Selecao playing for soon-to-be-champions Bla kb l f h es first 20 years.
Chinese clubs. I dont feel Im hidden on a chilly afternoon in Dec ill k d b h goal when Im
here. To be picked, first you must be 1994, Le Tiss collected a sh o k il i s. And usually
playing. I wasnt playing in England, pass from Tommy Widdring th ll b f ll db t message from
so if I play more here then I might Moving the ball instantly fro Ti l i hi g like, Youre not
be closer to being selected now than his left foot onto his right, t s ll b h f k ng goal, are you?!
when I was while at Chelsea, right?

FourFourTwo.com March 2017 29

 UPFROnT
UPFROnT RECORD Portos Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa has become the
longest-serving club president ever. His 35-year, 12,703-day
> 2016 < reign surpasses Santiago Bernabeus tenure at Real Madrid
THE
TALKInG
BRITISH MAnAGERS
POInT
Rory Smith is a FourFourTwo
columnist and chief football
correspondent at the New York
Times. This month: why bosses
need to adapt to the real world
T
here was a point in January when you started to wonder if Gary Rowett had
what might be called Alan Curbishley Syndrome.
Over the course of a couple of months, whenever a Premier League manager
lost his job, Rowetts name appeared as a possible replacement. He was never
the outright favourite that would always be some old stager, or an exotic
import with a nice line in V-neck jumpers and slicked-back hair but the former
Derby, Birmingham and Leicester defender was always there, waiting patiently
in the wings, at the sort of odds that are worth a flutter but wont make you rich.
He was linked with Crystal Palace and Swansea just after he had been sacked
harshly by Birmingham; a week or so later, when Mike Phelan was dismissed by
Illustrations David Mahoney, Nate Kitch
Hull, he was under consideration again (for a few hours, at least before Marco Silva
rocked up at the KCOM Stadium to take over the team).
The same thing used to happen with Curbishley. For years after he left West Ham
United the second, and by some distance least successful, of his two managerial
postings Curbishley was a regular feature of bookmakers lists and newspapers
gossip columns whenever a new vacancy popped up.
He never got any of the jobs, obviously. He was just a name, idly tossed around,
included just in case. It did not seem to matter that he had not been a manager
since 2008, and in most other industries would long since have been forced to try
30 March
February
2017 FourFourTwo.com
2016 FourFourTwo.com
CLUB OWNERS GO ABROAD SO
OFTEN BECAUSE DOING WELL IN
LIGUE 1 IS A MUCH BETTER GUIDE
THAN DOING WELL IN LEAGUE ONE
a career change. It was a case of, we had better
mention Curbs, just in case.
Rowett is not anywhere near as unfathomable,
of course: he is only 42, just at the beginning of
his managerial span, and has done some fine
work at Burton Albion and St Andrews, defying
straitened circumstances in both cases. He has
even got a fashionable beard, too. His reputation
in the game is riding high.
More than that, Rowett has now become the
standard-bearer for that most endangered of
species: the young British manager. It is his
name that has been mentioned in the howl of
outrage that erupts every time a Premier League
club, having relieved their manager of his duties,
chooses to look abroad for a replacement. What
about Rowett? became, essentially, a synonym
for what about our homegrown managers?
It is easy to see why: it is rarely mentioned
whenever we bemoan the lack of opportunities
for native managers, but the whole argument is
a straw man: there are, put simply, not actually
that many British coaches around, not ones who
would be eligible for the sorts of Premier League
jobs that often come up.
There are some, of course, who would most
likely not wish to take over at a team struggling
near the bottom of the top flight: Eddie Howe at
Bournemouth, Sean Dyche at Burnley, even Chris Hughton at Brighton. Why would
they trade in a club on the up for another one on the slide?
Some will never have that choice, destined to toil away in relative obscurity. Many
of the others are not yet eligible: Garry Monk needs a full campaign with Leeds to
restore his lustre, but many outfits might feel that success with Barnsley does not
necessarily mean Paul Heckingbottom, for example, is ready to join the top flight.
That is why club owners go abroad so often: not because they are all in the grip
of a fevered exoticism, but because doing well in Ligue 1 is a better guide to how
you will do in the Premier League than doing well in League One. Coaches of elite
teams do not need to know how to manage in England. They need to know how
to manage in the elite, how to deal with top-level players.
By the same token, former players who are busily taking their badges, earning
their qualifications, are not the most attractive proposition: they might know the
theory, but they have not yet shown that they can put it into practice. Its far too
much of a risk to trust them with a survival battle worth upwards of 100 million.
Far better, then, to seek some proven talent from abroad.
If this all sounds like the death knell of the British coach, it isnt. Or, at least, it
doesnt have to be, not if British coaches can adapt to the world they actually
live in, rather than pining for some mythical golden age. The Premier League is
a rainbow nation; it does not matter where the players were born, and it does
not matter where any of the managers come from, either.
Accept that and do something about it: instead of limiting your horizons,
expand them. If Premier League teams prefer coaches with top-flight experience
abroad, instead of bemoaning the unfairness of it, go and get it.
If youre so much better qualified than all of these foreigners, then it should be
a piece of cake to land a job in Germany or Holland or France, and make a success
of it. Do not expect attention to come your way. Go out and seek it. You want work
in the Premier League because it attracts the very best from around the globe. So
why should you be an exception? Waiting is not working. Look at Alan Curbishley.
 WIN Adidas X 16+ Purechaos FG boots
for Star Letter* and Trusox for Spine Li ,
UPFROnT
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TWEETS
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was my favourite dab of the
FourFourTwo season. He said: What are
you on about? I said: For the
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STAR

@FrankMSinclair

LETTER I would love to go on ITV

JUVE GREATS
Having read your feature
on dynamic duos in FFT
272, I cant help but feel
that you missed a trick
by omitting the Juventus
pair of David Trezeguet
THE LURE OF MOVIES
Reading your Men of the Year article on
Cristiano Ronaldo in FFT 271, it made me
wonder how many world-class players
Chase Celebrity Special
just need to work out
how I become a celebrity.
@Pirlo_official
Fireball!
Suddenly a football clubs own transport
facilities are more appealing for fans, as
it may be the fastest way to the match,
meaning that the club can rake in more

and Alessandro Del Piero.
In 10 years together at
Juventus, they scored
a combined 346 goals
and netted 52 between
them in the 2001-02
campaign when they
overtook Inter Milan in
the table on the final
day of the season to
lift the title. Apparently,
Hector Cuper still has
nightmares about it!
Robert Ramsey, via email
from footballs modern era have got the
desire to move into management at the
end of their careers? How many will stick
at it rather than take up offers from TV,
movies and sponsorship deals? Will we
ever see the same calibre of player such
as Johan Cruyff, Frank Rijkaard or even
Zinedine Zidane guide clubs to the peak
of world football as a manager again?
Ross Davidson, Edinburgh
GROUNDS OUT OF TOWN
It was on a cold December afternoon,
halfway through a steak and kidney pie
in the middle of nowhere, that all the
advantages of a stadium out of town
occurred to me. For us fans, they make
the matchday journey easier, with wider
roads and less non-match traffic. They
also benefit the club in a different way
to stadiums in the middle of the town.
cash for each match. Whats not to like?
Gus Goulding, via email
PUT FAITH IN LOCALS
I cant help but notice that the amount
of English players in the Premier League
has really been diminishing, and all of
the big teams are reverting to foreign
stars. Take Man City, for example, their
star players are Sergio Aguero and
David Silva. At quite a few clubs, such
as Tottenham, there are some great
homegrown players, and it would be
brilliant if this could happen more at
great English clubs like City as well. It
would make the Premier League more
entertaining if big teams fielded local
players Marcus Rashford and Harry
Kane are great examples that this can
and should happen more in the future.
Isa Madrid, Oakland, USA
* If the current product is out of stock, a similar model of equal value will be sent instead
@craig_chis
Take That will be playing
Swansea in June. Have to
fancy them for an away win.
@RyanDarby
Great interview with Jimmy
Bullard, think there could be
a future for him in coaching
if he can build his way up.
@Charlie26Adam
Looking to make some
commercial property
investments in Stoke,
can anyone help?

WHATS
On YOUR
MInD THIS
MOnTH DYCHE PLAUDITS
Sean Dyche really has
done a brilliant job at
CALM DOWN, CHRIS...
Is Chris Sutton always so
angry, or is his punditry
RODGERS RESPECT
Its great to see Brendan
Rodgers redeeming his
LEEDS ON THE UP
Things are finally looking
good at Leeds - Garry
BOB HAD IT TOUGH
The way Bob Bradley was
ridiculed at Swansea
Burnley - keeping them style just for the effect? reputation at Celtic. For Monk is making us into wasnt right American
up this season would be Surely no one can be so all but a year at Liverpool, a top team. This could players are accepted,
a massive achievement. permanently furious. his record is very good. be the year we go up. why not managers?
Tony Connell Edward Burton Karen Stuart Tom Leighton George Kauffman
st ugg g, so t ey e bee c eat g
LAST MONTHS SPINE LINE: Barmby, Boateng, Dawson, Garcia, Hunt, McShane, Vennegoor of Hesselink are the players Jimmy Bullard scolded during his
infamous Phil Brown celebration, says Joe Baker on Twitter. Well done Joe, youve won a pair of Trusox. Entering Spine Line via Twitter? Include #FFTSpineLine
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 ROnALDInHO
RONALDI
His constant desire to entertain made him footballs ultimate cult icon. Now, Ronaldinho invites FFT over to his place
to explain how he inspired the new generation, what hes planning to do next, and why he wishes he was Dele Alli
Words Chris Flanagan Interview Mauro Fernandes Additional reporting Felipe Rocha, Emanuele Giulianelli Photography Gabo Morales
F
ourFourTwo is in Rio de Janeiro, a stones throw from the 2016
Olympic Park, and weve just received an offer we cant refuse.
Would you like some of my chocolate cake? Ronaldinho asks,
directing his trademark grin towards us rather than the camera,
midway through his FFT photoshoot.
Chocolate cake is appealing enough on any occasion. When
its being offered to you by one of the greatest players of all time
well, dont mind if we do, thanks Ronnie
Soon were sitting alongside the fun-loving legend, feasting on bolo
no pote, otherwise known as cake in a pot. Its a product sold by his
very own sister-in-law, and tasty it is, too.
We are in Ronaldinhos swish apartment on the outskirts of Brazils
most famous city, almost 20 miles west of Copacabana. But if all this
sounds like a quiet retreat, it isnt, not when you consider the plethora
of musical instruments dotted around his home, including a host of
acoustic guitars and pretty much every kind of drum imaginable.
Ronaldinho has been dancing to the beat of his own drum since
the very start of his football career a career that has been just as
much about joie de vivre as joga bonito.
That perhaps is the biggest reason hes adored the world over, not
just in Barcelona and Brazil, and why he inspired a generation. He
wasnt just a truly great footballer he looked like he enjoyed being
atruly great footballer, too. If few players have been quite as much
fun to watch, even fewer have had quite as much fun being watched.
There was this guy from Athletic Bilbao, he was kicking me for the
whole match, Ronaldinho grins as he tells FFT about a game during
his days at the Camp Nou. So I flipped the ball over him three times!
The grin quickly turns to laughter, as he thinks back to that moment
in 2004 when Carlos Gurpegui was embarrassed by not just three flicks
in 90 minutes, but three in five dizzying seconds. Unlucky mate, better
luck next time, eh? Few would have been capable of such a trick. Even
fewer would have actually dared to try it.
34 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com
Ronaldinhos skills dazzled in a way that no one had seen before. Not
even Lionel Messi, his glorious successor at Barcelona, can snatch the
Brazilians crown as the king of the showboat. Oh, and he also won the
World Cup and the Champions League, too.
Ronaldinho wants to make one thing clear, though. He may be 36
now, and he may have spent the entirety of 2016 without a club, after
leaving Fluminense in September 2015, but his career is not over just
yet. At the time of FFTs visit, the plan is to find a new club and play
until the end of 2017. I always have a lot of offers, he explains.
SCORInG In THE SMALL HOURS
Ronaldinho spent five years at Barcelona, but theres one moment he
remembers better than any other. Naturally, it took place at 1.24am.
It wasnt uncommon for him to be wide awake at that time, rather
than quietly tucked up in bed, but on this occasion his exploits in the
early hours werent part of any raucous partying. Instead he was in
the middle of the Camp Nou, in front of 80,000 spectatorse, making
his home debut for the Catalan behemoths.
The most memorable match was the first one, he tells FFT of that
moment in 2003, shortly after his move from Paris Saint-Germain. It
started at 0.01am. There was some fight with the federation and we
had to play Sevilla in a full Camp Nou at that time on a weekday. It
was the first and only time that I played at that time. But it was no
problem thats my favourite time of day!
The bizarre kick-off time had threatened to take all the headlines
Barcelonas attempts to switch the game from Wednesday to Tuesday
were refused; in a fit of pique, they decided to kick off at the earliest
possible time on Wednesday to prove a point.
When the clock reached 1.24am, midway through the second half,
the clubs latest signing picked up the ball inside his own half and
headed for goal drifting past one opponent, stepping inside another,
before unleashing a hammer of a shot from 30 yards that crashed off
 O
ROnALDInHO

NH
Fou ou o.co Octobe 0 63
 ROnALDInHO
the underside of the bar and into the net.
ABarcelona legend was born.
I scored a screamer and the stadium just
went mad, is how he succinctly sums it up,
the memories flooding back.
Ronaldinho out scoring until the small
hours, read one of the local newspaper
headlines the following day.
By proving a success at Barcelona, he was
following in the footsteps of one of his heroes.
Ronaldo had wowed fans with 47 goals in his
solitary season with the club six years earlier.
In 2002, a year before Ronaldinho first set
foot in Catalonia, the pair had lifted the
World Cup together in Japan.
I played for Brazil at such a fantastic time,
Ronaldinho says. I was always playing with
my heroes. It was a very short time until my
heroes became my team-mates, my friends.
Each time I was called to play with them, it
was another dream come true.
Even now, I am always star-struck. Each
time I kiss Ronaldo on the cheek, each time
Ihug Romario, each time I see Rivaldo, each
time that Im in the same place with Roberto
Carlos or Cafu, it is always very emotional for
me. They will always be heroes.
If Ronaldo was known for having a few
tricks and flicks himself, then Ronaldinho
never attempted to outdo one of his idols
for skills on thetraining field.
I never even dared to do that, he says
solemnly. I have the utmost respect for
him Ronaldo is now our national team
president. To be friends with him is one of
the greatest honours for me. It was always
very natural between us both.
Ronaldinho was only a year into his senior
career at Gremio when he joined Ronaldo,
Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos and Cafu on the field
in his first competitive match for Brazil, as
asubstitute against Venezuela at the 1999
Copa America. Within four minutes he had
received a pass from Cafu and flicked the
ballover the head of a defender (just once
was enough this time) before firing home
abrilliantly impudent goal. Weeks later, he
was the player of the tournament at the
Confederations Cup in Mexico.
He was a PSG player by the time the 2002
World Cup came around. While Ronaldo and
Rivaldo dominated the headlines in the early
games, with Ronaldinho scoring a solitary
penalty against China, few will forget how he
stole the show in the quarter-final against
England. First the dribble from halfway, the
stepover to bamboozle Ashley Cole and the
pass to Rivaldo for Brazils first goal. Then the
40-yard free-kick to flummox David Seaman.
It looked like it was going to be a cross,
butit was totally intentional, Roberto Carlos
told FFT years later. Wed seen that Seaman
always took a little step forward and that he
mightbe a bit vulnerable to being chipped.
Ronaldinho had told us all exactly what he
wanted to do during half-time.
Ronaldinho got sent off in that game, too,
but it hardly mattered by then. He was back
when Brazil were crowned world champions.
36 March
February
2017 FourFourTwo.com
2016 FourFourTwo.com
I PLAYED FOR BRAZIL AT SUCH
A FAnTASTIC TIME. I WAS ALWAYS
PLAYInG WITH ALL OF MY HEROES
DESTInATIOn CAMP nOU
I dont want to be disrespectful, began Roy
Keane a sure sign that he was about to be
disrespectful. But any player who does not
want to sign for Manchester United needs
to have their head examined.
The player he was talking about at the time
was Ronaldinho. The Brazilian had seemed
destinedfor Old Trafford in the summer of
2003 David Beckham was supposed to go
to Bara, with Ronaldinho moving from PSG
to replace him at United. But Beckham chose
Real Madrid instead, and Barcelona needed to
find themselves another star.
That summer, Joan Laporta was embroiled
in abattle to become Baras new president.
His running mate was a certain Sandro Rosell,
who knew Ronaldinho from his days working
as a Nike executive in his native Brazil. Once
Laporta had been elected, and with Beckham
now bound for the Santiago Bernabeu, Rosell
went all out to bring in Ronaldinho, and the
forward opted for Barcelona.
Alex Fergusons excursion to Paris to meet
theplayer and his agent his elder brother,
Roberto Assis ultimately wasnt enough
toseal a deal. Weeks later, United brought
in ayoung Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldinho has certainly never regretted his
decision it never particuarly bothered him
that Beckham had been the Catalans first
choice that summer, not him.
I never even thought of that, he says now.
Yes, I could have played for another club, but
I went to Barcelona because of my friendship
with Sandro Rosell. I could have played for
Manchester United. My brother was already
studying what I would do after PSG. I was
a World Cup winner then, and that opened
a lot of doors. But when Sandro was elected,
I had the chance to see the club and the city,
and the choice became easy.
While United were champions of England,
Barcelona had finished sixth in the previous
season, behind Valencia, Celta Vigo, Deportivo
La Coruna, Real Sociedad and champions Real
Madrid. But with Joan Laporta now taking over,
Ronaldinho was joining a club with a massive
determination to improve.
Everything changed at Barcelona, he says.
It was in all our heads to make a different
Barcelona, to mount the challenge to the
Galacticos and do it with a very young team
to change the story. I was never worried.
Never worried, despite the fact that the
Blaugrana won only six of their opening 18
leaguegames in his debut season at the
Camp Nou. Just after the turn of the year,
they were down in 12th.
Even then, he never feared that he may
have made the wrong choice. No, it was
never the case, he explains. Being in that
team was a huge pleasure from the start to
the end. Everyone had the same mindset.
We were sure it was just a matter of time
for things to come together. We felt that the
project was going in the right direction. Not
one player in that team had any doubts we
didnt feel pressure. Seriously. Not a bit. I was
Top Ronnie with too happy playing for the same team that my
Brazil team-mates heroes had all played for.
Ronaldo (left) and As it turned out, Barcelona won 15 of their
Roberto Carlos at final 20 league games to rocket up the table,
a 2004 friendly coming second to Valencia.
against Ireland Frank Rijkaard, appointed as boss shortly
Above Kissing the before Ronaldinhos arrival, was starting to
World Cup trophy make his mark at the club.
with Rivaldo after It was wonderful to work alongside him,
victory in 2002 Ronaldinho says of the Dutchman. He is
the coach that I served the longest, the best
coach that I had. I could spend an entire day
saying good things about him. Not only was
he a great player, but he also understood
what makes players tick. He made it a real
pleasure for us to play for him. I was happy
to go to training. We wanted to train for him,
to play for him, to be with our team-mates.
He made everything special.
Barcelona had been 18 points behind Real
Madrid at the halfway stage of that debut
campaign, having finished behind their arch
rivals in each of the three previous seasons.
They were still seven points behind them
with five games to go when they travelled
tothe Bernabeu in late April 2004, a place
where they had not won for seven years.
TheGalacticos dominance appeared to be
continuing when Santi Solari put Real Madrid
ahead. But Patrick Kluivert quickly equalised
and then with four minutes to go, Ronaldinho
collected the ball 30 yards out looking up,
 ROnALDInHO

hespotted Xavis run into the penalty area

and pickedhim out with the most sumptuous
of scoopedpasses. What a pass it was, Xavi
told FFT lastyear the Spaniard did the rest,
and Barcelona triumphed 2-1.
It just happened, it was all so very quick,
Ronaldinho says of his famous assist. It was
an unusual attack because Xavi was upfront.
We even waited for the linesman because we
didnt know whether he was offside or not.
But there was a very big change after that
game. When we arrived back at the airport,
you would have thought we had won the title
there were just so many people there at the
airport. Nobody expected that.
Xavi credited that result as the start of what
he called the Barcelona rise, the result that
gave them the belief to become the best in
the world. By winning at the Bernabeu that
night and then finishing above Madrid, the
balance of power had shifted.
When Valencia soon departed the scene,
fading very quickly following Rafael Benitezs
departure for Liverpool, it left Barcelona and
Real Madrid to battle it out. Now it was Bara
who were dominant over their rivals, and it
resulted in two consecutive league crowns.
Ronaldinho a player who Real Madrid
decided against buying during his PSG days,
reportedly because one of the clubs hierarchy
said he was so ugly hed sink you as a brand
was playing such a pivotal role that he was
named FIFA World Player of the Year in both
2004 and 2005. A month before clinching the
second of those prizes came his finest Clasico
moment, usurping even his brilliant 2004
assist and by some distance.
Sergio Ramos probably still has nightmares
about it. The young defender was playing in
his first Clasico when Ronaldinho ran from
inside his own half of the Bernabeu pitch,
dancing past Ramos and stepping inside
Ivan Helguera to score a wondrous goal.
Seventeen minutes later Ronaldinho went
on another run, skipping past Ramos again
before finding the net once more. Virtually
unstoppable, is how the Madrid hero has
since described Ronaldinho, and even that
seemed an understatement on that night
at least, Ronnie was completely unstoppable.
Barcelona won 3-0, and Ronaldinho received
a standing ovation from the fans.
I value that a lot more now than I did back
then, hesays, when asked what the applause
of the Bernabeu meant to him. At the time
I did not give it much importance because
I had to think of the following game. But
now... very few players get such an honour
there. Today, I am three times happier when
I remember that. Many of my friends send me
videos of those goals. They know that I dont
look for my goals online I only look for the
videos of the nutmegs I did!
MAnY OF MY FRIEnDS SEnD ME VIDEOS
Theres a story that has been doing the
rounds recently about that match. It was
astory thats been attributed to Andres
OF MY GOALS... I OnLY LOOK FOR
Iniestas autobiography, suggesting that
Ronnie had called the midfielder earlier on VIDEOS OF THE nUTMEGS I DID!
the day of the game to explain that hed
 ROnALDInHO
agreed to join Real Madrid at the end of that
season for a massive pay rise. Supposedly
Ronnie had made a late-night phone call
to each of his team-mates with this news,
asking them not to divulge it to anyone.
So the story goes, before kick-off at the
Bernabeu, Ronaldinho revealed it had all
been a joke but told his team-mates that
the fact none of them had betrayed his
secret proved their bond as a group, and
proved they were ready to win.
I dont remember that, Ronnie says, and
indeed the writer who produced the English
translation of Iniestas autobiography had
previously confirmed that, sadly, no such
story was in the book. The tale wasnt true.
But it is true that I was always a prankster,
Ronaldinho adds. I would often do things
to motivate my team-mates in the dressing
room, especially against Real Madrid. I had
to, because thats a game that put on the
pitch all of the best players in the world, and
many of the best in history. I remember one
goal Iscored from a free-kick in their wall
they had Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo,
David Beckham Playing in the Clasico, you
needed a bit of stress relief.
FFT is curious for details of these pranks, but
Ronnie is keeping schtum. Ive seen and been
in a lot of pranks, but what happens in Rome
stays in Rome! he cackles.
WE nEVER DOUBTED WED BEAT ARSEnAL
It was in Paris, not Rome, that Ronaldinho
helped Barcelona to win the Champions
Leaguein 2006, only the second time that
the Blaugrana had been crowned European
champions in their history.
We just couldnt stop winning that season,
it was addictive, he says. Each year after
I arrived, we brought new good players. As
Barcelona got stronger financially, the
team flowed better. Everyone was in
a great moment at the same time, it
was just so easy. Deco only gave me good
passes, Samuel Etoo knew what he had to
do every time. No one ever wanted difficult
solutions. In that campaign we were driven.
We thought we could beat anyone.
Back in the city where he had spent two
years with PSG, Barcelona didnt have it all
their own way in the final against Arsenal,
even after Jens Lehmanns early dismissal.
SolCampbell headed the north Londoners
into a half-time lead but Etoo levelled with
14 minutes to go, then right-back Juliano
Belletti emerged as the unlikely hero.
We never doubted we would win that
match, Ronaldinho insists. Even when we
were losing, we knew they were one man
down and that it would cost them. We just
figured that we didnt need to rush, we just
had to play our football. It could have been
more than 2-1 we kept it at that score so
that Belletti could say he scored the decider!
That was his only goal for Barcelona.
We had a massive party in Paris after the
game. I had many friends there so I went to
celebrate with them, and some team-mates
came along. Everyone brought their families,
so some were celebrating with them after
our party, too. It was a great night.
Lionel Messi had missed that final through
injury, but his reputation was already on the
rise. Ronaldinho was his inspiration.
Hes a phenomenon, an 18-year-old Messi
told FFT back in 2005. Ronaldinho gives me
alot of advice and praises me permanently.
Hes got an ability to control the ball which
makes me jealous. At any moment during
agame he can do something special to win
it and thats what I must aim to do.
Messi soon learned to do just that, and with
a little bit of help from Ronnie. Everyone saw
he was fantastic from the very first day, says
Ronaldinho, who provided the
assist for the Argentines very first
Barcelona goal, against Albacete.
Below Savouring I wanted to do with him what others had
European Cup done with me: Iwanted to help him in that
success in 2006 first-team moment, because the talent was
after overcoming already obvious. When I started at Gremio
Arsenal at the Ihad experienced players helping me my
Stade de France friends Beto and Guilherme. At Bara it was
Carles Puyol, mybig brother, my eternal
captain who is always with me at charity
events. I wanted togive back.
Ronaldinho scored 21 times in 32 league
games in 2006-07, his best La Liga haul, but
Barcelona lost out on the title to Madrid. The
two rivals finished level on points and Bara
had a goal difference 19 goals better than
Los Blancos, but it was Real who had the
superior head-to-head record.
It would mark the start of the decline for
Ronaldinho and Rijkaard. As Messi grew ever
greater, Ronaldinhos performances began to
wane. Amid reports that he was starting to
focus too much on partying and not enough
on the football, he scored only eight times in
2007-08 as Bara finished third, 10 points
behind Villarreal, 18 off Real.
Rijkaard departed the Camp Nou during that
summer, with his seat filled byPep Guardiola.
By July, Ronaldinho had packed his bags too,
bound for the San Siro in Milan at the grand
old age of 28 although he insists that there
was no truth in the speculation that Barca
were not happy about his lifestyle, and that
he was leading Messi astray.
 PrESEnTS

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Fast. Clever. Deadly. Deceptive. The modern day striker has to be many things to make it to the top.
FourFourTwo Films gets inside the mind of a striker, interviewing masters of the art and the men who
mark them, including Jermain Defoe, Jesse Lingard, Michael Owen, Martin Keown and Ledley King

OUT On FEBRUARY 10 / YOUTUBE.COM/FOURFOURTWO

 ROnALDInHO
Not at all, he insists. I really wanted
something different, thats why I decided
to leave. I still have many friends there, and
they have always been very generous to me.
Before I left Barcelona, Pep and I spoke.
Hewanted me to stay, but I wanted to try
something different, and thats all. Pep and
I havea very good friendship. Not only Pep,
buthis brother is a friend as well we have
known each-other since they were working
atthe academy. Weve always been friends
if I had played under Guardiola, it would
not have been much different.
But I chose to leave at that moment. Me
and Frank Rijkaard arrived together, and we
left together. Rijkaard left because he wanted
to have a different life he has a very low
profile, a quiet lifestyle and he is happy like
that. When Isee Barcelona today, I still see
a lot of that team that we created. The style
is the same ball possession, a special player
out wide, it is not so different.
That Ronaldinho was central to the Catalan
clubs metamorphosis is something that still
gives the Brazilian lots of pride.
Sure, he says. Those years were a defining
moment for my career and for the club. Since
then the football has only got better, and we
deserve some credit for that. I was very happy
at Barcelona, just as I was also happy being
a World Cup winner in 2002 and I still think
there is more happiness to come.
At the time of our interview, where that
happiness comes from was not finalised,
40 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com
PEP WAnTED ME TO STAY AT
BARCELOnA... BUT I WAnTED
TO TRY SOMETHInG DIFFEREnT
after so long without a club. I dont know
where Im going next, he explains. I like
Asia very much, I always used to do a lot of
advertisements there. India is very nice too,
Iwas there for a futsal event. I never realised
people like me and Brazil so much.
The USA is also a great destination, adds
Roberto, Ronaldinhos brother and agent, an
ex-footballer with clubs as varied as Gremio,
Sion, Sporting Lisbon, Montpellier, Estrela da
Amadora and Consadole Sapporo.
Ronaldinho spent three years with Milan,
winning one Serie A title, before returning
home to Brazil with Flamengo. Months after
his arrival, Flamengo travelled to Santos for
aleague game. Inside half an hour they were
3-0 down, with Neymar bagging Santos third
goal. Ronaldinho responded in kind by hitting
a hat-trick, and Flamengo won 5-4.
A dispute over unpaid wages saw him move
on to Atletico Mineiro a year later, and while
there he would be voted the best player in
the Brazilian league. In his second season
with the club, in 2013, he helped them win
the Copa Libertadores for the first time in
their history and won the South American
player of the year prize. Then came a move
to Liga MX club Queretaro in Mexico.
The club president was sensational, he
made a very big effort to take me there,
Ronaldinho explains. Our family loves Mexico
because my brother had already played there
[for UAG, in 2000]. Everyone in my family had
already been there, and I already had a lot of
Above Ronnie left fans since the Confederations Cup that Brazil
Bara for Milan in had won there. I had a lot of offers but I was
2008 and helped glad to be there. I always like to try out new
the Rossoneri win things. And we took Queretaro to their first
Serie A in 2010-11 final no one ever expected that.
That 2015 Clausura play-off final would end
in a defeat to Santos Laguna, but although
Ronaldinhos form wasnt always stellar, he
had made his mark in Mexico. Perhaps most
notably, he came off the bench to score twice
in a 4-0 win at Club America in the Azteca, and
again the opposing fans gave him a standing
ovation, just like Real Madrids fans had done
at the Bernabeu 10 years earlier.
In the summer of 2015 Ronaldinho went
back toBrazil again, this time to Fluminense.
But he moved on only two months into an
18-month contract, telling the club that he
didnt feel capable of producing the sort of
form that would do him justice. His early
performances for the Rio side had drawn
heavy criticism, and even some boos from
the clubs own fans in one match.

