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The fans, the stadium, the legends: The world’s most iconic club laid bare



 E D I TO R’ S L E T T E R

EDITORIAL
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442workexperience@haymarket.com Why does everyone love Boca? That was the
Editor Hitesh Ratna question being thrown around FFT Towers
Managing editor Huw Davies
Art editor Anthony Moore a few months back when we first considered
Deputy art editor Tom Chase
Features editor James Maw dedicating an entire issue to South American
Staff writer Andrew Murray
Staff writer Chris Flanagan club football. One suggestion was the instantly
Chief sub editor Gregg Davies
Performance editor Ben Welch
recognisable blue and gold kit. Another was the matchday
Videographer Andre Hoo
Global digital editor Gary Parkinson
imagery – nothing says ‘carnival football’ quite like all that
Deputy digital editor Gregor MacGregor
Digital features editor Joe Brewin
ticker tape and confetti. The fans, particularly fond
Social media executive Harriet Drudge of climbing the pitch perimeter fence, were
Digital apprentice Ben Clark
Editorial secretary Sarah Weetch mentioned as well. Then, of course, there’s the
Thanks to Jeff Beasley (picture editor); Louis Massarella
(contributing editor); Haymarket Pre-Press (repro), Tim bouncing stands of La Bombonera, a venue
Barnett; India Harris and Tom Pearce at Puma, Pablo Vicente,
Maximiliano Nobili, Pablo Dubilet, Pablo Nicoli and Jorge on the bucket list of every ground-hopping
Curci at Boca Juniors; Alejandro Del Bosco, Santiago Pique Have any
and Leandro Francese at El Grafico; Richard Fey supporter the world over. The kit, the ticker thoughts on the
Pictures PA Photos, Action Images, Getty, Rex, BPI, Twitter
Brand director Andy Jackson
tape, the fans, the stadium: Boca has it all. issue? Feel free
Editor-in-chief David Hall
So in an issue focusing on South American to share with a
Business development director Andy Baker
follow and tweet
Marketing manager Ollie Stretton
International director Alastair Lewis
club football, it felt natural to go big on Boca. @FourFourTwoEd
Senior direct marketing executive Michelle Le Grice And it just so happens that as we travelled to
Syndication enquiries Isla Friend
Circulation manager Nick Lyon Buenos Aires to speak to key members of the club,
Deputy production manager Suzanne Wiseman
Subscriptions & back issues PO Box 326, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8FA including president Daniel Angelici and manager Rodolfo
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Arruabarrena, the Genoese secured a league and cup double.
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Tel 020 8267 5159 Email 442ads@haymarket.com Find out what they said on p38, where our man in Argentina,
Sales director Julia Dear
Advertising director Ashley Murison Martin Mazur, looks at where the club is now and, crucially,
Account director Christopher De’Haney
Account manager Matt Simpkin where they will be in 10 years’ time. The message is: look
Account manager Luke Ricketts
Classified sales executive Joshua McGonigle
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Circulation enquiries Frontline Ltd, Midgate House, Midgate, PE1 1TN Away from Boca, we take in South America’s biggest grudge
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Editorial director Mark Payton Hitesh Ratna

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 JA N UA RY 2016

UPFRONT
20 Top 10 legal wranglings
Extra, extra! Posh sues The Posh!
22 The Games That Changed My Life: Cafu
“Ah, my first World Cup goal. Well, I say ‘mine’...”
24 Shop like a footballer this Christmas
Ensure you buy the best balls, cans and, er, drones
27 The next stars of South American football
Move over, Neymar, because (Gabriel) Jesus walks

FEATURES
8 One-on-One: Hernan Crespo
The serial trophy-winner reveals his World Cup pain
with Argentina, his love affair with Serie A and his
obsession with Gary Lineker. It must be the ears...
38 COVER STORY Inside Boca Juniors
They’re probably the world’s most iconic football
club – but they’re more than just a football club.
FFT goes access all areas to see what makes Boca
so special that Carlos Tevez left Champions League
finalists in his prime to go back. La Bombonera,
Diego Maradona and that kit – what’s not to like?
52 All hail the goalscoring goalkeepers
“Cover me – I’m going up!” South Americans love
a hotshot in nets, but what’s it like to be one? The
best in the business reveal the joy of beating your
opposite number – and what happens if you miss

Playing at altitude
We reveal what it’s like to run around after a ball at
58
the height of 13 Ben Nevises, with oxygen levels low
enough to put you in hospital... having taken Viagra

62 Flying the flag for Palestinians in Chile

Meet Chile’s Deportivo Palestino, who give hope to
fans suffering 9,000 miles away in the Middle East
– even if it does mean treading on some toes

Picture Special: Brazilian ultras

Hardcore supporters of Palmeiras, Corinthians & Co.
68
aren’t afraid to show their true colours – on their
arms, their chest, their face...

74 South America’s fiercest rivalries – rated

From Bolivia to Bogota, Santiago to Salvador, no
continent does a derby quite like this one. Let FFT
introduce you to the 14 maddest grudge matches
in existence, featuring blazing buses, teams doing
a runner at half-time and Boca vs River... in Brazil

Action Replay: Pablo Escobar FC

The next time your club’s owner changes your kit
or stadium name, console yourself that he wasn’t
84
a drug lord and murderer. But a generation after
he poured time and money into the game, does
Colombian football still owe a debt to Escobar?

PLANET FOOTBALL
91 Japanese politicians go kit-crazy in parliament
92 Jakub Blaszczykowski on Poland, Italy & Klopp
97 Romanian madness: Sex! Bacteria! JCBs!
Plus Kenya; Agent WAG; Giovinco & Boniek speak

PERFORMANCE
101 Xavi’s secret weapon: Swingball for your feet!
104 Ivan Rakitic gives us a midfield masterclass
112 Know your enemy: how to get the ref onside
Plus Old-school drills; Javier Pastore on how to create

6 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com

MARADONA + RIQUELME + PALERMO + TEVEZ

B p38
A
Copa Libertadores or Champions League?
What was his relationship with Mourinho
like? Just how big is the Superclasico? And
who was Argentina’s biggest nutter?
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY...
Hernan Crespo
Interview Andy Mitten Portraits Mattia Zoppellaro
It’s a beautiful November morning in
Modena, the northern Italian city of 180,000
people where Luciano Pavarotti was born,
lived and died, and where high-end sports
cars are made, from Lamborghinis to
Maseratis. However, the noise outside the
impressive 21,000-capacity Stadio Alberto
Braglia on this sunny day is not the roar of
an expensive car or a tenor’s voice, but 1,000
teenagers coming from the adjacent school.
Sanctuary can be found in the bar opposite
the stadium, where memorabilia in the blue
and yellow of Modena FC – whose most
notable trophies came from beating Poole
Town and Sutton United in the finals of the
1981 and ’82 Anglo-Italian Cup – adorn the
ceiling. We’re assured that Modena legends
are taking their coffee right now, while
Massimo Taibi, briefly Manchester United’s
goalkeeper, stops to say hello. However, we’ve
come to see the Canaries’ first-team coach,
who was once the most expensive player in
the world. We’re here for Hernan Crespo.
The well-educated Porteno (resident of
Buenos Aires) scored more than 300 times in
a professional career spanning two decades
at the highest level. Only Gabriel Batistuta and
Lionel Messi have bagged more international
goals for Argentina than Crespo, who played in
three World Cups, won three Serie A titles and
picked up a Premier League crown under Jose
Mourinho. The former River Plate, Parma,
Lazio, Inter, Chelsea, Milan and Genoa No.9
turned 40 in July, and is aiming for a coaching
career as successful as his playing days.
8 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
FACT FILE
Full name Hernan Jorge Crespo
Date of birth 05/07/1975
Height 6ft Position Striker
Place of birth Florida, Argentina
Clubs 1993-96 River Plate 84 games
(36 goals); 1996-00 Parma 151 (8
2000-02 Lazio 73 (48); 2002-03 I
(16); 2003-04 Chelsea 31 (12); 20
Milan (loan) 40 (18); 2005-06 Che
42 (13); 2006-09 Inter 86 (29); 20
Genoa 21 (7); 2010-12 Parma 50
International 1995-07 Argentina
Honours Argentine Primera 1993
Copa Libertadores 1996; Coppa
Italia 1999; UEFA Cup 1999;
Supercoppa Italiana 1999, 2000,
2004, 2006, 2008; Premier Leagu
2006; Serie A 2007, 2008, 2009
As a native of the Buenos Aires
suburb of Florida, have you ever been
to the American state of the same name?
Would you recommend your Florida as
a holiday destination, too?
Adam Lewis, via Facebook
I’m from Buenos Aires and Florida is a good
barrio – middle class, high middle class. I lived
well. I went to a private school and grew up
with no big problems, thanks to the economic
conditions of my family. Buenos Aires is
Below Crespo’s goal beautiful. Maybe it’s not like the Buenos Aires
record for Argentina I left behind in 1996 – many things have
was very healthy changed with the economic crisis. But, well,
it’s my city and Argentina is my country and
I’m happy with that. Of course I’ve been to
Florida in America. It’s completely different.
Argentina is famed for its love of No.10s,
but you were a great No.9 – who were the
strikers you looked up to as a youngster?
Julia, via email
I was born in 1975 so it was normal for a boy
of my age to open his eyes and see the great
Mario Kempes. By the time I was three years
old, Argentina had become champions of
the world on home soil. I have some faint
memories of this, but what I really
remember more is Italy in 1982,
particularly Paolo Rossi. All of
that generation were then
eclipsed by Diego Maradona
– he was at another level.
I couldn’t be Maradona.
Instead I fell in love,
football-wise, with Gary
Lineker. He was the No.9
[although Lineker actually wore
the No.10 shirt] and what a player! He
loved the penalty area. I was desperate
to meet him, because I admired him so
much. I always remember Lineker scoring
goals at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico
and eventually winning the Golden Boot.
Football has given me a lot, and it gave
me the chance to meet Lineker.
“Celebrating at half-time
of the 2005 Champions
League Final? Bullsh*t.
The game lasts 90 minutes”
 ONE-ON-ONE
How does the Superclasico compare to
the big rivalries in Europe? What is your
favourite memory of those matches?
Gonzalo Ortiz, Santa Fe
Being a young player with River Plate, I always
played against Boca. Everything grew from
that: the rivalry was second nature because
we played them all the time. My first
Superclasico in the first team was in 1994
when I was 18, and we won 2-0. I was nervous
before the game – I could feel my legs moving
and couldn’t understand why. Then I realised
it was the stadium that was moving with all
the people bouncing above us! I scored. So did
[Ariel] Ortega. It had been nearly five years
since River had beaten Boca, so it was
incredible to go and win in La Bombonera.
Our supporters were high in the stands, the
top tier near the sky. It was the first time my
father had been to La Bombonera. Imagine
what it was like for him in those stands, and
to see his son score for River against Boca
in Boca’s own stadium!
Was scoring two goals to win River the Copa
Libertadores in 1996 [below] the high point in
your career? How crazy was the after-party?
Martin Light, via Facebook
It was the realisation of a dream. River Plate
had won their first Copa Libertadores in ’86.
Back then, I was a young player at the club,
watching the final from the terraces of the
Estadio Monumental. After seeing this,
I dreamed of winning the Copa Libertadores.
Ten years later, we played the same
opponents in the final, America de Cali. Yes,
I scored twice, but I also scored 10 goals in
Below Hugs with the whole of the Libertadores that season.
El Diego, who helped The win had a huge impact on my life. I was
inspire his decision only 20, I’d been River all my life, I was a loca
to play in Serie A boy and I won the biggest trophy. As for the
party, look at the videos on YouTube. Crazy!
When you left River for Parma in ’96, did you
have any idea you’d spend so much of your
career in Italy? What was it about Serie A
that you liked so much, and that suited you?
Riccardo Poggi, via Facebook
My love for Italy started when I was a kid,
watching Italy in 1982 against Argentina and
Brazil. When Argentina won the World Cup
in ’86, the only game we drew was against
Italy. In 1990, the World Cup was in Italy
and Italy were in the semi-finals against
Argentina. So Italy was always there in my
formative years. Diego Maradona played in
Italy, the best players of that age were in Italy
– I watched only Italian football. I never saw
the English league or the Spanish league.
It wasn’t on television. Why did the style suit
me? It’s hard to say. I was 21 years old
when I arrived and I was comfortable
straight away. Not everyone settles in
a new league straight away, but I did.
Just how good was the
Parma side you played
in? There were so many
great players – should
you have won more?
Martin Girven,
via Facebook
You have to
understand the
“We were a small group at Parma, too tired to
win everything, so we focused on the cups”
“I love you this
much, Italy!”
situation at that moment. Parma had a great
team, but look at the rest: Juventus were the
best in the world, Milan were very strong,
Inter had Ronaldo. It wasn’t easy. We didn’t
have the chance to play for three or four years
together and grow as a team; there were
a lot of changes. But we did manage to win
three trophies in 100 days: the SuperCoppa,
Coppa Italia [below] and UEFA Cup. We also
qualified for the Champions League for the
first time in the club’s history. But we were
still Parma, a small team from a small city.
What went wrong towards the end of the
1998-99 season with Parma? You were in the
title race in late February, then lost six of
your last 11 matches and finished fourth…
Lucio, via Twitter
We were a small group, which meant we all
played in pretty much all the matches. We
lost a vital game against Milan at the San Siro.
Abel Balbo had given us the lead, but in the
second half we conceded twice. Our dream of
winning the title was over. A few days earlier,

most of the same 14 players had played in the
UEFA Cup in Madrid against Atletico. We had
won that first leg 3-1, so from then we focused
our attention on the UEFA Cup. We also had
the semi-finals of the Italian Cup against Inter,
home and away, then the final over two legs
against Fiorentina. We were getting tired – it
was too many big matches for so few players.
We couldn’t win everything, so after that Milan
game we decided to focus on the two cups –
and we won them both.
When you left Parma for Lazio for what was
briefly a world-record transfer fee, did the
price tag affect you? Were you secretly
relieved Luis Figo moved to Real Madrid
two weeks later and took the record away?
Nick Kay, via email
Pressure? No. Zero. I knew it was the record,
and even now it’s the record between two
Italian teams [£35 million], but I never paid
attention to the price – I just paid attention
to my football. To learn how to handle
the pressure, you have to watch the past.
Let me give you an example. I was 20 when
River played at America de Cali in that Copa
Libertadores final. It was two years after the
death of Pablo Escobar. Going to Colombia
was difficult. There were security problems and
we never knew what was going to happen. The
media spoke about the drug cartels; about
Medellin and Cali. That felt like pressure: it was
[a state of] fear for weeks before the game.
And yet, the reality was they treated me very
well. So the transfer fee was no problem. I was
proud that I was worth it. It was a positive.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has become one of the
most iconic players in the game. What was
he like when you played with him at Inter?
Giancarlo Genovesi, via Facebook
He has matured a lot. He is a very strong
character, yet fragile at the same time. I have
very happy memories of him. For me, he has
been unlucky to play at the same time as
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Even
though there’s a lot of respect for him as
a player, he’s not at the same level as Messi
and Ronaldo. It’s almost unfair to be fighting
against two extraterrestrials. He’d have won
many Ballons d’Or without them around.
How often do you think about how close
you came to an unbeaten season with Inter
in 2006-07? Only losing the one game, to
Roma with two late goals, must be annoying!
Michael Bird, via email
Not a lot. It was fantastic for me to come back
to Serie A after being a winner at Chelsea.
I could leave the UK happy – we’d won the
Premier League title. But now I wanted to
win the Scudetto. I needed it. I scored
20 goals that season. It would have
been better to finish off unbeaten,
but come on – we won the league.
Who would win in a match between
the Parma team of 1998-99 and the
Inter team of 2006-07?
Rob Needham, via Twitter
Oof, that’s difficult to answer. There were
very good players in each side. And if
Which of your goals was the
most important in your career?
Diego Forlan, Montevideo
The greatest satisfaction came from the
goals I scored in the finals. We won some,
lost others. I scored in the Olympic final and
finals of the Copa Libertadores, UEFA Cup,
Champions League, Coppa Italia and
Supercoppa Italiana. For a football lover, to
be able to score in these games gave me
enormous satisfaction. I have to thank my
team-mates who helped get me there, but in finals I was always
a protagonist. I always scored in big games. Just like you, Diego!
ON E - ON - ON E
Jose’s reducer fails
to stop Crespo
leaving for Milan
I had to add the Chelsea team of 2005-06, it
would make it more difficult. I had the luck
and the capability to belong to these teams.
I enjoyed those experiences very much.
How was your relationship with Jose
Mourinho, given you went on loan to Milan
when he arrived at Chelsea but then he
brought you back for his second season?
Dave D, via email
Spectacular. When he arrived at Chelsea,
he wanted me to stay. I said I’d stay, but
I also said: “But Jose, Milan called me.” I had
a chance to go to Milan, a team I had grown
Above Istanbul 2005 up watching, Marco van Basten in particular.
showed “the beauty So I said: “Look, Jose, this is very difficult, but
and pain of football” if I have to choose between Chelsea and
Below Former Inter Milan then I’m going to choose Milan.” Jose
team-mate Zlatan: replied: “OK, I’ll wait for you for one week.
merely great, not If in one week the Milan deal is not done,
an extraterrestrial then you’ll stay at Chelsea. Because if you
don’t stay then we have to go to the market
to buy a replacement.” I went back to Italy.
My choices were based on my passions
and dreams. Chelsea then bought Mateja
Kezman and Arjen Robben.
Why didn’t it work out at Chelsea?
David Fisher, via Facebook
I had some very difficult personal problems
during my time at Chelsea. My family lost two
children. Emotionally, it was very, very hard
to go through all of that on a personal level.
Professionally, it was great. The fans were
unbelievable. They sang [he breaks into song]
“Hello, hello! Hernan Crespo, Hernan
Crespo!” I wanted to give something back
as I felt I had their respect. I had fun with
Chelsea. The English have great respect for
footballers. I loved London. I would run all
the way there if I had the chance to go back.
PAL’S
POSER What was it like being in the Milan dressing
room at half-time of the 2005 Champions
? League Final against Liverpool? Were you
really all celebrating at half-time?
Michael Gale, via Twitter
[In English] Can I say bullsh*t? Yes? Bullsh*t!
When you’re young, you’re taught that the
game lasts 90 minutes. We all knew that.
We were all experienced players, including
Clarence Seedorf, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro
Costacurta, Alessandro Nesta, Andrea Pirlo,
Gennaro Gattuso, Andriy Shevchenko – do
you think these guys would celebrate? Sadly,
there were journalists who made up this story
to justify what happened to us. They said
that we celebrated, when actually, despite
FourFourTwo.com January 2016 11
 ONE-ON-ONE
leading 3-0, we had sat and discussed what
we could do better. What happened in
Istanbul was destiny. It’s football. And that’s
the sadness and beauty of our game. But that
night, firstly it was a dream to be playing in
a Champions League final with Milan. The
first half was great. We played very well, and
everything happened as we wanted it to. I felt
in form and scored two goals, but ended up on
the losing team. Even today I can’t believe it.
After the game it was like a funeral. Nobody
spoke – not in the dressing room, not on the
team bus, not even in the hotel. It was very
difficult. Some players were crying. Others
embraced their wives and children.
Hi, Hernan. Inter or Milan?
‘Nixonbelgrade’, via Twitter
People always ask me if I’m a fan of Inter or
Milan. I love Italy in general. I respect both
clubs, and I respect the supporters of both
clubs. It is possible to do that. I was in London
one day and took a cab to Stamford Bridge.
The driver said: “Grande! Crespo. You hear we
love you very much?” So I answered, “Listen to
me: why do you love me? Why do you sing my
name?” The driver said: “We know you wanted
to go back to Italy, that your heart is in Italy,
but you gave it your all when you played for
Chelsea and you always respected the fans,
even when we knew your heart was in Italy.
That’s why.” So my love is for Italy; for the
people and the great football clubs of Italy.
Having played in the final of both the Copa
Libertadores and the Champions League,
which competition would you say is bigger?
Jonathan Wyatt, Shrewsbury
Good question! I don’t know what’s bigger, but
I come from South America so I have a bigger
feeling for the Copa Libertadores. I’ve learned
as an adult to love the Champions League, but
as a kid I didn’t dream of winning it because
we didn’t see it in Argentina. So my dream
was always to win the Copa Libertadores.
How relieved were you when Carlos Roa
saved Paul Ince’s penalty just moments
after David Seaman had saved yours in the
shootout against England at France 98?
Neil Baker, Wimbledon
It was hard... and complicated. When Seaman
stopped the ball I thought I was dying.
But when Roa stopped the ball there was
a big moment of happiness for the team.
We went through, but personally I was
frustrated because I realised that I had
to work really hard not to make the
same mistake again. I came close to
leaving the World Cup because I missed
that penalty. So I continued to work
hard and I fortunately had the chance
to play in more World Cups.
How frustrating was it to not start a game
at the 2002 World Cup? And what went
wrong for Argentina at that tournament?
Ryan Davis, via Twitter
It was a footballing disgrace for us. We had
a team that should have gone very far. We
won the first game against Nigeria, but
12 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
Ince lets Crespo
off the hook in ’98
“I fell in love with Gary
Lineker. What a player!
I admired him, and I was
desperate to meet him”
Above Crespo loved then we lost to England. Then, in the decisive
Chelsea, and Chelsea game, we drew with Sweden. If we played
loved Crespo that well against Sweden 10 times we would
Below You know have beaten them nine times, but everything
you’ve made it when went against us. We hit the post and their
Baresi is asked to goalkeeper [Magnus Hedman] saved
man-mark you everything. I came on for Batistuta and
Sweden scored almost straight away through
Anders Svensson. I did score in the 88th
minute when Ortega had a penalty saved
by Hedman. Even the penalty was saved! It
wasn’t a good game for us, and we failed to
qualify from a World Cup group for the first
time since 1962. It was very frustrating.
Were you surprised to be substituted
against Germany in the World Cup
quarter-finals in 2006? Do you think Jose
Pekerman thought the match was won?
Amy, via Twitter
I don’t know what Pekerman was thinking, but
I had to accept and respect his decision. I could
agree or disagree, but it’s part of football.
Who was the best at assisting your goals?
Jamie Allen, via Twitter
Look at who I’ve played with: Christian
Vieri, Andriy Shevchenko, Didier Drogba,
What’s not
to idolise
about this?
Messi, Aguero,
Tevez, Batistuta,
Marcelo Salas,
Abel Balbo,
Claudio Caniggia
– I played with
all of the best!
It’s impossible!
You choose one!
Who was the maddest player in the dressing
room during your international career?
Steven John, via Facebook
In Argentina, the dressing room is always full
of crazy characters – in a good way! – but the
keeper German Burgos more than any other.
He’s Diego Simeone’s assistant at Atletico now.
Kily Gonzalez was another funny, crazy guy.
As a former No.9 for Argentina, who do
you think is the best fit for that role today?
‘Silva John’, via Twitter
Let’s leave Messi to one side for a moment,
because he’s incredible. Then you have
Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain...
thank God Argentina have so many great
forward options.
You played in Serie A during a golden age
for defenders, but who was the greatest?
Henry Wadsworth, via Twitter
It was an honour for me when Franco Baresi
was asked to man-mark me [in Crespo’s first
season in Italy]. I’d watched him on TV and he
was great – one of the best ever. Then I found
myself being marked by him at San Siro.
I thought: ‘Wow, how did this happen?’
What do you make of the situation at Parma
over the last couple of years? Do you think
they’ll ever return to Serie A?
Tomas Piarais, via Facebook
It’s very sad and I hope they do. Parma have
just started again in Serie D, but they’re doing
well. The pain went through the people who
were at the club for a long time. Many people
lost their jobs. Football is second to this, when
people are losing their livelihoods.
Which of your former managers do you base
your own management style on? What are
the aims for your coaching career?
Joshua King, via Twitter
I learned from the best, and my ambition
is big. My ambition as a coach is to win the
Champions League and then realise the dream
I also had as a player. I’ve always dreamed
big, ever since I was a kid, when I wanted to
be Gary Lineker, or Marco van Basten, or Diego
Maradona, or Paolo Rossi, or Mario Kempes.
I look to the great coaches, but I have to be
myself. I look at Carlo Ancelotti, Jose
Mourinho, Marcelo Bielsa... I take lessons from
them, but I don’t want to be the same. I’m
now at Modena in Serie B and I like coaching
a lot. I hope it’s the start of a great journey,
like the one I enjoyed as a player.
Who would you like to see quizzed here?
And what question would you ask them?
Tweet us @FourFourTwo with #1on1
 THE
BEAUTIFUL
GAME

