The ex-midfielder on boozy FA Cup celebrations, Manchester City’s rise to the summit and mixing it with the elite at Lyon… When you were making your breakthrough as a teenager, at Everton and Birmingham, how difficult was it to establish yourself in

Back in the summer of 2000, Florentino Perez became president of Real Madrid and set about making them the Harlem Globetrotters of the sport by signing the biggest and best names from Planet Football. He built a team that had the best player from Fra

Canada’s women’s team were lambasted for using drones to film opposition training sessions at the Olympics, deducted six points as a result. Thankfully this drone was launched for rather less underhand reasons, simply to take some pictures of random

December 19, 2009 Bundesliga “I’ll start with a game for Bayer Leverkusen, where I made my breakthrough as a professional. The club gave me the opportunity to show I belonged at the top level. I’ll always be grateful to Leverkusen for taking a gamble

Clive Tyldesley has invited FourFourTwo into his home in leafy Berkshire and, fittingly, a five-a-side football goal stands in the garden. “He does keepy-ups and I go in goal!” jokes the 69-year-old’s wife, Susan. “It’s purely for decorative purposes

The former Newcastle, Sunderland and Fulham man recounts King Kev’s entertainers, his regrets and Al-Fayed’s generosity Let’s start with a cheeky one. Who’s better: you or your son, Bobby, the Liverpool tyro? Oh, that’s an easy one. Bobby’s the bette

BEST: Adriano Basso, Bradley Orr, Adam Webster, Aden Flint, Joe Bryan, Marvin Elliott, Alex Scott, Albert Adomah, Niclas Eliasson, Tammy Abraham, Nicky Maynard. WORST: Stefan Marinovic, Nicky Hunt, Adam El Abd, Taylor Moore, Brendan Moloney, Tyreeq B

CHRIS FLANAGAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER @CFlanaganFFT What do you get when you combine the greatest player of all time with possibly the greatest manager of all time? That’s right: the greatest club team of all time. Never was that proven better than the

Ask yourself what you were doing at 16 and the answer probably isn’t “being regarded as one of the world’s best footballers”. One of the best Pro Evo players in your Year 11 maths class, at a push, but that’s about it. After a breakthrough season in

For the first time since the 1998-99 season, the Champions League proper will not begin with 32 clubs. Back in 1999, the competition expanded from 24 teams; this year, it has increased again to 36. So, where do the four extra teams come from? There w

What’s your earliest memory of watching Wolves? It would have been in the late 1950s – around 1957, when they had Jimmy Murray and Norman Deeley. Those heady days at the end of the 1950s were a magical time. I recently found Billy Wright’s Book Of So

“Good afternoon, everyone. I’m going to try to speak Spanish.” As ice-breakers go, Kylian Mbappe’s was about as well-rehearsed and effective as they come, eliciting a roar from the sun-kissed stands of the Santiago Bernabeu. After striding down a roy

There’s never a dull moment when Marcelo Bielsa is involved, as l’OM learned when the passionate Argentine led them into Ligue 1’s 2015-16 season. Marseille lost their opener 1-0 at home to Caen and Bielsa immediately resigned, saying, “I have comple

How did the move to Lincoln happen, from Leeds United’s backroom staff? Long-term, I always wanted to get into management if the opportunity was right, but I was really conscious how that’d happen, who it’d happen with, and when, because it’s a tough

“He was one of the world’s best goalkeepers. Some goalkeepers are a bit peculiar or more introverted but Edwin is a very social person. I’m glad that he has recovered well from his cerebral haemorrhage. That was a shock for everyone who knows him wel

Edinburgh City’s 2023-24 relegation to League Two – conceding 98 goals in 36 games – was accelerated by a six-point deduction for failing to pay players. A club with an average gate of 447 was on the brink. Again. Drastic cost-cutting measures meant

There’s nothing quite like the new season buzz. That fresh feeling of optimism, excitement, belief and often blind faith that this will be your team’s year always bubbles up as another campaign gets underway. With the Premier League up and running ag

puma.com When Rihanna isn’t demanding that unsuspecting DJs pon de replay, she can be found running the billion-dollar cosmetics empire, Fenty. It’s via this enterprise that she has teamed up with Puma to release a special edition Avanti football sne

Former West Brom, Cardiff and Stoke forward Peter Odemwingie, who also turned out for Lille and Lokomotiv Moscow on top of brief EFL stints at Rotherham and Bristol City, tended to change his clubs regularly. His infamous antics at the end of the 201

The Danish playmaker recalls Anfield’s golden era, Hillsborough heartbreak and where Graeme Souness went wrong After starting your career with Kolding in Denmark and then Dutch giants Ajax, you were offered a 10-day trial with Liverpool in 1984 by th

Cafu couldn’t believe his ears. He had just been introduced at half-time by Carlo Ancelotti to play his final 45 minutes in a Milan shirt, as he bid farewell to Rossoneri supporters in May 2008 following five seasons at San Siro. It was then that he

There aren’t many fans who legitimately need to weigh up if winning the National League South was a better moment than getting promoted to the Championship. But ask any Yeovil Town supporter which achievement they cherish more and you should expect a

After 101 minutes of action at Wembley in May, referee John Brooks blew his whistle. Adam Armstrong removed his shirt, twirling it above his head as he charged off to celebrate with Southampton’s fans. It was the greatest moment of his career – he wa

Three smart coaches decorated in Liverpool’s You’ll Never Walk Alone livery edge slowly into heavy traffic in the rain outside Columbia’s Williams-Brice Stadium. The Reds have just beaten Manchester United 3-0 in a college football stadium that boast

If you ever start to feel like you’re trapped in a Mitchell and Webb sketch of ‘Constant, dizzying, 24-hour, year-long, endless football: the football is officially going on forever!’, get yourself over to Greenland. The European club campaign feels

​​01 Dennis Bergkamp (right) had a famed fear of what: spiders, snakes or flying? 02 Which Championship side have a bee and a beehive on their badge, taken from the coat of arms of their city/town? 03 How many players have scored more than 200 Premie

Editor James Andrew Art Director Anthony Moore Chief Sub Editor Gregg Davies Online Content Editor Mark White Head of Video Adam Clery Editor at Large Andy Mitten Deputy Editor Matthew Ketchell Senior Staff Writer Chris Flanagan Staff Writer Ed McCam

A large banner runs across the length of Villa Park’s North Stand, emblazoned with the greatest moment in Aston Villa’s history. “Shaw, Williams prepared to adventure down the left,” it reads in block capitals. “There’s a good ball played in for Tony

PREMIERSHIP 2nd SCOTTISH CUP RU LEAGUE CUP Winners CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Play-off EUROPA LEAGUE Last 16 TOP SCORER James Tavernier (24) DAVID EDGAR @ibroxrocks Last season was disappointing. After a rotten start and change of manager, we got ourselves bac

LEAGUE TWO 6th FA CUP Second Round LEAGUE CUP Second Round TOP SCORER Elliott Nevitt (18) STEVE BENNETT @sargeantbennett Last season was better than we had expected but could have been even better. Wembley is crap when you lose. The big talking point