Not that hes been short of interest in the 17
months since then. Clubs the world over know
about and love Ronaldinho. Hes been linked
with moves to every continent on the globe.
Among those interested in recent times have
been Nacional in Uruguay, Las Vegas City in
the USA, Wollongong Wolves in Australia,
Kabuscorp in Angola, Antalyaspor in Turkey,
his brothers former club Sion in Switzerland,
Persepolis in Iran, Tianjin Songjiang in China
and Chennaiyin in India.
He did join the Indian Premier Futsal league
last summer to play for Goa, but featured only
twice before going back to Brazil after being
appointed as a brand ambassador for the
Paralympic Games in Rio.
His love of futsal is something hes used to
his advantage over the years particularly
against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2005,
when he netted an incredible toe-poke for
Barcelona in the Champions League. There
was a lot of futsal in that goal, he explains.
Itwas just a solution I found at that very
moment, I didnt plan it. Futsal is beautiful
not as much as it used to be, like in the
dayswhen keepers couldnt also be strikers,
but it is still beautiful.
Ronaldinho had several battles with Chelsea
during his time at Barcelona they lost that
last-16 tie in 2005, when the clearly upset
Brazilian and his Bara team-mates ended
up scuffling with stewards in chaotic scenes
at the final whistle. But they got their revenge
on the way to becoming European champions
a year later, then met the Blues in the group
stage the campaign after that. Real Madrid
aside, he names the Londoners as the most
difficult opponent during his Blaugrana days.
In Europe it had to be Chelsea, he says.
We played against them every year in the
Champions League it was always fierce.
The Blues unsuccessfully tried to lure
Ronaldinho away from Barcelona during
thatera later in his career, Manchester
City,Blackburn Rovers, QPR and Stoke
werealso linked. Even Basingstoke
Town made acheeky bid but
sadly it was notsuccessful.
I dont regret not having
played in England, but it
could have been special
because its a fantastic
league, Ronnie admits,
presumably in reference
to the Premier League
and not the Conference
South. Chelsea tried to
take me there once, and
some other teams were
interested in signing me,
too. The league there is
so fast and so intense all
of the time its great to watch
and not boring at all. Idont tend
to watch all 90 minutes of Premier
League games, but I will see more
of the highlights and the goals in
the Premier League than I see of
other leagues around the world.
ROnnIES FAnCLUB
Ronaldinhos fan base included some of the games biggest
names heres what they told FourFourTwo about their hero
DELE ALLI (2016)
A lot of kids that were my age loved
Ronaldinho for his flair you could see how
much he loved the game. I can remember
watching videos of him scoring overhead
kicks and trying to recreate them myself,
but never quite being able to pull them off.
FRAnK RIJKAARD (2004)
He is special. He is the best player
in the world and hes very important in the
dressing room. He likes to laugh and take
the pressure off all the other players, even
though hes under a great deal of pressure
himself. His attitude is always contagious.
LAUREnT BLAnC (2006)
I played against him when he first
came over to Europe to play for PSG back in
2001, and even then you could tell that he
would one day become the best player in
the world. He had such unbelievable skill
and so many good tricks in his repertoire.
DIMITRI PAYET (2016)
I had one role model: Ronaldinho.
He had the perfect mix of both speed and
efficacy. He was the best footballer in the
world and the example I tried to follow.
WILFRIED ZAHA (2013)
As a kid I used to really look up to
Ronaldinho and loved watching him play.
Iwould look at some of his skills and try
them myself in training. If I mastered it,
I would try them in a game. The flip-flap
Ronaldinho used to do, Ive tried that so
many times in games and it has worked.
CARLES PUYOL (2004)
The greatest compliment I could
give him is that hes given Barcelona our
spirit back. He has made us smile again.
DAnTE (2017)
I will never forget how he
welcomed me into the Brazil squad. He
made me feel at home, and we got close
during my initiation ceremony as Ihad to
dance to a song that he also liked!Its not unbelievable to watch. If I fear anyone at
difficult to understand why he is so admired
as he is an exceptional dude. He is always
carrying this different energy he doesnt
treat anyone differently. He has ajoy about
doing what he does, and it is the kindof
behaviour that benefits adressing room.
ROnALDInHO
DECO (2015)
Sometimes he did things that
Inever saw anyone else do. When wed
bewinning the game, wed start to enjoy
ourselves and he would bring it all out.
PAOLO DI CAnIO (2006)
The footballers that represent me
today are people like Ronaldinho, because
even though I dont know him very well, he
is authentic, he smiles on and off the pitch.
GERARD DEULOFEU (2016)
Ronaldinho is a special man. When
Iwas younger I would go to the Barcelona
training ground to watch him. Hes my hero.
EDGAR DAVIDS (2010)
For the skills and tricks, Ronaldinho
was the best player that I ever played with.
MARC OVERMARS (2016)
Ronaldinho was without any doubt
one of the best players that Ive ever played
with. When we were at Barcelona together,
he could win games for us all on his own.
SHEYI OJO (2016)
As a young player growing up, my
main idol wasRonaldinho, as he always
plays the game with asmile on his face.
RUUD GULLIT (2007)
He is a flexible player who can do
things that are just simply unbelievable.
DAnIEL STURRIDGE (2016)
I used to watch Ronaldinho when
I was younger, when he was at Bara, and
think: Oh my god, what am Iseeing here?!
RUUD VAn nISTELROOY (2006)
Hes the greatest player in the
world. I just cant get enough of watching
him play hes a delight for the eyes. His
technique is incredible, he scores goals and
he orchestrates everything. I know how hard
it is for a forward playing at this level, but for
him its easy. He does it every game and its
the World Cup, its Brazil and Ronaldinho.
ROnALDO (2014)
He'd destroy a player, then laugh
and joke with them when the game was
over. Ive never seen anyone else do that.
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 41
 ROnALDInHO

InSPIRInG A nEW GEnERATIOn
Ronaldinho has done much to influence
a new generation of players, in the Premier
League and elsewhere.A raft of stars have
explained in recent years that the Brazilian
was their hero when they were growing up
among them Paul Pogba, Raheem Sterling,
Thiago Alcantara, Dele Alli, Dimitri Payet,
Gabriel Jesus, Daniel Sturridge, Sadio Man,
Willian and, of course, Neymar.
A Brazilian great in his own right these days,
Neymar admits that he was star-struck when
he met up with Ronaldinho during his younger
days. Im kindof embarrassed when I talk to
him, because he has always been an idol for
me, Neymar explained, when revealing that
it hadbeen Ronaldinho who had urged him to
signfor Barcelona from Santos.
Bayern Munichs Douglas Costa, too, tells
FFTthat he has wanted to emulate his hero
since he was an eight-year-old watching
Ronaldinho playing for Gremio.
For aBrazilian defender its difficult to play
in Spain, but for a striker its almost a given,
so Luan would fit in well there.
Among the world games more established
players, Ronnie is still keeping faith with the
man who holds scoring records for England
as well as Manchester United.
There are many great players these days
Luis Suarez and Neymar, for example, he
says. Among the English, I still like Wayne
Rooney. He has skill, shoots well and protects
the ball. He is steady never on the ground.
I have always liked his style.
It was great to play with Zlatan Ibrahimovic
[right] at Milan, too. I have got a great deal of
admiration for him, a nice friendship. Hes so
confident in himself. I like it.
Who was the most skilful player he played
alongside or against? Theres too many on
Below Ronnie both sides the Galacticos alone... he says.
takes a selfie But there are two pictures Ive seen that kind
with the rest of answer that. In one there is me, Andrea
ofthe Atletico Pirlo and Beckham ready to take a free-kick
Mineiro team at Milan in a friendly match imagine the
after winning nightmare for the keeper! Then the other is
the 2013 Copa of that wall of Galacticos I talked about
Libertadores; earlier, waiting for my free-kick.
the Brazilian I always loved seeing Zinedine Zidane
idol is keen to play. I never had the pleasure to play with
delve into the him, even in friendlies I mean, not yet,
music business there is still hope!But he made it look so
simple. Things that everyone knows to be
difficult were very easyfor him.
Asked who he prefers now, Lionel Messi or
Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho diplomatically
evades choosing between them.
Well I have played with Messi and that was
ahuge pleasure, even during his early days,
Ronaldinho says. We always enjoyed each
others company when we managed to be
together even if its a little harder to talk to
Messi these days because he basically has no

IT WAS GREAT TO PLAY WITH

He is my biggest idol in the game, the
winger explains. I grew up as a Gremio fan vacations. I would have loved to have played
and he was the star there during that time. with Ronaldo too, he is just fantastic. They are

IBRAHIMOVIC AT MILAn. HES

In Brazil, hes loved not only because of his among the best ever, for sure.
talent, but also because of his happiness That is beyond argument, but some argue
while playing football and his capacity to that at his peak, albeit over a much shorter
bring joy to the people. The things he can
naturally do with the ball hes brilliant, an
example to me and the guy who inspired
VERY COnFIDENT. I LIKE THAT time period, Ronaldinho surpassed them both.
In my honest opinion, at that time I think

me the most when I was a kid.

Does the man himself have a theory on why
he has inspired so many youngsters? I think
its because I look like a kid too! Ronaldinho
laughs. Its very emotional for me to inspire
world-class players people likePogba and
Sterling, they are already among the best
and its great to see themscoring the goals
that make people love thesport even more.
I saw Dele Allis goal last year [at Crystal
Palace] and it lookedlikea goal I would like
to score there is just no explanation for
goals like that.Its very thrilling to inspire
someone to score such agreat goal; I can
barely put it all into words.
I follow Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Barbosa
more closely because theyve been in Brazil,
and its great to inspire a new generation of
Brazilian players who will take us all back to
glories soon, I hope. The Olympic gold medal
will give the new generation the boost they
need to do well soon. It showed that theres
been a lot of improvement already, because
these are all young players. The senior team
isalso improving quickly Brazil werent in
good shape recently, the country and the
national team werent doing well, but the
team are picking themselves up now. Im
always optimistic I focus on the positives
and there are many more now.
Ronaldinho picks out another of Brazils
Olympic winners as his one to watch. Luan
isvery good, he says of the 23-year-old
forward, who has been playing for Gremio.
Hes creative, different. Hes very skilful and
he thinks differently. Hell soon be in Europe.
Iwant him at Bara, because his style would
fit in very well in Spain and at Barcelona, too.

42 March
February
2017 FourFourTwo.com
2016 FourFourTwo.com

Ronaldinho was bigger than both Messi and
Cristiano Ronaldo, Willian said a year ago.
Henrik Larsson played with both Messi and
Ronaldo the latter during a brief loan spell
atManchester United but doesnt hesitate
when FFT asks him to choose the greatest
player he ever played with.
Ronaldinho! The way that he was playing
during the timeI was at Barcelona, it was
like he was from anotherplanet, the former
Celtic and Bara striker says.
Hes been a wonderful player, another
former Blaugrana team-mate, Ludovic Giuly,
admits to FFT. Hes a very good person, too
aquality thats not so common for players
at his level. I can tell you that he was also
a virtuoso of the PlayStation he was able to
play football on the games console like he did
on the pitch! On the field, hes been unique.
He created a style of his own.
He would just see your runs, Larsson
adds,detailing what really impressed him
about the Brazilian. I remember a gameat
Celta Vigo: he had the ball wide on the left,
halfway into their half. I was on the right,
I started a run and hespotted it, threading
a pass in betweeneveryone. Unfortunately
I missed, but just to see the movement from
that distance, with so many players around
him, was something special.
The Brazilian was just the sort of player for
whom 90 minutes somehow did not seem
enough you could have happily watched
him play football all day. Some did just that:
Eden Hazard once told FFT that in his younger
days, he spent hours watching clips of Ronnie
on YouTube. Dele Alli told us that hed also
spend hours trying to mimic the Brazilians
SEE FFTS goals, having seen them online. And Wilfried
FAVOURITE Zaha explained he would study Ronaldinhos
skills, the flip-flap notably, and then spend
ROnALDInHO
day after day on the training ground trying
MOMEnTS to perfect the amazing trick.
The flip-flap is by far the best, Ronaldinho
grins, when asked to choose his favourite skill.
It was a skill that he would often use during
his days at Barcelona once deploying it to
befuddle Alessandro Nesta and then blast
home a stunning last-minute winner against
FOURFOURTWO.COM Milan in the Champions League. I always
knew how to make it work, he explains.
Its not just abeautiful dribble, its a skill
that opens up gaps. Of course, you can use
h dribbles to win some time, too, to cool
d a match. And you could also use it to
k a defender go easier on you. But the
fli flap is the very best its the most artistic
d he most productive. When I got it right,
one would take the fall!
OnnIE KnOWS A GOOD SAMBA
Ronnies flip-flap days will be over, his
pl g days too. What then?
reer in politics maybe, like Romario and
o? No politics for me at all... he smiles,
r out following in the footsteps of some
f fellow former Brazilian stars. Probably
decision, as there are not that many
ess sessions at 1.24am.
he stay in football? Some years ago he
d hed consider becoming a coach at the
of his playing days, but now he doesnt
nd so sure. Ive not even thought about
uch, says the 36-year-old, who recently
me a club ambassador for Barcelona.
ight be an aide to my brother [and his
ncy] at some point, and watch DVDs!
dont like the meetings.
so want to do some more for footvolley,
ke it an Olympic sport. Its growing and
how. Theres a world league set up now
want to practise to be at the level of the
pl s that are also there.
xture of football and beach volleyball, it
s like it was made for aretired Ronnie.
N top, the Copacabana.
once football is out of the way, will he
h more time to dedicate to partying? Well,
f. He intends to have a good time, thats
ROnALDInHO
for sure, albeit via a slightly different medium.
I want to work with music, he says. Each
day I love it more and more.
Music has never been far from his heart, as
the various instruments around his apartment
prove. There was the time, for instance, when
the Brazil squad were on the plane back home
from Japan after lifting the 2002 World Cup
and Ronaldinho whipped out a drum from the
overhead locker and started entertaining the
squad with a spot of pagode, a musical style
that is derived from samba.
Its the sort of thing he liked to do pretty
often. Hewould just be hitting the drums
with everything he had in his hand to try to
create a rhythm, says ex-Bara team-mate
Giuly. Music is in his soul.
When I got on the bus to go to a match
and Ronaldinho was there playing the drums,
Iknew what the game would be like, adds
defender Juan, one of Ronnies former Brazil
team-mates. If he was smiling and singing,
then I knew we were set to win. He is from
the south, a region that isnt that great with
samba. But he is different he has the voice,
the ways of Rio de Janeiro.
That voice was put on show in 2014 when
he sung on the track Vai Na Fe, a ditty that
he composed himself in collaboration with
rapper and friend Edcity.
He has a got a good voice, he knows how
to play and he can tell a good samba from
a bad one, says famous samba artist Jorge
Aragao. Ronaldinho calls me his godfather
but the truth is samba was already in him.
Im sure hell do great if he wants to work
with music in some form.
And Ronaldinho is very serious about it.
I want to study, to learn sound engineering
and producing, he says. Im very curious
aboutit.I want to have a studio built at my
home. I like all genres, a bit of everything.
Im composing one of my recent songs
was used as a theme for the Paralympics in
Rio, which made me even more excited to
watch all of the Paralympics.
A lot of musicians come to my house to
perform because they know how much I love
what they do. There are so many good people
that play here and have no opportunity to do
more. I want the world to see their talents.
For almost 20 years, the world has seen and
loved Ronaldinhos talents out on the football
field. The chance to relive it all with the man
himself has been a privilege.
Thanks for coming, he cheerily says to
FourFourTwo as our interview comes to an
end. Now excuse me, he adds, as in two
hours Ill be going to China for a sponsorship
deal! With a parting grin, he bids farewell.
Soon he will bid farewell to the game that
has made him a hero to millions upon millions
of football fans in China, in Brazil, in Europe,
in fact pretty much everywhere. His career
may be almost at an end, but in those who
worshipped him, in those who felt compelled
to follow in his footsteps, in those he inspired
to greatness, his impact will continue to last
for many more years to come.
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 43
 DEPORTIVO
MALDOnADO

HOW IS THIS CLUB

ABLE TO COMPETE
WITH REAL MADRID,
JUVEnTUS AnD PSG?
Uruguayan second-tier side Deportivo Maldonado average crowds of less than 350 but are vying for
the hottest South American starlets with the worlds richest football clubs. How? FFT investigates
Words Sebastian Garcia

44 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com


I
n a summer when Paul Pogba broke news of his own 89 million
move to Manchester United, Chelsea surprisingly re-signed David
Luiz for 30m and Arsenal, for some reason, desperately tried to
capture Jamie Vardy, perhaps one of the transfer windows most
unusual deals went largely unnoticed.
When Argentina Under-23 striker Jonathan Calleri confirmed
his loan switch to West Ham United in the middle of August 2016,
the media coverage was fairly minimal. Even the frankly dreadful
Simone Zaza, who also arrived on loan in east London during the
same month, caused more fanfare. The Hammers had reportedly
paid a 4m loan fee and have an option to buy the Argentine for
16m, a deal that would represent a tidy and rapid profit for a club
whose gates rarely surpass a few hundred.
Calleri is a product of the All Boys youth academy the same club
where Carlos Tevez, another Argentine player to have turned out for
the Hammers, began his career. In fact, both moved from All Boys,
now in the Argentine Second Division, to Boca Juniors. But that is
where the two career paths veer off in very different directions.
In January 2016, 18 months after acquiring a 20-year-old Calleri
for 765,000, Boca sold him on for 9.3m.
But what stood out the most wasnt that whopping 1,115 per cent
mark-up on a player who had played just 41 league matches for the
Bombonera club, rather the fact that the buyer was not your typical
plunderer of hot South American talent. Not PSG, Benfica, Real Madrid
or Juventus. Not even Shanghai Shenhua or Guangzhou Evergrande.
No, the outfit that had enough money to fork out almost 10m for
the youngster was Deportivo Maldonado.
Who? Well, quite.
The fact a small club playing in Uruguays second tier, who rarely
play home matches in front of more than 300 people, could afford
to sign an Argentine youth international from the six-times Copa
Libertadores winners, certainly raised a few eyebrows. But for this
humble club to then be in the position to almost immediately loan
said tyro out to a side that is playing in one of the richest and most
watched leagues in the world, surely something odd was afoot?
And it wasnt even the first time, either.
Founded in 1928 under the peculiar name of Batacazo Football Club
(Batacazo meaning, among other things, to upset all the odds), the
clubwould change its name to Deportivo Maldonado in 1932. It was
a further 63 years until they finally made their professional debut,
DEPORTIVO
MALDOnADO
whenin 1995 they moved from the nations amateur ranks and
intothe Second Division. They lost the promotion play-offs in 1998,
but with the Uruguayan FA deciding to up the quota of top-flight
clubs from the Interior region of the country to four, they were
given promotionanyway. They would remain in the top division
until 2004, with their seventh-place finish in 2002 their highest
within the Uruguayan football pyramid.
Throughout Maldonados history, financial instability has been
a near constant. In 2004, the outlook was so bleak that they were
forced to merge with another small football club, Centro Cultural y
Democratico Punta del Este, becoming Club Deportivo Maldonado
Punta del Este. That season proved to be their last in the top flight,
and it wasnt long before the two clubs went their separate ways,
opting to split after the 2005 campaign.
It would have taken a spectacularly wild imagination to predict
whatwould happen to the Rojiverde (Red and Greens), an outfit
that comes from Uruguays fourth biggest city (with a population
of around 87,000), just four years later.
In December 2009 came another new name but that wasnt the
biggest change. History was made when the club became Deportivo
Maldonado SAD (Sociedad Anonima Deportiva, or in English Public
Limited Sports Company), the first such organisation in Uruguay
andone that has been under intense public scrutiny ever since
and its not hard to see why. Its not every day you see a club from
such asmall city buy a player for a few million pounds, never give
him any playing time, loan him out to a big club in Europe, and then
eventually sell him on for a massive profit. But for this club it has
now become atried-and-tested model.
The restructuring took place when the club was taken over by two
Englishmen; racehorse owner Malcolm Caine and a London-based
lawyer, Graham Shear. The pair became president and vice-president
of the club, respectively. In October, the latter told The Guardian that
he is no longer involved with the club.
Most football fans are well aware of the concept of third-party
ownership, which for a long time, particularly in South America, was
something FIFA and other governing bodies were powerless to stop.
Agents or rich investors become heavily involved in the football
transfer market, owning players registrations and shipping them
across the globe with the primary aim of making money.
The clubs who became involved, many of them in dire financial
difficulty, were over a barrel. They couldnt afford the elite players
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 45
 DEPORTIVO
MALDOnADO
their fans were demanding, and these
middlemen were offering them the
only solution available.
The catch, of course, was that they
were no longer the owners of the
players wearing their shirt; merely
ashop window. If a player owned by
athird party performed well enough
toattract bids from bigger clubs, his
current club would see little, if any, of
the profit. It was a quick fix for clubs
that did little or anything to help solve
their financial woes in the longer term.
In April 2015, FIFA finally moved to
ban third-party ownership in football.
So does that mean whats going on
at Maldonado is illegal?
No, the operations are legal, says
Argentine lawyer Juan Esteban Diez,
who specialises in sport. For clubs in
adifficult financial situation, such as
Deportivo Maldonado before 2009,
there was a very real risk of having
to fold for good. In a way, what the
investors are doing is a service to the
football club. It is a way of securing
the financial state of it.
Deportivo Maldonado have the
I REALLY DOnT CARE WHAT OTHER
players properly registered with the
club. They buy them and they fulfil
every legal requirement before they
move them out, reasons Diez, who
acts as a legal consultant for the
Argentine Primera Division outfit
FAnS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT MALDOnADO
Racing Club de Avellaneda. There
is technically nothing wrong in what
they are doing. The concern for those
of us who work to regulate transfers in football and to keep it clean,
was that thered be a proliferation of cases in which rich investors,
with no interest whatsoever in the well-being of the club, would start
buying clubs left and right just to make some extra money without
the clubs interests at heart.
A club the size of Maldonado are obviously not run on a multi-million
pound budget. They do not need huge sums of money topay the bills
every month. What an agreement like this gives a club is the financial
security stemming from commitment from the owners, who in return
have a platform to buy and sell the players, while also making sure
that the finances are in order.
Clubs in South America are more than just the 11 men that you see
running onto the football pitch, and all the associated coaching and
administrative staff. Many also have representative teams in other
sports at various different levels and age groups. Some also have
facilities for the local people of all ages to socialise, attend fitness
classes, or even enjoy a spot of bingo. They have a profound effect
onthe lives of all in their local communities. They are a perfect
placeto keep kids away from the various dangers that litter the
streets of the big cities a kind of second home that provides far
better options than getting addicted to videogames, or being out
on the streets and potentially falling victim to some other, more
life-threatening addictions.
Im 37 years old and I have been a Deportivo Maldonado fan
for 37 years, says Alvaro Frias, who has seen the bad old days: the
merger, the First Division era and the arrival of the foreign investors.
My father was a member, and my grandfather, too. My brother is
a member, and so is my son.
The club have grown since 2009. It is still a work in progress, but
you can see the improvement, he adds. The clubs main building,
whichwas previously in very bad condition, has now been repaired
46 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com
Above Maldonados plush
facilities benefit the clubs
youth teams as well as
the local community
left-back Alex Sandro for around 1.9m, registered him as their
it is now one of the biggest and
nicest of allthe football clubs in
Uruguay. Theres been a noticeable
improvement in the pitches at the
training ground [where the youth
teams also play] and the club is once
again full of life, with other activities
including basketball, volleyball, roller
skating, handball and tennis being
played. Soon we will add martialarts
to the wide range of activities that all
families can take part in when they
come to Maldonado.
This little club in the south-east of
Uruguay 80 miles away from the
nations capital, Montevideo, and just
over 130 miles south of the border
withBrazil seem to have discovered
a way to both have their cake and eat
it. While they have maintained that
samefocus on the community, they
have now added both the scouting
structureand financial clout to be
ableto spot and acquire the top
up-and-coming talent, and then
eventually sell them for big profits
as they hittheir prime.
Since 2010, Deportivo Maldonado
have brought in a host of millionaire
international footballers with their
peak years ahead of them yet none
of them have ever kicked a ball while
wearing the teams kit.
A quick glance over at Deportivo
Maldonados squad list paints the
perfect picture of how the club are
mixing the best of both worlds. Their
playing staff is made up almost entirely of local players you have
never heard of, and probably never will. In among those complete
unknowns are the big-money signings. Yet its these highly-rated
youngsters who havent made a single appearances for the club.
I really dont care about what fans of other clubs have to say
about Maldonado, insists Alvaro, who believes there are a lot of
misconceptions about what is actually happening at the club.
They envy us and they dont really know what goes on here.
But the AUF (the Uruguayan FA) and all the authorities always say
Maldonado are like a role model, and an example of a club always
paying all of their bills on time and always acting within the law.
FourFourTwo tried to contact Deportivo Maldonados sporting
director, Ignacio Borjas, but were told that he was unavailable for
interview at the time. He has recently spoken to the Uruguayan
newspaper El Observador and outlined the working relationship
between the investment group and football club.
Im an employee of the company, and all of us working on the
football side are, said Borjas, himself a Deportivo Maldonado player
between 2002 and 2009. I get [my wages] paid into a bank account,
like with any other company in the world. The office is the club itself.
This is a simple situation. I handle all issues that take place here at
the football club those are issues that are easy to verify with the FA.
There are no mysteries here; its public information that anybody can
access if they want to. There is nothing to hide.
Theres certainly no hiding that the way the club does business has
drastically changed a quick glance at their recent transfer history
illustrates that much. Having only completed deals with little to no
money changing hands prior to 2009, Maldonado suddenly started
splashing six- and seven-figure sums on players.
In March 2010, for example, Maldonado signed the 19-year-old
player and sent him on loan to illustrious Brazilian side Santos.
 DEPORTIVO
MALDOnADO

The larger the shop window, the more was believed to be 850,000. Five years
potential buyers there are to come and and six loan moves later including
take a peek. The more potential buyers, abrief stay at Real Madrid, where
the more likely it is a bidding war breaks heappeared once for the first team
out. A year playing for a club who count he was finally at a level where he was
Pele and Neymar among their alumni deemed worthy of a 5.1m bid from
seemed to do the trick. Real Sociedad. At the time of writing,
In July 2011, Alex Sandro went to he had found the net 10 times in his
to Portuguese club Porto for around 19 appearances for the La Liga side.
8.2m, leaving Deportivo Maldonado Geronimo Rulli, meanwhile, is seen
with a tidy 6.3m profit (give or take). as a potential Argentine No.1 of the
The defender went on to be capped future, which was why Maldonado
by Brazil and then in 2015 made a 22m thought it was wise to pay 3m to
move to Serie A giants Juventus, proving Estudiantes for his services in 2014.
that Maldonados scouts knew a good They promptly punted him out on
thing when they saw it. atwo-year loan to Real Sociedad,
where he attracted the attention of
But while the transactions involving infamously-minted Manchester City.
Alex Sandro were very successful for The English club forked out over 4m
Maldonado, the same couldnt be said for the keeper, who they have since
of all of the clubs big-money dealings. loaned and then sold to Real Sociedad.
Just a few days before Sandro signed
up with Maldonado, another Brazilian By now you may have noticed that
teenager was being snapped up by most of the players involved in these
the newly-monied outfit. Attacking big deals are from Argentina and Brazil,
midfielder Jose Luis dos Santos Pinto, rather than Uruguay so why not just
better known as Zezinho, had broken set up shop at a club in one of those
into the Juventude first team in 2009 countries? The answer is simple: taxes.