“HE’S OFFSIDE, REF!”

No, this isn’t a George Graham Arsenal training session from the mid-’90s,
but the opening of a football arm of the Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts school
in Henan province, China. Students will be taught Shaolin Soccer – loosely
based on the 2001 Stephen Chow film of the same name – which is a cross
between the beautiful game and kung fu. Tony Adams would be proud.
Picture ChinaFotoPress
 THE
BEAUTIFUL
GAME

ANYONE FOR A COLD

WHITE RUSSIAN?
Think the Geordies are a hardy breed? They’re a bunch of southern softies
compared to CSKA Moscow’s shirtless brethren, who stripped to the waist
(excepting the odd club scarf) in freezing temperatures for the 1-1 draw
with Manchester United in the Champions League. Huddle together, lads.
Picture Pavel Golovkin/AP/PA
 THE
BEAUTIFUL
GAME
THE
BEAUTIFUL
GAME
 THE
BEAUTIFUL
GAME

FOOTBALL UNITES
In the wake of November’s Paris terror attacks, historic enemies
England and France came together in grief. Beneath a Tricolore
Wembley arch, players and fans alike sang a rousing Marseillaise
in unison and stood together in a moving minute’s silence.
Picture Clive Rose/Getty
 UPFRONT
“I could
probably
pick up Eden
Hazard with
one hand…
he’s not
very big”
26
TOP10
The
LEGAL ISSUES
With Bastian Schweinsteiger threatening to
sue over a doppelganger Nazi doll, we ask:
when else has football called in the lawyers?
1 41 is the new 17
There are boys who mature early
everywhere – 12-year-olds with bumfluff
’taches and Brian Blessed booms – but
Joseph Minala is ridiculous. Lazio’s
Cameroonian midfielder is just a year
older than Brooklyn Beckham, but
resembles a dad of six who’s spent
decades grafting in a smelting plant.
The Italian side resorted to legal threats
when website senego.net published
claims that Minala (right) was 41, rather
than 17. “They are false statements,”
added Joseph. Alrighty then – but get
Upfront editor Andrew Murray; Top 10 words Nick Moore
yourself some moisturiser, son!
2 Foul play
Dog owners fall into two groups:
those who enthusiastically pursue their
pets wearing an inside-out ‘Mutt Butt
Biodegradable Poop Bag’ like a revolting
glove, and those enemies of society who
think it’s acceptable to let their hound
crap by the swings and then wander off.
Springy-haired Spaniard Ivan Campo,
alas, belongs to the latter camp after
20 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
24
22
abandoning a turd in Beesley Green
(not his own) in 2005 and not paying
the fine. It was only when Salford
Council threatened legal action that
the mess, so to speak, was cleaned up.
“And over here
n 22 games) that
is my toy box”
3 Gone batty
The heraldic use of bat imagery in
the Valencia area dates back centuries,
ches alleged she might
ecret in her shorts.
s mooted a boycott,
and when the club was formed in 1919, sitting on the throne, his as g she was a he, but
a web-winged mammal was included Zico holding out a roll of down after the club
in the crest. Still, that didn’t stop Batman Andrex. Zagallo’s attorney ned to sue. “They
publisher DC Comics from launching an soon descended. “The ng to destroy me,”
objection to a new bat silhouette being cartoons are personal Park, vowing to
mooted at the Mestalla in 2013. Los Che revenge,” huffed the lawsui back. You go, girl.
dropped the design, meaning that Romario paid damages and
nobody will mix up the La Liga giants
with a fictional billionaire vigilante
ripped the doors off the stal Considerably
posher
5 “Go
She’s Posh.
wearing a rubber suit. Phew. on my... Apparently
an you…
er, daughter? dispute about as daft
4 Game of thrones
Axed from Mario Zagallo’s World
Cup squad in 1998, notorious hothead
Jealousy is a cruel mistress,
so spare a thought for Seou
City Amazones forward Park
Cecil the Lion coming
ck from the grave and
uing Millwall with
Romario responded in a brilliantly petty Eun-sun, a standout talent awsuit, or a bunch of
manner. He had the toilet doors at his the Ladies’ K-League who mali seamen sending
Rio bar, Cafe do Gol, painted with an scored so often in 2013-14 ngry writ to Bristol
 UPFRONT

28

PLAYING
OFF THE
SHOULDER
OF FOOTBALL

DIEGO MARADONA

THE 60-SECOND DOSSIER

73.68%
Vieri was BUTCHER
looking over his ‘Butcher of Bilbao’
shoulder at Inter Andoni Goikoetxea
Win ratio as keeps the boot that
Argentina coach broke Maradona’s

8 “I spy…”
We’ve heard about managers “HUMAN GARBAGE”
ankle in a glass case

16
collaring players trying to sneak out of World Cup
His 2005 description
the team hotel for a swift half, but what finals games
of US president
Christian Vieri went through at Inter he captained
George W. Bush
Milan was different. In 2012, Bobo won WHO IS TO BLAME Argentina
a legal challenge against the Nerazzurri FOR THE MEXICO 86
HANDBALL?
AD #1
for spying on him. Inter admitted they He upset
had tapped Vieri’s phone and hired an fans in
investigator to help them “understand 2006 when he starred
if he was behaving within the principal in a drink commercial
Maradona 5%
internal rules”. Nice. wearing a Brazil shirt,
Shilton 5%
saying after the only
Thatcher 5%

Toilet humour: in
no way score-settling
9 G-Nev’s NIMBY KO
The Not In My Back Yard brigade
are the scourge of house-builders
¡REVOLUCION! The referee 10%
God 75%
jersey he’d never wear
would be River Plate’s
He has a tattoo of

GOD
everywhere. In 2012 Gary Neville raised
AD #2
Cuban leader Fidel In 2014 he
his neighbours’ ire after releasing plans Castro (who is also starred in
Rovers, Victoria Beckham once tried to to build a “Tellytubby-style eco house”, a friend) on his left leg an advert on Brazilian
He has a religion
sue Peterborough United – a club known complete with wind turbine. After legal and one of Che Guevara TV as an annoying
named after him in
as ‘Posh’ since the 1930s – over the wrangling, Bolton Council ruled in Nev on his right arm talking armchair
Rosario, Argentina
nickname. V-Becks claimed her musical the Red’s favour, but he eventually built
moniker was “globally renowned and a modified version. “We wouldn’t want

15 MONTHS
a well-known trademark”, before caving to alienate ourselves,” too-lated the
in, possibly after receiving counsel from former Manchester United right-back.
Ginger, Sporty and Baby.

7 Hat’s amazing
We can’t tell you the number of
times we’ve gone into a Seville hat shop,
handed over £85, then sat eating a pie
10 17cm of wrong
Retailers get carried away
when the World Cup rolls around – FFT’s The length of his football ban after failing a drugs test for cocaine at USA 94
reported on everything from England
car registration plates to a Three Lions
ONE-WORD TIMELINE

while roaring abuse at a row of fedoras, “hamster pouch”. German company

in the mistaken belief that we were at Beate Uhse produced a range of 17cm
2007 Hepatitis
1993 Newell’s

2014 Spiritual
1968 Scouted

2004 Survivor

the Emirates Stadium, London, for some ‘sporty vibrators’ for the 2006 edition,
1972 Ballboy

1987 Dalma
1984 Napoli
1976 Creole

1982 Barça
1981 Boca
1960 Bebe

2008 Boss

top-flight Premier League action. So
thank the Lord Alicia Simon’s headgear,
shoe and umbrella store, Arsenale, was
forced to change its name by Gunners
litigators. Common sense prevails again.
but after they labelled them ‘Michael B’
and ‘Olli K’, Ballack and Kahn’s lawyers
soon got involved. The dildo dealers
were suitably chastened and the items
were, ahem, withdrawn.

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 21

 UPFRONT

THE
GAME
THAT
CHAN
MY LIF
CAFU

December 5, 1992
Palmeiras 2 Sao Paulo 4
“It was the first leg of the Paulista state
championship final [middle picture],
just one week before we beat
Barcelona 2-1 in Japan to win the
Intercontinental Cup. We won 4-2,
I scored a screamer and played a part
in every Sao Paulo goal. In that match
we realised we didn’t have to be afraid
of anyone [Sao Paulo won the second
leg 2-1 after beating Barcelona]. The
winning streak only ended in 1994.”
March 24, 1996
Interview Mauricio Savarese
“That Palmeiras team was just unstoppable – we
scored a hundred goals in less than six months”
We scored a hundred goals in less than December 17, 2000 tough game against them in the group
six months. Memorable times.” Lazio 0 Roma 1 stage, but we weren’t favourites to win
“After winning this match [left picture] the tournament then; the semi-final
June 10, 1998 we were sure we were going to be Italian was a totally different business.”
Brazil 2 Scotland 1 champions. It was also the match with
“That was my first and only World Cup my most memorable moment: a triple August 2, 2004
goal! Well, kind of... I had some Scottish sombrero over the great Pavel Nedved, Milan 3 Chelsea 2
help in scoring that one [top picture: one of the best players in the world.” “It was just a friendly [right picture], but
Cafu’s shot hit goalkeeper Jim Leighton, it was memorable. Jose Mourinho was

Santos 0 Palmeiras 6
“This was one of my greatest matches in
Brazil. I scored, too. That Palmeiras team
had Rivaldo, Djalminha, [Roque] Junior...
I’d meet many of them in the Selecao
as well. That team was unstoppable.
bounced out onto Tom Boyd’s shoulder
and rebounded in for an own goal]. But
it was magical for me to have my name
on the scoreboard. It was different to
the 1994 World Cup, too, because I was
more important to the team.”
June 26, 2002
Brazil 1 Turkey 0
“Everyone talks about the World Cup
final, but this match was even more
tense. I also played better in the
game against Turkey. We’d had a very
beginning at Chelsea and I was finding
my place at Milan. I scored and made
an assist. After the match, he shook my
hand and told me to run less against his
team! I knew at that moment that I still
had a lot more I could do in football.”

22 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com

PLAY IT AGAIN, PAT!
The former Chelsea winger-turned pundit has an unusual sideline as
one of the UK’s most in-demand indie DJs. How does he fit it all in?
Pat Nevin is a busy man. Living in Duns
on the Scottish Borders, the former
Clyde, Chelsea, Everton and Tranmere
midfielder spends a typical week on
the road, traversing between Glasgow,
London and Dublin for his media
commitments with Sportscene,
Channel Five and BBC Radio.
“It’s bonkers and complicated,” he
tells FFT, “but I’m not complaining.”
Somehow, amid all that commuting,
Nevin has forged an unlikely second
career – as one of the country’s most
sought-after indie DJs.
“I was a teenage music nut,” he tells
FourFourTwo. “I DJed a bit when I was
young, but I was always playing football
so I didn’t really have the time. But in
2010 I l d t th B li W k d
PAT’S TOP
DANCEFLOOR
FILLERS
“I almost always play one of their
songs as they’re a big favourite of
mine. This is an indie classic.”
friendly against Brentford because he
wanted to watch a Cocteau Twins gig
– has since been ruling dancefloors
across the UK. He recently brought the
Shiiine On Weekender, a huge 1990s
revival in Minehead, to a close and is a
regular guest DJ at the Scared To Dance
club night in uber-trendy East London.
Nevin during his “Shiiine On was an unusual one
Cocteau Twins phase because it had a real Manchester vibe,”
he says. “You need to tailor your set to
the venue that you’re at. I’ll play to
Every band I liked seemed to be there, crowds that want more fey indie, or
from Franz Ferdinand to Edwyn Collins, something with more of a ’60s feel.”
and it went down a storm. His own tastes are extremely varied.
“It felt like winning the Champions “Growing up, I was into post-punk.
League. People were saying nice things Glasgow has the Postcard Records scene.
about my set on Twitter, and I got offers Being a John Peel Show fanatic was the
f i di l b d” ti t t thi th h l
“Nope, sorry Colin, the setlist
definitely says three hours
of Belle and Sebastian”
BELLE AND
SEBASTIAN
BOY WITH
THE ARAB PULP
STRAP BABIES
“People always ask me whether “This is midway between classic
I preferred Oasis or Blur. I always Undertones punk and new, fey,
say Pulp. This goes down a storm.” fun indie. They’re nice guys, too.”
Looking every inch
the indie DJ in his
‘second career’
much music. Going to gigs became my
thing. I saw Joy Division, New Order...
And I ended up with more friends in
music, like Peely, than in football.”
Having written for the NME, Pat
became every thinking music fan’s
favourite player. He started to DJ more
towards the end of his playing career,
but technology overtook him. “I didn’t
always know how to use the equipment!
I moved over to using CDs – I can’t be
i inyl around – and although
ve iPods, I still like CDs.”
action, he says, is always the
don’t do it for the money, and
o interest in attention. Gigs
ays a place to be anonymous.
eople wanting the odd photo,
dy should be getting carried
ut selfies. I probably play one
I get offered, and I always
seems like the kind of place
o play. I do it because it’s fun.”
can Pat help answer an eternal
Football and music are among
important things in life, but
still tend to favour terrible,
ng rave. Why is that?
never slag their tastes,” he says.
ot going to be a music snob.
ng room music is about
pumped, but I never wanted
ull of adrenaline. I wanted to
lm. Look at a typical old-school
player, then someone calm like
Words Nick Moore
ullit – who would you rather be?
o listen to relaxing music
h. If you’re languid and
ou control a ball better.”
THE PAINS OF
BEING PURE
AT HEART PUBLIC SERVICE
YOUNG ADULT BROADCASTING
FRICTION SPITFIRE
“This is a perfect DJ song, as oddly
enough it fits well with any era of
music, especially the older indie.”
FourFourTwo.com January 2016 23
 UPFRONT

“HE’S FATHE
CHRISTMAS
ONE OF OUR
HEADPHONES

With a bit of help from Santa Claus – and rather more

importantly, from FFT stablemate Stuff – you can kit
yourself out like a proper footballer, whatever your budget

ON A BUDGET
SOUNDMAGIC E10S, £40 BLOW YOUR BUDGET
FINAL SONOROUS X, £3,500
They won’t turn many heads
– unless you turn them up too
loud – but these are cheaper
than the Finals (right), better They’re as subtle as Dani Alves’ wardrobe,
than the ones that come with
TRANSPORT
but if you’re flush and want to upstage
your phone, and dependable. a team-mate’s new Beats there’s nothing
better than these gold-garnished cans.

BLOW YOUR BUDGET FOOTBALLS

AIRWHEEL Q3, £800 BLOW YOUR BUDGET
Turning up on one of those new ‘hoverboards’
ADIDAS MICOACH
will get you laughed out of the dressing room, SMART BALL, £145
but the Airwheel – a cross between a Segway
Sci-fi stuff, this: the ball’s inbuilt
and a unicycle – is a very different beast. Still,
sensor records how fast and with
it might be wise to keep it away from training.
how much spin you schlep a ball at goal, even tracking its
flight path, then sends the data to your smartphone. Swish.
ON A BUDGET
Q3 SELF-BALANCING SCOOTER, £190 ON A BUDGET
Short of an Aston Martin, is there anything
more Mario Balotelli than travelling on
PERSONALISED
one of these babies? You could MITRE BALL, £30
even attach The world and their Nan have
a couple of personalised boots now, so
fireworks why not a football? Well, head
(but don’t). on over to mitre.com and you can
have pretty much anything daubed
on your balls. Oh, get your mind out of the gutter.
 UPFRONT

BLOW YOUR BUDGET

DJI INSPIRE 1, £2,381
The only way to truly appreciate the
palatial grounds of an Alderley Edge
estate is from the sky, and DJI’s
Inspire 1 offers a bird’s-eye view in
Ultra HD. It’s also good for chasing
paparazzi away from the front gates.

BLUETOOTH
YOUR BUDGET SPEAKERS
T7, £300
ntley of Bluetooth speakers, B&W’s T7 ON A BUDGET

(
all about the importance of keeping its
ycomb) shape, in order to stop sound
UE BOOM 2, £170
More toy than tool, the camera records and Nothing can come between
distorting. There’s a rechargeable battery
relays video to a phone or iPad. Use it to spy the Boom 2 and pre-match
Perfect for Louis Vuitton luggage.
on the opposition (having secured the tunes – not even the team
necessa C showers, because it’s totally
Authorit waterproof. Get a pair and
clearanc they can even combine to
beforeha form a potent front two.
naturally

WATCHES BLOW YOUR BUDGET

BLOW YOUR BUDGET APPLE WATCH HERMES,
ADIDAS YEEZY ROM £1,000
his isn’t any old Apple Watch.
rom Paris luxury goods specialist
ermes, it has their signature on
he box, a choice of three leather
traps and exclusive dial designs.

ON A BUDGET
PEBBLE TIME, £180
ebble Time is the Michael Carrick
of smartwatches: functional. But
unlike Carrick, it discreetly alerts
you to text messages via a colour
Words Tom Wiggins; Photography Pixeleyes

ON A BUDGET
PUMA ROMA, £60
Part of their From The Groun
range of terrace-inspired ret
trainers, Puma’s felt Roma a
shiny Trimm Quick are perfe
for looking good at the gam
Simple, comfortable and sty

y
 UPFRONT
ASK A SILLY QUESTION
Chelsea’s Bosnian goalkeeper always picks himself on Football Mana
Asmir ‘FM fiend’ Begovic
Hi Asmir. You’re in the Guinness Book
of World Records for the longest
goal ever scored – from 91.9m for
Stoke against Southampton in 2013.
If you could hold another world
record, which would you go for?
Hello there. It’s fun having a record.
Guinness gave me a certificate, which
was nice – I’ve got it hanging up at
home. It was a moment I won’t forget.
But if I could hold any record? That’s
an easy one to answer: the most clean
sheets in a row ever. That’d be perfect.
A logical choice. Do you think world
records are getting out of hand?
There’s a record for ‘most socks put
on a foot in one minute’. A lad in
Italy can apparently do 45.
The sock one is a bit silly, yes. But it
doesn’t devalue the proper ones.
Would you rather own Zeus, the
tallest dog in history at 7ft 4in,
or Pickles, AKA Catasaurus Rex,
who weighs nearly two stone?
Can I say neither? I suppose I’d go
for the cat if you made me pick one.
I don’t really think I’d like to own
either, though. I’ve got a little Prince
Charles Cavalier, but he’s pretty much
like a teddy. Big dogs aren’t my style.
Would the tallest man in history,
Robert Pershing Wadlow, have
been any good between the posts
at 8ft 11in? Or can you be too big?
You can definitely be too tall.
From that height, he would
not be mobile enough to
get down for low shots.
And he’d probably hit his
head on the crossbar,
too. I think the upper
Interview Nick Moore
limit for a keeper is
about 6ft 8in. There
are a lot in that
category at the
moment, but you
ger. Well, wouldn’t you?
wouldn’t want to go much over it,
because you start to lose athleticism
. And I could probably pick up Eden
Legendary keeper Frank Swift could
hold two footballs in the span of
one palm. What’s the biggest thing
you can pick up in one hand?
Ooh, that’s a tough call. I could pick
up my daughter with one hand –
I like to be different. I prefer it to the
does that count? She’s six years old. outfield kit – 10 of them all wearing it
at the same time. It’s better to stand
Hazard, too. He’s not very big. out: you can never be too bright.
Are you sad when you see your Have you ever sung to yourself
team-mates in a shiny new kit and during a game to stay interested?
you’ve just got a plain old jersey? Never. You have got a game to
Not at all. Goalkeeper kits are very concentrate on, and even if you aren’t
much with the times these days, and very busy, you can’t let your mind
wander. There’s no time for singing.
Ever seen a worm while playing?
That’s Sunday League stuff, really. I’ve
never seen one in the Premier League.
The pitches are in pristine condition.
If you did, would you carry it to
safety, or risk it being crushed?
I’d have to leave it there. I don’t
want to get my gloves dirty.
Have you ever wasted away an
afternoon on YouTube watching
monkeys riding motorbikes?
Should I? I’ve wasted a lot of time on
Football Manager. I’ve played it since
I was 13. I rate my Football Manager
skills. I’m currently in my 10th
year at Spartak Moscow.
We’ve won a few Russian
league championships
and played in the
Champions League.
Impressive, right?
Absolutely. Do you
always pick Asmir
Begovic in goal?
Of course I do.
How could
you not?!
Excellent.
Now, you
have lived
in Bosnia,
Germany,
Canada and
England. Which
of these places has the
best motorway service stations?
It’s got to be England. There’s a lot
going on at your service stations. I like
the BP ones that have an M&S and
a Costa Coffee Express – you can
stock up and have some tasty snacks.
Finally, are you looking forward to
the new Star Wars movie, or is it
a load of old rubbish for children?
I’ve never seen a single Star Wars
film. I’m sorry to let you down.
I think we’ll have to call it a day
after that bombshell. Ta for chatting.
Fair enough. Cheers!

GIOVANI LO CELSO
Country Argentina
Club Rosario Central
Position Midfielder Age 19
Plays like Lionel Messi
(except he’s human)
The lowdown Born and
bred in Rosario, just like
you-know-who, Lo Celso’s
dribbling in tight spaces is
eerily similar to Messi, albeit
without the explosiveness.
Reportedly wanted by
Atletico Madrid.
MESSI, SUAREZ…YEFERSON SOTELDO?!
To coincide with our South American special, we scoured the continent to
unearth the best youngsters who haven’t made the move to Europe – yet
ERWIN SAAVEDRA
Country Bolivia
Club Bolivar
Position Midfielder Age 19
Plays like Fernandinho
The lowdown Proved
equally adept at right-back
or defensive midfield in
Bolivar’s run to the
Libertadores last four (the
first Bolivian team to do it),
Saavedra is smooth in
possession with a great
long-distance shot.
SAUL SALCEDO
Country Paraguay
Club Olimpia
Position Defender Age 18
Plays like Raphael Varane
The lowdown Part of
Paraguay’s training squad
for last summer’s Copa
America at just 17, the
rangy Salcedo is now
first choice for domestic
giants Olimpia. Combines
excellent positional sense
with a great touch. Classy.
GABRIEL JESUS
Country Brazil
Club Palmeiras
Position Winger Age 18
Plays like Raheem Sterling
The lowdown Jesus might
earn only £650 per week,
but don’t get too excited –
his release clause is some experience in Holland,
£28.5m. He played as
Brazil’s No.10 as they
reached last summer’s
Under-20 World Cup Final,
and has a bright future.
YEFERSON SOTELDO
Country Venezuela
Club Zamora
Position Winger Age 18
Plays like Pedro
The lowdown At just
5ft 3in and weighing
8.5 stone wet through,
what the diminutive
Soteldo lacks in stature he
makes up for in fearsome
pace and devilish trickery.
Venezuela’s diamond
in the rough.
LUIZ ‘BETO’ DA SILVA
Country Peru
Club Sporting Cristal
Position Striker Age 18
Plays like Luis Suarez
The lowdown Following in
Suarez’s own early-career
footsteps, Beto already has
playing in a trial game for
PSV’s youth team earlier
this year before returning
to light up Peru. He’s less
‘bitey’, thankfully.
EDWIN CARDONA
Country Colombia
Club Monterrey
Position Midfielder Age 22
Plays like James Rodriguez
The lowdown Cardona has
averaged a goal every other
game since joining Mexican
side Monterrey a year ago,
alerting Europe’s giants.
The playmaker’s technique,
vision and goalscoring
knack at crunch moments
are priceless.
FRANCISCO SIERRALTA
Country Chile
Club Universidad Catolica
Position Defender Age 18
Plays like Lucio
The lowdown Every team
needs a tough-as-old-boots
defender to lead from the
back. Sierralta, more young
boots, is not yet a starter for
his club but was voted best
player at the prestigious
Alcudia U20 tournament
for Chile last summer.
FourFourTwo.com January 2016 27
UPFRONT
JOSE ANGULO
Country Ecuador Club
Independiente del Valle
Position Striker Age 20
Plays like Faustino Asprilla
The lowdown Even the
Independiente hardcore
didn’t know of Angulo
four months ago, but with
recent displays the powerful
forward has bludgeoned his
way into Gustavo Quinteros’
national team. He’s probably
less bonkers than Tino, too.
NAHITAN NANDEZ
Country Uruguay
Club Penarol
Position Midfielder Age 19
Plays like Javier Mascherano
The lowdown Previously
a playmaker, Uruguay U20
Words Martin Langer and Felipe Rocha
captain Nandez has
retreated in front of the
defence for Penarol to great
effect. Feisty and full of
running, he’s basically
a royal pain in the arse, like
the Barça man at his best.
UPFRONT

THE FORCE
IS STRONG
THESE SHIR
With the long-awaited new Star Wars film coming out in
mid-December, a couple of New Yorkers have designed
some Jedi-inspired football kits. Viva Chewbacca FC!

THE 110% FOOTBALL QUIZ

1 Six players have won the
Ballon d’Or (below) while
at Barcelona. Name them.
Q12: Zidane
does it again
8 Who were the two teams playing
when Old Trafford’s record
attendance was set in 1939?

2 Velibor Vasovic was the

first player to score in
European Cup finals for two
9 Who were the first Italian team
to win the European Cup?

different teams. Who were they?

10 Which country has had
a club in the final of the Copa

3 What has happened only

three times in the last six
Libertadores on the most occasions?

Africa Cup of Nations finals?

11 Who was the first Football
League manager to be sacked

4 Which League One club

was formed in 1887 by the
during the 2015-16 season?

superbly named clergyman

Tiverton Preedy? 12 Who scored more goals
for France: Zinedine Zidane
(above left) or David Trezeguet?

5 Which Dutch
footballing
legend completes
6 Which Eredivisie
club are nicknamed
the Super Farmers? 13 What is the maximum
permitted width of the
this lyric from lines on a football pitch?
the Super Furry
Animals’ top 20
smash Smokin’: “I’m
7 Name one (or, if
you’re a show-off, both)
of the defeated semi-finalists
Q13: This man
14 Which Bolton players
scored in the Trotters’
knows (or so
going to manage m in last season’s Conference you’d hope) famous 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich
time, like ____ ____ Premier play-offs. in the 2007-08 UEFA Cup?

28 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com

 UPFRONT

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far E fighters, his crew are at least (or FFT) but what about that even scarier
away – OK, a few weeks ago in New inging balance to the sportswear force: Star Wars geeks? You certainly
York – a group of brave rebels decided niverse. They’ve already produced wouldn’t want to get on their dark side.
to take on a mighty empire, by alternative shirts for several major “My first reaction was that [the shirts]
launching the only bit of Star Wars teams, including Bayern Munich and might be embarrassing, or slightly
merchandise Disney hasn’t done yet: Barcelona, and a Game of Thrones patronising,” admits film journalist and
football shirts. If you’ve ever wanted collection – all 100 per cent Star Wars nut Jayne Nelson, surveying
footy Wookiee-wear or a Jedi jersey, unofficial and voted for by the fans. the strips. “But actually they seem well
you’ll have a good feeling about this. For the SoccerWars collection, Daniel thought-out and, particularly with the
“There’s something interesting about d co-designer Nerea Palacios chose C3PO shirt, nicely tongue-in-cheek.”
taking familiar imagery like Star Wars e characters – well, they couldn’t risk Her only gripe: the Wookiee jersey.
and combining it with soccer,” says shock victory for Jar Jar Binks – but let “It looks black, not brown. Was he
Daniel Nyari, the Han Solo of this project, ns chip in on social media, and the rolling around in soot or something
cleverly named SoccerWars (see what ght finished shirts are now on sale. while waiting for the magic sponge?”
they’ve done there?) “It was really h Star Wars: The Force Awakens due Actually, these shirts do raise the
just the curiosity of trying to use ease at the end of the month, enticing possibility of a full SoccerWars
the soccer jersey as a canvas.” ouldn’t be better timed. tournament, featuring rebels against
Daniel’s Big Apple company, arently, your favourite shirt Stormtroopers, the Jedi/Sith derby
Supporters.pro, are indeed rebelling ably says a lot about you. “I like and a Death Star-shaped trophy.
against an evil alliance – but not the Darth Vader one,” says Daniel. “You have no idea how much we
filmmakers, who they hope won’t ck.” Very insightful. want that, too,” says Nerea. “But
take offence (to help matters, all the f course, peace-lovin o thinking of doing
shirts have Pro Evolution Soccer-esque rFourTwo prefers th ash-up of everything,
neutral titles, featuring the likes of oids – but isn’t C3P0 ll our collections:
GoldenDroid, DarkLord and, brilliantly, seless for football? Game of Thrones vs
Grrrwaaaaaarggggh for the Wookiee) nterjects Nerea. Star Wars vs Barcelona.
No, instead, the upstarts are battling ould cheat, for All that we need now
the replica-kit business. use holograms and are the players.”
“Soccer jerseys aren’t really that se the other players them. It is your destiny.
democratic,” says Daniel. “We’re just trange sounds.” Ah,

Words Si Hawkins
blasted with corporate elements.” Costa-like droid rage occerWars collection
While brand bombardment may be efully Disney won’t s ilable now from
better than being blasted by imperial y letter to the design w.supporters.pro

18
19 Who scored in Chelsea’s 1-0
victory over Manchester United
in August 2004, Jose Mourinho’s first
23 Name the five footballers
to win the BBC Sports
Personality of the Year Award,
Premier League game in charge? with the most recent first.

20 How many French teams

have won either the UEFA
Cup or Europa League?
24 Who was the last player
to score within the first
90 minutes of a World Cup final?

Name the four

pictured players 21 Tal Ben Haim has played for
eight English clubs. Name ’em. 25 Of the 92 Premier League
and Football League clubs
in the 2015-16 season, how many

Q15: JT is the first

whose surnames are
types of animals. 22 Who was the first man to both
captain and manage England
(not at the same time)?
are located within the M25?

Answers on p35
to applaud his
own record Q21: Ben Haim suddenly
remembers that loan

15 In November, John Terry

(above) made his 107th start
in the Champions League, the most by
spell at Crawley Town

an Englishman in tournament history.

Whose record did he beat?
A B

16 Which Championship team

has no sponsor on their
football shirt this season?
C D

17 Name the three over-age

players selected for Great
Britain men’s 2012 Olympics squad.

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 29

 UPFRONT

“... AND IT’S FIN

IN THI R 1991

Which country has had

2007
the most players in the
FFT Top 100 since we
began rating football’s ENGLAND
finest talent? Here’s a
clue – it’s not England

BRAZIL

Cantona says ‘au

revoir’ to football
French football’s enfant terrible retires from ITALY

the game... six years before he retires again
He came. He saw. He conquered. But
the tale of how Eric Cantona ended
up in England in the first place is,
typically, mired in controversy.
Six years before Le Roi stunned
Manchester United by quitting
football, Le Brat shocked France by
doing the very same thing. Aged 25.
After falling out of favour at, and out
of love with, hometown club Marseille,
Cantona made the short trip to newly
promoted Nimes, who broke the bank
to bring in the troublesome striker and
boost their survival hopes.
But just four months and two goals
into his Crocodiles career, Cantona
showed a little too much snap in
a game against Saint-Etienne.
Already approaching boiling point
after being repeatedly fouled without
being awarded a free-kick, Cantona’s
rage bubbled over when the referee,
Jean-Pierre Blouet, decided to penalise
him for a fairly innocuous-looking
shoulder challenge. Launching the
football two-handed at the stunned
Consecutive years Spain have had the
most players in the Top 100.
“It’s me, so people will talk about it
for two or three days – then it will
calm down,” shrugged the forward,
referring to a career that had already Darren Fletcher is ARGENTINA
included shirt-throwing, punch-ups the only Scot to
with team-mates and X-rated tackles. have made
How wrong he was. Cantona was our Top 100,
harshly – perhaps excessively – back in 2010.
banned for four games, and reacted Funny – we
by circling the room at the hearing, were sure
hissing “idiot!” into the face of each we had SPAIN
member of the disciplinary selected
committee. His ban was promptly Charlie Adam
increased to two months. Five days at some point...
later, Cantona announced that he
was retiring from football. NETHERLANDS
Talked round by his international
coach Michel Platini, whose assistant English players are a
Gerard Houllier encouraged Cantona dying breed in our list.
to make a fresh start across the There were 13 of the FRANCE
Channel, the man who would be Three Lions in 2007, but
king was overlooked by Sheffield Roy’s boys have slipped
Wednesday after a week’s trial (in to having just four in
PORTUGAL
which he scored a hat-trick in his only 2015. Come on, lads!
game), joined Leeds and changed
English football forever. Mon dieu! GERMANY

So who is No.1?
whistleblower from just 10 feet away,
Cantona didn’t wait to be sent off – he Also in this month SWEDEN
didn’t need to, despite the comical 1959 Bill Shankly joins Second Division CZECH REP
attempts of one Liverpool as manager. Where is your favourite player?
IVORY COAST
team-mate to put 1994 Bona fide English hard To find out the full 2015 list, go to

fft.sm/fft100
the red card back in man Vinnie Jones (left) SERBIA

Blouet’s shirt pocket. makes his international BULGARIA

CAMEROON
Cantona stormed debut. For Wales. CROATIA
GHANA
down the tunnel, 2004 Real Madrid’s and tweet us your thoughts at HONDURAS
having kicked the ball Bernabeu is evacuated @FourFourTwo using the hashtag JAPAN
MALI

#FFT100
at the official for good mid-match due to a bomb MEXICO
measure after it had threat from Basque ROMANIA
UKRAINE
rebounded off his legs. separatists ETA. URUGUAY
WALES

30 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com

 UPFRONT

ISHED SPAIN 17 ENGLAND 4!”