THE CLUB HAS ALWAYS BEEn CLEAn

atthe tender age of 17. Less than two According to an article that featured
years later, having displayed sufficient in the Argentine newspaper Tiempo
promise to impress the exact same Argentino, an international transfer
scouts who had also identified Sandro
as apossible target, Zezinho became
Maldonados first-ever multi-million
AnD WE DESERVE RESPECT FOR THAT of a player from a Uruguayan club to
a club outside the country would be
taxed at 12.5 per cent. Three years ago,
purchase, signing with them for 2.1m. it was four per cent. If transactions like
He initially travelled the same road as these were conducted from Argentina,
Sandro, first moving on loan to Santos the minimum tax demands would be
in March 2010. But for Zezinho, this wasnt to prove a pathway to Above The Maldonado 24.5 per cent, with the deductions sometimes rising all the way up
Europes elite. Despite having previously been offered a trial with playing staff is made up to 35 per cent. Suddenly, its very clear why a club to the east of the
Arsenal, who were on the verge of signing him only to be scared of local talent, but the River Plate was seen as the prime location for this business model.
away by a hefty price tag, Zezinhos career never really took off. best starlets dont ever Its believed the AUF have thought about creating a rule by which
In the seven years since leaving Juventude, hes managed nine get to put on the shirt all players acquired by an Uruguayan club must play for their first
goals in 79 starts. Having failed to encourage any big bids from Below Jonathan Calleris team for six months before they can then be sold overseas, though
Europe during his time at Santos, Zezinho was sent out on loan loan move to West Ham that would contradict Uruguayan employment law, which affords
by Maldonado to two other clubs: Bahia and Atletico Paranaense. hasnt proved profitable workers the freedom to choose where they want to ply their trade.
It was the latter who would ultimately hand over cash to sign the Deportivo Maldonados modest size also makes them ideal for
midfielder, but the fee was not believed to be anywhere near the abusiness of this type. Try flipping players in this way at a more
2.1m the Uruguayan club had i d i hi f li ill i l b l Nacional, who have lifted eight
Meanwhile, a month after sell d ld d h d b d b hem and the fans will furiously
reinvested some of their windfall dfi ld l d d h b i h h ce to see these promising talents
Estigarribia, who joined from Fre h l b d l ld d f ns are happy their club is still there.
What followed was something th d fi d ll l h f b n or raised in Maldonado, you have
first time, this club playing in th d f b o the club, says lifelong fan Alvaro.
football actually loaned a playe You have either been to a football
superpower; 32-times Italian ch i match, or a childs birthday party,
It had seemed for all the world l k h ld o a wedding. Maybe you have been
merely have to wait for Estigarr b d h h w h f d lay a game of five-a-side. If not, you
in Italy before the big-money off ld a h l h ve a family member who did. This is
flow in. But the bids didnt come b a f b ll l b h fought for the working classes to
a 32-times capped international h i i b b ll di mbership. This club has always been
farmed out on loan to a further h li l b cl d d rve some credit and respect for that.
(Sampdoria in 2012-13, Chievo i d l l di g to Alvaro, Maldonados tiny fanbase
between January 2014 and Feb ) ld d gh in the knowledge their club is still
havent been able to cash in. Esti ibi h i j i d u d i g. They are more than happy to see
Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno i h l l l k wn local players take to the pitch and
But while its safe to say Estig ibi h l l f r h i h ts out for 90 minutes. After all, thats
his market value, Maldonado ha h d h m h h y would have dared dream of back
successes. Striker Willian Jose w b h i f wh ivo Maldonado risked disappearing
Brazilian minnows Barueri whe h h f f h f of the Earth just a few years ago.

FourFourTwo.com March 2017 47

MLS CUP FInAL

wo.com
Two.com
 PaBLO
ZABALETA

SUnSHIIII IIIIIIIInE!
Words Alec Fenn Portraits Paul Cooper

Hes a big fan of Oasis, learnt English

watching Corrie and even enjoys the
rain. Its clear Pablo Zabaleta loves
life in his adopted city Blackpool
Illuminations on the other hand...

I
ts 3pm inside Manchester Citys Etihad Campus and
FFT is beginning to wonder whether weve been stood
up. We have spent what seems like an absolute age
gazing outside, as the rain falls from a mass of black
clouds and bounces off the first-team squads fleet
of expensive cars. Welcome to Manchester.
Slowly, the clubs flock of stars begin to emerge down
aset of stairs leading to the main reception. David Silva
comes shuffling along, clutching his designer washbag.
Agrinning Nolito then struts on through, his hair slicked
back with a Spandau Ballet-sized serving of wet-look gel.
However, theres still no sign of our man.
Our heart sinks as we take another nervous glance at our
watch, when a rugged-looking figure with a closely shaven
head and designer stubble appears at the top of the stairs.
Wearing a black roll neck, grey jeans and some worn black
trainers, he looks like a cross between the Blues supremo
Pep Guardiola... and a nightclub bouncer.
Pablo Zabaleta apologises for running slightly late even
though its not his fault. Hes a model of efficiency on and
off the pitch, but has been held up after the days training
session crept into the afternoon. Im so sorry Thursday
is always a very hard one, he explains.
FFT is immediately struck by his accent, which is a blend
of Argentinian and Mancunian. I just think that I sound
 PaBLO
ZABALETA
English, he laughs. Its nearly nine years since Zabaleta first set foot in
this city. Hes since become a cult hero at the Etihad and an adopted
Manc were here to talk to him about how Manchester has become
his second home. His local twang seems like a good place to start.
It was very important for me to learn English as soon as I got here,
he says about his early days at the club. Foreign players should make
the effort when they move over to a new country. When I first arrived,
Mark Hughes was the manager and 95 per cent of the coaching staff
were British. I had to learn quickly so I could be a real part of the club.
The 32-year-old was one of four South Americans who met up once
aweek for a two-hour English lesson to aid their integration to life in
England. Zabaleta was joined by Brazilian pair Robinho and Elano, as
well as Ecuadorian striker Felipe Caicedo, on a row of desks inside an
old classroom at the clubs former training ground.
I took English lessons at the club for one year; but after three lessons
I started using a private teacher as well, he says. Sometimes there is
a temptation to go home, have a shower and then just spend the rest
of the day relaxing, but I wanted to use the time productively. I didnt
have Spanish TV and my girlfriend was studying in Spain, so each day
I would try to read English books and watch the TV.
The first thing that my teacher told me to do was to watch BBC
News. Even in the car I was listening to BBC radio. I know it sounds
boring, but the presenters talk at a slower pace, which helps you to
pick up new words and phrases. I watched The X Factor and a few
episodes of Coronation Street but not too many!
Zabaleta will often act as a translator for the Blues foreign imports,
but he has little patience with those who dont make enough effort.
Players often know a lot more English than people think, but they
wont talk in public as theyre afraid of saying something wrong and
then making a mistake on camera in an interview.
Sometimes a player will need to say something and if Im there they
ask, Zaba, how do I say this? and I say, Youve been here for five years,
you should know that! There have been times when Kun [Sergio Aguero]
asks someone how to say something and I just say, Kun, dont be lazy!
Sensing hes on good form, FFT asks him to put on a long navy blue
parka jacket and channel his inner Liam Gallagher for our snapper. He
does so with relish and quickly works his way through a range of moody
poses of which the former Oasis singer would be proud, while laughing
at regular intervals. Something tells us he might have done this before.
Oasis are huge in Argentina, they have played a few gigs there, he
says. Noel Gallaghers solo music has done really well back home. Ive
met him in the dressing room a few times and Liam went to the party
we had to celebrate winning the Premier League back in 2012. Its great
that weve got two rock and roll stars from the city supporting the club.
At this point, we inform him of a video on YouTube, which shows Noel
singing Zabaletas terrace chant Pablo Zabaleta, he is the f***ing man,
he is an Argentinian, hes harder than Jaap Stam. Its the first time hes
heard of it but he looks pleased, which is unsurprising given his taste
inmusic that mirrors Manchesters musical identity.
Argentina is a country that loves rock and roll music and I love it,
headds. There is no better place to watch that type of music than in
England. The greatest bands come from this country you can smell
rock and roll in every city that you visit. Thats one of the reasons I love
Manchester, because its a part of the culture here.
Queen are probably my favourite band. When I was growing up,
Freddie Mercury and Brian May were my idols I loved their music.
I like AC/DC and the Rolling Stones, too. Around a year or so ago
I went to the Palace Theatre to watch Status Quo and was lucky
enough to go and meet with them before the gig.
Im a big fan of bands who have been together for such a long
time.I love that they still have that same passion to perform and
makethe same sort of music that they had when they were young.
If I ever get any time off, then I love going to gigs.
Like many of his favourite bands, the 32-year-old has become used to
life on the road. Pablo Javier Zabaleta Girod was born on January 16,
50 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com
1985 in Arrecifes, a small, sleepy town on the
outskirts of Argentinas capital, Buenos Aires,
with a population of around 27,000.
The eldest of four brothers, he packed his
bags and left the family home at the age of
12 to join the academy of Primera Division
side San Lorenzo. He lived in a village close
tothe clubs Pedro Bidegain stadium, which
housed between 40 and 50 young boys who
had come from outside of the city.
I had to mature very quickly, he reflects. too its the same in Argentina.
We had to clean senior players boots and
do chores for them. I had no parents or family
by my side and it was a different place where
I was now surrounded by different people, but
inside I knew that I had to follow my dream.
In life, at some point you have to make
bigdecisions, and for me that happened at
a young age. Today, I see youngsters who
are 12 and 13 at Man City and I will think to
myself, Wow, Iwas so young when I made
that decision tomove away. Maybe it was
crazy but its worked out pretty well.
My decision-making skills got a lot better
because I had more responsibilities. When
yousign your first contract you see players
who say, I want to buy this flashy car or this
watchbut mentally you have stay focused
onyour football. I made decisions for myself
from such a young age and thats helped me
to stay grounded during my career.
One of those big decisions was to leave his
homeland and move to Europe in 2003 aged
19, four years after his mother passed away,
when he signed for La Liga outfit Espanyol.
Thirteen years have now passed since he
wasa resident of his native Argentina, but
Manchester, he explains, provides him with
apermanent reminder of home.
There are definitely similarities between
Argentinian and English people, he says.
From my point of view, I can see that the
twocountries have the same passion for
everything in terms of sport and going to
watch football games. The passion of the
people andthe way that we all enjoy the
game is the exact same for both.
Whenever theres a football match in
Manchester, the whole weekend is built
around the game for the people here. You
will see fans enjoying themselves maybe
twoor three hours before the kick-off it
is a social occasion. People will drink before
the match and then have a few pints after,
Pubs - if not pints offered an important
escape in Pablos early days in Manchester.
Zabaleta moved into the leafy suburb of
Didsbury, an area popular with the citys
young professionals. Its situated around
20 minutes away from the clubs Etihad
Stadium and asafe enough distance to
resist the temptations of the city centre.
Didsbury was a great area to live, he
recalls. It was close to our old training
ground at Carrington and not far from
Manchester Airport. And its near to the
Trafford Centre too, which my girlfriend
enjoyed when she flew over at weekends!
Id visit a fishmonger on the corner of
my street two or three times every week,
whichwas owned by a Man City supporter.
There was also a pub across the road from
myapartment called The Barleycorn. Its
arestaurant now, but back then it was
 PaBLO
ZABALETA

I LEARnT EnGLISH BY LISTEnInG TO

BBC RADIO In MY CAR AnD WATCHInG
COROnATIOn STREET AnD THE X FACTOR
 PaBLO
ZABALETA
WHEnEVER I GO On HOLIDAY,
I MISS THE MAnCHESTER RAIn.
IT SOUnDS CRAZY BUT ITS TRUE
a typical old-fashioned English pub. I would
go in there most days to play pool and watch
football on television. Me and my girlfriend
had many happy times there.
The girlfriend he frequently mentions in our
chat became his wife in 2013. Zabaleta met
Christel Castano a journalist and model
who spent a three-month spell working for
the Manchester Evening News during his
time with Espanyol. The pair argued about
tactics during their first date.
Aside from their love of football, they also
share the same lust for adventure. After she
had completed her journalism degree over in
Barcelona, Christel joined him in Manchester
on a permanent basis and theyve continued
their courtship by exploring every corner of
the place they now call home.
When I first came here I would always go
to Barcelona to visit Christel if I had two or
three days off, he admits. But after she had
moved to Manchester we said to each other,
Lets try something different because there
are so many beautiful places to visit in the UK.
We love travelling around England. It was
one of the things we used to do all the time
when we first arrived here. We went to York,
Chester, Liverpool, Bath, London, Edinburgh,
Newcastle, Glasgow and the Lake District.
Wealso went to Blackpool Illuminations
once, but that was terrible!
A quick scroll through Zabaletas Twitter
feed also reveals a recent trip with Christel
and their two-year-old son, Asier, to Tatton
Park. The 1000-acre Tudor estate has got
52 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com
a working farm in nearby Knutsford and
attracts families from far and wide. He is
also a regular at an Italian eatery called
Rosanero in Macclesfield. Ive celebrated
many happy moments there and become
good friends with the owner.
However, he doesnt pretend to love every
aspect of life in England. Im not a huge fan
of English food, but I will have fish and chips
every few months. FFT also wonders what he
thinks of the 140 days of rainfall that descend
on Manchester every year a climate which
over the years has seen a plethora of South
American players leave the Premier League
in search of warmer climes.
I have to be honest, look at the weather
outside I cant pretend I like this, he says,
gesturing at the gloomy skies through the
nearest window. But this place has definitely
changed me. When I go on holiday to Spain
for a month in the summer with the family,
or somewhere with more sunshine, I find that I miss all the rain in
Manchester. It sounds crazy, but its true.
Ive been here for many years now. In terms of playing football in
another country, like Spain, and training in a hot climate I think Id
find that very hard. I love playing games in the rainy weather when
the ball runs fast on the pitch. Its good.
Zabaletas ability to adapt to change perhaps explains why he has
succeeded where many other South Americans have failed to settle
in Manchester. Two of his old English classmates Robinho and Elano
lasted just two years. Alongside captain Vincent Kompany and current
Torino loanee Joe Hart, he is one of only three survivors from the side
that he first joined back in August 2008.
My commitment and loyalty has been there on and off the pitch
from day one thats why I think I have lasted, he explains. At the
beginning everything is new and you have to adapt to a new style of
football and life off the pitch, which isnt easy. Sometimes you struggle
a bit, but for me Im happy to still be here.
The Premier League was always my dream. Its absolutely amazing.
Ithought, Lets go to England Manchester City was a different club
to what it is today but its still the same in many ways. Its been a big
challenge every year to prove that Im good enough to be here as big
money and big players come to the club.
His strength of personality and willingness to embrace local life have
endeared him to the clubs supporters, who treat him with the same
level of affection normally reserved for players born within the city.
Be yourself, but if you can be Pablo Zabaleta, then always be Pablo
Zabaleta, is a common quote posted by fans on social media. Its clear
that the fans have rubbed off on him, too.
Manchester City is the club that is in Manchester, he says with
thecertainty of a season ticket holder supping a pint down his local
pub, while debating the merits of the citys dominant football teams.
Iremember when I first came here I stayed in the Hilton hotel for
three weeks and I saw many City shirts in the street. Everyone told
me Manchester United was the biggest club but I saw the City shirts
everywhere and the supporters would always come up to me and
remind me, Remember, Manchester is blue!
At 32, the next chapter of his life isnt far away and his thoughts have
already turned to the future. Retiring to a house in Barcelona with his
wife and child is one option. Returning to Argentina to be closer to his
family and particularly his father, who was involved in a serious car
accident in 2011, is another. But a tale about his son Asier suggests
the traveller may now have found a new home.
Asier was born at St Marys hospital, and so he is a proper Manc!
Zabaletaconcludes. We could have had the birth in the sunshine
somewhere, maybe in Spain or somewhere closer to family and
friends, but we thought, We have built so much here and lived in
England for such a long time, lets have the birth right here. I think
that showed the lovethat Ive got for this city.
The city well, the blue half loves him back.
WAnT TO HELP
SHAPE THE FUTURE
OF FOURFOURTWO ?
WAnT TO WIn 150
OF AMAZOn VOUCHERS
In THE PROCESS?
TAKE PART In OUR FIVE-MInUTE FFT SURVEY
TO HELP US BRInG YOU MORE OF WHAT YOU LIKE

FFT.SM/MAGAZInE
ITS THAT SIMPLE!
SOUTH AMERICA
VS EUROPE

PELEA!
 SOUTH AMERICA
VS EUROPE

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PELEA!
E S T U D IA N T E S D E N T U N IT
P R ID E ( A N D T H E IR S H IN E D S
Manchester Unite
d 1-1 Estudiante
S)
s, 1968
Estudiantes wa
y to success: to int
destroy, grumbled imidate and
The Guardian head The Scot would ge
the Argentine ou line after t even more irate
tfits 1-0 win again match had actua once the
st Manchester lly taken place, wit
United in the first Carlos Bilardo, a fut h midfielder
leg of the 1968 Int ure World Cup-w
Cup in Buenos Air ercontinental inning coach
es. Estudiantes ha with Argentina, a
d cultivated particular target
a reputation for a you hold on to the for his ire. If
beautiful game as ball out there, yo
sustained domesti they enjoyed u put your life
c and continenta in danger, Busby
l glory, winning said after the ma
the Copa Libertad The Argentines did tch.
ores three times. nt play the same
An official receptio second leg at Old way in the
n was organised Trafford, managin
team and Matt Bu for the United g to draw 1-1
sby took his playe and secure the tro
rs along with phy in the process.
the intention of est impressed by it all Still far from
ablishing some go , Busby requested
with their counter od rapport that they be
parts, given the fro banned from all co
sty relations mpetitive football.
between the two Estudiantes were
countries after En a class side, as the
beaten Argentina gland had y showed at
in a ill-tempered Old Trafford, but
World Cup in Buenos Aires the
quarter-final two play football, sai y didnt want to
years earlier. But d United goalkee
withdrew at the las the hosts per Alex Stepney
t minute, to Busby They just wante .
s disgust. d to kick and spit,
dirtiest game of my and it was the
life, frightening.
 SOUTH AMERICA
VS EUROPE
MIGHTY MAGYARS ON THE RUN
Flamengo 6-4 Honved, 1957
When the Hungarian Revolution struck in 1956,
Honveds legendary side of the time were left in
something of a quandary. They were less than
keen on returning to their homeland (theyd been
out of the country playing a European Cup tie with
Athletic Bilbao), and instead defied the wishes of
both FIFA and the Hungarian FA by participating
in friendly games across Europe.
But when FIFA under pressure from Hungarian
officials threatened to ban teams who played
them, they needed a new option.
They rejected an offer of political asylum from
Mexico (which would have involved playing in the
Mexican league) and instead the fantastic side,
starring Gyula Grocsis, Sandor Kocsis and Ferenc
Puskas, embarked on a tour of South America.
Not every South American club wanted to take
on the roaming Magyars, but Brazils Flamengo
were happy to put on a friendly tournament and
welcomed the Hungarians to the Maracana. The
watching crowd of 113,000 fans were treated to
a truly magnificent game that the hosts won 6-4.
The Hungarians were so delighted with the warm
reception they had received, that they invited the
56 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com
Rio-based side to travel with them for the rest
of their tour, playing them a further four times,
including twice in Caracas, Venezuela.
When the South American tour was finally over,
many of the Honved players once again opted not
to return to Hungary. Puskas, for example, signed
for Real Madrid and became a naturalised Spanish
citizen, while others, such as boss Bela Guttmann,
stayed in Brazil to manage Sao Paulo.
NOT ALL PRESIDENTS TALK NONSENSE
Penarol 2-1 Benfica, 1961
Penarols preparations for the 1960 Intercontinental
Cup final hadnt been the best. It had taken 30 hours
and several flights to get to Spain, which, combined
with the players struggling to sleep before the game,
did not make for a fine display against Real Madrid.
Alfredo Di Stefano, Puskas and Paco Gento showed
little sympathy, and did away with their opponents
5-1 on aggregate. Yet that humbling result didnt
stop club president Gaston Guelfi setting the bar
high. Next year well be the champions of South
America again and then well beat the Europeans.
Penarol will be world champions, he proclaimed.
And his prediction proved to be correct a year
later, when the Montevideo-based side overcame
BROKEN NOSES,
DRAFT DODGING
AND HOT COFFEE
Milan 4-2 Estudiantes, 1969
Having cruised to a 3-0 victory in the opening leg of the
Intercontinental Cup final at the San Siro, the Rossoneri
felt their mission was almost accomplished when they
flew to Buenos Aires for the second leg. However, the
La Bombonera stadium soon felt like a war zone. Even
before the game kicked off, the visitors had hot coffee
poured on them by Estudiantes fans.
On the pitch, Milans Argentina-born striker Nestor
Combin had the worst of it: kicked at by Estudiantes
keeper Alberto Polletti, getting his nose broken and
cheekbone shattered by defender Ramon Suarez
and being arrested by the police for draft dodging
while he was being stretchered off.
Milans golden No.10 Gianni Rivera was also punched
repeatedly by Polletti after hed given the visitors a 4-0
aggregate lead. Striker Pierino Prati was fouled so badly
that he lost consciousness. Though Estudiantes scored
twice, Milan held on. Their relief soon turned to outrage
when they realised Combin was still in police custody.
The Argentine authorities tried to undo the damage
from the Bombonera massacre, releasing Combin and
initially arresting the entire Estudiantes team. Suarez
was suspended and jailed while Polletti was initially
banned for life. Too little, too late.
 SOUTH AMERICA
VS EUROPE

Benfica. Eventually. The Portuguese side won the first
match 1-0 in Lisbon, only for Penarol to smash their
European opponents 5-0 in the return tie at Estadio
Centenario 30 days later. However, Guelfi could not
start celebrating victory yet.
The competition didnt employ an aggregate scoring
system, instead effectively awarding three points for
a win. This meant that despite that walloping in the
second leg, a play-off match had to be played at the
same stadium two days later.
If that wasnt bad enough for Penarol, Benficas star
man Eusebio, who had missed the first two matches,
would now be available to return for the third game.
The Mozambique-born icon even scored the equaliser
after Jose Sasia had given Penarol the lead. However,
Sasia then converted a penalty before half-time and
the hosts held on to win 2-1.
Good shout, Mr President.
And the European Cup runners-up promptly beat the
South American champs Independiente.
The Argentines had won three consecutive Copas
Libertadores between 1972 and 1974, and had seen
off Juventus to the global crown in the previous year.
The favourites won the opening leg 1-0 in Buenos
TOTAL FOOTBALL VS
Aires, but eventually wilted under intense Atletico
pressure in the second game, losing 2-0 in Madrid. TOTAL INTIMIDATION
For a club who have a habit of suffering dramatic
final defeats, this was stroke of good luck.
Ajax 4-1 Independiente, 1972
Ultimately, Total Football found itself totally
BEST OF ENEMIES CONQUER GALACTICOS dominant, with Ajax strolling to a 3-0 win in
Amsterdam against Independiente to lift the
Real Madrid 1-2 Boca Juniors, 2000 Intercontinental Cup. Yet the first leg in Buenos
Boca stunned the watching world with a convincing Aires was a nasty affair in which Johan Cruyff
performance and deserving victory against a Real received death threats and, after an apathetic
Madrid contingent that featured Steve McManaman, response by the Argentine police, Ajax coach
Roberto Carlos, Iker Casillas, Raul, Fernando Hierro Stefan Kovacs created a makeshift security
and Luis Figo. The 2-1 win was just the beginning squad, headed by himself and burly Barry

NEVER INSULT PELE!
Milan vs Santos, 1963
Brazilian striker Amarildo joined Milan from Botafogo
in 1963, but he did not have to wait too long to be
reunited with some of his countrymen. Milan faced
Santos in the Interncontinental Cup of that year, and
the 23-year-old frontman made himself particularly
unpopular with his opponents.
The Italian side had won the first leg at the San Siro
4-2, with Amarildo bagging a brace. Perhaps getting
a little ahead of himself, Amarildo boasted after the
match that Pele was finished, and that he was the
new king of football. This overlooked two factors
firstly that Pele had also scored twice in the game,
and also that there was still a second leg to come.
Brazils iconic No.10 was ruled out of the second
leg though injury and so was replaced by Almir
Pernambuquinho, also known as the white Pele.
He had promised to make Amarildo pay for his
premature boast back in Italy.
Milan cruised into a 2-0 half-time lead, but then
Santos rammed in four goals in just 18 second-half
minutes to force a Maracana play-off two days later.
That match may never have finished, with Milan so
incensed with the officiating of the Argentine referee,
Juan Brozzi, that they threatened to walk off, only to
be dissuaded by club directors.
The irked Italians perhaps had a point, though as
according to Pernambuquinhos biography the ref
had been bribed by the Brazilian side, who won the
game 1-0 to retain the trophy.
of a golden era for the Buenos Aires outfit under
Carlos Bianchi they would return to Japan twice
in the next four years, losing to Bayern Munich in
2001 and beating Milan in 2003.
The most impressive thing is that Boca managed
to beat Los Blancos despite infighting between its
two main stars, Juan Riquelme and Martin Palermo,
regarding the teams starting XI.
Palermo told Bianchi before the game that he
wanted Guillermo [Barros Schelotto] to feature
instead of me because he didnt feel comfortable
playing by my side, Marcelo Delgado would say
years later. He was close to Riquelme and had his
support in the discussion that ended up with the
squad divided into two groups.
Boca had also been missing their most famous
fan for the showpiece event in Tokyo, in the form
of Diego Maradona. El Diez was refused entry to
Japan due to local immigration laws prohibiting
those ever found guilty of drugs-related offences
from travelling to the country.
Hulshoff. Possibly wearied by the crowds
gathering outside their hotel to disturb their
sleep and taken aback by Independientes
confrontational tactics Ajax werent at their
best. Cruyff scored in the fifth minute, but
then Independiente snatched a late leveller.
Irate Ajax proved their worth in the second
leg, edging in front in the 12th minute when
a neat give and go with Ruud Krol and Johan
Neeskens put the latter through to net. Kovacs
side then showed just how accomplished they
were at playing keep-ball, Johnny Rep scoring
twice in the second period as Independiente
lost belief. After this easy home victory, Ajax
announced they would never compete in the
Intercontinental Cup again. This tie may also
explain why Cruyff refused to join the Dutch
squad in Argentina in 1978. He later blamed his
decision on rumours of kidnapping attempts but
he must also have been influenced by memories
of the death threats he had received in 1972.