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

POLAND

RUSSIA

BOSNIA
Research Ben Clark Design richardscottdesign.co.uk

BELGIUM
DENMARK
SWITZERLAND
TURKEY
MACEDONIA DENMARK
NIGERIA CHILE
PARAGUAY HONDURAS JAPAN COLOMBIA ECUADOR
POLAND ARMENIA CZECH REP
MOROCCO AUSTRIA BOSNIA EGYPT
COSTA RICA GABON
SCOTLAND MEXICO GABON MOROCCO
TOGO RUSSIA
TURKEY SLOVAKIA MONTENEGRO S. KOREA

WALES

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 31

 UPFRONT

HOME IS WHERE
THE ART IS
Argentine giants San Lorenzo have been away for 30 years, but
outdoor artwork is helping to put them back where they belong
Imagine David Cameron expropriated
Anfield one day, leaving Liverpool
homeless, just because he felt like it.
And then sold the land to Tesco.
Well, that’s what happened to San
Lorenzo, one of Argentina’s ‘big five’
clubs, more than 30 years ago. In 1979,
El Ciclon’s Gasometro ground in the
heart of Buenos Aires’ Boedo district was
seized by the ruling military dictatorship
and sold three years later to French
supermarket chain Carrefour at
a healthy profit that the club never saw.
San Lorenzo haven’t been at home in
Boedo since, but thanks to a group of
local artists that’s all changing. Set up
in February 2012, the Grupo Artistico de
Boedo has painted more than 80 murals
around the district, paying homage to
the local team (who in 1968 became the
first unbeaten Argentine champions)
and its most famous sons, from writer
Osvaldo Soriano to priest Lorenzo Massa,
after whom the club is named. There is
also a recreation of Picasso’s iconic
Guernica canvas, dedicated to the club’s
legendary Basque striker Isidro Langara.
“It’s helped restore culture to the
area,” group founder Facundo Gonzalez
tells FFT, “and it’s also paved the way
for San Lorenzo to return home.”
In 2011, the Argentine government
passed a law requiring Carrefour to give
up the land if San Lorenzo found the
money. With the murals raising
awareness, El Ciclon have nearly reached
the £6m needed to get back what is
rightfully theirs. They expect to start
work on the new ground in two years.
Words Andrew Murray; Photography Facundo Gonzalez

“The murals add real colour to grey

facades that were neglected for
decades,” says Gonzalez. “They’re an
open-air museum and deal with
fundamental life questions about
identity. My favourite is one about the
actor Enrique Santos Discepolo, who
said: ‘What would football be without the
fans? An empty bag’. That’s the message
we’ve been fighting all this time.”
So it’s all for a good cause – and, we
think you’ll agree, they look fantastic.

32 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 33
 UPFRONT

LETTERS
email 442letters@haymarket.com

mail FourFourTwo, Haymarket, Bridge House,

69 London Road, Twickenham, TW1 3QR
Twitter @FourFourTwo

Facebook FourFourTwo

SPORTING CHANCE well-run football club, built on stability and a strong

I’ve just come home from a mini-break in Asturias,
Spain, and simply had to write in response to Archie
Brook’s letter on visiting La Liga’s lesser lights and
Espanyol’s Cornella-El Prat stadium [FFT 258].
Inspired, we parked up at Sporting Gijon’s ground,
El Molinon (for free) and booked in for the 12pm tour.
It’s the best €10 we spent on the entire holiday.
It was just the two of us, yet our guide poured her
heart and soul into it, making sure every video we saw
was shown with English subtitles. One was shown in
the home dressing room as I perched happily on
No.10’s bench, hearing who chose the pre-match tunes.
We took pictures everywhere: the press room,
the dugout, the pitch, the home dressing room, the
tunnel, the president’s seat... The tour culminated
with the museum at the top of the stadiu
showcasing some of the most bizarre foo
trophies I never knew existed, plus all sev
Pichichi awards won by Quini, AKA ‘The Ho
from your feature on iconic No.9s.
Oh, and I’d highly recommend having a
in any one of the supporters’ bars built int
the stadium when you leave.
Cheers, Archie, I know which team’s
jersey I’ll be sporting (see what I did
there?) on my next trip to Spain!
Becky Scarrott, Surbiton
CHARLTON BOSSES
ADDICK-TED TO CHAOS
November 4, 2001. Arsenal 2-4 Charlton.
Fast-forward almost exactly 14 years “Believe me,
and the Addicks are second from son, this hurts
bottom of the Championship following me more than
a 1-0 defeat to the mighty MK Dons. it hurts you”
Yet ask any Charlton fan whether
they were surprised by the result and
they wouldn’t be. Sadly this formerly
academy, is on the verge of imploding.
We believed we could walk the Championship with
an influx of foreign loanees, but have been quickly
reminded of how cruel this league is.
A lack of substantial investment and communication
with supporters, as well as some frankly laughable
managerial choices (our current ‘interim’ manager
was plucked from the Belgian Third Division), means
Charlton are on a downward spiral. League One
football is fast becoming a reality once more.
Jonny Church, via email
YELLOW CARD FEVER
Watching the FIFA Under-17 World Cup recently, I was
curious as to why FIFA applied the ‘two yellow cards
em throughout the tournament,
e players are at such a young age.
ed game for a young player in
semi-final would damage his
onfidence? It could even be the
n them getting noticed.
all held yellow cards at the start
stages, to ensure that fewer young
eir chance to prove themselves on
ggest stage? At that age, players
ng just that – playing.
u, via email
ARE THE ENGLISH?
d your article asking whether youth
s are worth it [FFT 257], I wondered
something else behind the lack of
wn players in the Premier League.
moment, only five of the 20 Premier
League managers are English.
Do the 15 foreign managers feel
ny inclination to play, or buy,
lish players? After all, why should
Sherwood had too ma
ny
English players at Vill
a
(or possibly not enough
)
it matter to them if four-fifths of their team
aren’t English? They’re not here for the sake of
producing English players; they’re here to win.
English managers must feel differently, as this is
their nation. Yet that hasn’t always been to great
success. Tim Sherwood played five Englishmen
against Chelsea in October as Aston Villa were
defeated 2-0 and he was soon sacked.
You can’t have it both ways, it seems.
Sam Bayliss, via email
WHERE ARE THE SCOTS?!
I’m just contacting you to have a gripe about the
disappointingly Anglocentric focus of your feature
on the history of the European Cup [FFT 256].
It was disappointing there was no mention of
Hibernian being the first British team to enter the
competition in 1955-56, reaching the semi-finals in the
process [above right]. There was also scant recognition
of Celtic becoming the first Brits to win the damn thing!

+STAR LETTER Star letter & Spine Line prizes courtesy of

WIN!
After reading ‘Are Youth Academies The players It’s the national team that loses This leaves the Premier League
Really Worth It?’ [FFT 257], I think get their big out, leading to an ageing England teams themselves. Chelsea and
the more appropriate question would contract, team being consistently knocked out Manchester City soak up all the young

Adidas X
have been: “Who is really benefitting but how of tournaments in the quarter-finals talent in the country for peanuts to

from the Elite Player Performance
Plan?” [less catchy, though – Ed.]
Smaller clubs receive more money for
their youth development, but what good
is this when a prospective star they could
have sold for a high fee is snapped up
for a tenth of that by the richest clubs?
15.1 FG
many go on n a good year) while we lament on help appease the FA’s homegrown
to play in h l k f f b lli regulations, while Football League fans
the Premier can’t enjoy England’s next generation.
League? Som But at least we can enjoy watching
they’re lucky, will get a loads of young Belgians and Spaniards
runout in the Capital One Cup dominate our top league.
then languish in the reserves. Stuart Chorlton, via email

34 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com

 UPFRONT

“Don’t worry, lads,

TWEETS
I’ve got this covered”

OF THE MONTH
THE REAL PLAYERS
Brad Wright-Phillips
@TheRealBWP
OK... so a bear just ran
through my garden!
#newjerseyiscrazy

Mikael Forssell
@MikaelForssell
Daddy gets excited too
@toysrus #loveit #happy
#kidinsideme wakes up

Owain Tudur Jones

@OwainTJones17
2 years ago to the day since cap

“Maybe hot weather is to blame for British

number 7. The national team
haven’t been the same since
#Cymru #getridofthedeadwood

and Irish sides struggling in tournaments” #FFT100STADIUMS

Daniel Smith
@dsmith_8
Nor was there room to tell WARRIORS WANTED Following @FourFourTwo #FFT100Stadiums
readers how Glasgow and I’ve been a reader for over 10 years, since my dad first
& pleased to say I’ve been to quite a lot
– improbably – Dundee are subscribed, but it’s only now I feel compelled to write in.
of them. Seeing a World Cup game in
two of only three UK cities Arsenal have just been humiliated by Bayern Munich.
the Maracana a highlight
(the other being London) There was no leader, no spine. England’s great teams
to have had two or more over the last 15 years have always been marshalled by
Portland Thorns FC
teams reach the semi-finals a presence: Tony Adams, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry or
@ThornsFC
in the competition’s Jamie Carragher. Warriors. Would Arsenal have lost 5-1
Proud to call it home. @FourFourTwo
60-year history. if they had one of those players at the heart of their
has Providence Park among world’s top
Please don’t fall into the defence? Yes, I’m a centre-back, but the point stands.
stadiums. #BAONPDX
trap of focusing on English Terry will probably be remembered for the wrong
football as the be-all and reasons. I, however, will remember him best for the
YOU @FOURFOURTWO
end-all, and instead time he dove onto the ground to try and block the ball
continue to produce the many fine, balanced, with his head at the 2010 World Cup against Slovenia. Football Nerd
well-researched articles you normally do. Bring back the warriors. @foot_ball_nerd
Lindsay Grant, Edinburgh Josh Blackman, via email Letter in @FourFourTwo says you’re better off
taking Espanyol’s stadium tour than Barça’s
“OH, IS IT RAINING AGAIN?” one. I plain forgot to do that in Barcelona
As part of my third year at university I’m living in
SPINE LINE Bobby Patrick Dooley
WINNER
Toulouse, and I am soaking up all the culture the
@BobbyDooleyYNWA
French have to offer – especially their football.
The Perfect Picture @lewy_officia
Due to the heat – I got sunburnt in mid-October –
@FootballManager
every pitch I’ve played on has been as hard as concrete. I’ve worked out a few Spine Lines over the years,
@FourFourTwo #FM16beta
Boots with metal studs are nowhere to be found in but I never get around to actually emailing the
#Lewandowski #Beast
sports shops, whereas on the British mudbaths, answer in. This month, however, is different.
even six-inch studs would make no difference. The numbers ‘8, 50, 55, 67 + 51, 52, 55, 57, 60’
The typical pitch condition lends itself to a slick [FFT 258] are the minutes in which cover star
Ross Griffiths
@RossGriffiths3
passing game that is rarely feasible back home Robert Lewandowski scored four Champions
That interview in FourFourTwo
from about November onwards. League goals for Borussia Dortmund against
with @Kevin__Davies is quality,
Another thing I’ve noticed is how badly a pasty Irish Real Madrid, plus the minutes in which he scored
I’d love to see him manage Bolton
lad deals with the heat compared to French players. hi d breaking five for Bayern
While the French lads are still wearing training tops ainst Wolfsburg.
after the warm-up, I’m already sweating buckets. lly my newfound
Steven Gerrard said the Italians’ ability to play in the cy for entering
searing Brazilian heat during last year’s World Cup was etitions will continue
a major advantage, while England struggled to cope.
Maybe the weather is to blame for British and Irish
W many years to come!
mes Packman, via email twitter.com/FourFourTwo
teams struggling at major tournaments, and why
Tru We’ll see, James. For Follow us for all the latest and funniest
they play unattractive football. now, at least, it’s won tweets on the net… at no extra charge!
Roll on Qatar 2022... you some Trusox. Enjoy.
Conor Daly, via email

110% FOOTBALL QUIZ ANSWERS (p28-29): 1 Luis Suarez, Johan Cruyff, Hristo Stoichkov, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi 2 Partizan Belgrade (1966) and Ajax (1969) 3 A goal has been scored 4 Barnsley 5 Johan Cruyff 6 De Graafschap
7 Forest Green Rovers and Eastleigh 8 Grimsby and Wolves, in an FA Cup semi-final 9 AC Milan in 1963 10 Argentina (33 times to Brazil’s 32) 11 Dave Robertson of Peterborough United 12 David Trezeguet (34 to Zidane’s 31) 13 12cm (5in)
14 Ricardo Gardner and Kevin Davies 15 Paul Scholes 16 Leeds United 17 Ryan Giggs, Craig Bellamy and Micah Richards 18 A) Ruel Fox; B) Steve Bull; C) Emmanuel Panther; D) Razvan Rat 19 Eidur Gudjohnsen 20 Zero (but they’ve lost four finals:
Bastia in 1978, Bordeaux in 1996, and Marseille in 1999 and 2004 21 Bolton, Chelsea, Manchester City, Sunderland, Portsmouth, West Ham, QPR, Charlton 22 Alf Ramsey 23 Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Paul Gascoigne, Bobby Moore
24 Marco Materazzi 25 15: Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford, West Ham, Brentford, Charlton, Fulham, QPR, Millwall, Barnet, Dagenham & Redbridge, Leyton Orient and AFC Wimbledon
FREE
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M0116D or M0116P
“ THERE IS SO MUCH
You’ll recognise the
kit, the legends and
La Bombonera, but
what does the future

PASSION FOR BOCA

hold for Argentina’s
most iconic club?
Boca open their doors
to FFT, revealing plans

IT OVERFLOWS
for world domination

THE STADIUM ”
Words Martin Mazur; Picture Reinaldo Coddou H
 BOCA JUNIORS
The unmatched
colour and spectacle
of life at Boca Juniors
F “On my travels I never have to explain who
ans, schoolkids and street vendors are
preparing for the big moment of the day.
The gates of Boca’s training complex are
about to open, and the players will be
heading out. One of them, more than any
other, will make a point of stopping his Range
Rover, happily signing autographs and grinning
for selfies. It’s Carlos Tevez, and he’s relishing
life back at the club where he grew up.
“I had to leave [in 2004] because the world of
Boca had become difficult for me to handle,”
Carlitos tells the gleeful hordes. “I was just
a teenager from a poor neighbourhood
playing for Argentina’s biggest club, and I got
overwhelmed – it wasn’t easy. Now I’m more
mature and I’m enjoying every day of this
experience. I’m where I want to be: with
my people, my jersey, my ground.”
Since his return in July, Boca have felt
like they’re on the verge on something big.
They won the league and the Copa Argentina
within the space of 72 hours at the beginning
of November, so the 2016 Copa Libertadores
has quickly become the new obsession for
Tevez and everybody else associated with the
club. They are tied with Milan and Real Madrid
on 18 continental and intercontinental titles.
But Boca don’t like sharing the limelight.
They have good cause to see themselves as
equals to Europe’s biggest clubs on and off the
40 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
Boca are. Ever. We’re Argentina’s No.1 brand”
pitch: they’ve not only
been FIFA’s No.1 ranked
club on several occasions
but also successfully
toured rapidly growing
football markets such as
the USA, China, Japan
and Malaysia. And
those globe-trotting,
The half-time
‘brand-growing’ tours
queue is quite
are nothing new.
Boca’s international
obsession started as
early as 1925, when the club decided
to travel to Europe – a massive project
that involved several months of
planning and the biggest crowds ever
witnessed at an Argentine airport,
with thousands of fans desperate to
bid farewell to their heroes. Having
noted the impact of Uruguay’s
performance in the Paris Olympics the
previous year, Boca effectively became
Argentine ambassadors abroad.
The result was a tour that
included matches against the
likes of Atletico and Real Madrid,
Bayern Munich and Eintracht
rankfurt. Their final record when
hey returned to Argentina was
5 victories, three defeats and a
raw – good enough to see them
warded an honorific star.
burger While others concentrated on
something cal competition, Boca set their
hts on international clashes.
ook them nearly two decades
to win their first Copa Libertadores
a penalty shootout win over Brazilian
ide Cruzeiro in 1977) but now only
ndependiente can boast more than Boca’s
ix final victories, four of which have come
since the turn of the millennium.
They may not play every game at their
famous Bombonera home, but Boca rarely
play away. They have fans everywhere,
always waiting for the opportunity to see
the Azul y Oro (‘Blue and Gold)’ in action.
“One day, son, all
this will be yours”–
Riquelme and Tevez
 MARADONA AT BOCA: THE SUCCESS AND THE SUFFERING
The great Diego had two spells at Boca. The first brought glory, the second… not so much
1981-1982
When Boca Juniors signed Diego
Maradona in 1981, they knew they
had beaten deadly rivals River Plate to
one of Argentina’s best young players.
After all, this was a 20-year-old who
was not only already an international
regular but had been playing in the
top flight since 10 days before he’d
celebrated his 16th birthday.
Even so, they wouldn’t have imagined
that the attacking midfielder they had
stolen from under the nose of their
neighbours would go on to become
one of the finest players (if not the finest)
to ever grace the game – not to mention
an icon recognised the world over.
Four times the top scorer in Argentina
during his time with Argentinos Juniors,
Maradona shone early in his Boca
career despite a strained relationship
with coach Silvio Marzolini, something
that would become a theme throughout
his career. The Bombonera boss
wouldn’t afford El Pibe (‘The Kid’) quite
the same freedom he had enjoyed at
his previous club, even having the gall
to ask Diego to do the odd spot of
defending every now and then.
Boca won the ‘Metropolitano’ domestic
league title in 1981, Maradona netting
17 times on the way to his first career
title. It would be his only silverware in
Argentina. A poor showing from Boca in
the ‘Nacional’ group-and-knockout
tournament later that year saw the
team’s infamous Barra Brava, La Doce,
threatening the players. It culminated in
Barra chief Jose Barritta (laughably
nicknamed El Abuelo, ‘The Grandfather’)
breaking into the Boca dressing room
with a gun to make his point.  the game by becoming a manager in his
This backdrop of insecurity, combined
with the supreme performances of
a svelte, energetic Maradona at the
1982 World Cup, attracted the interest
of European clubs. He would sign for
Barcelona in a world-record deal to
play under legendary Argentine coach
Cesar Luis Menotti, but vowed he would
one day return to Boca.  was sure he could oust him.
1995-1997
The Maradona who returned to La
Bombonera after 11 years in Europe
was not the same bright-eyed Diego
that had left after a glorious showing
at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
He was troubled. His time in Italy, with
Napoli, had ended amid gossip about
illegitimate children and cocaine abuse.
After spells with Sevilla and Newell’s Old
Boys, Maradona made the 1994 World
Cup squad but failed a doping test for
ephedrine and was suspended from
football until September 1995.  rehab clinic. He would return to
It was during this 15-month sojourn
that Maradona decided he would stay in
homeland, but brief, ill-fated spells with
Deportivo Mandiyu and Racing Club
convinced him to return ‘home’.
Home, of course, was Boca Juniors,
where he wanted to become the
player-manager. The club already had
a coach in Silvio Marzolini, but Maradona
didn’t care for his fellow Boca icon and
Boca succeeded in talking El Diego
down from his pie-in-the-sky wishes,
and found a novel way of funding his
wages. They convinced Cablevision TV to
pay a portion of his salary, but there was
a catch – his comeback match would
take place not at La Bombonera, but in
Seoul against South Korea.
Maradona, though, could not recreate
the old magic, and it was only a few
months before cocaine once again took
hold and he had to check into a Swiss
Boca once more in 1997, employing
a personal fitness coach to help him
recapture past glories (the coach being
the disgraced former Olympic sprint
champion and drugs cheat Ben Johnson,
naturally), but further ignominy followed.
Only a month after his latest return,
Diego failed another drugs test. He’d
Words Ed Malyon
play just once more, against River Plate
in October 1997, before his tumultuous
second stint at Boca came to a sad end
along with his playing career.
FourFourTwo.com January 2016 41
 BOCA JUNIORS
La Bombonera
in all its glory
during the 2008
Copa Libertadores
It’s impossible to understand the depth
of passion for the football club without
looking back – 110 years back.
In the early 1900s, Buenos Aires wasn’t
too dissimilar to New York. For European
migrants, they were the two destinations of
choice when it came to starting a new life in
the Americas. In Buenos Aires, Italians were
a majority. Many of them came from Genoa,
and they brought with them their local dialect,
Genoese (or as they call it, xeneize). At one
stage, the passionate Genoese had even
attempted to claim independence and form
the Republic of La Boca. They went as far as
sending a letter to the Italian king and
designing their own flag – white with a red
cross, just like Genoa’s. Only an intervention
from the Argentine army made them
reconsider. But they were right to feel at
home, and it was here that Argentine
football’s Big Bang took place.
In 1905, some of those Italians decided to
form a football club. They sat on a bench in
Plaza Solis and agreed to establish Club
Atletico Boca Juniors. The club were exactly
what the passionate citizens of La Boca
needed. Plenty has changed around here in the
110 years since, but many things have stayed
the same: Boca are still Argentina’s biggest
passion and, unlike the rest of the city, La Boca
42 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
“Boca needs a stadium Boca’s home is football’s greatest temple –
so says Diego Maradona, who played there
to accommodate 80,000
from 1981 to ’82 and from 1995 to ’97. And
unlike other stadiums, which have lost their
soul through modernisation, La Bombonera
fans – and it’d still be full” is a living shrine full of life. It’s also a seemingly
never-ending maze of brightly-painted
hallways with nooks, stairwells and
doors at every turn.
retains an independent Waiting for FFT behind one
feeling, houses connected of those doors is Antonio
with steep stairways, all Rattin, one of Argentina’s
painted brightly in different most capped players and an
colours. The crowd, too, iconic Boca No.5 (a central
still resembles the Genoese midfielder in this part of the
who attemped to declare world). He is one of the
independence all those orefathers of ‘the Boca spirit’.
years ago: their tifos read Boca president “I’ve always played with
“Since we’re not the only Daniel Angelici passion, and people loved it,”
ones, we decided to reveals all attin proudly tells FFT. “My
be the best.” ebut was against River when
La Bombonera is not just was 19. In the fifth minute,
the neighbourhood’s most notable landmark; I made a rash tackle on [River
it is Argentina’s most famous football stadium striker Angel] Labruna and he said: ‘Easy, kid,
(despite having never hosted a World Cup it’s not going to be your only game in Primera’.
match) and arguably the second-most iconic He was right – I played for Boca for 15 straight
site after the famous Obelisco monument, years. In my era, the club’s now traditional
which was built back in the 1930s to help style based on intensity, stamina and tight
commemorate the fourth centenary of the marking was cemented. This is now the
foundation of Buenos Aires. philosophy of the club, and one that is

“ONCE YOU ENTER THE WORLD OF BOCA, IT CHANGES YOU FOR LIFE”
Despite a historic double, Boca coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena says his job is nowhere near done
How would you explain Boca Juniors to
the readers of FourFourTwo?
Boca Juniors is hard to explain. I see it as
a family, with all the virtues and flaws that
go with it. Compared to Europe, Argentine
supporters live football in a parallel dimension.
They are more radical, and that makes them
do crazy things – things you wouldn’t believe.
But as long as they see the team giving
everything and playing with intensity, they
will always be behind you. Whether you are
playing well or badly, winning or losing, it
doesn’t make a difference.
Do you remember arriving at the club for
the first time to join the youth team?
Of course. That’s not something you forget.
I was 10, about to turn 11, and there were
trials at La Candela, which was then Boca’s
training complex. There were lots of kids.
I asked to be a forward, but later the coaches
realised I had to play at left-back. I remember
bumping into Hugo Gatti, Alfredo Graciani and
Jorge Rinaldi at that time. I remember every
detail – even their cars! Once you enter the
Interview Martin Mazur
world of Boca, it changes you for life.
You played under many of the best
South American managers of the last two
decades: Oscar Tabarez, Carlos Bilardo,
Manuel Pellegrini, Daniel Passarella,
“The club won’t
wait. We have to
keep winning,
keep the flame
burning inside”
Marcelo Bielsa, Carlos
Bianchi... that must help
you now as a coach, no?
It’s true – I was fortunate
to work with them all,
and what I liked was
how low-key most of
them were. Manuel
[Pellegrini] is the perfect
example: I’m still in
touch with him and his
backroom staff. What Pepper spray stops
he did is really difficult, play in 2015
coming from Chile to
Argentina and winning
tournaments with two big clubs, then
going to Spain and having success with
Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga, and now
doing the same in England. I’m light years
away from having his expertise as a manager.
Before your emergence, nobody had
come through the club’s academy as
a player and gone on to win the national
championship as manager. Do you see that
as a significant achievement?
People have told me about it, so I knew it was
a rare thing and something to be proud of –
but only once I’ve retired. It’s the same as
being a player: you can only really appreciate
everything you’ve done once it’s all over.
BOCA JUNIORS
For now, I have more
immediate objectives –
we have to keep winning.
This club won’t wait.
I’m already focused on
our pre-season plans
for 2016, looking at
players coming through
the academy and
assessing possible
additions to the squad.
We don’t relax. We need
o keep that flame
urning inside.
What’s the craziest thing
you have experienced as Boca manager?
One negative thing was the Copa Libertadores
elimination against River [in 2015, when
a Boca fan attacked the River players with
pepper spray, leading to the suspension of
the match and Boca’s ejection from the
competition]. On the more positive side, look
at all those people [Arruabarrena points
towards the fans waiting by the training ground
gates]. I’d like to open every training session
to fans, but our security wouldn’t be able to
handle it. We would have to implement a
security system similar to an actual match. We
could train with a packed stadium every day.
Which other club is capable of such a thing?
Had you ever witnessed a bond between
a club and a player quite like the one
between Boca and Carlos Tevez?
No, it’s unique. That’s Boca, that’s what these
colours produce, in fans and – thank God – in
players like Carlos, who decided to come back
for the love of the club. And you can see how
much he’s enjoying being back. He has played
almost 80 games in a year, without stopping,
without losing intensity, without picking and
choosing which games to play and which
games to have a rest in. We had to be careful
with training sessions, because we needed to
preserve him. He’s so eager that he wants
to train as if it was a competitive match.
FourFourTwo.com January 2016 43
 BOCA JUNIORS

particularly useful when playing in the

international competitions.”
Rattin, now 78 and one of Boca’s
ambassadors, is still surprised how much
football has changed. “In my first year with
THE CULT OF JUAN ROMAN RIQUELME
the club,” he says, “I played for a bathroom.
The president came to give me a lift, and How a self-effacing kid with steely determination and dancing
asked if he could use my toilet. It was a latrine
at the end of the corridor: no plumbing, no
feet changed the philosophy at one of the world’s great clubs
hot water. He came back and told me Boca
would build me a fully equipped bathroom.”
Rattin, the living legend, is sat only a floor
up from Rattin, the statue. Sculptures of
Angel Clemente Rojas, Martin Palermo,
Juan Roman Riquelme, Diego Maradona
and Guillermo Barros Schelotto can also be
found displayed around the stadium.
The Boca museum is the most visited in
Argentina, with hundreds queuing every day
for entry as if it were football’s Louvre. The
exhibit allows visitors to see a scale model of
the neighbourhood, as well as walk down the
tunnel, experience a (recording of a) vociferous
welcome from the fabled crowd and pose with
the Copa Libertadores on the pitch.
Boca might not be a country, or a republic
as those Italian anarchists once dreamed,
but the club has definitely become a state.
There’s a president elected by its people every
four years, and departments that operate like
ministries. There’s the Culture Department,
the Treasury, the Social Department, a string
of overseas ‘embassies’ and, of course, the
Football Department. The latter pretty much
sets the prevailing mood of half the country.
“The moment you become Boca president,
life changes – you become a public character,
lose anonymity and have permanent media
exposure,” current Boca president Daniel
Angelici explains to FFT as he lights a cigar
in his office. “Being president is a full-time
position – you’re here 10 hours a day in order
to make the club work. So I had to leave my
personal business aside to fully concentrate
on Boca. In Argentina, football clubs are
presidential institutions, and no matter how
you delegate, there are big decisions that
must be made by the man at the top –
especially those related to football, which
is the power core of Boca.”
Angelici is getting ready to run for a second
term. The club has 170,000 fully paid-up
members, 80,000 of whom are eligible to
vote in the elections, due to be held on
December 6. The Boca presidency is such an
esteemed position, it helped Mauricio Macri – , q y p g
top man at La Bombonera between 1995 play well, it’s because of you. And if it we won, being the one with the most
and 2008 – to become mayor of Buenos Aires. doesn’t, it’s your responsibility.” games played in La Bombonera’s history
As FFT goes to press, he is in the running for For someone who apparently did not and, of course, reaching four Copa
the Argentine presidency, with elections set believe in tactics, Riquelme was an Libertadores finals, and winning three –
to take place in late November. impressive strategist. Without saying I can’t ask for anything else from football.”
With Macri’s blessing, Angelici was elected a word, he designed a new way of That early shyness was slowly replaced
at Boca four years ago. Ticket requests have playing; he changed the fans’ way of by a strong character in the dressing room,
since come from world-famous musicians, seeing football, and was the father of capable of defying president Mauricio
sporting icons, Hollywood stars and world a football revolution. Riquelme is to Boca Macri over his salary, or falling out with
leaders. The lure of Boca still amazes even him. Juniors what Johan Cruyff is to Ajax. team-mates without affecting the team’s
“When I travel the world, I never have to He belongs to a special clique alongside performances, as was the case with Martin
try to explain who Boca are. Ever. Boca are the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho Palermo. Riquelme barely spoke to the
Argentina’s No.1 brand – that’s been proven. and Andres Iniesta – all big admirers prolific striker, but was still his greatest
A few months ago, I arrived in a hotel in Italy, of the man from San Fernando. Diego assister. Even when Palermo scored his
where someone recognised me and asked

44 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com


219th goal, to became Boca’s all-time
leading goalscorer, Riquelme, who had
set it up for him, avoided the celebration.
“To be among the players with most
assists in the world means that I was
lucky to play with great strikers,” he said,
“because you need them to score [for you]
to have an assist. And I’ve played with
Palermo, Delgado, Forlan, Kluivert, Tevez,
Messi, Crespo and Batistuta.”
d out. His reverse
nutmeg of River Plate’s Mario Yepes in the
2000 Copa Libertadores is still revered.
Seven years later, after deciding his
European career with Villarreal was over,
he single-handedly inspired Boca to
another Copa Libertadores triumph.
But, like many prodigiously gifted
individuals, Riquelme’s convictions could
sometimes be too strong. Sooner or later,
BOCA JUNIORS
Riquelme was the father
of a football revolution.
He is to Boca Juniors what
Johan Cruyff is to Ajax
Words Martin Mazur; Photography Reinaldo Coddou H
short-circuits with authority forced him to
take action. And when that happened, he
never backed down, even when it meant
going six months without playing, or
missing two World Cups. That’s also part
of his magic: he never kneeled to anyone.
It’s why he chose to retire with Argentinos
Juniors, a blow that Boca fans are still
trying to digest. His world was black and
white. Or, in Riquelme’s case, blue and gold.
FourFourTwo.com January 2016 45
 BOCA JUNIORS

for a photo. Moments later, the gentleman on

the front desk asked who I was. ‘I’m president
of Boca Juniors,’ I said. Immediately, the
hotel’s directors rushed to greet me, and
I ended up being moved to the presidential
suite, as if I was a head of state.
“Fortunately,” Angelici laughs, “no president
or prime minister arrived that day.”  
However, unlike all of Europe’s biggest
clubs, there are no marketing gurus
operating inside Boca. Everything seems
to be handcrafted. This is a football club
with the personal touch. Many of the staff
responsible for making Boca tick behind the
scenes aren’t being paid to do so; football
clubs in Argentina are non-profit organisations
and paid positions are few and far between.
From humble beginnings, the working-class
heroes are now giants, with VIP suites rivalling
the cost of local real estate. But that doesn’t
mean they have forgotten where they came
from. The club runs programmes to encourage
impoverished children to stay in school, as well
as facilities for the elderly to play bowls and
card games and listen to tango music. There’s
football – lots of it – but also boxing, volleyball,
basketball and a whole host of other sports.
The Culture Department runs a range of
adult education workshops for fans and
other locals, from art classes and language
courses to photography, gardening and
cocktail-making. The umbrella of the club’s
support network even covers local street dogs,
some of whom can be found sleeping soundly
in the snug surroundings of the heated
underground hallway that connects the
dressing rooms and the tunnel.
Another branch of the Boca family is
Boca Social, an organisation that works
with non-governmental bodies to offer
opportunities to children living in the slums.
It was here that David Beckham, while filming
Diego worships…
Diego. Naturally
a documentary, decided to play last
month, wearing a Boca T-shirt (right).
“It’s nice to have someone like him
[come here] because it gives visibility
to what we’re doing,” explains Enzo
Pagani, head of Boca Social. Some big
clubs would consider this community
work wasted money, but Boca build
their ties off the pitch as well as on it.
They’re certainly in a better position
than they were 30 years ago, when the club,
almost bankrupt three years after selling
Maradona for a then-world record £5m, played
Atlanta with their shirt numbers written in
marker pen. The sweat and drizzle soon
made them illegible. Selling some land at
knock-down prices allowed the club to get
back on an even keel in the 1990s, but that
didn’t help them on the pitch.
It was Boca’s worst decade: 11 years without
local titles in which the fighting spirit became
a trademark chant: huevo, huevo, huevo –
‘balls, balls, balls’. The embodiment of this
Tevez returning
“You could was huge for Boca
call yourse
Becka Juni lves and their supporters
ors, y’know
...
era was midfielder
Blas Giunta, who was
eady to go to war at any
iven moment. “The truth
that I saw those fans
nd became He-Man,”
id Giunta, recalling how
e supporters’ love for
m was so strong, they
anted demanding he
and Maradona be brought back to the club –
and in that order. The manager who sold
him was forced to resign and escape the
stadium stowed away inside the boot of
a former colleague’s car.
Between 1981 and 1998, the club managed
to win only one domestic title, in 1992 under
the stewardship of Oscar Tabarez. That team
became icons for ending the 11-year wait for
a trophy, but despite a string of highly-rated
managers and a host of world-class players –
Gabriel Batistuta, Diego Maradona, Claudio
Caniggia, Fernando Caceres, Juan Sebastian
Veron and Kily Gonzalez among them – they
didn’t win anything else for another six years.
The man who really made a difference was

“SLOW DOWN, WE’RE WINNING TOO MANY TROPHIES” Carlos Bianchi, who moulded the resurrection
and won so many trophies that it’s easy to
lose count. In his first two stints as manager,
With another added every time they win a title, Boca’s already Bianchi led the club’s golden era; a generation
that went on winning for 10 years.
star-spangled club badge is in danger of becoming a supernova If not for the superior financial clout of
Juventus may have been on there for Hawaii and Europe’s big dogs, Boca would have enjoyed
the first club to put a star Alaska, too, although that an all-conquering superteam for more than
on their badge, in 1958 – isn’t confirmed. a decade, boasting stars such as Hugo Ibarra,
one for their first 10 league Boca may not have entirely Walter Samuel, Rodolfo Arruabarrena
titles – but Boca made that thought this approach (now the club’s manager at the age of 40),
all look rather tame when through, however, because Sebastian Battaglia, Juan Roman Riquelme,
they put a massive 30 stars they’re now causing Carlos Tevez and Martin Palermo.
on their emblem in 1970. themselves problems by “You can’t compete with the big European
They were the first club in continuing to win stuff. clubs in terms of budgets,” admits Angelici.
the world to include a star A gold horizontal line had He cites an example: “At Juventus, Tevez
for every single title won, to be removed from their was making €8 million [£5.6m] a year. He was
national and international. club crest in 1995 to make then getting offers of €20m a year. Humbly,
Their crest now has 52 room for more stars, with we bought him applying special financial
stars, more than the USA two more to be added engineering. Tevez got the best contract
Words Chris Flanagan

flag. It includes 30 for their
Primera Division titles and six
for their Copa Libertadores
victories, among others.
There’s probably one each
following this year’s league in Argentine football, plus we gave him
and cup double. 100 per cent of the image rights.
There’s only one way “We’re a self-sustainable club in a country
around it. They’re going to where all the others are losing money,”
need a bigger badge. Angelici continues. “Our first rule is very simple:
we don’t spend more than we can afford.

46 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com

 MARTIN PALERMO: THE “GOAL OPTIMIST”
Two-footed penalties, monster headers – Boca’s top goalscorer didn’t mind how he got them
You may know him best for his infamous
hat-trick of missed penalties against
Colombia in 1999, but fans of Boca Juniors
have more positive memories of the striker.
In his two stints at La Bombonera,
Martin Palermo scored 236 goals in all
competitions to become Boca’s all-time top
goalscorer, a record that until then had
remained unchallenged since the 1930s. He
also scored the most goals at La Bombonera.
His start at the club, though, did not suggest
the great things to come. Having moved from
hometown club Estudiantes in 1997, the
striker failed to meet expectations in the
early weeks of his debut season.
“The first goal at Boca changed everything,”
Palermo said. “I’d played six games without
being able to score. Everyone was waiting for
my goals, and they weren’t arriving. The relief
finally came against Independiente, just 40
seconds after the referee started the game.”
Although he was more than capable of
beautiful and unlikely strikes, Palermo also had
the happy knack of plundering scrappy goals.
In 1999, he scored a penalty against Platense
after tripping and striking the ball with both
feet. Even FIFA had to take a look, as it had
Words Martin Mazur
never happened before. Conversely, he scored
from the halfway line against Independiente
in 2007 and thumped home a 40-yard header
against Velez Sarsfield in 2009.
As a serial collector, he
became used to saying “I didn’t
have that one” when explaining
his most recent strike. They
included a bicycle kick against
Banfield in 2004, a backheel
Boca’s poacher su
volley against regular victims
enjoys winning the
Independiente in 2011 and
a strike against Cucuta in
a Copa Libertadores semi-final
that nobody saw thanks to thick fog.
In 1999, playing against Colon, he scored
his 100th Boca goal just minutes after tearing
knee ligaments. He was replaced shortly
afterwards and spent six months on the
sidelines. His subsequent return against River
in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores
quarter-finals was perhaps the most emotional
game of his career. Before the match, rival
manager Americo Gallego mocked Palermo’s
recovery. “If he’s included in the squad, I’ll call
Francescoli,” snorted the River boss, fuelling
Palermo’s desire for revenge: River legend
Enzo Francescoli had retired two years earlier.
Palermo was named on the bench and
appeared as a second-half substitute. Despite
being a little slower than before, he managed
to find space in the area, spin and smash
the ball home to give Boca a 3-0 win. It is
remembered as ‘the goal with the crutches’.
Palermo didn’t play again for another month.
His goals against River were
a trademark, from his first,
n 1997, in a downpour on the
ight Maradona retired, to the
ast, in 2011: a header during
ver’s relegation season.
preme Carlos Bianchi described him
2006 title a “goal optimist”, explaining:
here are strikers that score
any goals, but Palermo is
ferent: all the time he’s
thinking, convincing himself the ball will come
to him, that defenders might make a mistake,
that the goalkeeper will not react as expected.
He looks for his chances. He’s always ready.”
A legend at Boca, he finally ended up a hero
for Argentina too, scoring the crucial equaliser
in stoppage time against Peru that helped
Maradona’s boys secure qualification for the
2010 World Cup. That night, Palermo looked to
the stormy sky and said: “Thank you, God”.
Boca fans may have said similar of him.
“Palermo is always ready,
always thinking, always
looking for his chances”
 BOCA JUNIORS