ATLETI DEFY THE ODDS... AND LOGIC

Atletico Madrid 2-1 Independiente, 1974
European outfits grew steadily more reluctant to
participate in the International Cup throughout
the 1970s, especially when Argentine opposition
were involved. They felt the poor financial rewards
and spectator disinterest in the competition meant
that the lengthy trips over to South America werent
worthwhile, particularly as they were also likely to
suffer physically in doing so.
Bayern Munich, for example, declined to play in the
1974 competition, which afforded Atletico Madrid the
opportunity to become the only team to have played
in either the Intercontinental or Club World Cup final
without having ever conquered their own continent.
 SOUTH AMERICA
VS EUROPE
NOT EXACTLY THE MASTERS
Liverpool 0-3 Flamengo, 1981
The Reds side featured star names like Kenny
Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Alan Hansen,
and were feared all over Europe after beating
Real Madrid in the European Cup final in Paris.
Unsurprisingly, they flew over to Japan for
the newly-invigorated and Toyota-sponsored
Intercontinental Cup as massive favourites. So
it came as quite the surprise to see Bob Paisleys
side 3-0 down at half-time against Flamengo.
But maybe it shouldnt have been such a huge
shock. Firstly, the Brazilians had a spectacular
side of their own, with players such as Mozer,
58 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com
Leandro and Zico, with the latter in particular
making the English outfit look plain ordinary.
But, more importantly, midfield lynchpin
Souness revealed a few decades later that he
and fellow Scot Dalglish had left their hotel
rooms at 3am to go and visit a driving range.
Could a lust for late-night golf be the reason
no English side won the competition during the
late 70s or early 80s, despite dominating the
European scene? We suspect its more likely to
be because, as Paisley put it, Liverpool needed
three touches for every one [Flamengo] needed.
MORE THAN A GAME
Liverpool 0-1 Independiente, 1984
The 1984 fixture between the European champions
Liverpool and the winners of the Copa Libertadores,
Independiente, was one with a particularly fraught
build-up it was the first football match contested
between sides from England and Argentina since
the Falklands War, and incidents beyond the pitch
were still very fresh in the mind.
Everything was framed by numerous external
events preceding the game, Pedro Joaquin Iso,
then the club president of Independiente, later
said. There was some talk that the encounter
would be fought the hard way.
With relations between the two countries still
far from cordial, a full-blooded battle appeared
certain. Whether the players like it or not, they
do carry extra responsibility out there, match
commentator Peter Brackley opined during the
opening exchanges of the game. Bad behaviour
or bad sportsmanship might be interpreted in an
entirely different way today.
Yet despite all of the pre-match hype, it was
more of a tactical battle than a physical one,
with Independiente trying to spring Liverpools
offside trap as the Reds back four pushed up
dangerously high, almost to the halfway line.
It didnt take long for the Argentines to punish
them, as Claudio Marangonis ball found Jose
Percudani in acres of space. With the linesmans
flag remaining down by his side, the striker raced
through to slip the ball beyond Bruce Grobbelaar
and give the South American side an early lead.
The Argentines sat deep and looked to pick their
opponents off on the break. They did not score
again, but did enough to keep the Reds at bay
and win a second world crown.
MULLER HAS THE LAST LAUGH
Milan 2-3 Sao Paulo, 1993
Tele Santana is now recognised as one of the best
coaches in the history of Brazilian football; he was,
after all, the mastermind behind the 1982 World Cup
side thats widely recognised as of the best of all time.
Although his teams failure to win that tournament in
Spain left a few lingering question marks, he was able
to end any lingering doubts a decade later, by leading
Sao Paulo to a world championship of their own. And
then repeating the feat 12 months later.
Only three other sides have been able to win the
Intercontinental or Club World Cup back-to-back.
The first team was Peles Santos; the second was
the legendary Inter Milan side of Helenio Herrera
the master of Catenaccio and the third was Arrigo
Sacchis famous Milan of the late 1980s.
So Teles early 90s Sao Paulo vintage are certainly
in good company and they had to overcome the
best, too: Johan Cruyffs Barcelona Dream Team in
1992 and Fabio Capellos Milan in 1993.
The showdown against Franco Baresi, Alessandro
Costacurta and Paolo Maldini was named The Game
of the Century by the media. It was arguably the
most entertaining Intercontinental Cup encounter
ever and was decided in the 88th minute by Brazils
Muller, who made the score 3-2, before strutting up
to Costaturta and saying; This goals for you, clown.

CELTIC, RACING
AND THE SEA OF RED
Racing 1-0 Celtic, 1967
The match featured six sendings-off and 51 fouls,
and probably explains why Jock Stein, who was the
first British manager to win the European Cup, was
never knighted. In truth, although four Celtic players
were dismissed Bobby Lennox, Jimmy Johnstone
(for the crime of being on the wrong end of a rugby
tackle), John Hughes and Bertie Auld the European
champions were more sinned against than sinners.
For starters, Celtic keeper Ronnie Simpson suffered
a head injury after being struck by a missile thrown,
according to Celtics forward John Hughes, by one
of the Argentine photographers behind his goal.
The umpteenth scything foul on Johnstone was,
in the words of Racing keeper Agustin Cejas, one
of the most violent Ive ever seen. That didnt deter
Cejas from approaching the Scottish winger and then
kicking him as hard as I could for getting Alfio Basile
sent off although the Racing defender had just spat
at Lennox. As Jinking Jimmy had washed opponents
spit out of his hair at half-time, his 48th-minute red
card may well have come as something of a relief.
Racings Jose Cardenass winning goal was but
a sideshow. Hughes and Juan Carlos Rulli were sent
off for comparatively minor offences and, in one last
melee, Auld refused to walk off after being sent off.
Racings victory lap was truncated as Uruguayan
spectators pelted them with rubbish. What Harold
Wilsons government later referred to as those
unfortunate events in South America prompted
Steins removal from the honours list although
he was belatedly given a CBE three years later.
THE PRINCE VS THE COURT JESTER
VS MARK BOSNICH
Manchester United 1-2 Vasco da Gama, 2000
Romario and Edmundo had never really got
on that well off the pitch. When the latter
returned to Vasco da Gama in 1999 for the
third of five spells with the Rio de Janeiro
club, the former Barcelona striker did not
exactly roll out the welcome mat.
The kingdom is happy - the king (president
Eurico Miranda), the prince (Romario) and the
court jester (Edmundo), he sneered. Miranda
ended up forbidding them from talking to any
reporters after this latest episode.
Not that the discord aided Manchester United
much, as the Treble-winning side lined up with
Mark Bosnich in goal. The Red Devils adventure
in Brazil in January 2000, after their controversial
withdrawal from the FA Cup, saw them brushed
aside by Vasco da Gama in the inaugural World
Club Championship at the Maracana.
Romario and Edmundo had never combined so
perfectly on the pitch as they did that afternoon,
as Uniteds dazzled defence would attest. The pair
scored three goals between them as the reigning
European champions were easily vanquished.
Accompanied by their own security squad in
Rio de Janeiro, David Beckham and his United
colleagues didnt seem too down about crashing
out at the group stage, though, as they walked
along the beach, chilled by the pool and did some
training at altitude, before heading back home to
England to win the Premier League title.
SOUTH AMERICA
VS EUROPE
INTER END BARCAS DREAM
Internacional 1-0 Barcelona, 2006
A Barcelona side including Ronaldinho, then the
best footballer in the world, and the likes of Deco,
Xavi and Andres Iniesta were aiming and indeed
expecting to end the Blaugranas long wait for
a first-ever world title when they travelled to Japan
to face an Internacional side largely composed of
players unknown outside their homeland. Inters
main hope was a wet-eared 17-year-old who went
by the name of Alexandre Pato, who back then was
playing in his first professional season.
The Brazilians were rank outsiders going into the
final, but they formed a formidable and effective
unit to unsettle Frank Rijkaards champs.
Substitute Adriano Gabiru made himself a cult
hero in Brazil by scoring the only goal of the game
in Yokohama hes still remembered to this day
thanks to his 82nd-minute strike. Bara would
have to wait another three years, in Abu Dhabi,
before they could finally officially call themselves
the best football team on the planet.
PELES FINEST TURN IN CLUB FOOTBALL
Benfica 2-5 Santos, 1962
Few visiting teams have been able to illuminate
Lisbons Stadium of Light quite as spectacularly
as Peles Santos did in September 1962. Leading
3-2 from the first leg of the Intercontinental Cup,
the Brazilian champions ran amok in the return,
winning 5-2, with Pele scoring the only hat-trick in
the competitions history in his finest display in
 SOUTH AMERICA
VS EUROPE

club football. After his third goal, nutmegging
Eusebio, eluding three defenders and scoring
from the rebound, even Benfica fans applauded.
His assist for Santos third was almost as magical
as he danced down the touchline, cutting out four
opponents and setting up Coutinho.
Benfica goalkeeper Costa Pereira said: I arrived
hoping to stop a great man, however I went away
convinced Id been undone by someone not born
on the same planet as the rest of us.
The glory of this Santos team wasnt all about
Pele. The Brazilian journalist Odir Cunha believes
this was one of the greatest sides of all time, with
Gilmar Rinaldi in goal, Mauro Ramos in defence
(who had captained Brazil to World Cup glory that
summer) and Zito in midfield (whod scored in the
World Cup final). The Santos frontline was led by
Pele, Coutinho and Pepe (the latter two would have
been regulars for any national side).
the ball, miscontrolled it and tricked the
worlds greatest football player. When
I realised, I almost stopped in my tracks.
It was that kind of night for Santos. Alec
Stocks Fulham took the lead when keeper
Claudio dropped an Alan Pinkney cross into
his own net. Pele then equalised from the
penalty spot remarkably, it proved to be
the only goal he ever scored in London
after his 50-yard run had drawn a foul from
Cottagers keeper Peter Mellor.
Yet the Brazilian who most impressed the
21,464-crowd was the winger Edu, who had
played once in the 1970 World Cup, and hit
the bar with a brilliant free-kick. Industrious
midfielder Steve Earle won the match, being
body-checked outside the penalty area and
then scoring from the free-kick.
Pele graciously signed five matchballs after
the game. Yet off the pitch, things were not so
GLOBETROTTING
GRECIANS GET
PHYSICAL
Brazil 2-0 Exeter, 1914
Only becoming a republic back in 1889, Brazil had
inspired little patriotic fervour among the masses
until Exeter City played a combined Rio/Sao Paolo
XI at Fluminenses home ground on July 21, 1914.
The South American tour had been designed to
make money for the Grecians, but their talented
squad didnt enjoy the trip that much. During this
climactic match, four of their players left the pitch
when their side were trailing 2-0, and only came
back after protests from their opponents, a fervent
crowd of 10,000 supporters as well as the referee.
Playing in white, with a green and yellow band
on their sleeves, the Brazilian XI dominated the
match. Arthur Friedenreich, who probably scored
more goals than any Brazilian footballer except

COTTAGERS BEAT PELE AT HIS OWN GAME
Fulham 2-1 Santos, 1973
The Fulham striker John Mitchell will never forget
taking on Santos in a friendly at Craven Cottage
back in March 1973. My claim to fame was that
I nutmegged Pele, he recalled. I turned with
friendly. Santos had arranged this UK tour to
raise some money effectively turning their
iconic No.10 into a footballing busker and
accused Fulham of fiddling the gate receipts.
Magnanimous Pele bore no grudge, though
on a 2002 visit to Harrods, he agreed to scout
for the club in South America.
Pele, got his side off the mark before being charged
by an Exeter player and, so local lore has it, losing
two front teeth. When the English-sounding name
of Osman made it 2-0, fans went wild as, reports
suggest, did Exeters players. The local papers talk
of them then mounting a violent attack, which
reached brutality while fouls were common.

60 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com

 SOUTH AMERICA
VS EUROPE

THE OLD LADY STEPS IN
Juventus 0-1 Independiente, 1973
Ajax matched words with deeds when, despite
winning their third European Cup in a row, they
refused to travel over to South America to face
Independiente in the 1973 Intercontinental Cup.
Officially, the club put it down to financial reasons,
although the memory of having to turn players into
bodyguards surely played its part. Juventus stepped
in but werent keen on travelling either so, after much
discussion, it was agreed that the competition would
be decided by a one-off contest played in the neutral
territory of Romes Stadio Olimpico.
The Bianconeri had the more stellar team-sheet
Dino Zoff in goal, with Claudio Gentile and Francesco
Marini in defence and Franco Causio, Pietro Anastasi
and Roberto Bettega upfront and dominated play.
If Antonello Cuccureddu had not blasted a penalty
over, they might have won. Yet Independiente coach
Roberto Pipo Ferreiro had gambled with three strikers:
Agustin Balbuena, Ricardo Bochini and Daniel Bertoni
and the move paid off brilliantly in the 73rd minute.
Bochini and Bertoni passed the ball through the Juve
defence until they came face to face with Zoff, who
was beaten by Bochinis deft lob. The goal helped to
make Bochini a star and has since acquired mythical,
Holy Grail-like, status as the recording of the original
broadcast of the game has been lost.
DI STEFANOS
LUCKY BREAK
Millonarios 2-1 Real Madrid, 1952
In hindsight, imagining Real Madrid without Di
Stefano is like envisaging The Beatles without
Lennon and McCartney. However, when Santiago
Bernabeu took Los Blancos to South America on
a world tour to celebrate the Merengues 50th
anniversary, he was hoping to be able to sign
Deportivo Calis Peruvian striker Valeriano Lopez.
The free-scoring iconoclastic forward, who
was so lavishly paid in Colombia this was
a time when the country, banned from FIFA,
could flout transfer rules and invested its riches
from coffee into football that he could afford
to smoke cigarettes made of rolled-up dollar
bills, turned Bernabeu down to stay at home.
The Real Madrid president had heard of Di
Stefano an agent had offered to put him in
touch with the Argentine, at the time playing
for Colombias best team, Millonarios and
when he saw the player orchestrate a 2-1 win
with a 2-2 draw, thanks to Wilfried Hannes and Rainer
Bonhof goals. Five months later in Karlsruhe, despite
the return of reigning European Footballer of the Year
Allan Simonsen for Gladbach, it was a different story.
Boca went ahead when Dario Felman capitalised
on a defensive gaffe. Losing their composure amid
the crunching tackles, Gladbach were then hit twice
on the counter, with Ernesto Mastrangelo and Carlos
Salinas making it 3-0 at the interval.
Boca expected a response and duly got it. Luckily
for them, sweeper-keeper Hugo Gatti, nicknamed
El Loco, was in unbelievable form. The triumph was
especially satisfying for Boca coach Juan Lorenzo:
as Atletico manager, he had lost the 1974 European
Cup Final replay to Latteks Bayern.
CLOUGHY GETS SAND IN HIS PANTS
Nacional 1-0 Nottingham Forest, 1980
Though it wasnt really apparent at the time, this
Intercontinental Cup final, a single match, held in
Tokyo for the first time at the behest of sponsors
Toyota, marked the rebirth of the competition.
The 62,000-crowd at Tokyo Stadium was more
impressive than the pitch, which was so sandy
that Forest boss Brian Clough said: If you can
make watch-sized televisions, then its about
time you learned how to grow grass.
Forest were facing Nacional, the Uruguayan
winners of the Copa Libertadores, who had been

A DOG WITHOUT AN OWNER over his side (in a match watched by, among
others, future revolutionary icon and part-time
revived by their own managerial double act: coach
Juan Martin Mujica and trainer Esteban Gestabo.
Bayern Munich vs Independiente, 1975 keeper Che Guevara), he knew he had found Nacional were hard-working and organised, rather
If youre struggling to recall the result of the 1975 a genius who, as he put it, smells of football. than flashy, and their goal had an English simplicity
Intercontinental Cup final, dont worry as it never It would take Bernabeu a number years of about it: a run down the wing and a low cross which
took place. Having won their first European Cup in byzantine back-room diplomacy and subterfuge, striker Waldemar Victorino, in the form of his life for
74, Bayern turned down the chance to compete for but he would eventually sign Di Stefano in the Nacional and Uruguay, smashed in.
the accolade of best club in the world. most influential transfer of all time. Di Stefano Cloughs side controlled possession but could not
Runners-up Atletico Madrid seized the opportunity would not only rewrite Real Madrids history, create very much, and were undone by the kind of
and beat Independiente 2-1 on aggregate. Though hed redefine European club football as well. defensive organisation they had used to frustrate
this contest had not been marred by any conspicuous Hamburg and win the European Cup.
violence, Bayern still shunned the competition after
retaining the European Cup in 1975. Beaten finalists
Leeds werent interested in facing Independiente
either, and so the competition lapsed.
Bayern coach Dettmar Cramer blamed his teams
absence on scheduling conflicts, adding that the club
would lose money on the Intercontinental Cup, even
if it won. The impasse prompted LEquipe to revive an
old proposal for a Club World Cup consisting of the
semi-finalists from the European Cup and the Copa
Libertadores, plus the champions of Asia and Africa.
UEFA rejected the scheme and the Intercontinental
Cup staggered on, likened to a dog with no owner
by Spanish daily El Mundo Deportivo.

ANYBODY GOT A CALENDAR?

Boca Juniors 5-2 Borussia Monchengladbach, 1978
By the time of the late 70s, the Intercontinental Cup
was operating in its own time zone. The 1977 edition
was actually played in 1978 two legs played either
side of the World Cup (which Argentina had won)
with Gladbach filling in for the uninterested European
champions Liverpool. Yet the two games transcended
all of the surrounding mediocrity.
Inside La Bombonera in March 1978, Udo Latteks
stylish Monchengladbach side gained the advantage
 nELSOn VIVAS

THEY USED TO
CALL ME
THE KICKInG
MACHInE
Y E S, R E A L L Y !
Argentina vs England at France 98, Di Canios
infamous shove, Wengers revolution, the rise
of Simeone... like a fighty, footballing Forrest
Gump, Nelson Vivas has been historys witness

Words Martin Mazur Portrait Jorge Dominelli

S
ome people just end up being in the right place at the right
time. My life in football has been full of many very unlikely
moments Im just about getting used to it now, chuckles
Nelson Vivas a day after being named Argentinas manager
of the year in his debut season at Estudiantes. The nicest
thing about football is that you never know what will happen next
even the most unexpected things can take place.
Thats certainly been the way of it throughout a career full of some
fantastic tales and thats before you get to him leading his current
club to the top of the league, a spot in the Copa Libertadores and an
epic 21-match unbeaten run, all with a previously unfancied squad.
Long before Gilberto Silva or Alexis Sanchez, Vivas became the first
ever South American player to put pen to paper at Arsenal, not that
hes particularly well remembered in north London.
Still, he won 39 caps for Argentina and was part of the squad that
travelled to the 1998 World Cup, and played the full 120 minutes of
his countrys penalty shootout victory over England.
He played with everyone from Tony Adams to Diego Maradona,
via Gabriel Batistuta, Dennis Bergkamp and the Brazilian Ronaldo.
Vivas is also among the very few men to have played for both
Boca Juniors and River Plate, and has been managed by Manuel
Pellegrini, Arsene Wenger, Hector Cuper and Daniel Passarella,

FourFourTwo.com March 2017 63

 nELSOn VIVAS
not to mention Argentinas three most renowned bosses of the modern
era: Cesar Menotti, Carlos Bilardo and Marcelo Bielsa. He later acted as
Diego Simeones right-hand man at Estudiantes, River and San Lorenzo,
coaching the likes of Juan Veron and Radamel Falcao.
In the last 20 years, Vivas has somehow managed to be on hand to
witness some of footballs most iconic moments, biggest games and
most important coaching revolutions. He has often been the common
man who just so happened to be strolling through the background.
This is a man with more than a few stories to tell, and he has invited
FourFourTwo to his current workplace to share them.
The former right-sided defender welcomes us to his first-floor bunker,
a near-empty room with artificial grass, red-and-white walls and a few
windows that overlook a football pitch and a forest. The room, which is
sometimes used for physiotherapy, features just the one object: a chair.
Its clearly a place he comes to for some quiet time.
I like this place because I can see the players lodge, Vivas says as
he looks out across his domain. It was there, when I was 21 years old,
that I came for a trial, but ran away after two days. I just went home.
The aforementioned career looked impossible for a man who had
reached the age of 21 without having played a professional match.
After I quit Estudiantes, I talked with my father and decided that
football was not for me. I decided it would be better for me to study.
I also worked with my uncle, a blacksmith, and spent 14 months on
duty with the military. But then I went to have a final trial at Quilmes,
and just a few years later I was playing alongside Diego Maradona at
Boca Juniors, then facing England at the World Cup.
His most vivid memory of that titanic tie is the moment Argentinas
keeper Carlos Roa saved David Battys penalty and not just because
it put La Albiceleste through to the quarter-finals. That moment was
a mixture of joy and a relief for me, because I was down to take the
sixth penalty, he laughs. Not many people know about that, but
I would have taken the first sudden-death penalty.
Michael Owen was really difficult to stop, Vivas adds, puffing out
his cheeks as he recalls the chastening experience of facing the rapid
18-year-old. Ive got a picture showing my ankle completely bent as
I tried to stop him. Fortunately, Ive always been a little bit elastic. As
a kid, I would jump from the roof of my house and land on my feet. It
is one of the reasons why I was good at headers despite being 5ft 5in,
and also an explanation to why I dont have knee cartilage anymore!
Bar the lack of knee cartilage, Vivas, now a 47-year-old, still appears
to be in perfect shape. The only noticeable difference from his playing
times is the rebellious beard hes recently sprouted.
Ive taken some weird decisions during my career, perhaps based
on my lack of experience. Things that Id never do now, like leaving
Boca to join a Second Division Swiss team when I was aiming to be
with the World Cup squad at the end of the season.
Yet that move to unheralded Lugano turned out to be a good one.
We won the league and I played every game. I must have impressed
[Argentina manager] Passarella, because he then had me man-mark
Ronaldo at the Maracana. We won 1-0, which is still Argentinas most
recent win there, and I had earned my place in the team for the World
Cup. It was then that Arsenal knocked on my door.
A competent right-back who also excelled as part of a three-man
defence, Vivas still recalls his first meeting with forward-thinking
Gunners boss Wenger: Once Argentina were out of the World Cup,
I met Wenger in a restaurant in Paris. It was a very strange situation,
because I didnt speak English, so he only talked to my lawyer, and
I was sat there not knowing what either of them were talking about!
Recently, Javier Mascherano congratulated Vivas via Twitter for an
interview in which he said, among other things, that winning should
not be the only measure of football success, as a manager should be
able to see the broader picture. This was most likely a philosophy that
was developed at Arsenal, where he made 71 first-team appearances
(although just 30 starts) between 1998 and 2001.
Arsene Wenger was a total manager, not just taking care of tactics,
but of every little thing, Vivas recalls fondly. It has been years since
I have been there, but I could still tell you, with pinpoint accuracy, the
whereabouts of everything at the clubs training ground, which Arsene
carefully designed right down to the tiniest detail.
64 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com
Of course, the late 90s were a ti f
change in English football, and no
so than at Arsenal, where Wenger d
was full of old-school English foot
and all those old traditions were bl d d
with the French gaffers perhaps m
considered approach. Vivas relished .
Having a captain like Tony Adam
was incredibly inspiring, he beam
After training was over, he would
never walk across a pitch to save
himself time and effort. Pitches we
sacred, only used for playing footb
never to just walk across. I have n
experienced such feeling of perfec
as I did while I was an Arsenal pla
Those senses of both tradition a
discipline have possibly been thing
that he has since taken with him i
his promising career as a football .
For a player who never so much ll d
a muscle until he was the grand o f
35, diet was very important. And th
another area in which Wenger left
Learning what is best to eat and when its
best to eat is something that really helps
a player, Vivas says. Everyone knows this
now, but Wenger was once in the minority.
Still, despite learning so much and feeling
so at home at one of English footballs most
famous clubs, Vivas didnt know how to prove
he was capable of earning a place in the first
XI. I had to fight Lee Dixon for my place, and
I would think: How on Earth am I going to win
my spot if there are no practice matches? All
exercises included the ball, in reduced spaces,
four goalmouths, everything precisely timed
something that I had never done before but,
again, something that today is very common.
Now, as a manager, I understand that this
is the best way to analyse exactly how a player
is doing. But as a player, almost 20 years ago,
I didnt understand how to prove I was good
enough for the first team if we never actually
played any games. I did not understand that
I was part of a coaching revolution, but I was.
Arsenal still had a backline with a decade
of experience Dixon, Adams, Martin Keown
and Nigel Winterburn but from then on it
was mostly foreign players who joined the
Gunners. Football was changing rapidly and
Wenger was the one who saw it all coming.
Playing so infrequently in north London was I HAVE A PICTURE
SHOWInG MY AnKLE
the source of great frustration, and with the
risk of his work permit not being renewed, he
opted to make a loan move to Celta de Vigo.
While on a visit to Argentina, Thierry Henry
once admitted that during Arsenal training COMPLETELY BEnT AS
I TRIED TO STOP OWEn.
sessions, one of the most dangerous things
that a player could ever do was attempt to
pull off a one-two against Nelson Vivas.
Thats true, Vivas laughs. You can give
the one but youd hardly ever get the two. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEn
A LITTLE BIT ELASTIC
I remember Freddie Ljungberg baptised me
The Kicking Machine. I have always done
everything to try to win. Id ask for yellow
cards for the opposition players and then
inside the dressing room they would nag at
me, because thats a lack of sportsmanship.

Even during the training sessions, I got knocks
and cuts. Dont forget the group I trained with
had Adams, Keown, Vieira...
Ex-Quilmes manager Carlos Trullet, when
discussing Vivas aggressive side, described
him as being like a bag of cats with a dog
inside. That aggression was always a key
part of Vivas game, but its also what made
him feel extremely uncomfortable when he
entered the Inter Milan dressing room for the
first time it was full of South Americans he
had managed to either punch, elbow or kick
in continental competitions down the years.
First I bump into Ronaldo, and I apologise to
him for a kick I had given him against Brazil.
Then along comes Alvaro Recoba, and I also
have to say sorry to him for another incident
in a match against Uruguay.
It was almost as embarrassing during his
brief loan period at Celta Vigo when he was
talking to one of his new team-mates, Goran
Djorovic. I once played against Argentina in
Mar del Plata with Yugoslavia and there was
this animal that hit me with a horrific tackle,
the Serbian told Vivas. Er, that was me, the
defender was forced to reply. He was right,
too it was a terrible tackle, he confesses.
Yet maybe Vivas most infamous altercation
was one when he did not actually do anything
wrong. People on the streets still come up to
me and tell me that I punched Rivaldo but
I didnt do it, he insists, correcting a popular
fallacy within his homeland.
We were playing at home against Brazil,
we had just conceded a goal, I had just been
booked, and then Rivaldo came flying in with
a sliding tackle that I just managed to avoid.
My instant reaction when he stood up was to
punch him. I clenched my fist and started to
swing, but I managed to hold it back at the
very last moment. I was caught on camera,
so lots of people saw, he says.
This episode is eerily reminiscent to Paolo
Di Canios near-punch on Winterburn after
the Italian, playing for Sheffield Wednesday
at the time, had been dismissed for pushing
referee Paul Alcock. Of course, Vivas was on
the scene, right next to the ref.
Not long after I had signed for Inter, I was
in the lift going up to my new apartment and
Rivaldo strolled in he was playing for Milan.
It was just the two of us alone inside the lift.
We didnt say a word to each other. He lived
in the same building! One day, I discovered
my son playing with a new friend, and it was
Rivaldos son. Can you believe it?
Vivas loved the earlier stages of his career
in football, but the enjoyment waned as the
years passed. All the people cursing at me
left a mark, he says, with his mind firmly on
the abuse he suffered as a former Boca man
joining River Plate in 2003. That experience
was particularly difficult, since the crowds
patience lasted seconds. I knew those were
the rules of the game so I accepted what
they said to me, but if someone dared to
say anything on the street, even if it was
an argument in traffic, I would get out of
my car and start chasing the other car on
foot. The criticism left me psychologically
damaged, I didnt even dare open any of
the papers to see the rating I was getting.
Managing his emotions has often been
an issue for Vivas, and he admits to having
nELSOn VIVAS
broken doors in the majority of the houses that he has
lived in, generally out of frustration.
Vivas hung up his boots in 2003, after his son returned
home from school one day with a drawing of the entire
family, except his father: it was such a blow that it forced
him into retirement. Several days before, he had reacted
badly to a nutmeg during a training session and slapped
a team-mate. He made a brief return with Quilmes, but
then retired permanently in 2005.
Vivas has had some problems taming his demons
particularly since his second retirement from playing.
Without the structure of training or any instructions
from his coaches, he suddenly found himself with lots
of hours to fill, and developed OCD.
It was probably pretty hard to live with me, he says.
All the yogurts in the fridge needed to be organised in
a certain way, just like in the supermarket. My clothes
were sorted by colour, and all of them folded to exactly
the same width. The car always had to be parked with
the wheels a certain distance away from the curb, and
perfectly aligned with each other. Otherwise Id pull out
and park again and again. I felt frustrated if something
was out of place or not in the way I wanted it to be.
He has since overcome some of these problems with
the help of therapy, although some remain. The biggest
help perhaps came when Simeone offered him the role
of assistant manager at Estudiantes, which has enabled
Vivas to once again focus all his obsessions on football;
analysing the opponents, planning the training sessions
and creating the tactical systems.
Simeone jokes that he prevented me from committing
suicide, but we were all very obsessive and hard workers
and we had a great time, he says. I prepared lots of notebooks with
annotations. When Diego decided to move abroad, to Catania in 2011,
I could not go with him. My daughter was two and I had just divorced
and I didnt want to stop seeing her. What he has managed to achieve
with Atletico Madrid has been remarkable. He is undoubtedly one of
the best managers in the world at the moment.
The first time Vivas branched out on his own in management, at
Quilmes, it ended rather badly and very quickly. He punched a fan
after his first game, with the scrap caught by television cameras. It
was a fan that had been cursing me for the whole 90 minutes, from
behind the fence, Vivas explains. So I reacted.
He was summoned to the club presidents office and then sacked
on the spot. It was a difficult moment, he reflects. I was in a bad
place, but suddenly everything just clicked. I started reading about
meditation, Buddhism, and found the serenity I needed to take the
next step. Im very different now, more serene.
Last year, Estudiantes sporting director Agustin Alayes offered him
the chance to coach the reserves. With all the managers Id worked
for, and all the experience I had, I thought it was a good way to try
to leave a mark on players that were developing.
One thing led to another and Vivas was soon appointed first-team
manager by the clubs president, Juan Sebastian Veron. Equilibrium
is a word that I am using quite a lot. It is the word I would tattoo on
myself if I had to pick one. Equilibrium means not getting over-excited
when you win, not feeling a tragedy when you lose, being able to cope
with the teams problems and issues with serenity. Equilibrium is not
trying to impose your ideas, but to convince the players to apply them.
Its a negotiation. Sometimes you have to give in.
Im learning. Its an honour to be compared with Diego Simeone,
Mauricio Pochettino and [current River Plate boss] Marcelo Gallardo
all players of my generation but Im remaining balanced; Im only
starting. In Argentina, you win one football match and are told you
are the best, but then you lose one match and are forced to believe
that you are the worst, he says, underlining exactly why he is not
getting overly carried away with his early success.
After everything hes seen in the game, Vivas could be forgiven for
being happy that, at last, the stories are about him.
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 65
 YOUnG
MARADOnA

Words Martin Mazur

Long before promising

Argentine talents were
being labelled the new
Maradona, there was
the actual Maradona.
Forty years on from his
Argentina debut at just
16 years old, FFT takes
a look back at the early
days of Diegos career
 YOUnG
MARADOnA

In his 2001 book, Cebollita Maradona,

Francisco Cornejo describes perfectly
if somewhat dramatically how it felt
to be the manager who had Diego
Maradona taken away from him.
It was almost like a robbery, a violent robbery in which I had no
alternative but to hand him over, he said. I felt like an artist who,
after polishing a rough diamond and then turning it into an almost
perfect jewel, feels that the jewel he knows down to every last detail
will be borne by someone that doesnt know it or care for it so much.
Cornejo had been Maradonas first coach with Los Cebollitas The
Little Onions an all-conquering youth team affiliated to Argentinos
Juniors. He was the man who had discovered the future world star
during a street football kickabout, and was so impressed by his skills
that he rushed to the Maradona home to ask his mother for proof
of age. He could not believe this boy was eight. Over the next few
years, as the side swept all before them, Diego earned a wonderkid
reputation. It wasnt too long before the first team came knocking.
It was Hector Mazzoni, a board member at Argentinos, who broke
the news to the young player and his youth team manager that the
senior squad wanted possession of this phenomenon. You wont go
anywhere, Cornejo barked towards Diego impulsively. The members
of the board who had gathered at the clubs training ground were all
somewhat startled. Hes so tiny! So young! If something happens to
him, Ill hold you responsible. Hes not ready yet, you are putting his
career in danger. The coach thought it was too much, too soon, and
matters became so heated, it looked like a fistfight might break out.
Yet Maradona himself was barely concerned. His eyes were already
widening at the thought of the opportunity to play in the Primera.
It was 1976. Early in the year, Argentinos first-team boss Juan
Carlos Montes had first set his eyes on the little gem causing such
a fuss for Los Cebollitas, then just a 15-year-old. He had approved
of what hed seen. Theoretically, Diego still had five seasons in the
youth ranks before he would step up to the professional game. But
Montes was willing to let the prodigy leapfrog the academy system.
I knew that sooner or later, the moment would come, Cornejo,
who died in 2008, later explained. I never imagined it would have
been so soon and so painful. It is not that it happened by chance,
and I was not surprised, but I still had hopes of delaying having to
say goodbye to Diego. When he was promoted into the first team,
I felt the same pain and emptiness I would have felt if he had been
sold to one of the many clubs that were trying to steal him from us.
The board eventually realised his youth coach had been at least
partly correct. The promotion had been a little too rapid, even for
an individual with such bountiful potential. So they opted to make
Maradona play a few matches with one of the academys older age
groups, as well as give him a handful of reserve-side appearances.
His first-team debut was approaching when the other, darker side
of Diego that now well-known competitive streak came to the
fore. During a reserve game with Velez Sarsfield, he reacted angrily
to a decision going against him. Youre a master Im surprised
youre not given international matches, was the teenage talents
cuttingly sarcastic cry to the referee. His lip was enough to get him
sent off, charged with misconduct, and a five-match ban followed.
But despite this glimpse into the temperamental issues that would
later dog Maradonas career, the big day still rolled around before his
16th birthday. With Argentinos Juniors stuggling for form during the
Torneo Nacional, a spark was needed. Once Diego had served his ban
hurried along by two hastily-arranged U17 friendly games Montes
selected him for his first-ever professional outing against Talleres on
October 20, 1976. He was just 15 years, 11 months and 20 days old.
Up until that point he had still lived with his family in the slums of
Villa Fiorito; the very day he was called up for his first senior game,
the club decided to rent him a small flat closer to the stadium, in
Villa del Parque. Maradonas life was about to drastically change.

68 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com


A MATCH ATTENDED BY HALF OF ARGENTINA
At 9am on the morning of the match, Diego got on a train, alone
(his father was busy working in a factory). Later, he hopped on the
135 bus. His two-hour commute got him to Argentinos ground in
time for a spot of lunch: steak and potatoes. This trip had become
a near-daily routine, but this day was different. After a brief siesta,
he was handed the No.15 jersey and told he was about to make his
debut. It would be one of the few occasions that he didnt wear the
No.10 with which hed become synonymous.
Argentinos officially sold 7,577 tickets for that match against
Talleres. But like early Sex Pistols gigs or the 1966 World Cup Final,
hundreds of thousands of people now claim to have been present,
watching the future national idol turn out in his very first pro game.
Not even the Maracana could have welcomed all the people that
say they attended, but we got used to people saying, I was there,
jokes Ricardo Pellerano, Maradonas team-mate at Argentinos. The
chance to witness this prized player in action had, however, doubled
the usual attendance: there was a justified buzz surrounding Diego.
That youth side, Los Cebollitas, had earned national fame for going
140 matches unbeaten, with Maradona going viral decades before
social media simply by word of mouth. Not everyone had seen him
in the flesh, but most were now aware of the scamp who inspired
this junior answer to the Harlem Globetrotters.
Whats more, Argentinos at the time were a small club without an
illustrious history or notable players. They may now have won three
Primera Division titles and be known for having a top academy that
produced Fernando Redondo, Juan Pablo Sorin, Esteban Cambiasso
and Juan Roman Riquelme but all that stemmed, ultimately, from
Diego Maradona. He was their Big Bang, and the explosion took place
at half-time during that game against Talleres.
Unlike Pele, who warmed the Santos bench for two months before
getting his first proper taste of the sport, Maradona only had to wait
45 minutes. With Argentinos losing 1-0, Montes hinted that Maradona
Clockwise from would be coming on during the second period. Pibe (kid), do what you
below Maradona know, his gaffer had apparently announced to nobody in particular.
debuts in 1976 If you can, try a nutmeg. Maradona remembers: When he said pibe,
against Talleres; I looked aroundand I did not see many young players, so I assumed
getting ready for it was me. I started warming up, and 30 seconds later he sent me in.
the big leagues; Wishing him good luck as he was coming off the pitch was Ruben
Francisco Cornejo Giacobetti. Im relieved to say that I wasnt just substituted for any
discovered Diego 15-year-old, says Giacobetti, who later moved into the real estate
when he was only business. In fact, I decided to stay on the substitutes bench during
eight; the teenage the second half, because I wanted to see Diego playing. We all knew
talent was soon what he was capable of, and now I feel honoured that my name is
the star man at somehow connected to Maradonas career.
Argentinos; Juan Diegos first official action was, apparently, indeed a nutmeg,
Domingo Cabrera bamboozling gritty defender Juan Domingo Cabrera. Maradona
falls victim to the soon learned a lesson in return: Cabrera reacted with an elbow
famous nutmeg
YOUnG
MARADOnA
directed to his chin. Cabrera had already been booked, so Maradona
knew he had to try to have him sent off, recalls team-mate Sebastian
Ovelar. Without television footage, the nutmeg has become the stuff
of myth and legend, with many people doubting that it could really
have been Diego Maradonas very first action in professional football.
I remember the nutmeg, and it was embarrassing, amazing, says
Argentinos full-back Humberto Minuti. But I cant say if it was the
first time he touched the ball in the game.
Argentine newspaper El Grafico once even traced a picture in the
archives of the fateful touch: Diego, then living in Cuba, confirmed it
as the notorious nuts via fax. The photograph was later stashed in
an envelope by his victim, Cabrera. I know Im part of history as the
first man Maradona tricked, he said in 2001. It was a quick action,
very close to the touchline. Maradona made a U-turn in the blink of
an eye, and then I realised that the ball had already passed through
my legs, and I felt the stadium go, oooh.
The 1-0 scoreline did not change, however. Not even the inclusion
of the surprising, skilful and intelligent Maradona (16 years old) was
enough to solve the problem, wrote Hector Onesime for El Grafico.
The youngster was graded with a merely solid 7 he was ecstatic.
Only once in my career I had the feeling of touching the sky with
my hands. It was the day after making my debut, he remarked.
In the dressing room afterwards, he felt like a Hollywood starlet:
a queue of people team-mates, family members, friends, fans,
opposition players and journalists all wanted a word with Diego.
Im not 16, I will be 16 in 10 days, he corrected one reporter.
IT WAS ALMOST OVER BEFORE IT BEGAN
Maradona needed just five matches to score his first club goal.
On November 14, against San Lorenzo de Mar del Plata, Diego
was deployed in the second half with Argentinos leading 3-2.
He put one past keeper Ruben Lucangioli in the 87th minute
and added a second goal before full-time.
Despite his bad day at the office, Lucangioli sensed that this was
an historic moment. He kept the ball as well as his grasping gloves
as souvenirs. They were in an attic for many years, and as Diegos
miracles grew bigger, we would get telephone calls from different
people who knew that we had the ball he scored his first goal with,
recalls Lucangiolis son Fabian. But then one day my two-year old
brother saw it and took it out to the garden. The dog found it and
destroyed it. Weve got the gloves, though.
Maradona was already a national phenomenon. Defenders were
unable to stop him despite trying with some high, scything tackles,
elbows or headbutts. But the kid was tough: he had already survived
his first career-threatening injury a severe blow to a knee,which had
rendered him unconscious andbecame infected. Blood was removed
from the joint with a syringe, and after a course of antibiotics and 28
days in plaster, it healed. Team-mates would act as bodyguards, and
as lesser players tried to injure their star, pitch battles would erupt.
Nobody wanted to play against Diego, as old team-mate Pellerano
contends. Id seen Maradona in action during an a eighth-division
match and he made such an impression that I told our manager.
A few months later, he was training with us.
But he played for the reserves and hed make us in the first XI
suffer so much. Please, coach, make him play for us, I would tell
Montes. It was difficult for a professional player to be ridiculed in the
way Maradona did and not react. Im talking about things that only
a team-mate could witness out-of-this-world movements, goals in
which he had dribbled past the entire defence twice. That happened
every day. Pellerano became one of Diegos assistants when he took
over Mandiyu and Racing in 1994 and 1995.
Maradona was soon loved by fans across the entire Primera, and his
popularity was boosted by the fact that he didnt (yet) belong to any
of the five big clubs, and hadnt (yet) done anything controversial. He
was an innocent teenage talent, albeit one who had sealed his place
in the first team after merely seven matches.
It was the most lovable stage of Maradonas career and we were
witnesses of it, says Minuti fondly. He still played football as if he
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 69
 YOUnG
MARADOnA
was on the street, without feeling the responsibilities of a professional
player. It was the same in training as it was in games. I cant say how
many incredible things he did with the ball.
The street football comment rang true. He may have been a Primera
pro, but Maradona still booted an old leather about with the locals in
his new neighbourhood. Hed sit out on the pavement with his family
and friends playing the card game truco, too. And it was here, at his
casa chorizo (an old house reconverted into seven flats), that Diego
would meet Claudia Villafane, the girl who stole his heart and would
become his wife and mother of his daughters, Dalma and Giannina.
Claudia lived at the end of the hallway. It took him one year to dance
with her, in a party at Club Parque, an Argentinos satellite club that
later became an elite five-a-side academy.
He was becoming an idol to the local children, and hed return their
affections generously. Maradona would hand out gifts to kids in the
hospital; if 30 urchins from a rural municipality decided to pay a visit,
hed open up his front door and let them in.
But he was not distracted from honing his skills. After the scheduled
training sessions were over, Diego stayed back for hours to perfect his
technique. One of his favourite drills was to try to hit the crossbar four
times in a row. Another was to control the ball with the instep, seven
times in a row, from a freefall of 20 metres.
He was loyal, too. It is remarkable that Maradona only signed his
first professional contract in 1977, explains Alberto Perez, the lawyer
and Argentinos Juniors general secretary who eventually drew up the
documents for Diego to ink. Until then, he had every chance of taking
advantage of an administrative mistake to just walk away or use the
parental rights to move to another club. But he chose to stay, and the
day that he left was through the front door.
They still honour him in the La Paternal neighbourhood of Buenos
Aires where Argentinos are based. The clubs dilapidated ground was
rebuilt and named Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in his honour
in 2003. And Perez later bought the house where Maradona lived in
Villa del Parque and transformed it into a living museum, which is
still open for public worship, free of charge, every Saturday morning.
Some of the original furniture, like Diegos bed, was still there when
he bought it. Other pieces were found in flea markets, or rebuilt using
the family photos that now decorate the walls. The result is nostalgic
perfection. The house is exactly as it was in the late 70s, except for
the paintings, said one of Diegos sisters on the day it opened in late
2016. We would come here every Friday and stay over until Sunday.
Its the first official Diego Maradona museum.
DIEGO AND THE DIRTY WAR
However, while things were going swimmingly for the young player,
Argentina was enduring darker days. On March 24, 1976 roughly
around the time when Maradona had started training with the first
team a military coup removed president Isabel Martinez de Peron
and installed in her place a fierce right-wing dictatorship that very
quickly imposed a state of siege and martial law.
The so-called Dirty War against left-wing guerrillas had started in
democratic times, but growing terrorism was the perfect excuse to
illegally detain students and political activists, take them to camps,
torture themand sometimes even kill them. While performing this
state-sponsored form of terrorism, the military juntas nationalistic
propaganda campaign focused heavily on sports. So an upcoming
World Cup in 1978 was their opportunity to prove to the watching
world this was a normal, happy, united country.
Sportsmen couldnt escape the states tentacles, and there were no
exceptions. Mario Kempes Argentinas biggest icon until the dawn
of Diego was not allowed to name his second daughter Natasha.
They told me it was a Russian name, and that was not allowed, so
I had to name her Magali, he recalls. I named my third daughter
Natasha instead, once the military were gone.
Thousands joined the ranks of the disappeared (30,000 is thought
to be the best estimate, although exact numbers remain a subject of
controversy). Goalkeeper Antonio Piovoso was among them the only
pro footballer to die at the regimes hands. He was kidnapped during
70 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com
1977, possibly by mistake, by soldiers trying to locate a classmate.
I heard a voicetell him: You will also come with us for having long
hair, claimed a witness to his arrest. Another goalkeeper, Claudio
Tamburrini, who had been a member of the Communist Party, was
detained for 120 days. He managed to escape using some sheets
as a rope, before seeking asylum in Sweden.
Angel Cappa also went into exile, to Spain. The Olimpo de Bahia
Blanca player had every reason to worry: hed been a philosophy
student and Peronist party militant. We had been printing leaflets,
and having the leaflets was enough of a reason to be disappeared,
he says. One day, we were stopped at a military checkpoint with
my car full of leaflets. I was fortunate the soldiers recognised me
and didnt search the car. That was the country we lived in. Cappa
and other exiled compatriots boycotted the World Cup from afar.
A politically naive Maradona dearly hoped to attend the juntas
showpiece, however. He was already the best player for Argentinas
under-20s side: the most driven and the most feared. I remember
after playing a game for Argentina U20s, someone said on the plane:
On Sunday, Diego wont touch the ball because he will be up against
Juan, recalls Newells Old Boys defender Juan Simon. I instantly felt
the panic. Maradona had heard, and that was the worst thing you can
do. Even though it wasnt me saying it, Diego had already taken it as
a personal issue he had to prove someone wrong. It was the worst
day I had as a defender, really embarrassing.
Maradona also claimed that in 1977 he scored the most beautiful
goal of my career. The one against Huracan was even better than the
second goal against England [at the 1986 World Cup]. It was another
waltzing ballet, containing multiple shimmies, dummies and a nutmeg
as the final stunning touch towards the net.
In TRAInInG HE WOULD SCORE
GOALS THAT WERE OUT OF THIS
Top to bottom
WORLD DRIBBLInG PAST THE With young love
Claudia Villafane;
EnTIRE TEAM EVERY DAY. TWICE
Diego was a local
hero in Villa del
Parque; but still
liked to play truco
Having played just 11 official games for Argentinos and scored two out on the streets;
goals, he made his debut for the national team. Called up by Cesar Argentina boss
Luis Menotti for the February 1977 match with Hungary, he would Menotti opted
grace the pitch at La Bombonera, the stadium where he would later against picking
cement his legend, for the first time. Ossie Ardiles missed a penalty, young Diego for
but Argentina cruised to an easy victory. Diego replaced Leopoldo the 1978 World
Luque, who had bagged a brace in the 5-1 win. Cup, which the
He was on fire, but alas, Argentina was burning, too. After Omar host nation won
Actis, in charge of the 1978 FIFA World Cup organising committee,
was found shot in his car, vice-admiral Carlos Lacoste took over and
enjoyed a dream come true for dictators: a World Cup organised at
home, with unlimited budget and a FIFA seat.
Menotti was also given a unique opportunity for an international
boss: the chance to work with his squad for six months before the
tournament. They trained every day and contested numerous
friendlies. The players didnt return to their clubs or their homes,
sleeping at the training ground. So Maradona played in only two
games for Argentinos in the first half of 1978, scoring a hat-trick
against Atlanta. Would it be enough to tip the scales in his favour?
It seemed not. On April 19, Argentina took on Ireland and Diego
was fielded late in the game, despite the incessant clamour for his
presence from the stands. Fans need to understand that Maradona
will play when I feel it is the right time, and not when they feel it,
moaned Menotti. He is the genuine representation of our countrys
football. However, to be the most-rated player at just 17 years old is
a risk if youre not fully prepared to deal with it. Maradona has a great
 YOUnG
MARADOnA

future ahead [of him], but his consolidation depends on what he

does, and the advice that he receives.
With the summer looming, Maradona had only participated in
four international games, with just the one start. He was already
a national treasure and was one of the footballers that could not
be sold abroad, by law. National oil companies helped to pay part of
his wages, and as Maradona later told Ol: Menotti was very canny,
because he proposed this idea of not allowing young players to be
sold. Id had requests from Arsenal, Barcelona and Juventus, so my
head was in a bit of a turmoil. And further turmoil followed. On May
19, Menotti gathered the 25-man squad and announced the three
players that would not be in his plans that summer. Bravo, Bottaniz
and Maradona, he said, loudly. Ultimately, the manager considered
Diego to be only his fourth-choice No.10.
It was one of the saddest days in Maradonas career. But it could
be argued that he was lucky not to be selected. It is thought that
vice-admiral Lacoste, who would later become a FIFA executive,
was instrumental in Maradona not getting the nod a River Plate
supporter, Lacoste had used his power to ensure Rivers Norberto
Alonso made the cut. Diego would also be used by the infamous
General Videla a year later, after captaining Argentina to an U20
World Cup victory against the Soviet Union: he was forced to talk
on live television with the dictator. How this still docile player might
have been manipulated politically by the government at the 1978
World Cup is anyones guess. And the group of men who eventually
won the tournament, beating Holland 3-1 in the Monumental final,
were later viewed by many as the secret weapon of the dictatorship,
their historic moment permanently marred.
In fact, the omission marked the start of Diegos sublime career
as we know it. Journalist Carlos Ares recalls: That day, I stayed for
dinner in the teams training ground and when I left, alone, it was
dark and cold, and I heard someone crying. It was the strongest
image: Maradona, sitting by a tree, sobbing inconsolably. Do you
know how many World Cups that you will play in?, I told him the
kind of things you would say to console a kid. But he would answer,
How do I tell my dad? He said hed never forgive Menotti for this.
Later, Maradona wrote in his autobiography that the day he didnt
make the World Cup squad was the day he realised that anger could
be used as a fuel. This furious youth would score 100 goals before he
turned 20. The rest would be football history.
 IVE KEPT
A SPACE On
MY BODY FOR
A SPECIAL
CHAMPIOnS
LEAGUE
TATTOO!
Bayern Munichs Chilean enforcer may have a fierce reputation
but, as FFT discovers, hes actually a fan-friendly pussycat

Words Uli Hesse Portraits Daniel Delang | 11FREUNDE

ARTURO
VIDAL
A ll right, lets get this out of the way. No, Arturo Vidal
does not bite the heads off little children, not even
when they have the temerity to beat him on the
PlayStation. And yes, you can talk to him about
subjects ranging from his upbringing in one of the
poorest parts of Chile to exactly how many horses
he owns these days, without having to fear for your
front teeth or kneecaps.
In fact, when FourFourTwo travelled to Bavaria to chew the fat with
the notorious midfield enforcer, it was difficult to reconcile the man
with his public image. In Germany, people call him Der Krieger (The
Warrior), while Italys Tuttosport christened him Gladiatore during his
four years at Juventus. Remezcla, a media outlet for young Latinos in
the United States, often refers to him as Chiles Bad Boy King. Such
is his reputation for relishing combat and getting into trouble that the
majority of onlookers, upon learning we were heading for Munich, said:
Vidal? The scary guy with all those tattoos and the mohawk? Hope you
get home in one piece. But when that familiar figure sinewy and lean
finally appears in the doorframe, any feelings of uneasiness vanish
after only a few seconds. Thats when Vidal flashes a charmingly shy
smile and sits down to sip an espresso while revealing that the first
tattoo he ever got was of his mothers face.
That was 10 years ago, he explains to FFT. When I left Colo-Colo
and joined Bayer Leverkusen. I was 20. I did it as I was so far from my
home and my mother at such a young age. Vidal had been spotted by
the German club during Chiles qualifiers for the 2007 Under-20 World
Cup. Leverkusen were still struggling to properly replace the Argentine
left-back Diego Placente and hoped that the answer could be found in
South America again. At the time, Vidal was still often deployed at the
back, though he was already on his way to becoming the very definition
of a box-to-box player, a defensive midfielder with standout ball-winning
skills who suddenly pops up in the other teams box and becomes a goal
threat. There were other clubs interested in acquiring him, too most
notably River Plate, Inter and Bordeaux but in the end Vidal chose
Leverkusen, who enjoy a well-earned reputation as a good starting
point for South American players in Europe.
Back in 2007, Vidal was a rosy-cheeked youngster nobody wouldve
considered labeling a warrior or gladiator. People who didnt know him
before his move to Europe will be surprised to hear that one of Vidals
Colo-Colo team-mates, Felipe Flores, used to call him Celia Cruz, after
the Cuban singer dubbed the Queen of Salsa. The reason wasnt so
much that Vidal had a passing interest in the music, rather that the
then-beardless youngster bore a certain resemblance to Cruz when Clockwise from
he wore his curly hair longer. Flores says Vidal was understandably above Vidal cast
unhappy about the name (although he never held a grudge), which off an unwanted
was perhaps why Vidal opted to go for the distinctive mohawk shortly nickname thanks
after becoming an Under-20 international. It was a fairly crude version to his trademark
with hair on the side that earned him a bollocking from his Colo-Colo mohawk; he won
coach Claudio Borghi who ranted: You should stand out on the pitch, the Bundesliga title
not off it! and prompted a journalist to amend Vidals nickname. He in his first season
came up with the epithet most Chileans know him by today: Celia Punk. at Bayern Munich,
Its easy to forget not only how young and vulnerable Vidal was when whose fans were
he moved some 7,500 miles from his home, but also that it was not just initially divided on
him for whom this transfer was crucial. He, along with his four younger his signing; sharing
siblings, was raised by his mother, who had booted out the father of her his love of horses
children for being something of a neerdowell. There must have been with son Alonso
a point in Vidals young life when he suddenly realised that his talent for
football could save his entire family from a life in poverty. Yes, he says
without having to consider the question for a second. I was 12 years
old. It was when I signed for Colo-Colo. I saw a door open and so told
myself that I should try to walk through it.
And there must have been enormous pressure on the young boy to
succeed in the game it would make for a handy excuse for the minor
scandals he still gets into from time to time. After all, is it not OK to let
off steam and have some fun after all these years of discipline and hard
work? Vidal insists he never felt that kind of pressure. No, not at all, he
says. I have always played football because Im really passionate about
the game. I understood that a thing I really loved could be very good for
my family as well, but the love came first.