Another understated welcome:

Boca on tour in Greece in 2009

If you start seeing that more money is going
out than is coming in, and you desperately
need to sell a player to make up the difference,
that’s not up to you any more, and you’re in
trouble. Boca Juniors aren’t in that position.
In the last four years, we increased our
commercial agreements four times and
doubled our net worth. And not just that – we
still had a yearly profit of over $10 million.”
Boca are also growing on social media. They
have 7.7 million likes on Facebook (theirs is the
most popular page in Argentina), their online
following swelling to 10 million when you
factor in Twitter, Vine, Google+ and Instagram.
“The Boca brand can be exploited
much more, of course”, says
Angelici. To that end, the club
opened 64 overseas football
schools, from Indonesia to the
United States, and gets royalties
from each. There is even a dream
of creating Boca USA, a team that
would compete in MLS.
In fact, the club’s fanbase is growing so
quickly that the future of arguably its most
iconic asset is becoming at risk. With just
49,000 seats, La Bombonera is simply too
small for the ever-increasing demand.
“Building a new Bombonera is
omething we must evaluate, by
holding a ballot among the club
La Bombonera’s members,” says the president.
predecessor in 19 La Bombonera is unique; it really
29 as the best acoustics I’ve ever
xperienced, and it’s clear that is
mething we must maintain.
“But at the same time, Boca needs
a stadium that can accommodate 80,000
people – and even that would always be full.
We cannot squeeze any more fans into the
current space. We have managed to add
new seats, and open VIP suites next to the
benches, but there’s nothing more we can do.
“When La Bombonera was built

BOCA’S BOAT COMES IN

How distant Europe inspired the
colours that became famous
Boca may have been built
by Italians, but their
colours were determined
by the good people of
Nottingham and Sweden.
Boca originally wore
a Juventus-style black and
white striped affair, before
switching to light blue,
sporting a similar shirt to
their brilliantly-named
Words Chris Flanagan
[construction finished in 1940], Argentina
had 12 million inhabitants. Now there are
44 million. The old saying is that half of
Argentina is a Boca fan – by that logic, we
had six million supporters in 1941 and now we
have 22 million. There is so much passion for
Boca, it overflows the current stadium.”
This is true even on non-matchdays. The day
The solution? Head to the the return of Tevez was announced, the club
docks and look out for the opened the gates of La Bombonera for fans to
national flag of the next ship attend the presentation of their hero. Original
to come into port, of course. expectations were that a couple of thousand
Winner of this bizarre race would turn up, so most of the stadium would
was 4,146-tonne freighter remain closed. But more than two hours
The Drottning Sophia from before Tevez was set to arrive, giddy fans were
Sweden – meaning Boca already queuing round the block. In the end,
adopted yellow and blue the returning hero’s few words were spoken
as their new club colours. to a whopping audience of 50,000 souls,
At first they went down the who were singing and jumping the whole

Buenos Aires neighbours
Nottingham de Almagro. In
1906 the two clubs played
off for the right to retain
the colours. Boca lost.
River Plate sash route, opting
for a predominantly blue
shirt with a yellow diagonal
stripe, before making the
stripe horizontal in 1913.
way through as if Boca were about to play
in a Copa Libertadores final.
That pure, unadulterated passion for all
They don’t make ’em things blue and gold is something you
like they used to wouldn’t expect to see at any other club.
But then, Boca Juniors isn’t any other club.

48 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com

 BOCA JUNIORS

THE RETURN OF KING CARLOS

There’s no place like home for Boca’s No.10, living the dream on his return to La Bombonera

“I’m here to write

Carlos Tevez had just signed for Manchester Tevez, though, never felt entirely capable
United, his turbulent journey to the top of of handling the pressure in his first spell

my own history.
world football seemingly complete. But at Boca; of stepping up to become the
even then he was dreaming of Boca: the main man. “I felt alone,” he admitted.
place where it all began, and the place he “The world of Boca devoured me.”
has always called home.
“When I’m 28 I want to be at Boca,” stated
Second time around, he is undoubtedly the
club’s most recognisable star, and experienced
I’ve returned to
Tevez back in 2007. “I want to return at my
peak, not as some fatso.”
enough to shoulder everything that entails –
even taking over the No.10 shirt from the Boca at my peak”
La Bombonera was never far from his legendary Riquelme, whose second spell at
thoughts. Not then, not ever. “I know I will La Bombonera ended midway through 2014.
finish my career at Boca,” he continued. “Riquelme is one of the greatest; an idol of
“I don’t imagine myself retiring without the club,” said Tevez. “I’m not here to better
winning one more title there.”
His return may have come three years
than planned, at 31, but he only had to w
a matter of months for that title.
Boca Juniors were the club Tevez had
grown up idolising. “I saw my first game
television when I was five or six years ol
was a Boca game,” he explained.
In a country where the class divide stil
dominates, Tevez was the player who ha
risen from squalor, escaping from a worl
drugs and crime in the tough Fuerte Apa
neighbourhood to become a superstar. H
was, as Diego Maradona put it, ‘El Jugad
Words Ed Malyon and Chris Flanagan

del Pueblo’ – the player of the people. Mo

even than Lionel Messi, he was seen as a
hero for Argentina’s man in the street.
Boca knew they were onto a winner wh
they signed Tevez from rival club All Boys
a teenager. He talent was immense even
Just as importantly, he understood Boca
quickly became a key figure in one of the
Then and now:
club’s most successful teams, alongside
spot the difference
Roman Riquelme, one of his boyhood ido
 BOCA JUNIORS
...BUT NOT EVERYONE LOVES BOCA
It’s not South American football without a mentalist rivalry.
Step forward, River Plate, Boca’s eternal upmarket nemesis
The best rivalries tend to have their
origin in animosity bred by proximity
or divide. Boca Juniors vs River Plate –
the Superclasico – has both.
The two clubs were born in Buenos Aires’
flourishing docks in the first few years of
the 20th century: River by dock workers
who played next to recently-arrived
shipping containers daubed with their
destination, ‘The River Plate’; Boca by
Italian immigrants from Genoa.
Words Ed Malyon
Their location led to the initial rivalry,
with the first recorded meeting on August
24, 1913. Months later, River won their first
title, but within 10 years they would make
50 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
the decision that would
define the rivalry forever
and move to the affluent
suburb of Palermo.
The move brought
a geographical divide,
with Boca remaining in the
south of the capital and
River moving towards the
north, but most of all it
was one of class. In the 1930
River started splashing big money on
players, earning the name Los Millonarios
(‘the Millionaires’) before building
a brand-new stadium in upmarket Nunez.
Boca stayed true to their working-class
roots near Buenos Aires’ docks, and the
seeds for a lasting rivalry were duly sewn.
It’s a quirk of the bitterness between
these two clubs that there are few players
who stand out as being particular subjects
of hatred. Any player considered a legend
by fans of the other club is immediately on
the list Those with a knack of defining
eetings between the sides
River coach M are despised more than most.
arcelo Gallard
dodges the pe o Martin Palermo is the only
pper spray
player from the past 20 years
among the top five goalscorers
n the history of the fixture, and
is ability to consistently break
iver hearts made him persona
on grata in the city’s north.
Palermo’s nine Superclasico
als also helped elevate him
hero status in the south, not
st as Boca never lost a derby
when he found the net.
The first goal, epically described by
Argentine sports magazine El Grafico,
explains how he confirmed himself as

“You’re a River
fan, you say?”
a club legend: “His header
was a knife to the heart of
River, and the way he
fought against them
shows he has the DNA of
a classic Boca forward.”
Boca fans, meanwhile,
despised Hernan Crespo
for his famous 1994 winne
against their side, and his
raft of goals that led River
to Copa Libertadores glory
two years later.
Yet despite the intensity of the rivalry,
more than 100 players have turned out
for both sides, among them famous
faces such as Gabriel Batistuta, Hugo
Gatti and Oscar Ruggeri.
Ruggeri, one of Argentina’s greatest
defenders, made the improbable move
from Boca to River in 1985. It’s the sort
of transfer that clubs never agree to,
but following a strike of professional
footballers, Ruggeri (along with
team-mate Ricardo Gareca) convinced
Boca to give him a free transfer, and he
“It’s not an easy move. One side looks at you
as a traitor; the other never really trusts you”
BOCA JUNIORS
omptly drove In a ‘friendly’ game between the sides
raight to Nunez played in the western city of Mendoza in
sign with their February, Boca triumphed 5-0 to record the
tter rivals. biggest derby win of the professional era.
“It’s not an easy They were helped by River having three
ove to make, players sent off (somewhat nullifying the
can tell you,” term ‘friendly’) but it still stung for River.
aid Ruggeri some Then, in May, the two sides were paired
ears later. “One together in the last 16 of the Copa
ide looks on you Libertadores. A decade on from Carlos
s a traitor, while Tevez’s infamous derby chicken dance, the
the other never really trusts you.” rivalry would be renewed on the biggest
Some players, such as Claudio stage in South American football.
Caniggia, start out at one club while River Plate won the first leg 1-0 at home
supporting another. Caniggia broke through a Carlos Sanchez penalty, but the
through with River, but when he got the second leg was abandoned when, at
chance some 10 years later to sign for half-time, some Boca fans found an
his boyhood club, Boca, he jumped entrance to the inflatable security tunnel
t it. After retiring in 2004 he said: “I used by away teams to reach the field and
want River to do well because of what filled it with homemade pepper spray.
hey gave me, but I have always been Some River players were hospitalised
Boca’s subtle nd will always be Boca.” with eye and skin conditions, and Boca
reference to River’s There have been many explosive were duly expelled from the Libertadores.
2011 relegation ncounters between the two teams, To Boca’s chagrin, River went on to win the
ut 2015 was a vintage year for utter competition and be crowned champions
lunacy in this supercharged fixture. of South America. Now that stung.
FourFourTwo.com January 2016 51
 GOALS
SCORED

131
 OOOAL
SCOR
ING
K EPERS! arcia
Throwing your No.1 upfront isn’t just a last resort
when he’s one of these goal-grabbing glovemen
ROGERIO CENI
BRAZILIAN • PLAYED 1990-PRESENT
ionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may be
ontinuing their ceaseless quest for every
goalscoring record available, but there’s one
they won’t ever crack: the record for being
history’s highest-scoring goalkeeper.
That’s an honour Sao Paulo’s Rogerio Ceni
has held since August 2006, when he scored
twice in a 2-2 draw with Cruzeiro to move clear
of Jose Luis Chilavert’s total of 62 (more on
him later). “I’m happy – this is a milestone with
a difference,” the Brazilian said at the time.
“As a goalkeeper, I didn’t imagine that I’d ever
reach this mark. It will remain in history.”
Except it didn’t, because in the near-decade
that has followed, he has consistently kept
The Brazilian re moving that particular bar up a little higher.
aches
his Ceni-tury wi By 2011, he had a century of strikes for Sao
th a
“Beckham-style Paulo. “The 100th goal was special,” he later
” free-kick
told FFT. “It was 1-1 at the time and my goal
was the winner. I thought that it was a little
distant and not at a good angle. [But] it was
well taken – David Beckham-style!”
If the 100th was a beauty, the first, against
Uniao Sao Jorge back in 1997, was all about
power. Ceni wellied a 25-yard free-kick through
the startled defensive wall and in.
“My first goal wasn’t my most beautiful, but
it opened doors for me,” he revealed to FFT.
“It was the last kick of the first half and I put it
in the corner. I didn’t know how to celebrate!”
His ability to repel opposition shots shouldn’t
go unmentioned – a heroic display helped Sao
Paulo to defeat Liverpool in the final of the Club
World Championship in 2005 – but it’s his goals
that make him stand out. That same year Ceni
scored a whopping 21 times in all competitions
as his club also won the Copa Libertadores.
With 131 club goals to his name, the list of
stars Ceni has outscored includes Andres
Iniesta, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Costa. The
42-year-old goalkeeper recently announced his
impending retirement, though, after 22 years
and more than 1,200 games for Sao Paulo, so
they do at least have a chance to catch up.
FourFourTwo.com January 2016 53
 GOALS
SCORED
DIEGO MATIAS RODRIGUEZ
ARGENTINE • 2011-PRESENT
“I grew up in the era of Jose Luis Chilavert.
I watched him play regularly, although I
didn’t dare dream I would one day be
copying him by scoring goals at that level.
“As a kid I tried to take penalties, but it didn’t
always go well. I had an unfortunate incident
when I was 13. We were awarded a penalty
and I took it, but the keeper saved it. He quickly
kicked the ball upfield and as I was desperately
running back, I ended up fouling their forward
and giving away a penalty, which they scored.
We could have gone 1-0 up, but instead a few
moments later we were behind. I knew there
was a risk of this happening, but it still didn’t
discourage me. If I’m going up to try and score
– even now, playing for Independiente – the
risk of conceding never crosses my mind.
“I took a free-kick during the last derby
against Racing Club when we were 1-0 up and
there were still more than 30 minutes left to
play. I didn’t care what the score was or how
much time was left. We had practised during
the week, and the decision was taken
beforehand. When we had a free-kick near
54 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
their area, I went for it. When I was sitting
down later and thinking with a cooler head,
I realised it was probably an unnecessary risk.
“But I’ll always try to score, even if the match
is huge and the tension is high. The most
important goal I scored was from the spot
against Sportivo Belgrano in April 2014.
We were playing in the second division at the
time and battling for promotion. The score
was 2-2 and we were awarded a late penalty.
The pressure was huge, but I didn’t hesitate
to step up. I smashed it into the corner.
“I wouldn’t say I have a target for the number
of goals I want to score in a season, or even in
my career as a whole. I never even think about
that kind of thing. I always hope we’re given
more penalties. I joke with the forwards that
they should fall inside the box more often!
“So far I’ve scored eight goals. The most
recent was in the last minute of a 1-0 win
against Chilavert’s old team, Velez Sarsfield.
Every time I score, someone from my family
calls me to keep tabs on how many I’ve got.
But I try to avoid being obsessed by it.”
JOHNNY VEGAS FERNANDEZ
PERUVIAN • 1997-PRESENT
“When a goalkeeper scores goals, he
becomes notorious – everybody very quickly
learns that this is what you will try to do.
But as far as your own fans are concerned,
the main thing they will love you for isn’t
scoring – it’s still the saves you make.
“However, I have to admit I would probably
prefer to score a goal than make an incredible
save. To score a goal is the most sublime
moment in football. To be a goalkeeper
walking up and taking a penalty, when
supposedly we’re not technically very
good, really adds something. Historically, it
has always been accepted that those who
aren’t very good with the ball should play in
goal – that’s a view we have to change.
“In my youth team I loved to have the
ball at my feet as much as possible; I’d
play much higher up the
pitch, virtually as a libero.
But it was more of a joke,
really, mostly when my
team were comfortably
winning by four or five goals
and there was minimal risk.
Then when I turned 10 years old,
I started feeling the need to score
goals, so I began to be more bold.
 RENE HIGUITA
COLOMBIAN • 1985-2010

He may be most famous in the UK for

the scorpion kick that denied England’s
Jamie Redknapp at Wembley in 1995
(yes, we know there was an offside flag),
but Rene Higuita’s on-pitch lunacy didn’t
end there. The Colombian also scored mor
than 40 goals in a career that spanned a
quarter of a century and featured stopove Fans bid farewell
in Spain, Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela. to ‘El Loco’
El Loco – as well-deserved a nickna
as football has ever known – coul

GOALS
always be relied upon to make
things a bit more interesting,

SCORED and simply loved having the

ball at his feet in an era when laces. He regularly loitered outside his penalty dampen Higuita’s enthusiasm for pushing

41
the game was becoming
increasingly strait-laced.
“Football has become
more of a business,” Higuita
grumbled in a 2008 interview.
“The directors want results so
the goalkeepers just try to do the
simple things, such as a quick kick upfield,
to avoid complicating the situation.
“The type of goalkeeper I like is the one
who plays for a result and takes his position
seriously, but at the same time entertains
the people who pay for the tickets.”
area looking to tidy up behind his defenders,
and occasionally dared to run with the ball
at baffled opposition forwards.
However, this desire to entertain occasionally
got Higuita into a spot of bother. During extra
time of Colombia’s last-16 clash against
Cameroon at the 1990 World Cup, Higuita
went walkabout. While attempting some
showboating near the centre circle, he was
dispossesed by Cameroon’s Roger Milla,
who gratefully strolled a few yards before
passing the ball into the unguarded net
and taking off to the corner flag for his
the boundaries at every opportunity.
He continued to attempt the spectacular,
even if the vast majority of his goals came
from the penalty spot. This was a man who
wasn’t content with sitting back and waiting
for the ball to come his way inside the six-yard
box. He was proactive. You could say he was
ahead of his time – and he’d probably agree.
“[People] used to say that keepers who used
their feet a lot were crazy,” Higuita once said.
“But with FIFA’s decisions and the new laws,
we have to do it more and more, so we
couldn’t have been that far wrong.”

“Of all the goals I’ve scored as a professional,

I have two or three favourites. I remember
a brace I scored, both from the penalty spot,
against Sporting Cristal back in 1999. That was
important because we beat them narrowly,
2-1. However, the most memorable one for
me – because it left a mark – was the same
year, during a Copa CONMEBOL match against
Deportivo Cuenca of Ecuador. I scored a
great free-kick that day and we eventually
went through after a penalty shootout.
“I scored far more goals in the early stages
of my career than in more recent years. The
simple reason for that is that I now have
team-mates who are better at penalties
and free-kicks. If it was up to me, I’d
take every set-piece no matter
who was on my team! GOALS
“I’ve never had the misfortune
of working for a manager who
SCORED

39
didn’t like his keeper to take
free-kicks or penalties. In fact,
I’ve been lucky enough to play
for many managers who not
only didn’t forbid me from taking
free-kicks and penalties, but
encouraged me to take them.
“I know there is another Johnny Vegas –
a comedian, a chubby fella [left]. I know him
because my son would Google my name and
this man’s face would appear. I haven’t seen
his shows, but I know he’s out there.”