74 March
February
2017 FourFourTwo.com
2016 FourFourTwo.com

However, there was a second love horses.
There has even been a suggestion Vidal had
originally dreamed of becoming a jockey.
There is some truth to this, he reveals,
finishing his coffee. When I was about
10 years old, I helped at the hippodrome,
cleaned the stables and so on. And I love
horses. As you may know, I own quite a few
now. But in the end, my love for football was
stronger. You sometimes read that Vidal has
111 horses, but thats not true the number
is closer to 50. And you can hardly call this
a hobby, let alone indulgence. In early 2015,
Vidal sold a four-year-old racehorse by the
fitting name of Il Campione to an American
entrepreneur for 1.3 million. The Chilean
had originally bought the stallion for less
than 60,000 just two years earlier again
proving the keen business acumen thats
gained him another nickname, King Midas.
When Vidal joined Leverkusen for 5.6m,
a clause stipulated that Colo-Colo would
receive 30 per cent of a future fee if Bayer
sold the player to a bigger club. The year
before, Colo-Colo had bagged 6.5m from
Villarreal for attacking midfielder Matias
Fernandez, but this clause meant Vidals
transfer was in effect a domestic record.
It not only showed he was held in high
regard despite his age, it highlighted the
fact Chile had youngsters who were going
places. In that same period, both Mauricio
Isla and Alexis Sanchez moved to Udinese.
This was the core of the side that would,
a few years down the line, celebrate the
greatest triumphs in Chiles football history.
Although the Copa America dates back to
1916, Chile had never done better than
finishing as runners-up on four occasions.
Not even the iconic defender Elias Figueroa,
a national hero, could break this curse, with
his side eventually losing the 1979 final to
Paraguay after a play-off. However, in 2015
and 2016, Vidal and his team-mates lifted
back-to-back Copas, an achievement that
made them living legends at home. Were
proud of those titles, Vidal says. The key to
our success is team spirit. We dont have any
players who play only for themselves. Were
a unit, we stick together. Of course we also
work hard and we are well-organised, but
the most important thing is our team spirit.
When you ask him about the best player
Chile has ever had, Vidal ponders the poser
for a while, perhaps sensing where this is
headed. Finally, he answers: Marcelo Salas
and Ivan Zamorano are the greatest I have
seen, he says. Most people will say that
Elias Figueroa is the best player my country
has ever produced, and hes a legend. But
I was born long after he finished his career,
so I didnt see him play and so cant really
pass judgement. Only a few days after
our interview, Vidal was crowned Chiles
Footballer of the Year, an honour rarely
handed out to players not active in the
ARTURO
VIDAL
A GERMAn MAGAZInE SAID
VIDAL WAS OnE OF THOSE
PLAYERS ALWAYS On THE
VERGE OF BEInG SEnT OFF
Chilean Primera Division; Sanchez, for instance, still hasnt won it. So
is there a chance that one day people will answer the aforementioned
question with Vidals name? The Warrior replies: I hope so. This would
be wonderful. But to achieve that I have to win some more titles with
Bayern Munich, especially the Champions League. And we also hope to
win more trophies with the national team.
Vidal didnt win any silverware during his time with Leverkusen, but
that had probably never been the plan. During his four years at Bayer,
he matured, adapted to Europe and developed out on the pitch, from
a primarily defensive workhorse into a secret playmaker. In his final
season at the club when coach Jupp Heynckes would often use him
in a deep-lying role Vidal scored 10 league goals and assisted nine
while collecting five bookings, a modest figure for a man about whom
the German weekly Sport Bild once said: The Chilean is one of those
players always on the verge of being sent off. This standout display
earned him the big transfer he (and probably Bayer) had hoped for.
The only question was: where would he go?
In 2011, with one year left on his contract, Vidal reached agreement
with Bayern, not least as this was where Heynckes was headed. What
happened next is still not clear. Wolfgang Holzhauser, then Leverkusen
chairman, stated Vidal would not be sold to a rival, while Heynckes said
he would definitely join the Munich giants, either for a lot of money in
2011 or on a free transfer one year later. Right into this impasse, Vidal
suddenly joined Juventus for 10.5m. At the time, Juve were not even
in the Champions League, a tournament which means so much to the
Chilean that, as he tells FFT with a hearty laugh, he has reserved some
space on his body for a special tattoo should he lift that elusive trophy.
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 75
 ARTURO
VIDAL

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ARE ALWAYS RESPECTFUL
This transfer saga explains why there were many reservations in
Bavaria when Vidal was linked with Bayern again four seasons later.
At Juventus, the Chilean had blossomed from one of the best players
in the Bundesliga to one of the best players in the world, winning four
scudetti on the trot and leading the Bianconeri to the 2015 Champions
League Final against Barcelona. His fierce competitive temper got the
better of him in that game: Vidal was booked for a reckless tackle from
behind after barely 10 minutes, could have been given his marching
orders after only 20 and was then forced to tread very carefully until
coach Massimiliano Allegri had no choice but substitute him off with
10 minutes left. Still, that wasnt what put Bayerns fans off. Players in
the vein of Vidal have a long history at the club just think of Mark van
Bommel, whom the former Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld memorably
dubbed his aggressive leader. But in 2011, Die Rotens president Uli
Hoeness had accused Vidal of breaking his word, while the chairman
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge publicly questioned the Chileans character,
adding: I dont want to see players like that at Bayern. Supporters
have longer memories than some people think, and so the news that
Vidal would be joining Bayern for 37m was not met with unqualified
enthusiasm in the Allianz Arena stands during the summer of 2015.
However, just a day before we sit down opposite the midfielder inside
Bayerns clubhouse, there was ample proof that he has since well and
truly won over the clubs fanbase. In the deepest Bavarian hinterland,
less than 40 miles away from the Czech border, a Bayern fan club was
throwing its Christmas party an event thats traditionally attended by
first-team players and the Chilean
battler was their guest of honour.
Although he doesnt speak German
and needed to use an interpreter,
Vidal seemed to be enjoying this
exceptionally close contact with the
clubs supporters and he earned
himself a standing ovation when
answering the question about his
biggest idol, replying: My mother.
I said this because its the truth,
he tells FourFourTwo the next day,
12. The Chilean picked Colo-Colo and the boy
played as Bayern, of course. Vidal fell behind
quickly and seemed to be struggling. He later
told FFT that he would rather be playing chess
and not on a computer: I prefer a proper
chess board and to play against my brother,
sometimes against friends. Perhaps, then,
he simply lacked the experience required to
win this console kickabout.
Clockwise from top At half-time, the duel was brought to a halt.
Plenty of space left However, Vidal then exchanged some hushed
for that Champions words with the fan club president, whereupon
League tattoo; Vidal the man grinning broadly grabbed hold of
was key to Chilean the microphone and shouted: Arturo wants
glory at the last two to play on! The Warrior hates losing! And so
Copas America to the game restarted and suddenly Vidal was
become a national playing with confidence and determination.
hero; but he wasnt The Chilean scored the equaliser and then,
an archetypal Pep in the closing stages, even netted a winner.
player; So whose Jumping to his feet, Vidal pumped his fists
round is it next? in celebration, while the hundreds of Bayern
supporters in attendance celebrated wildly.
The fan club had been informed that the
midfielder would be showing up only two
weeks before the event. Members hectically
rescheduled the shindig and it was switched
to a larger location a school gym due to
the inevitable upsurge in interest. The 450
fans there must have spent the days leading
up to the party hoping and praying that the
midfielder didnt get injured.
Come to think off it, thats also what Bayern
do a lot these days. The club have often been
frustrated by how much time Vidal spends
away on international duty, but the matter
really came to a head last November. The
player went off on a stretcher during Chiles
World Cup qualifier against Colombia with
a groin problem. Despite being in obvious
pain, he told reporters he would play no

76 March
February
2017 FourFourTwo.com
2016 FourFourTwo.com

matter what against Uruguay just five days
later. Rummenigge urged the Chilean FA to
handle this matter responsibly and sensibly,
meaning rest the player, but Vidal started
the match and had to come off before an
hour was up. Chile won 3-1.
Of course I understand Bayerns position,
Vidal explains. They also feel that all this
travelling is exhausting. And it is. Playing
a World Cup qualifier in South America is
three times as strenuous for me as playing
a match in Europe. However, at the same
time I love playing for my country and Im
proud to wear Chiles shirt.
The Uruguay game was crucial for La Roja,
because the CONMEBOL qualifying group is
notoriously difficult. The win put Chile back
into fourth, the last direct qualification spot,
but the race is far from over, especially as
they go to Buenos Aires to face fifth-placed
Argentina in March as part of the final third
of the campaign. Failing to qualify for the
World Cup would be terrible, just awful,
Vidal says with a face like thunder. It is
unthinkable thats why we dont let this
thought enter our minds.
Yet Vidal, this softly-spoken man who
can charm the pants off 450 Bayern fans
in the Bavarian backcountry in no time flat,
has twice been at the centre of a scandal that
ARTURO
VIDAL
could have ended his international career. In November 2011, he and four other
Chile players (among them Gonzalo Jara, then with West Bromwich Albion) were
given a 10-match suspension after staying out late and then arriving at the team
camp in what was termed an inadequate state ahead of a World Cup qualifier.
Nine months went by before Jara could play for his country again, but Vidals ban
was lifted after a mere two matches. A few years later, just five days into the 2015
Copa America in Vidals native Chile, the midfielder totalled his red Ferrari driving
under the influence of alcohol on the outskirts of Santiago. Again, Vidal got away
with the proverbial slap on the wrist, losing his driving licence but continuing in the
tournament that the host nation won. As football writer Peter Staunton wrote at
the time: There is a strict code of conduct for Chile players to obey; unless you are
Arturo Vidal. Three goals and two man-of-the-match awards in his first two Copa
America games is seemingly enough to buy immunity.
If anything, it proved just how indispensable Vidal is for Chile. The same could be
said for every team he has ever played for with the possible exception of his first
year in Munich. Back in October, sources in Spain claimed that Pep Guardiola had
asked Manchester City to make a bid for Vidal in the winter transfer window. While
everything is possible in football, this particular transfer rumour seemed far-fetched.
When Vidal was bought by Bayern in July 2015, the word on the street was that the
deal went through not because of Pep but in spite of him.
Vidal became an undisputed starter only in the last five weeks of Guardiolas reign
in Munich. There were some reports that the Chilean was not entirely fit during the
opening months of the campaign. However, theres also something to be said for
an argument raised by the German weekly Die Zeit, namely that the hot-blooded
Chilean simply isnt a Pep player, not least as his winning ugly mentality doesnt
fit the Catalans more aesthetically-pleasing philosophy.
Which raises an obvious question. Wouldnt Vidals physical style be ideally
suited to the Premier League? The hardman smiles. Theres a glint in his eyes.
He senses the trap. Im happy here, he says. My goal is always to play for
the best club there is. And right now that is Bayern.
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 77
REBUILDInG
Words Mauro Fernandes
 CHAPECOEnSE

On November 28, 2016 a plane carrying Brazilian team Chapecoense crashed, killing most
of the players and staff. FFT talks to those attempting to heal the club and local community

CHAPECOEnSE
THE
InSIDE
STORY

FourFourTwo.com March 2017 79


he telephone first started ringing at 4am.
It was Osmar Machados 66th birthday.
At first, he ignored the sound: he thought
it was just a friend playing a prank, as he
had done in previous years. However, as
the calls persisted he finally, and wearily,
reached out for the receiver. It was just
after dawn had broken in Porto Alegre,
deep in the south of Brazil.
Any news on your son yet? an old
acquaintance asked the shoe salesman, without
mentioning Osmars age. How would I know?
he replied. The team travelled to Colombia last
night. The match is tomorrow. Why do you ask?
An ominous silence followed, and Osmar realised
that something was gravely wrong. He hung up,
rushed to the television and turned on the news.
He wouldnt move for several hours.
Above left Fans and What had unfolded has now been well documented as one of
players all gather at the sorriest disasters in football history. A BAe 146 regional airliner,
the Arena Conda to operated by a little-known Bolivian charter company called LaMia,
pay their respects had run out of fuel and crashed into a hillside outside the Colombian
Below left Osmar city of Medellin. The plane had been carrying four crew members and
Machado holds up 73 passengers, including almost everyone associated with Brazilian
a picture of his son, club Chapecoense: players, coaches, staff, directors as well as 20
Chape centre-back journalists and commentators covering the team.
Filipe, who was one The side had been en route to the first leg of the final of the Copa
of the 71 lives lost Sudamericana, South Americas second most prestigious continental
trophy, and the most important game in Chapes history. The plane
went down just 10 miles from their intended destination, Jose Maria
Cordova airport. There were just six survivors, including three players.
Grief and shock were soon followed by anger. As details emerged,
it became apparent that it had all been completely avoidable, and
was the result of truly irresponsible cost-cutting.
Chapecoense had started their fateful trip from Sao Paulo, where
an XI packed with reserves had lost to Palmeiras, the new Brazilian
champions. Nobody in Chapeco, a city of 200,000 residents in the
state of Santa Catarina, was at all bothered about that result, as
what excited them was the next fixture a real shot at underdog
glory. This was a club that had been expected to end the season in
a relegation dogfight, rather than tussling for a major trophy with
the famous Colombian outfit, Atletico Nacional.
Rather than jetting direct from the south of Brazil to the north of
Colombia, the relatively small aircraft made a brief stop at Bolivias
Santa Cruz de la Sierra airport. Club directors were more than happy
with the arrangements. After all, the Argentina squad - Lionel Messi
included had flown home after a World Cup qualifier on the same
plane just 18 days earlier. And Chapecoense had flown to Colombia
to face Junior Barranquilla in the last eight of the Copa Sudamericana.
But this time, they were not safe. Minutes before the plane reached
its final destination in Medellin, the jet simply had no gas in the tank.
CHAPECOEnSE
The pilot and airline owner had left Bolivia with far less aviation fuel
than recommended by authorities and they had done it in order to
save money, investigations would later reveal.
Seconds after all the lights went off, and passengers began to feel
uneasy, the plane collided with some trees on the Cerro Gordo hillside
at 250 kilometres per hour. It then slid downwards for 400 metres. The
survivors, after crawling from the wreckage, stood in the rain for hours,
in the middle of the night, until being rescued.
The tragedy put Chapecoense widely toasted in their homeland as
a sort of Brazilian Leicester City, such was the romance of their recent
history back in the headlines, but for the worst reasons. They joined
an all-too-long list of teams decimated by air crashes: Torino (1949),
Manchester United (1958), Alianza Lima (1987) and Zambia (1993).
Osmars son Filipe Machado, a 32-year-old central defender who
had signed for the club in May, was named among the 71 deceased.
After the initial shock, his father decided there was only one thing he
could do: drive 280 miles north-west to Chapes 20,000-seater Arena
Conda, not far from the border with Argentina.
His sons family had settled in quiet, rural and religious Chapeco after
a lifetime of living in various hotels in disparate corners of the football
globe, such as Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria and Azerbaijan.
Filipe was happy there, but still ambitious. He dreamed of playing for
a bigger club, and saw winning the Copa as the ideal way to get himself
into the shop window. Osmar hoped his son would get a chance to play
for one of the big two of Porto Alegre Internacional or Gremio. All he
had to do was to win that final, and put in an excellent performance.
As Osmar travelled to Chapecoenses hometown, he listened to the
country songs that Filipe, and most Brazilian footballers, tend to love.
He also went back through the numerous voice messages his boy had
sent him via WhatsApp. Being a footballer is great but its a lonely life,
Dad, one said. Travelling is not as exciting when you are doing it all
the time and are far away from your loved ones.
As the grieving father approached Chapeco, he considered taking
his own life by smashing his car into a lamppost. The only thing that
stopped him was the string of messages of love and support from his
many friends and family. I had to pull over at the side of the road to
cry every 10 kilometres or so, Osmar told FourFourTwo a month after
the tragedy. But that was for the best. My son was also my greatest
friend and I wanted to keep thinking of him, cherishing his memory.
I was a lot calmer, and out of tears, by the time I arrived in Chapeco.
I am alive now because I had that time alone.
He soon realised that he was not alone in his sorrow. In fact, he
started to sense that Chapecoense his son included would be
mourned across the planet. He wasnt wrong. Hours after the crash,
homages started pouring in. Neymar, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
all paid heartfelt tributes. Then came NBA stars, Pope Francis and
members of Guns N Roses. They grieved for Chapecoense, a team
largely unknown,even in Brazil, a decade ago.
The Brazilian Football Confederation postponed the domestic cup final
that was scheduled for the following day, and did the same for the last
round of league matches. All over the country, players went back home
to weep for friends that were now lost, while others were reflecting on
the feeling that it could easily have been them.
One of most shaken was midfielder Camilo Farias, Botafogos No.10.
He had played for two years at Chapecoense, leaving for Saudi Arabias
Al-Shabab FC a few months into 2016. I didnt adapt there, and I was
bound to come back to Chape, the 30-year-old said later. Every player
on that flight was a friend of mine. It is a very strange feeling. A mix of
sadness, of relief for not being on the flight, and of guilt for leaving that
place in the team for someone else that died.
Farias and millions more in Brazil were watching on TV when a tired
Osmar and other family members of the 19 players that perished were
welcomed by mourning fans at Chapecoenses stadium. What Machado
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 81
 CHAPECOEnSE
remembers the most about that November day was the eerie silence
across the entire city. If you heard anyone in Chapeco, it was either
a family member or a fan in grief, he said.
In Medellin, instead of the first leg of the final, there was a memorial,
attended by 50,000 local supporters. They looked nearly as distraught
as the people of Chapeco. This title belongs to Chapecoense and we
will be happy as runner-ups, Atletico Nacionals coach Reinaldo Rueda
conceded. They arrived with a dream. They will leave as legends. The
Brazilians soon got the message and in tears 20,000 fans celebrated
the posthumous title inside the Arena Conda.
Osmar was on the pitch, at Chapes tribute, when the news of the title
win filtered through. Celebrating a victory in the middle of a heartfelt
memorial service was deeply surreal. The trophy was supposed to be
my birthday present, but it all felt a little out of place, he says. I guess
that the city needed something to cling to in the middle of the tragedy.
But there was nothing to celebrate, for me. My son promised we would
drink for weeks if Chape won the final. There was no game and I had to
settle for his casket, with his body in pieces.
However, the Mayor of Chapeco, Luciano Buligon, felt that the Copa
Sudamericana title was a way to help heal his hometowns heartbreak.
A hardcore Chape supporter, he was expected to be on the flight only
for city hall affairs to keep him in Sao Paulo for an additional day. Since
the crash, he has lost much sleep thinking of his lost colleagues, which
included the club chairman Sandro Pallaoro, one of those key to their
amazing rise from the fourth tier to the top.
Our Sundays were about three things: family, going to church and
Chapecoense, says Buligon. We lost a pillar
of the society of Chapeco, at least for now.
We cancelled all the festivities planned for
Christmas and it has been hard to get the
city back on track. The wounds are still very
IT OnLY SAnK In WHEn
open. Of course there will be new players.
Life will bring other issues and people will
move on. But our people had their dream
I HAD TO WALK InTO
THE BOARDROOM AnD
stolen in a tragic way, just before it could
have come true. That is now gone forever.
Buligon, who has started to wear Atletico
Nacional shirts regularly to thank them for
all of the support he received in Colombia,
SAW ALL THE EMPTY
is remaining admirably optimistic, however.
Nacional gave us a lesson of empathy, he
says. Chape and Chapeco are getting a lot
CHAIRS OF MY MATES
of that now. We are finally on the map, not
only because of the tragedy but also because of the all the positivity
that is around here now. We will live on, and do even better soon.
Some Chapecoense fans do not share this outlook, though. Many
believe their one shot at glory has passed. They laud the victims, and
the three surviving players, as heroes who took a small club to a first
international final in 43 years. But they also worry about their future.
Hours after the accident I flew in a Chape shirt to work in Panama,
says Chapeco-born journalist Piero Locatelli. The team made my bond
with my hometown much stronger than before. But I lost a cousin and
my father lost many of his friends. It is very hard to find the strength to
rebuild when youre looking at scorched earth.
Locatelli, like all of Chapes supporters, lost their favourite players
from the clubs short history. There was goalscorer Bruno Rangel,
captain and midfielder Cleber Santana, brilliant goalkeeper Danilo
and known to all for his heart and leadership Osmars son Filipe.
These players really related to the community where they played,
says Locatelli. The new players who will replace them need to know
how to blend in, if they are going to do as well. But just imagine the
pressure they will feel, and the size of the shoes they will have to fill.
The challenges to Chape will be manifold in 2017, way beyond just
rebuilding a team. The generous decision by Atletico Nacional to cede
them the Copa Sudamericana trophy did more than just increase shirt
sales for a Colombian club in a Brazilian city 7,000km away. It also put
a decimated outfit into the prestigious Copa Libertadores for the first
time. The team will also have to regroup and try to stay in the Brazilian
top flight. Fundraising games against Barcelona and other sides should
82 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com
help. In August, too, there is the two-legged final of the Recopa
Sudamericana against Nacional (who won the Copa Libertadores).
I dont know if I will have a heart to watch that, admits Osmar.
But since the rainy day when 50 caskets lined up inside the Arena
Conda, one man has worked non stop to help Chapecoenses flag fly
high once again. New chairman and club co-founder Plinio David de
Nes Filho, known better as Maninho, was the obvious candidate to
start the reconstruction. A wealthy local businessman, hed already
believed in Chape when no one else would. Maninho was the most
generous backer of the Big Green back when it was threatened by
liquidation a decade ago. He had sponsored the construction of the
stadium, paid players out of his own pocket and offered executives
from his meat business to help run the club.
Maninho was initially cited as one of the dead, but like the city
mayor had stayed in Sao Paulo. He heard about the tragedy on his
way to the airport. In the heat of the moment all you think about is
how to solve problems, he says now. It only sank in when I had to
walk into the boardroom and saw the empty chairs of my lifelong
friends who helped build the club. Almost all are now gone. Im over
70, and all I ever wanted to do was to watch on from the stands as
a fan. But there is so much for me to do, thats not going to happen.
The rebuilding job is significant. The only Chapecoense staff left alive
were six players, a goalkeeping coach, two physiotherapists, two locker
room staff, a data analyst, a doctor, a part-time nurse and a handful of Clockwise from above
club directors who didnt travel to Colombia. Supporters grieve in
Two playing survivors defender Neto and the stands as players
winger Alan Ruschel look likely to be able
to return to a relatively normal life one day.
Goalkeeper Jakson Follmann faces much
families honour loved
ones on the pitch; Alan
Ruschel hopes to play
sterner challenges after having part of his
right leg amputated, and has since taken
another job at the football club. The three
again this year; Chape
are awarded the Copa
Sudamericana trophy;
shirt numbers - 89, 4 and 40 for Ruschel, defender Neto being
Neto and Follmann respectively will not pulled from the crash
be worn by any other players ever again.
The new chairmans first major decision
was to pick a replacement for Caio Junior,
site; Camilo Farias was
shaken by events after
leaving the club only
the much-lauded coach who had overseen
the sides incredible run to a continental
final. He chose Vagner Mancini, regarded in
last year; Caio Junior
masterminded the
teams fairytale run
Brazil as a Tony Pulis type: an experienced
pro, most closely associated with teams trying to fend off relegation.
Many thought that Mancinis best days were now behind him, but the
appointment has been interpreted as a sign of Chape staying on its true
course, rather than succumbing to the commotion that might have led
to a high-profile appointment: Luiz Felipe Scolari, perhaps (born not far
from Chapeco and seeking 7-1 redemption), or the former Real Madrid
gaffer Vanderlei Luxemburgo. Chapecoense instead went for someone
humble, and more fitting their quiet image and ascent. Mancini got the
job over bosses whod won top-flight trophies, including Fluminenses
Levir Culpi who literally asked to be hired.
The conversations between Maninho and Mancini began just 10 days
after the accident. The coach didnt make any specific plea to take over,
but the deal was still agreed and announced in the middle of December.
Mancini was soon contacting players that he wanted to see wearing the
green and white shirt come January. His aim was to bring in 20 players
that were happy to live in the city and mix with the local people. This is
the way things are in Chapeco: he didnt want to sign big-name players
with blacked-out windows or security staff. The club data analyst, Victor
Hugo, compiled a list of possible targets and rival clubs even offered up
their players to assist with the reconstruction.
Mancini admitted that he was feeling very emotional about his latest
managerial role. Being chosen to be here for this did mean a great deal
to me as a human being, he says. This goes so much beyond football.
No coach in Brazilian football has ever faced a situation like this. The
world is looking at us, but we are still a local team. To play here, we
need men that understand what a tightly-knit community is about.

Mancini has some form at fairytale clubs. In 2005, he led tiny Paulista
to a first Brazilian Cup. That year, which he spent living in Jundiai, a city
of around 350,000 residents on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, is what he
would love to recreate for the people of Chapeco. This is a very Catholic
city they cancelled the Christmas celebrations because they were still
in mourning, he says. The very least we can do is to work very hard to
give them something to cheer about again.
The new coach also knows what its like to take a small outfit into the
Copa Libertadores and he hopes his team light up the South American
championship. And they wont be looking for any special treatment, he
countered, after Brazilian football executives discussed sparing the club
from playing again so soon after the tragedy. We dont want immunity
to avoid relegation in any tournament that we play in, he insists. We
want to play in the big matches all over the continent, and we want to
deserve that. Chapecoense was never relegated, it only rose up and we
want to stay as a top-flight team on merit.
The clubs board was quick to concur with the coach. Despite all of the
difficulties a just-assembled team might face, they would get back into
training. Chapecoense would be ready for January, looking to defend
their Santa Catarina state championship title.
Meanwhile, Mancinis choice of assistant, Nivaldo Constante, is bound
to stir some emotions. The 42-year-old former goalkeeper retired after
playing 299 games for Chapecoense, and is essentially the only living
football icon the club have remaining. His 300th game was scheduled
to be after the team returned from Colombia, in the last round of the
Brazilian championship against Atletico Mineiro at the Arena Conda.
All three other goalies were my close
friends, he said. And I even considered
extending my contract for one more year,
to be there for Follmann when he took
over from Danilo. We all knew that Danilo,
WE DOnT WAnT AnY
Top Chape U20s play
the goalkeeper that basically put us in the
Copa Sudamericana final after an amazing
last-minute save against San Lorenzo, was
IMMUnITY TO AVOID
RELEGATIOn. WE ALL
the clubs first game likely to leave after a fantastic campaign.
since the air disaster Follmann really wanted me to stay on. He
Middle row Keeper
Follmann had part
of a leg amputated;
said he would carry me on his shoulders
after game 300 at the Arena Conda, so
this job is my attempt to stay involved.
WAnT TO STAY In THE
celebrating another
Santa Catarina title;
Chapes name will be The departeds first replacements arrived
TOP FLIGHT On MERIT
added to the base of on January 3, a month after the sombre
Sudamericana trophy mass funeral service took place on the Arena Conda pitch. As Maninho
Bottom New coach promised, there were no star names, despite many people expecting
Vagner Mancini will Ronaldinho or Kaka to roll up. The first to be unveiled was 27-year-old
lead the revival and defender Douglas Grolli, who has played for Gremio and Cruzeiro. Grolli
look to integrate the was here when we started our rise in 2010, Maninho said with tears in
youth team players his eyes. He was in Chapecoenses academy and now hes come back
to continue what hed already started with us.
The player responded equally emotionally. Asked about who inspired
him, Grolli replied, I want to be rock solid like Filipe Machado. On the
other side of the TV screen in Porto Alegre, father Osmar wept again.
Midfielder Nadson and striker Rossi, who have experience playing for
battling sides like Chape, arrived soon after. Many more have followed,
some loaned for free by bigger Brazilian clubs. And the side that have
assisted the club the most champions Palmeiras were the first to
play the post-tragedy Chapecoense, in a friendly match on January 21.
Ruschel, one of the playing staffs three survivors, hopes that he can
wear the Chape shirt again this season. That would be quite a story in
itself. Ruschel spent a week inside a Colombian hospital suffering with
a spinal injury and feared that he might lose the use of his legs. His
recovery has been remarkable. He is now moving his limbs again and
hopes to be back in training by the middle of 2017. His target is to be
a professional again. I didnt see any of the tributes to us, he says.
At first, I thought that the game had happened and that I had lost
consciousness for a moment. I was constantly asking people what
the score was. But it slowly sunk in that I was still alive by a miracle,
and that most of my team-mates were dead.
CHAPECOEnSE
Ruschel says he has seen defender Neto and goalkeeper Follmann
only a few times as the trio go through their rehabilitation. One of the
few things he remembers about the plane trip itself was deciding to
sit next to Follmann. That could have saved my life, he says. Cadu,
one of the executives, asked to sit in the front, for some reason, and
so I changed places with him. I hope to honour Cadus memory by
doing the best I can to play for Chape again.
Ruschel is the only one of the three likely to ever play again, and
few people in the world can empathise with the giddy spectrum of
emotions he is going through. A man who can, however, is former
Manchester United goalkeeper Harry Gregg. He survived the 1958
Munich air disaster, which killed 23 people including eight players.
When the story broke, I asked my wife if I could sit alone in the
TV room I didnt want anyone with me, Gregg told The Guardian.
I wanted to watch it, but with no family in the same room. I didnt
know what way to react. Its difficult to describe.
Gregg has some pointed advice for Ruschel and the six players who
didnt board the plane to Colombia: move on and play. That was the
best thing that happened to me and I think the other survivors; to get
down to White City [where Man United used to train] and then kick the
living s**t out of each other on the training field once more, he said.
It actually saved me. To argue, to fight, to train. It stopped me from
going insane over what had happened to us out there on the Munich
runway. Ruschel agrees with Greggs assessment. But until then,
the 27-year-old admits, it will be tough to live.
Back at Chapecos Hotel Bertaso, located just
1km south of Arena Conda, business is slowly
getting back to normal. For many years, the
Chapecoense teams would spend the night
before games there, reserving the fifth floor.
The new squad will stay here, too. Receptionist
Gelson Mangone, who was friends with many
players, wants to look forward. Our city needs
to rise again, weve already suffered enough,
he said. I just want to see all the new players
joking around in our restaurant, playing cards
down at the lobby and laughing with us all.
Seventeen-year-old Matheus Pallaoro was
a player for the Chapecoense youth team and
son of the chairman Sandro, who died in the
crash. He also sounds a hopeful note. I think
that the Arena Conda will be electric this season as soon as the team
wins some matches, he says. Chapeco wants to carry Chapecoense
forward with it. It will be really great to see that.
But life cannot be the same for Matheus. At home, things are quiet
like never before, he adds. Its as if our father could still come back.
His absence has left a huge hole in our lives and Chape cannot fill that
hole alone. My brother and sister dont seem to care about the football
any more and my mother is spending a lot of time in bed now. Chape
and Chapeco, one way or another, will move on. But those who lost
someone that day will never be the same again.
Many members of Chapes youth team will link up with the senior
squad in 2017. Record numbers of hopefuls have been turning up at
trials proving many talents in the region arent thinking only about
starting their careers with local giants Internacional or Gremio. The
young dont have just two teams [to aim for] now, Matheus explains.
Meanwhile in Porto Alegre, Osmar is thinking of driving to Chapeco
again on the anniversary of that fateful telephone call. He started to
consider the idea after a difficult holiday season, in which he lacked
the energy to put on the Christmas party that Filipe had planned to
arrange on his farm. Filipes widow and daughter are unsure if they
ever want to go there again. But Osmar longs to return to a happier
city than the one hed driven to after the crash.
My son will not come back, but if the new players do well, I will feel
that Filipe was honoured, he says. Id like to be at that stadium again,
to believe that everyone there is positive about the future. I want to be
celebrating my next birthday in a better fashion.
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 85
 Words Andrew Murray Photography Matt Stewart
Venezuela may not have as rich a football history as neighbours Colombia or Brazil, but
SALOMOn ROnDOn

one man West Bromwich Albion striker Salomon Rondon is fighting to change that
TOnY
SAID
KnOCK
YOU
S alomon Rondon receives a fierce, intentional
whack to the back of his calves. He doesnt react,
but merely continues to shield the ball, his back to
goal, from some oppressive defensive interference
before turning and shooting.
Moments later, that same marker repeatedly
pushes the Venezuelan striker in the back. Again,
Rondon ignores the attention, turns and shoots,
this time finding the bottom corner. Again, he
returns to his mark for even more punishment.
For more than 15 minutes on this dark and wet
January afternoon at West Broms training ground on the outskirts of
Walsall, a first-team coach batters the Baggies most potent attacking
weapon from pillar to post. The contrast with the rather more sedate
non-contact passing drill that the remainder of the Midlanders squad
is participating in nearby couldnt be much starker.
Captain Darren Fletcher, who is sitting out the session with a minor
knock, sidles over to a clearly beguiled FourFourTwo.
Look at him, comments Fletcher. Hes an absolute beast, isnt he?
Clich has it that South Americans are technically able, physically frail
waifs. Not Rondon. This is 6ft 1in of pure Venezuelan muscle someone
who is merely a few specks of camouflage paint away from having the
build of an SAS soldier. The 27-year-old prize fighter is pretty much the
perfect Premier League striker, a bullish blend of power, skill and lethal
finishing who put a hat-trick of headers past Swansea in December.
Yet, he is also the footballer who should never have been. If hed
had his way as a 13-year-old growing up on the outskirts of Caracas,
he would be playing basketball now. And if his mother had had hers,
hed have followed his brother and sister to university.
Rondons has been a fortuitous route to this rainy corner of the West
Midlands. And, as he had explained to FFT an hour earlier, its one that
involved having to once chow down on a bit of horse.

Theres something incongruous to watching one of Venezuelas most

famous sportsmen getting a good-natured shooing a couple of miles Above Rondon is now
from the M6, yet this has been Rondons life ever since the big striker settled and loving life
swapped Zenit Saint Petersburg for West Bromwich Albion during the in the Premier League
summer of 2015 for a club-record 12 million. Perhaps surprisingly, Right Venezuela have
however, this is exactly what he had always wanted. reached the last eight
Its incredible here, I love it, he explains, a solitary bead of sweat at two Copas America
glinting in the light after he treats the FFT cameras to some shadow with Rondon up top
boxing. Dressed in a pair of loose-fitting black jogging bottoms and Bottom Celebrating
a white T-shirt thats spilling out from underneath a dark sweater, he a hat-trick of headers
looks like a boxer, too. Its always been a dream to play in the Premier at home to Swansea
League because Ive always thought that my physique would suit the
style of play. Anyone can beat anyone in this league.
I have always been a hard worker, but in the Premier League it is
a constant fight. You might not get as many sly punches in the ribs as
you do in Spain or South America, but theres constant contact with you
and the centre-back. Its as much psychological as it is physical, because
you have to prepare yourself for that fight. The speed of the game was
quite tough to begin with, but I never stopped trying.
In fact, Rondon probably tried too hard. Concerned by a lack of goals
the Venezuelan scored only three times before Christmas in his debut
season he trained so feverishly that the club sent him for blood tests
because they were concerned that he was suffering from exhaustion.
But with his diet tweaked, the goals soon came. So, too, did a greater
understanding of the way coach Tony Pulis wanted the Baggies to play.
The manager is very intelligent, tactically, Rondon tells FFT. We
are always well prepared for every game and know exactly what the
gameplan is. We know that if we maintain our shape, we can frustrate
teams and then take advantage of their mistakes.
We know that well have less of the ball. Sometimes I have to wait
for a chance to come and I know that Ill have to take it, which brings
its own pressure. That might sound difficult, but sometimes its easy
because then you know what is expected of you.

88 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com


That knowledge of his role is paying dividends, and never more so
than that hat-trick of headers against Swansea, a feat only Duncan
Ferguson can match in Premier League history.
I have never done that before, its so unusual, smiles the frontman.
I must confess, ever since I was small, I hated heading! But as times
gone on, I have improved my heading technique. You obviously work
on things, but I dont think you can prepare for a hat-trick of headers.
Emboldened with the sort of confidence only Premier League records
can bring plus seven league goals scored before Christmas Rondon
has grown into life away from the pitch, too. Both skipper Fletcher and
manager Pulis have praised his improved English.
My kids have got it nailed! he says. My son picked it up in a couple
of months. He refuses to talk to me in English, because I frustrate him.
Even if I try, he just says, Dad, lets talk in Spanish!
Watching English TV with the audio and subtitles helps, especially
for the pronunciation - you have two chances to pick up whats going
on. Me and my wife love Shameless and Blacklist.
Ive been to London and seen Big Ben, but wed like to see more of
England. Im intrigued by British beaches as I grew up near the coast.
When we played Bournemouth in September we went to the beach
and the sand was white, like it is in Venezuela. Sand like that when the
weather was awful seemed strange incredible.
IVE HAD FISH AnD CHIPS In EnGLAnD
AnD THATS nOT BAD. In RUSSIA, I ATE
HORSEMEAT AnD THOUGHT IT WAS LIKE
CHICKEn ILL JUST EAT AnYTHInG!
Instead of establishing a Latin enclave in Europe, Rondon has always
appreciated such intricacies. The strikers globetrotting since leaving
Venezuelan Primera Division side Aragua as a wide-eyed 18-year-old
back in 2008 has comprised Spain and Russia.
Its hard to adapt, especially when you have no experience of living
alone, he says. Id call my mum and gran all the time at Las Palmas.
They actually taught me how to cook via Skype!
I remember having them on the computer in the kitchen beside me,
trying to make arepa [corn bread]. What do I do now? Is it ready yet?
Id ask. They would say: I dont know, how smoky is it? Then I lifted up
the arepa. Ah, never mind, mum would say. Its burnt! But this is how and Ive tried to lead like him. I try to involve the youngest players with
I learnt to live alone, taking on responsibilities.
Far from being embarrassed about it, Rondon wears every experience
as a badge of honour. After a slow first campaign playing for the Canary
Islanders, 10 goals in his second season secured a moved to Malaga,
where he shone playing under Manuel Pellegrini.
Playing for Pellegrini was great, he recalls of the two years he spent
under the future Manchester City boss from 2010, his strikes firing Los
Boquerones to a fourth-place La Liga finish in his second and final term.
He wanted us to be creative, to play with the ball and enjoy ourselves.
At Malaga, I really got into flamenco music and loved the lifestyle, even
if I struggled with the Andaluz Spanish, which is quite different to the
Spanish we speak in Venezuela. But nothing prepared me for going to
Russia in 2012! We picked up the basics, but its hard to speak it well.
Rondons time in Russia was defined by contrast. In three years with
Rubin Kazan and Zenit where he played under Andre Villas-Boas and
former Roma coach Luciano Spalletti he scored a hefty 53 goals in all
competitions and lifted the 2014-15 title. However, he also experienced
racism even from sections of the Zenit support.
SALOMOn ROnDOn
People ask whether you can really enjoy football as a professional,
but Ive never understood that question, he says confidently. I was
part of a league-winning team, which was spectacular in terms of the
joy it gave the fans. Youre doing what you love: experiencing different
countries and cultures, meeting new people there is nothing like it.
The thing that I really miss is the food as it reminds you of home.
Ive had fish and chips in England and thats not bad. In Russia, I ate
horsemeat and thought it was chicken! To be honest, I eat anything.
Seeing the way he attacks a plate of breaded chicken and rice in the
canteen 20 minutes after our chat, hes not wrong.
Ultimately, Rondons formative character favours him overcoming
obstacles because of the strength that it gives him. Its telling that
hes called one of his two dogs Rusa. Indeed, not even the bitterly
cold weather really affected him in Eastern Europe.
I feel colder here than in Russia! he laughs, as he reaches for
a wide-rimmed baseball cap, as if reminding himself of the West
Midlands chill. Yes, it snows in Russia, but there is not the same
spine-chilling cold you get here with the wind. It burns your face!
Rondon constantly defies expectation. He will openly talk about the
relative comfort of his middle-class upbringing in Catia, a small town
to the north of Venezuelas capital Caracas, which flies in the face of
the more usual rags-to-riches South American story.
As a kid I didnt want for anything, he says, his voice softening.
My grandfather worked for the military, my dad was a chemistry
teacher, my brother is an engineer and my sister has a degree in
tourism. My childhood was never without a ball. I had no worries.
The only thing I had to do was smile and have fun.
When I was 14 I was already saying: I dont want to study any
more. Later my dad took the football away from me for a month
so that I wouldnt be distracted in finishing high school. My mum
wanted me to go to university, but I did a business management
class and was so bored by it that I said, no more!
Yet, even football sometimes took a back seat during Rondons
childhood. I used to play lots of basketball and there was a point
when I had to choose, he recalls. When I was about 13 I wanted
to follow my hero, Michael Jordan. My dad convinced me that it was
not a good idea as my background had always been about football.
Ive got a hoop in the back garden and Ive not lost my touch. My
son also joins in. He wins, of course! Hes very competitive, a terrible
loser, so to avoid problems with his mother, he wins.
He may only be 27, but he has become a father figure way beyond
his family. With Rondon to the fore, Venezuela have reached the last
eight in two of the previous three Copas America. For a country that
struggles with food shortages and has a monthly inflation rate of 50
per cent, hes all too aware of the role that he has to play back home.
Michael Jordan has had the biggest influence on any sport in history
us senior players, and then they can give their best.
What were doing means a lot to our country as there isnt the history
of Venezuelan footballers going abroad to leave our mark on the world.
Were the start of a pattern of young people believing that they too can
reach the top teams in the best leagues. Its natural we leave, because
the dream is Europe: Spain, Italy, England. Its the top of our profession.
Summer rumours that Barcelona were interested before signing Paco
Alcacer indicate hes already there. So, what next?
I came here in 2015 thinking about the Europa League, he smiles.
We have been in the top eight this season and Leicester have proved
what you can achieve. The ultimate would be a trophy and a European
run. Its amazing to be at the forefront of football.
So amazing, in fact, that despite all the adulation, it still doesnt seem
real. Just before Rondon heads off to wolf down his pre-training meal,
he asks FFT who will be on the cover of this issue.
Ronaldinho?! he beams. FFT explains Rondon will be on the cover,
too. I dont know about that. Hes a legend. It should just be him.
After seeing how this natural-born fighter trains, we wont argue.
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 89
 ay
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THE STORY
BEHIND
THE SHOT

PA I N TI N G FO R ER IC
Eric Cantonas artistic side has always been to the fore, way ahead
of seagulls, trawlers and kung-fu kicks. My father would take us
to galleries, he once recalled of his childhood days. He painted
because he needed to, but not in order to sell what he produced.
The Manchester United forward would follow in Alberts footsteps,
here preparing for the new Ligue 1 campaign at Auxerre in 1987
with his dogs, and has showcased his street art around the world.
MEET
The 1930 World Cup winner
was the Pele of his day, but
Jose Andrades love of the high
life would lead to rack and ruin

U R U G U AY S
S U P E R S TA R
GIGOLO
I
t is entirely appropriate, yet
utterly unjust, that one of the
most famous images of Jose
Andrade, Uruguays greatest
footballer, shows him pulling
a pint behind a bar in Amsterdam.
Appropriate because Andrade,
a game-changing half-back, was
footballs first great international
playboy. His list of other activities
makes him sound like a character
straight out of one of Colombian
writer Gabriel Garcia Marquezs
magic realism novels: shoeshiner,
musician (he could play the drums,
violin and tambourine), newspaper
seller and, it was rumoured, gigolo.
However, his taste for the good life
would ultimately undo him. A serial
womaniser, he thrilled fashionable
Paris in the 1920s. After a party with
the Uruguayan team, novelist Colette
(the Grand Dame of French Literature
best known now as the creator of Gigi)
wrote in Le Matin: Uruguayans are
a strange combination of civilisation
and barbarism. Dancing le tango they
are wonderful, sublime, better than the
best gigolo. But they also dance African
cannibal dances that make you shiver.
Colette introduced Andrade to her
friend, American dancer Josephine
Baker a succes de scandale whod
dance topless in a skirt made of 16
rubber bananas often accompanied
by a diamond collar-wearing cheetah
called Chiquita. Andrade and Baker
had much in common and may have
become lovers. The media dubbed
Andrade as the Black Marvel, while
she was known as the Black Pearl.
Andrade was as keen on booze as
he was on women. At the 1924 Paris
Olympics, hed tend to disappear from
Uruguays villa, with team-mates sent
on missions to stop him drinking. They
were not overly successful. In 1957,
Andrade, the player whod inspired
Uruguay to win the Olympic football
tournaments in 1924 and 1928 and
the World Cup in 1930, died penniless
and alcoholic in a state-run home for
the poor in Montevideo. He was 55.
So, just how good was Andrade as
a player? Uruguays finest football
writer, Eduardo Galeano, wrote in
Football In Sun And Shadow that
during one match at the 1924 Paris
Olympics: He crossed half the field
with the ball sitting on his head.
An aura of greatness surrounded
Andrade. If he had played in the 60s,
he would be recognised as one of the
games very best alongside Pele, Diego
Maradona and Lionel Messi. Historians
have since dubbed him the first Pele.
HE WENT TO PARIS A NOBODY AND
BECAME A DANDY, RETURNING HOME
IN A SILK CRAVAT AND NICE TOP HAT
Although the Scottish invented the
passing game in the 1880s, Uruguay
perfected it in the 20s. Gabriel Hanot,
a French international, journalist and
future inventor of the European Cup,
commented that, compared to English
footballers, the Uruguay players were
thoroughbreds next to farm horses.
In 1994, Hanots own magazine France
Football ranked Andrade a lofty 10th
in its 100 best World Cup players of
all time not bad given he only ever
played four games in the tournament.
Such superlatives were completely
justified for Andrade. During the 1924
Olympics, Uruguay scored 23 goals in
five matches, beating Yugoslavia 7-0,
hosts France 5-1 and Switzerland 3-0.
In Amsterdam four years later, they
had to work harder, beating Argentina
2-1 in the final replay, but were still
worthy winners. Fans adored them: in
Amsterdam, 250,000 people wanted
tickets in the 28,253-capacity ground.
Galeano described Uruguays style
as ringlets because of the way they
strung passes together, circumventing
their opponents. And Andrade was the
conductor, sensing danger, launching
attacks and, when of use, juggling the
ball. Respected historian Hans Ulrich
Gumbrecht said the Uruguayan No.4
enchanted the crowds with effortless
elegance in all of his movements, and
performed with a sensational athletic
energy that would awaken strong
waves of an almost erotic desire.
As the only black footballer and
foremost talent in the side, Andrade
was destined to be famous. His back
story was heroic, exotic and shrouded
in myth. Tradition has it that he was
born in Salto, Uruguays second city,
on November 22, 1901 to a woman
from Argentina and a 98-year-old
slave who had escaped from Brazil
after being abducted from Africa.
Andrade was lucky to be able to
play football in Uruguay, which was,
at the time, one of the most racially
integrated countries in the world. La
Celeste had won the Copa America in
1916 with two black players, Isabelino
Gradino and Juan Delgado, whose
presence provoked Chile to protest
against selecting Africans but set
a precedent for future black players.
If he hadnt been so distracted by
the need to earn money, Andrade
might have made his impact sooner.
He was 20 when he joined Bella Vista
in Montevideo and a national call-up
would soon follow. At his triumphant
best in 1924, he seemed to be tearing
down barriers, challenging the racist
ethos which soon paved the way for
Nazism and Fascism in Europe. Yet
those barriers had only come down
temporarily. His white team-mates
received lucrative offers from clubs in
Europe Andrade didnt. And when he
retired in Uruguay, he could not find
the coaching roles that others secured.
In truth, he didnt help himself. Never
celebrating a goal and never worrying
about not attending a training session
Andrade was a maverick. Raised like
a pauper, he loved living like a prince.
As Uruguayan football historian Aldo
Mazzucchelli said: He went to Paris
a nobody, but after he got the hang
of it he enjoyed it like nobody else. He
became a dandy and returned home
from that trip wearing some yellow
gloves, an expensive coat, leather
boots, a silk cravat and nice top hat.
But the Black Marvel marred what
should have been a heroic return by
not bothering to attend a celebration
arranged for him by Montevideos black
community. His team-mates had never
found him easy to get on with, but now
he seemed even more unreachable. In
1925, his lifestyle took its toll when he
was diagnosed with syphilis. Depressed,
and thinner, he played on, helping the
Sky Blues retain their Olympic title in
1928. Against Italy in the semi-final,
he ran into a goalpost, an incident he
later claimed had blinded him in one
eye (others suspected the syphilis).
For all of his erractic ways, playing
football was not a job for Andrade, it
was a way of defying death. In 1930,
when Uruguay hosted the first-ever
World Cup, he endured four weeks
in a training camp without breaking
a curfew. His pace had gone but his
technique and vision remained and,
ever-present and imperious, he won
the Bronze Ball as the third-best player.
His international career concluded on
a perfect note as La Celeste won the
World Cup final, beating Argentina
4-2, cheered on by 93,000 spectators
in Montevideos Estadio Centenario.
Yet the cheers soon faded. Andrade
was just 32 when he hung up his boots
in 1934. He would soon discover that,
as Gary Lineker later said about Paul
Gascoigne, there is a lot of life to live
after football. A guest at the 1950
World Cup in Brazil, he must have
proudly watched his nephew Victor
Rodriguez Andrade shine at half-back
in the Uruguay side that shocked Brazil
to lift the trophy inside the Maracana.
By then, Andrade was sliding back
into the poverty that he had known as
a boy. Even testimonials held by black
clubs in Uruguay failed to finance him
for long. One of the global games first
demigods, Andrade was also one of the
first to discover that success could be
the path to fame but not to fortune.
If Jose Andrades life was a Hollywood
biopic, it would close with a bittersweet
reunion between him and his old friend
Josephine Baker, who had travelled to
Montevideo in 1952 as part of her tour
Words Paul Simpson
of Latin America. In reality, given the
rapidity of his mental decline after
1950, it is more likely that, tragically,
he never realised she was in town.
FourFourTwo.com March 2017 93
 Roy Keane ended Alf-Inge Haalands playing career
The Norwegian completed the game and was already
carrying an injury before that infamous 2001 tackle

Irish League XI | 1929-30 Wales schoolboys | 1920s

THE ARCHIVE

SHIRTS
Good luck getting the mud out
of this lot. While these retro tops
look great, they would have been
every kitmans worst nightmare
Australia A | 1920s
England vs Scotland | 1948

Photography Jon Shard

Reims vs Real Madrid | 1956 European Cup Final Blackpool vs Bolton | 1953 FA Cup Final Scotland vs England | 1961

Items supplied by the National Football Museum

Also courtesy of The Neville Evans Collection. Visit
94 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com www.nationalfootballmuseum.com for more info
 WHAT
HAPPENED
TO

Espen
Baardsen GHOST
Who?
A prodigious but
GROUNDS
GIANTS STADIUM
perennially in/out
keeper for Spurs,
then Watford, who
pulled off the Save
of the Season during
1997-98 to help the
former beat Bolton. EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY
Raised in California,
Baardsen played at

Giants Stadium words Matt Barker; Baardsen words Si Hawkins

France 98 for Norway, iants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Tailgating was a major part of the fun, genetics (as fans of The Sopranos will tell
despite never having Jersey, only existed from 1976 to 2010 explains Cosmos historian David Kilpatrick you) eyed it as a home tie for the Azzurri,
been to Scandinavia. and strictly speaking wasnt a football on the practice of attaching a barbeque but the Boys in Green took over. The only
Bold and calculating, ground at all, but it does have a special and cool box to the back of a car before goal from Ray Houghton resulted in Irish
hed peruse financial place in soccer history. For eight campaigns kick-off. Players were always interacting fans heading to Little Italy to party.
papers while in the from 1977, the home of the NFLs New York with celebrities Mick Jagger and Robert Want some more mafia? In 1989, it was
dressing room rather Giants was also used by New York Cosmos Redford were regular visitors so it was claimed that union boss Jimmy Hoffa was
than page three, the during the sides glorious Giorgio Chinaglia, a special time and special scene. buried under the pitch. A scan of the arena
quasi-Nordic scamp. Franz Beckenbauer and Pele pomp. Add in the cheerleaders and club mascot in 2010, just before it was flattened to help
Club owner Steve Ross initially wasnt too Bugs Bunny and youve got a unique blend create space for the new MetLife Stadium,
Bet he planned well keen on his star names upping sticks from of American fan traditions with the global found no traces of Hoffas remains.
for his retirement money-making Manhattan, but he became game that would last until 1985. The reborn Cosmos play in Long Island
Yep, and the gloves convinced after attendances eclipsed the Giants Stadium also witnessed USA 94s now, but may not even do that soon amid
soon came off. He Big Apples pair of baseball outfits. Ireland vs Italy group encounter. New York persistent talk of financial implosion.
bowed out at 25 in
2003 after Sheffield
United manager Neil
Warnock offered him
a deal that was less B I Z A R R E H I S T O R Y O F. . . A T L E T I C O M A D R I D
money than a Tube
driver earns. Espen
WAKE UP, LADS! DROP-DODGING FRANCO FAVOURS FIT AND PROPER? RAUL? RUBBISH
opted to go travelling
rather than sit on the Atletico were given Struggling in La Liga, Real Madrid flourished Future owner Jesus Gils maddest-ever
Bramall Lane bench. the nickname Los they finished second under Franco (below) Gil was sentenced to moment? Riding on
Colchoneros (the from bottom in 1936 but Atleti dominated five years in prison in an elephant around
Did he re-emerge? Mattress Makers) but were spared the under the dictator at 1969 after a complex Madrid to celebrate
Travel bug sated, he in 1911 when a kit drop as Real Oviedos first, merging with an he built (without any Los Colchoneros 96
returned to London, change to red and stadium took heavy air force team in 1939. architects) collapsed, Double success? Or
studied at The Open white came about hits in the Spanish killing 58 people. In threatening to shoot
University, went into as unused bed cloth Civil War and they 1987, Gils 16-year, his own players? Or
finance as an analyst from a local factory could not finish the 39-manager Atletico disbanding the youth
Words Si Hawkins

and is a now partner proved a cheaper season relegation reign began. No real team and losing Raul
of a hedge fund that alternative to cotton. was then suspended. plans there, either. to Real Madrid? Jesus!
manages more than
$1 billion. Safe hands.

FourFourTwo.com March 2017 95

 1982
A LL WH I TE
O N TH E N I G H T?

THIS YEAR IN
With the fabled rugby
union team down in
the doldrums, it is left
to the All Whites to try
to keep New Zealands
sporting pride in tact.
Drawn in a hard group
with Brazil, Scotland
and the Soviet Union
for a first round-ball
World Cup, they lose
all three matches. Ah.

Noble penalties, pinched trophies, relegated

giants the early 1980s were action-packed

A R MS TR O N G S I N KS T H E A RM A DA
The sparkling semi-final between Brazil and tournament-winners Italy may be
the purists highlight of Spain 82, but Northern Irelands defeat of the hosts in
Valencia is the stuff of legend. Gerry Armstrong, of Second Division Watford,
scores the only goal after keeper Luis Arconada parries Billy Hamiltons cross in
the 47th minute. There was silence, Armstrong recalled. It was only Norman
Whiteside and Sammy McIlroy cheering that actually made me think, this is
going to count! Ten-man Norn Iron hold on to win the game and the group.

C ATA L A N C OL L A PS E
Barcelona win two points from their final
six games to hand a second consecutive
VILLAINS EVE RWH E R E La Liga to Real Sociedad, who beat fellow
A couple of days after beating Bayern Munich Basques Athletic Bilbao 2-1 with goals
to win the European Cup in May, Aston Villa from Jesus Maria Zamora (above) and
players Colin Gibson and Gordon Cowans take Roberto Lopez Ufarte to seal the title in
the trophy for a pint at the Fox Inn, Tamworth. April. It remains the last time the club
Wed had a few drinks, Gibson later recalled, from San Sebastian lifted the trophy.
Words Matt Barker

and we were playing darts, when someone

turned round and said: The cups gone! The
following morning, local rogue Adrian Reed
sheepishly returns the trophy to the police.

96 February 2016 FourFourTwo.com

96 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com
 WHAT ELSE
F O R Z A BR A D Y !
Liam Brady scores a penalty 15 minutes from time for
Juventus against Catanzaro, sealing the Turin clubs 20th
league title in May. Days earlier, he had been told he would
HAPPENED
be joining Sampdoria to make way for the incoming Michel
Platini. They made it out to be a wonderful, professional
gesture not to miss it purposefully, the Irish attacker later
IN 82?
recalled. A lot of Italian people seemed to think I was in
my rights to stick it wide, but that never crossed my mind! Miners
Duran Duran
Eye of the Tiger yachts

Conan the THE

LEEDS FOR DROP Barbarian P O WE R
One of the dominant forces CIR CLE
in English football during The
Ford Sierra Falkland
the previous decade, the
Islands
much-maligned Leeds
United finally drop out of Prince William
Tootsie

437
the top tier after 18 years,
under the management
of former star striker Allan
Sniffer Clarke (above) and
with aging lothario Frank
Worthington in attack.