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 55

GOALSCORING KEEPERS
SEBASTIAN SAJA
ARGENTINE • 2000-PRESENT
“Ever since I first played football as
a five-year-old, I’ve always played as
a goalkeeper. But I always liked to play
outfield when I was having an informal
game with my friends – and I still do.
“Those experiences helped me to develop
my footwork. I consider that necessary for
a goalkeeper, especially these days, when
keepers are asked to use their feet so much.
“The first goal I scored was at the
Dallas Cup, an under-19 tournament
played annually in the United States.
I went there with San Lorenzo and ended up
taking a penalty in a shootout at the
end of our quarter-final clash against
Bayer Leverkusen. Thankfully I scored it,
and we went on to win the competition.
“I practise taking penalties. We organise
games between the goalkeepers after
training; we play for a bottle of wine, a box
of alfajores (traditional Argentine sweets),
or maybe a bottle of aftershave.
The best I have ever scored was
away at Boca Juniors in 2006 when
I was playing for San Lorenzo. There was
a handball in the box quite early in the
game. I stepped up to take the penalty and
blasted it into the top corner. We won 2-1.
“My team-mates haven’t always been
keen on seeing me run up the pitch. During
one game at Boca, my manager gave me
the order to go up and take a free-kick, but
when I arrived, the two senior players
standing over the ball saw this 20-year-old
goalkeeper running up and said: ‘What do
you think you are doing here? What are you
thinking? Get out of here. Go back in goal.’
“I thought: ‘Well, even if I don’t end up
taking it, I’ll just stay up here anyway.’
“I stood there, my team-mate took the
free-kick and he hit the wall. Suddenly, Boca
were trying to hit us with a counter-attack,
and another of my team-mates ended up
having to foul the Boca player to stop them
scoring. The next week in training, all the
older players gave me a hard time about
what had happened, but I was just doing
what the manager had told me.
During my career I played in
Italy [for Brescia], Spain
[Rayo Vallecano] and
Greece [AEK Athens],
but managers in Europe are far less willing
to give goalkeepers an opportunity to take
a penalty or free-kick. The only time I was
able to take a penalty during my time in
Europe was when I was playing for AEK
against Olympiacos in the 2009 Greek Cup
Final. Even then, I was the seventh in our
team to take one. And the shootout went on
so long that I got to take a second penalty!
I scored them both, but we lost 15-14.
I think it’s a cultural thing. Team-mates
at all my European clubs were surprised
to hear that I had scored so many goals
for San Lorenzo. I’d ask a defender or
a midfielder how many goals they had
scored in their careers and they wouldn’t
believe I had scored more than them.
If you’re a goalkeeper who scores goals,
you get a lot of attention from fans, but
there is a huge element of risk, because we
are more exposed when we miss. We are
a lot more exposed than any outfield player
if that happens. We are open to ridicule if
things go wrong. There are two sides to
the coin: we get more recognition when the
going is good and we get more abuse when
it’s bad. But we have to learn how to deal
with that. It comes with the game.”
 GOALSCORING KEEPERS

GOALS
SCORED

62
VERT by chance,” Chilavert told FFT later. “This goal
was different. I saw that [River goalkeeper]
04 German Burgos was outside the box, watching
birds rather than concentrating on the game.
world’s So I started running desperately.
eeper, but “As I arrived at the ball, I noticed the referee
s Chilavert was in the way so I shouted: ‘Move!’ Luckily
he did – the shot could have knocked him
still the out if he hadn’t ducked in time.
ng No.1, “I thought the ball was going too high,
4 games but then it started going down quickly.
e the first When Burgos tried to react, it was too late.
free-kick I landed on the floor like an airplane and
in 1998. so did my team-mates. Even River Plate
guay and players congratulated me!”
is opposite Relations with opposition players were
atically not always so cordial. Chilavert was an
ver the bar. intimidating figure who earned the nickname
o score ‘the Bulldog’. He often sported a growling
xt World cartoon canine on his jersey, and his bite
Paraguay certainly matched his bark. For a keeper who
lombia to used his feet so regularly, he wasn’t afraid to
n the finals. use his fists – including on Diego Maradona
a hero. and Faustino Asprilla. There was also a run-in
with Roberto Carlos, whom he later cryptically
e shone. accused of ‘gesturing with his testicles’ (the
when mind boggles). Paraguay’s No.1 spat in the
e Velez full-back’s face from point-blank range
99. In in retaliation, earning a four-match ban.
Ferro Carril Chilavert’s biggest successes came at Velez,
the first where he won four Argentine titles in the ’90s,
at-trick in as well as the Copa Libertadores. He also won
atch. His the French Cup with Strasbourg in 2001, and is
e penalty fondly remembered in Spain thanks to three
6-1 victory. years with Real Zaragoza. However, his one
ds was and only La Liga goal, in a 2-1 victory over
ting the Real Sociedad, came at a price.
side his “I went up to take a penalty and told an
g Chilavert outfield player to go in goal until I got back,”
ons. Chilavert explained in 2003. “I scored and
me in 1996 started to celebrate in the middle of the pitch.
een Velez When I looked round, the other team had
late, he already kicked off, but I wasn’t too worried
ng free-kick because I’d left my team-mate covering the
an 60 yards. goal for me. The trouble was that he had
ored from come up to celebrate the goal as well.
usually Sociedad scored. I could have died.”

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 57

 PLAYING AT ALTITUDE

From sex pills to oxygen chambers, South American teams have tried everything to combat
the perils of playing in the thin air of La Paz and Potosi. FFT investigates how they’ve got on
Words Andrew Murray Additional reporting Marcus Alves, Martin Mazur, Mauricio Savarese Illustrations Nate Kitch

F
or centuries, South America has
attracted the world’s leading explorers,
anthropologists and geologists thanks
to its sheer variety. It is no coincidence
that Charles Darwin visited the continent
back in 1831 to research his seminal
work on evolution, On the Origin of Species.
It’s this diversity that results in football’s last
trip into the unknown, where sports science
has only recently begun to investigate and
improve upon performance: playing at altitude.
The experience is a quirk that’s all but unique
to South American football (the continent is
host to a startling 17 of the 20 highest cities
of 100,000-plus people in the world), and Copa
Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and World
Cup qualification matches are littered with
freak results attributed to fixtures up in the
Andean gods in Bolivia, Ecuador and
parts of Colombia. It’s football’s
last great leveller.
Accusations vary from mild discomfort and Thanks to the Altiplano Plateau – a flat
shortness of breath to suggestions of genuine area in the foothills at 3,000m where cities
long-term health risks. Given these complaints such as La Paz, El Alto and Potosi have
frequently come from wealthier, low-lying expanded – football has thrived in the
powerhouses Brazil and Argentina in the wake upper reaches of the continent. At this
of unexpected defeats, the subject could be altitude, there is approximately one-third
framed as disharmony between rich and poor. of the oxygen in the air, making it much
Is it possible to adapt to the conditions in harder to breathe and resulting in
a similar way to extreme heat or heavy rain? headaches and dizziness.
What effect does playing at altitude really Murmurs of discontent about
have on a person? And at a time when playing at this altitude are nothing
athletics and cycling experience alarmingly new, but the tipping point came
regular drugs crises, is playing in the Bolivian on July 25, 1993, when Brazil
capital La Paz at 3,650 metres – or around lost a World Cup qualifying
13 Ben Nevises – a form of legalised doping? match for the first time
in their history, to
First, a quick geography lesson. Formed the minnows of
where the Nazca and South American Bolivia – in
tectonic plates collide and force La Paz.
land upwards, the Andes is the
highest mountain range outside
Asia and runs 4,300 miles
through seven countries from
Venezuela to Argentina.
 PLAYING AT ALTITUDE
“I was meant to play, but had to be left out
because of how much I’d suffered in the 1987
Copa Libertadores with Sao Paulo at a lower
altitude in Chile,” former Brazil striker Careca
reveals to FFT. “It’s not something I can adapt
to, and I felt constantly sick. Playing above
2,500m is just unfair. Bolivia deliberately play
games to take advantage of these conditions.”
For the Bolivians, however, that victory was
felt to be the result of hard work, as well as
normal home advantage provided by altitude.
“There’s no trick for those who aren’t
prepared,” Jose Milton Melgar, the 89-cap
midfielder who played in the 2-0 win that day,
tells FFT. “I wasn’t born at altitude, so it was
the same for me, even as a home player.
We used to do anaerobic exercises and hold
our breath for a long time underwater in
a swimming pool. Yes, we took advantage of
the altitude, but we also had good players and
pressured Brazil into making mistakes.
“Altitude alone won’t win you a game. Now
Bolivia are really struggling – we can lose any
game, regardless of altitude.”
Yet the seed had been planted in Brazilian
minds. By early 2007 it was in full bloom, the FA
registering a complaint with CONMEBOL, South
America’s governing body. When Flamengo
drew 2-2 with Real Potosi at 4,090m, the visitors
needed post-game oxygen to recover. The club
threatened to boycott future matches at
altitude because “it puts players’ lives at risk”.
“We arrived in Bolivia three days before the
game, sleeping first in Santa Cruz, then flying
to Sucre, before arriving in Potosi a few hours
before the game,” explains then-Flamengo
striker Roni. “We’d used oxygen chambers, but
none of it worked. After the game, only two of
us felt OK. I had pain all over my body – in my
head, in my back, anywhere you can imagine.
“I’d played in La Paz before, but I’d never
seen anything like Potosi. It’s inhuman. You just
can’t breathe. It was the worst experience of
my life. I wouldn’t go back for a million dollars.”
Yet, say Bolivians, this fear is part of the
problem for those arriving from sea level.
It is something in which home sides revel.
“I’m not saying it’s just psychological – the
lack of oxygen at altitude is a reality,” says
Bolivian striker Pablo Escobar (not that one –
he’s on p84). “But it’s like thinking a dog will
bite you before you’ve met it. I’ve seen fear
pale great players before Copa Libertadores
matches. They had surrendered to the ghost
of altitude. The greatest advantage comes
from knowing how to utilise that fear.”
Despite statistics suggesting Bolivian sides
average 0.5 more goals when hosting sea-level
opposition, some visiting sides have taken
a more pragmatic approach, accepting
altitude’s place as part of home advantage.
“For us, the biggest impact was what a great
team they had,” says ex-Fluminense midfielder
Arouca of their 2008 Copa Libertadores Final
against LDU Quito, who won Ecuador’s first
“It’s inhuman. You can’t
breathe. It was the worst
experience of my life”
Libertadores on penalties after winning the
home leg 4-2, at 2,850m. “They didn’t reach
the final just because of the altitude; they were
very competitive at the Maracana, too.”
“You do feel a disconnect, as if your legs
don’t agree with your brain,” continues Arouca,
who is now with Palmeiras. “Your awareness
falls a bit: Quito’s response was more precise
than ours, and you have to be more physical to
compensate. Therefore you use more energy,
which makes breathing much tougher.”
Science backs up the anecdotal evidence.
“It has a profound physiological effect,” Ken
Baillie, a doctor who has spent much of the
last decade in South America researching
how the body deals with altitude, tells FFT.
“Your heart and lungs have to work harder
to get one-third of the oxygen to your tissues,
and your muscles have to work equally hard to
get the oxygen out again once they’ve used it.
“As soon as you get off the plane, you notice
that you’re out of breath after walking a few
hundred metres. I was in La Paz recently and
put an oxygen monitor on my finger. I ran up
the stairs and my blood’s oxygen level fell to
50 per cent. A normal level is 97-100 per cent.
Down at sea level, you would be admitted into
intensive care with saturation levels that low.”
Acclimatisation is key. Baillie says a week is
the minimum needed to avoid headaches and
dizziness, while closer to a month is preferable
“to be at optimal performance”. Interestingly,
however, he says that there is nothing
genetically different in the average Bolivian or
Ecuadorian footballer that gives them an
advantage over those not acclimatised.

“Only the indigenous Aymara people, who
have been in the Andes for 5,000 years, have
evolved to reduce the body’s ability to sense
oxygen, which effectively means that they
don’t know when they’re in a low-oxygen
environment. The majority of footballers,
on the other hand, are descendants of the
immigration from Spain around 500 years ago.
That’s not enough time for genetic mutation.”
So emotive is the subject, it has even
entered South America’s political orbit.
In July 2007, FIFA banned international
matches above 2,500m after Peru decided to
start playing World Cup qualfiers at 3,400m in
Cuzco, instead of at 200m in the capital, Lima.
Bolivian president Evo Morales, the country’s
first leader from an indigenous background,
took the ruling as a personal attack on his
people and put himself at the head of a state
campaign against the decision. Setting aside
years of mistrust, he even recruited his
Chilean counterpart, Michelle Bachelet, to
present Bolivia’s case to Sepp Blatter.
Within a year the ban was suspended, after
some heavyweight protests: in March 2008,
Morales and Diego Maradona played in
a friendly in La Paz to raise money for flood
victims but also to prove that if they could
perform at altitude, so too could fit young
professionals. It worked – the ban was lifted –
but not everyone thinks that was the right call.
“It shouldn’t have anything to do with
national pride; it should be about healthcare,”
says Serafim Borges, Brazil’s doctor since 2002
and Flamengo’s cardiologist for more
than 20 years. “If there were no effects,
Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador would never play at
altitude. If they had a good team, they’d win
points away, too. How does that help the
integrity of the game? FIFA will only stop this
madness the day someone dies up there.”
Unsurprisingly, Bolivia’s current manager,
Julio Cesar Baldivieso, holds a different view.
“To my knowledge, no one has died on the
pitch because of altitude,” he tells FFT with
tongue planted firmly in cheek. “But you could
die from dehydration playing at 50 degrees in
Recife in Brazil and nobody says anything about
that. When any – and I mean any – team lose
in La Paz, they use the altitude as an excuse.”
A year after that Morales ‘protest’ game
(a 7-4 win for Maradona’s team of former
internationals), an Argentina side managed by
El Diego and featuring the likes of Lionel Messi,
Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano played
a World Cup qualifier in La Paz. They lost 6-1.
Dr Baillie was in town that day, due to talk on
Bolivian television about altitude’s effects. “The
segment had to be pulled,” he laughs. “The
controller was scared there’d be a riot if I went
on air saying there was an unfair advantage to
be gained by playing at this altitude and that
there could be a danger to players’ safety.”
So, how should visiting teams attempt to
combat altitude sickness? The most important
factor is knowing when to arrive.
“The ideal acclimatisation time is at least
three weeks,” 1970 World Cup winner Tostao,
who is also a qualified doctor, tells FFT. “In
that time, the concentration of haemoglobin
in your body rises. But this is only possible
before tournaments like a World Cup or Copa
America, so what do you do for a one-off
qualifier or Copa Libertadores game?”
The answer is actually counter-intuitive.
“Part of the adaptation process is that you
actually feel worse after two days at altitude,”
explains Baillie. “If you arrive then, you have
the highest chance of serious altitude-related
complications like fluid on the lungs or brain.
“It’s actually best to arrive an hour or two
before kick-off and play immediately.”
Tostao agrees. “There’s some controversy
over the best strategy,” he says, “but every
study I’ve read says the same thing. If you
arrive just before the game, you’ll suffer much
less. The biggest problem then is the flight of
the ball. Because the air is thinner, it travels
much further and faster than at sea level and
that can take some getting used to.”
Sports science can also help. In the build-up
to visiting low-oxygen conditions, exposure to
altitude chambers can help football players
to acclimatise and better understand their
body’s reaction to this unique environment.
“The best way of achieving this is to marry time
in a chamber with high-intensity training at sea
level,” says sports scientist Ben McKenzie, who
works with the altitude chamber at St George’s
Park. “This allows your blood to deal with less
oxygen, while still training at maximum level.
PLAYING AT ALTITUDE
“Typically, we recommend four minutes’
work with two minutes’ recovery, at 90 per
cent effort. Second is a six-second sprint on
the bike or treadmill in the chamber, with
24 seconds of recovering, repeated 10 times.”
Preparations also extend to the legal drugs
that clubs use, especially those in the Copa
Libertadores who don’t have the luxury of
spending time at altitude to prepare.
“Everybody reacts differently,” says River
Plate doctor Pedro Hansing. “We ensure that
the players are fully hydrated and eat lightly –
mashed potatoes are good – to help avoid
indigestion. Then, the usual ‘drug cocktail’
is aspirin, caffeine and sildenafil.”
You might know sildenafil by another name:
Viagra. Settle down at the back.
“I’ve read that it can have a small benefit,
opening up blood vessels in the lungs to raise
oxygen levels,” says Tostao. “If the teams use
this it must be based on some scientific work.”
However, despite the drug’s near-universal
presence in Libertadores teams’ suitcases,
Baillie isn’t convinced it is a viable option.
“Does it help? No, it doesn’t. The best
evidence suggests it doesn’t significantly
improve your performance and that it might
actually give you a headache. There are some
drugs – certain steroids and diuretics – which
can be very effective at preventing mountain
sickness, but they would be on banned lists.”
River’s results at altitude back up Baillie’s
debunking of the Viagra theory, even if they
did lift the 2015 Copa Libertadores. In the
past 15 years, the Argentine giants have won
once, drawn twice and lost 10 times in
matches played above 2,500m.
Ultimately, with FIFA showing no signs of
entertaining Brazil or Argentina’s complaints,
teams have to adapt. Yes, players acclimatised
to this phenomenon have a borderline unfair
advantage, but the counter-argument Bolivian
footballers pose of having to play in sweltering
Amazonian heat is a valid one.
“You’ve got two options: play or give up,”
says Escobar, striker at The Strongest. “It’s real
– there’s less oxygen – but the point here is to
be smart enough to play in such conditions.”
Indeed, research suggests that Bolivian and
Ecuadorian players could be at just as much
of a disadvantage when they have to travel
down to play matches at sea level.
“This is much less studied,” admits Baillie,
“but the physiological adaptation to make
you play better at altitude harms performance
at sea level, in all aspects of exertion – not
to the same extent, but it does happen.
The speed at which oxygen can be provided
to the blood and muscles is impaired.”
The debate is perhaps best summed up by
Javier Zanetti, Argentina’s right-back when
they suffered that 6-1 loss to Bolivia in 2009.
“I wouldn’t say that altitude can win a game,
because that’s not true,” says La Albiceleste’s
most capped player. “But it has an effect.
“Most crucial is that you adapt to the
altitude – for example, play short passes
and don’t run too much. We tried to persist
with our usual rhythm, to press and attack as
much as possible. It didn’t go well.”
FourFourTwo.com January 2016 61
“THIS CLUB REPRESENTS

OUR
HOMELAND”