Number of years that Henry VIIIs warship, the

Mary Rose, had spent at the bottom of the
Solent before it was raised in October

4
Come On Eileen
Dexys Midnight Runners
WE EK S AT N O .1

Town Called Malice

3
The Jam

Dont You Want Me

2
The Human League

Boys
BLIS S E TTS H I S TO R Y-MA KI N G H AT-TR I CK From The
Blackstuff
Englands 9-0 tonking of Luxembourg is played in front of a meagre 33,977 Wembley spectators, but the
match is notable for producing the national teams first black goalscorers, both making their international
TOP 3
debuts. Watfords Luther Blissett hits a treble and Stokes Mark Chamberlain Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains TV SHOWS The
Young Ones
dad and a Fourth Division player just a few months previously comes off the bench to score the sixth.
Tiswas

FourFourTwo.com March 2017 97

 ?
? ?
DID YOU KNOW? Blackburn midfielder David Batty
refused a Premier League winners medal in 1995
because hed played only five games through injury

MATCH
THE REPORT
CLASSICS
Anderlecht The First
1990-92 kit 1 International
Not many teams
choose to turn out
in purple, but when Bells Life
it looks as good as December 7, 1872
this early 90s effort
from the Belgians,
This match was
you wonder why.
played on the West
of Scotland Cricket

FOOTBALLER MUSICIANS Ground and ended

in a drawn game
between Scotland
2 and England after
a splendid display of
football in the really
scientific sense, and
a most determined
effort on the part of
the representatives.
International It was greatly
admired by the
Soccer spectators, who
One of footballs kept the utmost
earliest forays into order. Although
videogames was 3 4 now and again
pretty simplistic showing some
(youd pick your partiality to their
team based only own champions,
on the colour), but fine play on the
tremendous fun. English side did
Pixel perfection. not go uncheered.
The only thing
which saved the
Scotch from defeat
was the defensive
play and tactics
5 6 7 from their backs.
With five minutes

1 4
JULIO IGLESIAS REAL MADRID LUCIANO PAVAROTTI MODENA left, a determined
The Spanish crooner was a promising goalkeeper The most well-known of the Three Tenors whose effort to free their
in Los Blancos youth team until a serious car rendition of Nessun Dorma soundtracked Italia 90 goal from danger
accident, aged 19, left him unable to walk for two was a fine keeper for Serie B Modena during the 50s. was successful and
Umbro years. While he lay in hospital, a nurse gave him [William] Ker, who

5
Speciali boots a guitar to occupy his hands and the rest is history. NICKY BYRNE LEEDS UNITED played masterly,
The Westlife star was a height-challenged keeper made a fine run

2
So snug that they
STEVE HARRIS WEST HAM UNITED in Leeds 1997 FA Youth Cup-winning squad with to the English line
were like playing
7 of the best words Andrew Murray, Becky Scarrott

The Iron Maiden founder, bassist and chief Harry Kewell, Jonathan Woodgate and Paul Robinson. as time was called.
football in your
songwriter and famous West Ham fan was Before the players

6
slippers and you
an Upton Park trainee until he swapped playing as MARK OWEN MANCHESTER UNITED left the field, three
could even fold
a Hammer for playing an axe. Come on you Iron! The pint-sized singer trialled with the Red Devils cheers were given
the toe and heel.
prior to Take That fame and was turning out for for the English and

3
Not to mention
ROD STEWART BRENTFORD Kirkby Lonsdale when the boy band reformed in 2006. also for the Scotch.
achingly stylish.
Rods early songs were quite prophetic: ensuring

7
Blondes Have More Fun by marrying several and JOHNNY MARR MANCHESTER CITY A genuine match
playing football on Top of the Pops to showcase those Before rewriting the course of musical history with report on the first
Hot Legs. But after trials at Brentford they didnt want The Smiths, Marr was at Citys academy and on the international game
his body or think he was... yes, anyway. Singing it was. radar of Brian Cloughs Forest. Put that guitar down, son! ever to take place.

98 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com

2018 FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA QUALIFIER

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SUNDAY 26 MARCH 2017
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FITNESS / NUTRITION / SKILLS / PSYCHOLOGY / GEAR / TACTICS
 PERFORMANCE

MASTERCLASS
THE

ALEX IWOBI
DETAILS

The young
The Arsenal starlet explains how to Gunner talks
tricks, tunes
add style and swagger to your game & Will Smith

How did you handle the pressure
of making your debut last season?
Honestly, I wasnt nervous at all. There
were a few other youngsters who were
also making their debuts and wanted
to impress, which probably took the
pressure off me a little bit. The game
[at Sheffield Wednesday in the League
Cup] was on TV, so I was excited to get
out there and show what I could do.
I told myself to do the simple things
well and I knew if I did that, then the
rest of my game would come together.
It was all a dream come true for me.
What advice did Arsene Wenger give
you before the game at Hillsborough?
He just kept it really simple and didnt
overcomplicate his message. He told
everyone to enjoy themselves because
thats the reason why we had started
playing football in the first place. I think
that helped to put myself and the rest
of the boys at ease. Unfortunately we
didnt get the result we wanted on the
important every single player makes
mistakes but you have to back yourself
to get on the ball and make something
happen the next time that you get it.
What advice would you tell a player
who wants to become a professional?
The advice Ive always been given is to
just express myself and play the game
with a smile on my face. You also have
to listen to your coaches they have
years and years of experience and their
knowledge will improve you as a player.
Its important to believe in your ability
as well having that inner self-belief
is something that you need when you
are going through a bad run of form.
Confidence is
key. When you
have self-belief,
Arsenals youth academy is full of
different nationalities has that
cultural experience benefited you?
Definitely. You understand a lot more
about how different teams play from
different countries. Some players are
more physical or technical, while other
nationalities place more emphasis on
tactics, so you gain an understanding
of that through speaking to all of the
players from various backgrounds in Favourite music
the dressing room. On a human level Wretch 32 he
its a good experience as well, as you is good lyrically.
get to find out how other people have
grown up living in different countries. Last album bought
Jeff Reine-Adelaide was born in France Views by Drake.
and hes a good friend of mine. Initially,
he couldnt speak much English and it Pre-match tune
was quite difficult to understand him, All The Way Up by
but hes really improved over time and Fat Joe fires me up.
I have started to speak a bit of French
as well. I have learned a lot from him. Favourite actor
Will Smith I want
Are you the type of player who likes
to use the gym to work on different
to be just like him!

night, but it was a great learning curve. you trust your areas of fitness during training? Best holiday
I will probably train in the gym twice destination
How would you describe your style? ability and can a week. When our games are coming Marbella, as I had
Its always hard talking about your own take ownership thick and fast, we dont do anything a really great time
game, but Id say Im creative and I can too intense in the gym. When we do there last summer.
score goals. My weakness is definitely of the game go in, its predominantly to maintain
heading. I cant head the ball at all, and the strength in our legs, because that Pre-match meal
always get stick for it at training. I also is the part of the body we mainly use Carbs, carbs, carbs!
have a few tricks in my locker and I like i f b ll k hamstrings Lots of rice or pasta.
making chances and setting up goals Lots of players si f i l d d h i s can get
for my team-mates. Ive played a lot of contracts but do f lfil h i v iff i o Ill often Gym session or
football this season and I want to start potential why d hi k d i n deadlifts cardio session?
scoring a few more goals now that Ive you made it and h did t k h m. I really Gym. I hate cardio
got some experience under my belt. When youre in th 6 8 h h rcise! Im we do hard sessions.
Interview Chris Flanagan; Performance editor Ben Welch

bracket its more n h fan of the

Do you need to have a certain type of of a mans B l ian squats Favourite tricks
personality to become a top player? game, rather ei h r, but I just Flip-flap. Ive pulled
I think that confidence is massive. Its than just playing grit my teeth it off in training on
so important for every player. I dont for fun. You have i kl and get on a few occasions.
think you can do really well in football and have the righ l i d with them.
without confidence. When you have in terms of activel i i A couple of Five years from
more self-belief, you start to take risks your game every d h i d f h ession you now youll be
and do things that you know you are always someone l ii f l h er, and then Still at Arsenal and
capable of. You trust your ability more to take your plac h y k h ll of the hard scoring plenty of
and you take more ownership of the to make sure tha w k h b en doing in goals, hopefully.
game. Mental strength is also very it more than anyb d l th h b worthwhile.

Fou ou Two.com/Performance March 2017 101

 PERFORMANCE

LIKE A
1 2

PRO 3 4

Mick Clegg, former power

development coach at
Man United, checks out
players Instagram snaps

1
Vincent Kompany @vincentkompany
Bulgarian squats are a good exercise
for building strength in the quads and
hamstrings, says Clegg. Being on one
leg helps to replicate a game situation.

2
Rio Ferdinand @rioferdy5
Trap bar shrugs arent essential for
a footballer, but theyll develop your
trapezius muscles in your upper back
and youll fill out your shirt a bit better!

3
Frank Lampard @franklampard
The glute bridge is a good starting
point if you are looking to reinforce
hamstrings and reduce the risk of injury.

4
Wilfried Zaha @longlivezaha
Lateral pulldowns target the major
muscles in your back. This is a good
exercise for building a base of strength.

5
Lucas Moura @lucasmoura7
The core is important for players so
they can change direction at speed
side planks help to enhance this area.

6
Gareth Bale @garethbale11
Foam rollers are a good recovery tool
5 6
for reducing tightness in muscles the
day after a game or hard gym session. 7 8

7
Cristiano Ronaldo @cristiano
A lot of boxers use medicine ball
sit-ups to toughen up their core.
The instability of the ball means its
more difficult than a standard sit-up.

8
Troy Deeney @t_deeney
TRX cable knee tucks will help you
to target balance, stability and core
strength, and you will also need good
upper-body power to hold a press-up
position while youre doing the exercise.

102 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com

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 PERFORMANCE

T R I E D AND T E S T E D

Sunderland
BATTLE ROPES
Ropes arent just for rock climbers FFT gets to grips with a new conditioning tool
Terminally-ill Bradley
Lowery was the Black
Cats mascot against
Chelsea and scored
at half-time. Classy.

Hot boxing
When its too cold to
go running outdoors,
try a hot boxing class.
Be prepared to sweat!

Chris Brass
Burys new manager
lost all four matches
he took charge of as
caretaker and yet still
got the job full-time.

HERO
TO
ZERO What is it?
Battle ropes are a piece of training
emphasis on the hips and core find
out which method suits your needs.
traditional training, such as running,
cycling or rowing, and the resistance
equipment that can help to give you provided by the weight of the battle
a killer strength and cardiovascular Who uses it? ropes also makes mastering them
workout. They normally form part of Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has more challenging. No pain, no gain!
Loris Karius a circuit of exercises, but can also be posted pictures of himself using battle
The Liverpool keeper used on their own in a single session. ropes on Instagram and other fans of How much does it cost?
is certain to feature it include Watford striker Troy Deeney The price depends on the size of rope
in this years batch How does it work? and Chelsea defender John Terry, as you buy. You can buy 10-metre ropes
of Christmas football The ropes are normally moved up and well as athletes in many other sports. for 45.95 on Amazon and a 15-metre

Words Alec Fenn

blooper DVDs. Oops. down at speed, which provides a stern length will set you back 67.95. But
test for both arms. However, shaking Why are they using it? if youre short of cash after splashing
CR7 blankets them around in different directions, The ropes have become popular as out at the January sales, why not cut
We love Ronaldo, but for example side to side, places more an alternative conditioning tool to some rope to size and make your own?
you will never see us
taking forty winks in
Cristianos new range
of branded blankets.
THE PERFORMANCE BREAKDOWN
Birmingham
Giving manager Gary
Footballers cover 10-15km per game this is how they manage it
Rowett the boot after
two top-10 finishes in
the Championship on
a shoestring budget
is just plain bonkers.

6 25 59
Calories Work to
burned rest ratio
SPRINTING 1,400 JOGGING 1:2 WALKING

FourFourTwo.com/Performance March 2017 105

 PERFORMANCE

VICTOR ANICHEBE
YOU ASK
How can I score
more headers?

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
Ryan Wormwood
via Twitter

Tom Cruises personal trainer has been getting Sunderlands striker into A-List shape
HE
ANSWERS When footballers and movies mix,
things dont tend to end very well.
Sure, Vinnie Jones was great in Lock,
Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, but
we werent fans of Stan Collymores
brief appearance in Basic Instinct 2.
Victor Anichebe is the latest player
to link up with the film world, but he
wont be appearing in any gangster
films or Sharon Stone thrillers, sadly.
The 28-year-old has been working
Marouane with Nicky Holender, personal trainer
Fellaini of Tom Cruise, during pre-season for
the last four years and turned to him
Man United and
again before joining the Black Cats.
Belgium midfielder
Holender tells FFT: I wanted him to
If youre unable to finish games as strongly as he started
get a free header, them, so he trained twice a day, doing
you must hold off interval training until nearly throwing
your man without up. He lost around 7-8kg in weight.
giving away a foul. It didnt end there. Holender whos
I always try to win turned out for Stevenage in non-league
that battle with my and also trains former Chelsea forward
opponent and it is Salomon Kalou then got to work on
something you get the technical side of Anichebes game.
better at over time. The striker was tied to a goalpost with
Ill try to push him a resistance belt and made to sprint to
a bit and destabilise the halfway line and back until he was
him. If you can win knackered, before doing shooting drills.
the first or second His weakness was that he could not
header of the game, maintain his technique late on because
Interview Chris Flanagan

youll dominate the he was exhausted, Holender explains.

defender hell get He learnt to maintain his technique
nervous and you will even when he was feeling fatigued, just

Words Alec Fenn

then get a lot more like he would be at the end of a game.
aerial opportunites. A few of his goals this season have come
late on during matches, and thats why.

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FourFourTwo.com/Performance March 2017 107

 PERFORMANCE

Shift that
spare tyre!
Its time to take your fitness drive into top gear with this tyre-ing
training circuit from strength and conditioning coach Cameron Goff

Pushes
Oi, hard men, why not practise
pushing and shoving a player
with this? Youll need help from
a team-mate, adding a bit of
competition to the workout. By
kneeling down and using your
upper body, you can target the
chest area. This is similar to an
explosive bench press exercise.

G
ym deals arent cheap and Deadlifts
FFT is still skint following If youve got chocolate hamstrings,
Christmas and New Year, then its time you strengthened your
so we thought wed go to legs. This targets the posterior chain
a scrapyard and pick up a spare muscles on the rear of your body
tyre for a full-throttle workout. such as hamstrings and glutes. An
Perform each of these exercises underhand grip to pick up the tyre
for 30 seconds to form a single will toughen wrists and forearms.
circuit. Once youve completed
them, rest for two minutes and
repeat. If you can, of course

Explosive
squat jumps
You dont have to be Andy Carroll to
win an aerial battle try this drill to
boost your jumping. Jumps from
a sitting start work on explosive leg
power, says Goff. Thisll help you
to win headers, jump in front of
defenders and get to the ball first.

108 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com/Performance

 PERFORMANCE

Lateral jum s
If you often find yours f
leaping out of the way f
two-footed tackles fro
Sunday League version
of Marcos Rojo, then th
ideal for you. You need
jump in and out of the
from side-to-side, as fa s
you can, says Goff. Fo b ll
is a multi-directional sp t,
so you have to be good
changing directions qu kl

Pr
het er it s for ooki g g d
th b h r pushing an
ponent around, wed all
l ke a nice, strong chest. By
tting into a press-up pose
d propelling yourself into
he air, you will really work
y ur chest, triceps and core.

q h s
We do t care if you re tired after a hard day s work
you need to train your body to do repeated bouts
of high-intensity exercise on the pitch. Squat thrusts
performed at speed will really raise your heart rate
and get you sweating, as well as testing the ability
of your core to maintain the correct technique.

Flips
Hang on, arent tyre flips reserved only for
20-stone Scandinavian strongmen? Wrong.
They can help you on the pitch as well. This
is a full-body exercise which will boost your
explosive power, says Goff. The aim is to
crouch nice and low, then drive the tyre up
as fast as possible before pushing it forwards.
F nn
s
W

FourFourTwo.com/Performance March 2017 109

 PERFORMANCE

QUINOA South America for thousands of years

These days you cant scroll through
your Instagram feed without seeing
a picture of a so-called superfood that
is dressed up to the nines in an exotic
dressing. Quinoa is now a favourite
among social media health fanatics,
but what exactly is all the fuss about?
This nutritious crop has been grown in
and belongs to the same nutritional
family as beets, chard and spinach.
Quinoa is considered a far superior
alternative to starchy carbs such
as bulgur wheat, rice and couscous
because of its high protein content,
which is perfect for repairing your
body after training, a rigorous 90
minutes or working out in the gym.

1 Quinoa contains 14g

of protein per 100g,
says nutritionist Gavin
2 Its a very versatile
food, because you
can serve quinoa with
3 Its a great option
to have during the
off-season or on a rest
Allinson, plus amino vegetables as part of day as it contains lower
acids, which you need a salad, or alternatively carbohydrate content
to repair your muscles. alongside meat or fish. than rice and pasta.

VS
We love our carbohydrates at
FFT but which type should we
be eating to fuel our performance?

RICE The brown variety can also provide

You just cant beat a good serving of
rice with a nice takeaway, can you?
Unfortunately a chicken tikka masala
probably isnt the ideal fuel for a game
on a Saturday. However, rice is a staple
food for more than half of the worlds
population, particularly in Asia, and is
cultivated in excess of 100 countries.
a steady release of carbohydrates
ensuring you stay fuller for longer,
meaning you wont crave sugary
foods which could derail your New
Year health kick. Arsenals players
even eat sushi which consists of
vinegared rice and seafood after
their matches. If its good enough
for Arsenes boys, itll do for you.

1 Just 7g of protein
is contained in every
100g of rice so thats
2 White rice can be
broken down into
glucose quickly. Its an
3 Theres no need
to eat rice other
than after matches as
exactly half the amount ideal way of restoring quinoa will provide you
thats found in 100g of carbohydrate stores in with carbohydrates and
quinoa, says Allinson. the body after training. high nutritional value.

AND OUR WINNER IS... QUINOA

110 Ma ch 2017 Fou Fou T o.co /Pe fo a ce

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CHGBI/CHMAXI/0079/16
 PERFORMANCE

IF YOU'RE
GOING TO
DO ONE
THING

Train
yourself
smart
The next time that your partner
or parents complain about your
unhealthy obsession with going
to play football, insist that you
are training your brain, too.
Were not just trying to get you
in trouble at home, honest 24
exercise specialists hailing from
24 different countries have been
highlighting the cognitive gains
from doing physical exercise.
A report thats appeared in the
British Journal of Sports Medicine
reveals that a single session of
moderate physical activity will
benefit brain function, cognition
and scholastic performance in
children and young people.
In plain English, it means that
having a game of headers and
volleys with your mates or going
to play 5-a-side in your free time
could help to improve displays in
Words Alec Fenn; Illustration Alex Williamson

the classroom or workplace.

The statement goes on to claim
that structured or unstructured
exercise such as challenging
team-mates to a game of rondos
or having a kickabout in the park
will significantly diminish your
chances of developing coronary
artery disease and diabetes.
If you needed an excuse to go
and play football, youve found it.

112 March 2017 FourFourTwo.com/Performance

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Maximuscle is a division of GSK Consumer Healthcare.Trade marks are owned by or licensed to the GSK group of companies. CHGBI/CHMAXI/0082/16
 1
MARCH ISSUE 2017

WORLDS
LARGEST
BOOT
ROOM
IN THIS ISSUE:

ADIDAS BLUE BLAST PACK

NIKE HYPERVENOM 3
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How e ver you play and at whatever level, theres a Blue Blast bo ot t o
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 2
FEATURED STORY

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 INNOVATION

NIKE HYPERVENOM 3
Foot b a l l s ee s ma ny sty l e s of pl a y c om e a nd go a n d i n recent years
t h e mos t pr eva l ent p hi l osophy wa s f ootb a l l ba se d on possession.
K eep i n g th e ba l l a nd p r ob i ng the opposi ti on unti l the y found a
w eak sp o t. O ut -a nd - o ut str i ke r s we r e b e i ng use d l e ss as a main
focal po i n t fo r t he i r te a m a s m a na ge r s sta r te d to adopt the famous
f al s e n i ne po s i ti o n i n or d e r to d om i na te the m i d fi e l d. However,
t h i s ye ar m ar k s a c ha nge i n the p sy c he of f ootb a ll sty l es as
s t ri k er s ar e re ad y to l e a ve the i r m a r k i n the ne xt- ge ne ration
Ni k e Hy pe rve no m 3 .
Set to feature on the feet of the games top st r iker s l i k e
L ewandowski, Kane and Vardy, the latest creat ion fr o m Ni k e h as
undergone a full makeover with a new upper an d so l epl at e bei n g
the most obvious changes. Foam pods have been u t i l i sed ac r o ss
the upper to increase power while a new hybr id Hyper Agi l i t y pl at e
consists of chevron and hexagonal shaped st u ds t o pr o v i de gr eat er
traction, making these the ultimate weapon for deadl y st r i k er s.
Forget the false nine position the striker is bac k
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NIKE HYPERVENOM PHANTOM III DF

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when striking the ball.
A mix of hexagonal and chevron-shaped studs
deliver targeted traction for agile movement around
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GAME WINNERS The art of goalscoring is all ab out c onf i d e nc e . S t r i k e r s t hr i v e on i t

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UHLSPORT

MARCH ISSUE 2017

ELIMINATOR SUPERGRIP
142728 - 150

NIKE MERCURIAL SUPERFLY V
SG Pro: 150122 - 250
S U PERG RI P f oam
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FG: 140987 - 135 SG: 143833 - 170 FG: 132747 - 91

 SEASONAL STORY the OLD SCHOOL

ALL ABOUT
T he Baggy is Best era, when baselayer was v er y
much homemade, and literally an yt h i n g go es.

THE BASE
Message Optional
Birthdays, greetings,
records broken,
Si m p l y Th e Vest
pets names.
S un s out , guns out .
P. S . S un was not
r e q ui r e d . P. P. S . N or
we r e guns.

C as t you r mi n d ba c k to 1 3 S e p te m b e r 1 9 9 7 (i f y ou re ol d enough!)
w h en I a n Wr i g ht sc o r e d a ha t- tr i c k a ga i nst Bol ton to become
A rs en a l s r ec o rd g o a l sc or e r . Cue huge c e l e br a ti on and the Arsenal
l eg en d (p re ma tu re l y ) l i f ti ng hi s j e r se y to r e ve a l a baggy white
ves t ? ! Y es , th i s wa s a n e r a be f or e b a se l a y e r a s we now know it.

A rou n d th i s ti m e, y o u woul dve r i ske d r e m or se l e ss ri bbing in the

ch an g i n g r o o m si m pl y f or we a r i ng c y c l i ng shor ts, l e t al one any other
t yp e o f sk i n t i g ht g a r m e nt (we wont e ve n m e nti on those that chose
t o t ak e t o t he p i tc h sp or ti ng gl ove s sui c i de , f or y our status in the
t eam at l e as t) . But c o ntr a r y to the p opul a r a nd so me w hat ignorant
b el i ef th at b as el a y e r s we r e onl y f or wi m ps a nd th at they were worn
b y t op p l ay er s j ust f o r show, sc i e nti f i c e vi d e nc e show e d that wearing
b as el a ye rs i m pr o ve d p e r f or m a nc e . And so, wi th t he e mergence of
b ran d s l i k e S KI NS a nd Und e r Ar m our , f ootb a l l e r s be gan to rethink
W o o l l y G l o v es
t h ei r at ti t ud e to wa r ds thi s f i gur e - huggi ng ki t.
O f f e r e d p r ot e c t i on
f r om t he c ol d ,
Th e s c i en ce i s s i mp l e : i m pr ove d b l ood c i r c ul a ti on supplies more
b ut not f r om t he
oxyg en t o y o ur m usc l e s, he l pi ng the m wor k ha r de r for longer and
i ne v i t ab l e k i c k s
recover f a st er . Wi th thi s a bi l i ty to i m p r ove powe r , spe ed, stamina
y ou d r e c e i v e f or
an d rec o ver y, i t s e a sy to se e why ba se l a y e r s a r e so commonplace
we ar i ng t he m i n
n ow . Th e fi r st m aj o r te a m to r e a l i se the p ote nti a l of baselayers,
t he f i r st p l ac e .
u s ed i n th ei r p ri m a r y f unc ti on a s a n e xtr a l a y e r to stay warm on
p i t ch , w as R an g er s i n 2 0 0 1 , who wor e GOR E WIN DS T O PPER tops to
b eat t h e i cy c o l d c o ndi ti ons i n S c otl a nd.

On Y e r B i ke S o n
I n t h e pr es en t da y the y a r e a n a l l - se a son e sse nti a l , w i th options to
N ot hi ng t o
h el p yo u st ay c o o l i n wa r m e r c ond i ti ons, of f e r pr o te cti on against
d o wi t h r ap i d
i mp act i n j ur i es , and to he l p y ou sta y wa r m i n c ol d e r w eather, thanks
wi nge r s. O r t he
t o t h erm o re g ul a ti o n p r op e r ti e s c r e a ti ng a br e a thabl e , insulating
T our d e F r anc e
l ayer i d ea l a t thi s ti m e of y e a r . And d ont thi nk i t e nds with the
f or t hat m at t e r .
f i n al wh i st l e. R ec o ve r y b a se l a y e r s he l p to r e d uc e sw e l l i ng and the
b u i l d -u p o f l ac ti c a c i d . Gr a d i e nt c om p r e ssi on a l so forces blood to
you r h ea rt , wh i ch pum p s oxy ge na te d b l ood b a c k to those muscles,
h el p i ng th em t o r e c o ve r qui c ke r .

B as el a ye rs h ave b e c o m e a c r uc i a l pi e c e of ge a r i n the modern day

k i t b ag , so ma k e sur e y our e e qui ppe d f or the whol e se ason.

LETS GET
Y ouve se e n how its evolved
ove r ti m e , and y ouve read
how i t c a n improve your
ga m e . S o d i tch the old vest,
the gl ove s f rom Nan, and the

IT ON
c y c l i ng shorts that are actually
d e si gne d f or ri di ng a bike
a nd ge t y ourse l f some
p r op e r pe r f ormance-
e nha nc i ng base l ayers.

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 the NEW SCHOOL FEATURED PRODUCT

COMIC
The T i g ht i s R i g ht e r a , sta r ti ng a t som e p oi nt i n the mid-2000s.
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M a ke s Y ou F e el He nch
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MARCH ISSUE 2017

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No t ju st fo r war m th,
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UNDER ARMOUR IRON MAN

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 ZE ROBERTO
Fresh from winning a league title with Palmeiras at the age of 42,
the ex-Bayern man selects his best South American team-mates
MARTIN DEMICHELIS
He was a great defender
at Bayern; he always made
us feel secure. Martin was
a reassuring presence we shared a lot
of great moments and we both learned
German together. Hes done well since
leaving Munich, even when few thought
hed succeed with Man City. He named
me as one of his best-ever team-mates,
despite playing with so many Argentine
greats, and that really did honour me.

FERNANDO REDONDO
In the 90s he was what is
now considered a modern
box-to-box player he was
ahead of his time. He had refined skills
and he was a leader, not only at Real
Madrid but wherever he played. I didnt
spend enough time at Madrid to know
him that well, but everyone in the team
thought he was the most gifted among
us. He had vision, style, flare and that
Argentine willpower. He was a massive
inspiration to a lot of players and many
have since played in the style he did.

DENER
I started my career with
him at Portuguesa. Were
it not for his premature
death in a car accident, he would have
been a phenomenal player. His speed
and skill were just amazing. When he
played against Boca Juniors for Vasco
da Gama inside La Bombonera, Diego
Maradona just stood there watching
Interview Mauro Fernandes

him with an amazed look on his face.

He was a fantastic finisher Im not
exaggerating when I say his dribbling
was Ronaldinho-style. Many thought
he would have gone to the 1994 World
Cup. Sadly, he didnt get the chance.

THE GAFFER THE SUBS

VANDERLEI LUXEMBURGO
I owe a lot to him. I played for him with the Brazil
national team, Santos and Gremio, too. He loved
attacking football and was a very good strategist.
01 DIDA
02 KAKA
03 ROMARIO

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THE BEAUTIFUL BOOKS

Find this seasons reads at www.bloomsbury.com