E
xcited fans are queuing to buy burgers
and drinks as Chilean side Deportivo
Palestino prepare to make their Copa
Libertadores debut against Boca Juniors.
It’s February 18, 2015 and the stands of
the Santa Laura stadium, rented
especially for the occasion, swells with 13,000
buzzing locals, a record attendance for a
‘home’ match. But they aren’t the only ones
watching. There are millions of Palestino
supporters cheering from a distance. A
distance of some 9,000 miles, to be precise.
Al-Manara, the main square of Ramallah,
Palestine, is as dazzling as any other night.
Instead of burgers and soft drinks, people
are smoking at outside bars and eating
shawarma. Some opt for Tamar Hindi, the
tamarind and almond drink, or arak, the
anise-flavoured spirit popular in this
neck of the woods; others go for an
ice-cream at Rukab’s. Those who
commute back to Jerusalem, only
six miles away, will have to pass
through Israeli checkpoints
– but tonight, time is
PALESTINE IN CHILE
on their side. Kick-off is at 1.45am local time,
and in the most cosmopolitan region of
Palestine, it will be a long and special night.
Thanks to a live broadcast from Al Jazeera,
Palestinians are able to follow the fortunes
of the team who carry their colours on their
shirts and flag on their chests, despite playing
on the other side of the planet.
It’s not the first time Chilean football fever
has hit the streets of the Palestinian territories.
In 2008, giant screens were set up in towns
from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to show the
first leg of Palestino’s title decider against
Colo-Colo. The match was full of drama, as
nine-man Palestino nabbed a late equaliser to
draw 1-1. They lost the second leg but won the
hearts of millions, including the Foreign Affairs
Minister of the Palestinian National Authority,
Riyad al-Maliki, who happened to be in Chile
and delayed his return home by 24 hours in
order to watch his new heroes in the flesh.
Seven years later, Palestinian president
Mahmoud Abbas called Palestino “the second
national team” and sent an impassioned
message of support to the squad. Manager
Pablo Guede read the letter to rally his
troops prior to their crucial Libertadores
play-off in Montevideo against Uruguayan
giants Nacional. That night ended
with the Chileans celebrating
qualification on away goals
– and Palestinians
dancing in the
Middle East.
 PALESTINE IN CHILE
“This relationship is very simple,” Palestino
club chairman Fernando Aguad tells
FourFourTwo. “This is a club that represents
a large community of Palestinians –
around 400,000 – that arrived in Chile since
the times of the Ottoman Empire. The club
was born with the simple purpose of keeping
some ties with our homeland, our origins.”
The trip from Palestine to Chile was one for
the adventurous. One of them was the father
of Mauricio Abu Ghosh, current president of the
Palestinian Federation of Chile (FPC). “They’d
get on a ship at Haifa or Jaffa [now Tel Aviv]
and go to Naples or Marseille, then on to Rio de
Janeiro or Buenos Aires. However, unlike [for]
thousands of other migrants, Buenos Aires
wasn’t the final destination. They’d go through
Argentina, more than 1,200km, and cross the
Andes on mules to finally arrive in the towns
their relatives or friends had told them about.
My father took the train, but the slopes were
so steep that sometimes it was quicker to
go on foot,” explains Abu Ghosh.
Some of these migrants returned with good
news, stating that they had found a country
that resembled theirs. Others kept coming,
and in the end, they formed the largest
Palestinian community outside the Arab world.
“We’re known for being people that integrate
easily: we have affection for the place we go
to, we contribute to the community, and one
way of integration was through football –
Chileans love football,” adds Palestino’s Aguad.
“Integration was quick, despite the initial
discrimination. Chile had never taken in Arabs
before, but steadily Palestinians started earning
the confidence of the locals, because of trade,
and because they had an impact on the
commercial development of the cities, as they
founded industries and offered lots of jobs.”
Anuar Majluf – lawyer, CEO of the FPC and
Palestino fan – reckons: “An estimated 10 per
cent of Chile’s MPs are of Palestinian origin.”
“A common phrase in Chile says that even
in the littlest town, there’s always a priest,
a carabinero [policeman] and a Palestinian.”
64 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
“THE TRUTH IS, THE PEOPLE
ARE SUFFERING AND SOME OF
THE ONLY MOMENTS OF JOY
COME THROUGH FOOTBALL”
The very first Palestino starting XI on record –
from 1920 – featured only Palestinian players:
Saffie, Zaror, Nicolas Hirmas, Rafael Hirmas,
Sarah, Yunis, Elias Hirmas, Panayotti, Emilio
Deik, Lama, Elias Deik.
Now, none of the squad have an Arabic
surname. The last was Roberto Bishara, who
recently became assistant manager: not only
did he spend 12 years playing for Palestino,
but he also represented the Palestine national
team on more than 40 occasions over an
eight-year period.
“My father was born in Palestine and my
mother also has Palestinian blood, so I grew
up with the customs and food of that land,”
he explains to FFT. “In 2003, another manager
from the community talked to me about the
chance of representing the national team.
I didn’t have to think on it – I said yes
immediately! It meant giving up on Chile, but
it was the best decision I’ve taken in my life.
“I’ve travelled there for over eight
years, 24 hours each way, three or
four times a year, to play for the
national team. In the beginning we
couldn’t play in our land, so we
would go to Qatar, Egypt, the
United Arab Emirates, Bahrain.
The historic game against
Jordan [in October 2008], when
we were finally allowed to play
at home, was the most beautiful
day of my career. The truth is, the
people are suffering, and some of the
only moments of joy come through
football. In one training session, a
player came crying; his house had been
bombed while he’d been at the chemist.
It’s tragic, but it’s part of their lives.”
Sticking the word ‘Palestine’ into any
search engine or social media network will
immediately provide you with harrowing
Above Palestino’s tales and images of a beautiful land ravaged
exploits in Chile by violence, with endless counter-accusations
help to distract from that do little to limit the suffering of innocent
day-to-day reality people. But there’s hope through football.
in the Middle East “Today, Palestine is living a very delicate
Below Coach Pablo situation, and we are trying to create some
Guede passes on sort of distraction for the people – something
another message that produces joy,” says president Aguad.
from the president “They’re waiting for the weekend to watch
our games. They followed us in the Copa
Libertadores. It’s only a sporting connection –
as a club ruled by FIFA and the Chilean
Association (ANFP), we can’t [get involved] in
politics. But the spirit is to connect our club to
Palestine. We were born because of them, and
they deserve a way to forget the day-to-day.”
That doesn’t mean that the players are
indoctrinated in any way, but most who stay
at the football club for more than a season
became curious about the community,
customs and colours, and start asking
questions about Palestine. Supporters, who
are mostly descendants of Palestinian settlers,
carry the passion in their blood. Bishara helped
them to get in touch with the national team.
“One [international] game was suspended
because 10 of our players weren’t
allowed past a checkpoint,” he says.
“Sometimes I was detained for hours
for interrogation. They checked my hair,
made me take my clothes off. After 24
hours of travelling, it’s not pleasant.”
It’s the lively Palestino fans that
make visiting La Cisterna, the club’s

Banners include Palestinian flags and ‘Free
Palestine’ messages, but there is no hatred
crumbling communal stadium, an enjoyable
experience. That’s not to say you’ll always see
a large, passionate crowd with thousands
singing and jumping. Attendances rarely
climb above 1,800. The uniqueness of
Palestino is that they all know each other;
they feel like family. That includes the players.
“In Chile and Palestine, you find lovely
supporters who are willing to invite you home
for lunch,” says Bishara. “That sort of thing
only happens with our people.”
Having a small stadium means every word
from the stands is heard on the pitch, and vice
versa. Tifos and banners include Palestinian
flags and some messages of ‘Free Palestine’.
But there are no insults. There is no hatred.
“THE PLAYERS BORN IN THE
ACADEMY HAVE AFFECTION
FOR THIS CLUB AND FOR
THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE”
Having been nurtured by the club and played
there in three different spells, 35-year-old
midfielder Roberto Avalos is a Palestino icon.
He’s well-placed to explain the
connection between the club,
fans and players. “The players
that were born in the academy
have a natural affection
for this club and for the
Palestinian cause,” he tells
FFT. “When we played the
final against Colo-Colo in 2008,
we found out that in Palestine
Above Palestine’s they were screening the game in streets
FIFA-recognised and bars. These people, who suffer every day
national side enjoy with the Israeli occupation, were backing us.
their first ever home We were playing not just for ourselves and for
game, in 2008 our families, but also for thousands of people
Below Years later, that are suffering all the time.”
Palestino celebrate “I became a Palestino fan and that happens
2015’s Libertadores with most of the players from the academy,”
win over Nacional adds 22-year-old defender Felipe Campos.
Unlike Avalos, the youngster was lucky enough
to be sent on tour to Palestine, one of three
official visits Palestino have made in the past
six years. “When we found out we were going
to travel there, we couldn’t believe our luck,”
he beams. “The first team was in the middle
of a relegation battle, so a team from the
academy was sent. I discovered a beautiful
country, and for a Catholic like me it was very
emotional to visit sacred places like Bethlehem
and Jerusalem. But what really struck me was
the affection of the people towards us. We
PALESTINE IN CHILE
were 15 or 16-year-olds, but people would
stop us in the streets, asking to us to have
pictures with them, blessing us as if we were
stars. They would give us messages, videos –
even the president of the country talked to us.
We understood what we were representing
– the significance of wearing the Palestino
jersey. I can’t say it didn’t have an effect.”
Five years ago, the Bank of Palestine made
a long-term commitment to the club in the
form of a 20-year sponsorship deal that was
part of a wider plan to begin operating in
Chile by 2016. The relationship has proved
fruitful for both parties: all Chileans are now
familiar with the bank, while Palestino have
had the kind of cash injection that is always
welcome at a small football club.
Now the club have announced plans for
the construction of a new stadium, probably
designed by Populous, builders of the Emirates
and Benfica’s Estadio da Luz among others.
“We want to see if we can build a modest
ground designed by them,” says Aguad. “We
want more from a stadium than just hosting
two games per month; we want it to be part
of the community. Besides, we are unique
because no other club can claim to have a deal
like we do with our friends at Bank of Palestine.”
The figures may suggest that Palestino have
a deficit of $600,000 (£395,000) a year, but
since the arrival of a new board, their academy
has become one of the best in Chile. Today, at
least half of the squad has come through the
youth ranks. Three years ago, the under-19s
won the reserve league. There are no
shortcuts; unlike at some clubs in South
America, having a good agent won’t help
a player to get a place in the system – it’s all
about footballing ability. The next step is to
bring through more Palestinian youngsters.
FourFourTwo.com January 2016 65
 PALESTINE IN CHILE
THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL
SQUAD NUMBER IN HISTORY
FIFA accepted Palestine as a member back
in 1998, even if the United Nations still witheld
full membership. The club claim that their goal
is to stay away from politics, but they were
drawn into it when they decided to replace all
No.1s on the backs of their shirts with the map
of Palestine before the 1948 creation of Israel.
“We had an Argentinian goalkeeper called
Leonardo Cauteruchi who had worn the map
on his jersey in 2001 and 2002 without any
repercussions,” says Bishara. “Our kit designer
recalled that and came up with that jersey.
It was in no way [meant to be] provoking, but
in the end the fuss was the best thing that
could have happened to the club.”
After a 4-0 Palestino win over Everton (the
Chilean side, rather than their Premier League
namesakes), questions were directed at the
president. Were Palestino increasing tensions
in the Middle East? Were they claiming the end
of Israel? “And it wasn’t just that,” says Aguad.
“There were rumours that the Jewish
community were complaining and that we’d
be taken out of the competition. It was crazy”.
Palestinian and Jewish communities have
few problems in Chile. “Sometimes they’re
business partners, or get married,” continues
Aguad. Former tennis player Nicolas Massu is
an example: his father has Palestinian origins,
while his mother is Jewish. “But this map
thing caused a special sensibility, probably
because of pressure coming from abroad,
and people were pressing in all possible ways
to have the map removed. Nublense, owned
by a Jewish family, were the only club to
present a formal complaint to the ANFP.”
The third game with the map was
away to Universidad de Chile, one of the
best-supported clubs in the country and one
with many Jewish members. “I was told that
I was responsible for all the drama that would
happen; some were suggesting there would
be riots, a massacre, and were calling me
irresponsible for not removing the map,”
emphasises Aguad. “But we played with it,
we won, and there was not a single episode of
violence. The ultras from U, in a very respectful
way, manifested their support towards us by
showing flags with bloodstains, a message
about what was going on in Palestine. And
from all the Chilean clubs, Palestino are the
only one that handed [in] a formal complaint
about that, because even if it was meant to
back the Palestinian cause, I reckon that it
had nothing to do with football.”
66 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
After three games the map was removed,
and the club was fined by the ANFP for failing
to comply with a basic FIFA rule: kit numbers
cannot be forms or drawings; they must be
actual figures. Pleased with the sense of
belonging they’d revived, Palestino decided to
move the map onto the chest. By doing so, the
controversy went further, attracting headlines
from the United States to Iran. Suddenly,
a football club was having a voice in the
Middle East conflict, and new pressure forced
Palestino to remove the map once again.
A day before facing Cobreloa, captain Felipe
Nunez knocked on the president’s door. “He
said the squad had decided to tattoo the map
with henna [a temporary dye] to show their
support – I cried in emotion,” recalls Aguad.
Defender Campos adds: “We were so
committed that we decided to tattoo the map
and the Palestinian flag on
our wrists, and show to
everyone that we would do
anything for that country.”
The pressure to remove
the map had backfired –
interviews were all about the tattoos
and kit. The controversy only served to
enhance Palestino’s global profile while
drawing attention to their cause. Not all
the attention was positive, however.
Groups representing Chile’s Jewish
community claimed that the actions of
“The club jersey is neither a provocation nor
a political act. But we can’t control nostalgia”
Left Taking on the Palestino and their players brought tensions
might of Boca Juniors from the Middle East to Chile, and criticised
Below Palestino’s the use of football as a platform for the
controversial shirt; dissemination of political views. Despite the
supporters show furore, the kit, in all its variations, became
their allegiance; the a massive sales hit, with fans from all over
team line up in 2014 the world trying to get their hands on one.
Midfielder Roberto Avalos was not part of
the team last season, but he also tattooed the
Palestinian map on his leg – in permanent ink.
“No one can ban a player for having a tattoo,”
he says. “It was a very smart move of my
team-mates, because we felt that we were
under attack just for wearing a jersey that
represented the club’s founders.”
Now the map is over one of the shoulders.
“Colo-Colo came up with a jersey symbolising
the Monumental stadium, and fans were really
angry because some say it had connotations
to [former dictator Augusto] Pinochet’s era,”
says Aguad. “We are only celebrating the
country that the people who created this club
lived in, 45 years before the conflict. It’s neither
a provocation nor a political act. If someone
yearns for that map and thinks
Palestine can recover that land,
well, it’s not viable, but we
can’t control nostalgia.
“However, I also say, firmly: you
can’t wipe history, no matter how hurtful it
is. We can’t be forced to hide history, and
we won’t do it.” Then he quotes Nelson
Mandela from when he opposed a colour
and name change for the Springboks. “The
history of a country cannot be changed.
You might not like some parts of it, but
that doesn’t mean it didn’t exist.”
 oet Sylvia Plath in
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 BRAZILIAN

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 69

BRAZILIAN
 BRAZILIAN

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 73

 EVERTON
BARCELONA CARACAS S A N T IA G O W A N D E R
VS
VS

EMELEC ERS BAH IA

A
D E P O R T IV O TA C H IR
VS VS
VITO RIA

A L IA N ZA L IM A LD BOYS
W E L L’ S O BOCA JUNIOR *
U N IV E R S IT A R IO NE ENTRAL
VS
VS

RO S A R I RIVER PLATE
VS

LET’S GET READY TO

brawls , lepros y ep ide mi cs or buses being torched on the pitch, the

Whether it’s mass b football make their European eq
uivalents
rivalries in Sou th Am erican clu
most fearsome scarf at home
seren e kic kabou ts be tween friends. Leave your half-and-half
look like
Words Chris Flanagan, Felipe Rocha, Rafael Luis Azevedo, Carl Worswick, Daniel Edwards

IN D E P E N D IE N T E C O L O -C O L O
B L O O M IN G
R A C IN G C L U B
VS

H IL E O R IE N T E P E T R O L
VS

U N IV E R S ID A D D E C
VS
ERO
*No, not them – this lot are from Brazil

PENAROL AM
N A C IO N A L
VS

CERRO PORTENO M IL L O N A R IO DEPOR ICA

T OC
VS

VS
O L IM P IA A T L E T IC O N A C S
VS
ALI
IO N A L

THE RIVALRY OF THE
BURNING TEAM BUS
 
Caracas vs Deportivo Tachira
Venezuela
Aggro rating QQQQQ
Who are they?
Venezuela’s two biggest clubs, even though
both have been in existence for less than
50 years. Caracas have 11 titles, all won
since 1991-92, having previously been known
as Yamaha FC. Tachira were formed by
members of Juventus (an amateur club set up
by Italian immigrants) and have eight titles.
Where are they?
Caracas are based in the Venezuelan capital.
Deportivo Tachira take their name from the
state in which they are based and play in the
city of San Cristobal, 400 miles from Caracas.
The flashpoint
It all kicked off in the second leg of the Co
Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela final i
2000. Caracas came from 2-0 down to lev
the final five minutes, when a pitch-invad
Tachira fan was kicked by visiting player
Alexander Rondon. A riot ensued,
during which Tachira fans drove the
Caracas team bus into the centre of
the pitch and sent it up in flames.
Their supporters celebrate the anniversary
the game every year, calling it Dia Del Hin
Aurinegro (Day of the Aurinegro Fans) and
bringing cardboard buses to matches.
The head-to-head
Tachira have 31 wins to Caracas’ 30. In 20
a Tachira fixture had to be abandoned wh
they wore a pink kit to raise awareness for
breast cancer, only for their own fans to stage
a pitch invasion in protest, believing the colour
was too similar to the red of their rivals. Sigh.
DERBIES
THE SHIPYARD DERBY
Barcelona vs Emelec
Ecuador
 
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Who are they?
Did you know that Barcelona have won more
Serie A titles than Roma, Lazio or Napoli?
That’s Barcelona of the Ecuadorian Serie A,
of course. The ‘other’ Barcelona are Ecuador’s
most successful football club, having been
formed by a Spaniard in 1925. They even
sport a near-identical badge to the Catalan
superclub. Emelec are only marginally behind
them in terms of success, too, having claimed
12 league titles to the Catalan Barcelona’s 14.
Where are they?
Both are from Guayaquil, Ecuador’s main port
city, which has a much higher population than
capital Quito. Emelec play in a ground named
after their founder, the American owner of the
Monopoly-esque Ecuador Electric Company
(i.e. Empresa Electrica del Ecuador, or ‘Emelec’
for short). So, naturally, their home is called
El Estadio George Capwell. Catchy!
The flashpoint
Ten-man Emelec were leading 3-0 in May 2006
when Barcelona’s ultras decided they were
having none of it. After striking a linesman
with a piece of a sink torn from the stadium
toilets, visiting supporters began to destroy
the terrace fencing before laying siege to the
radio broadcast booths. With some fans
running onto the pitch to escape the chaos,
the match had to be suspended, and
eventually finished behind closed doors a day
later. Even that didn’t pass without drama:
Emelec had two more players sent off as they
clung onto their lead to scrape home 3-2.
The head-to-head
Barcelona have 66 wins to Emelec’s 64 but
were controversially denied a victory in 1949
as the floodlights mysteriously failed with Los
Canarios 3-0 up. The Ecuador Electric Company
received no shortage of complaints as Emelec
hit back to draw 3-3 when the power came
back on. Here come the waterworks...
DERBIES
THE DERBY THAT GOT OFF
ON THE WRONG FOOT
 
Alianza Lima vs Universitario
Peru
Aggro rating QQQQQ
Who are they?
The two most successful clubs in Peru.
Alianza have been champions 26 times;
Universitario, 22. No wonder this match
is regarded as the Peruvian equivalent of
Real Madrid vs Barcelona.
Where are they?
Both clubs are based in the capital, Lima, but
Alianza were formed by workers from the
local horse stud while Universitario were the
brainchild of students and professors at the
National University of San Marcos. Boffins.
The flashpoint
The first Clasico took place in 1928 and rather
set the tone. Alianza were established as one
of Peru’s top sides; Universitario were plucky
upstarts. When the new boys went ahead,
Alianza didn’t take it well, losing five players
to red cards before the game was called off.
Alianza supporters tried to storm the section
housing Universitario fans, who responded
by throwing canes, earning the match the
moniker El Clasico de los Bastonazos (batons).
The head-to-head
Alianza have 131 wins to Universitario’s 115,
though Universitario’s Teodoro Fernandez is
the leading scorer in the fixture with 29 goals
(and they play at the 80,000-capacity Estadio
Monumental, more than twice the size of
their rivals’ ground). One might think the
death of the entire Alianza squad in a 1987
plane crash would calm the rivalry a tad, but
no: the clubs met in the Copa Libertadores
a year later and the tie had to be abandoned
(again) after Alianza had three players
dismissed and claimed two more needed to
go off due to injury. But the most shocking
incident occurred in 2011, when Universitario
hooligans broke into an executive box and
hurled a 23-year-old Alianza fan to his death.
EVERTON’S HEAVEN 17
Everton vs Santiago Wanderers
Chile
 
Aggro rating QQQQQ
Who are they?
No, Santiago Wanderers are not a club with
such a fierce hatred of Bill Kenwright’s taste
for musical theatre that they’ve taken against
the Toffees on a point of principle; this is the
Chilean Everton, or Everton de Vina del Mar.
Everton are four-time Chilean champions but
slipped into the second tier in 2014 after being
relegated alongside Rangers (no, not them
either). Santiago Wanderers have won the title
three times and were formed way back in 1892.
Where are they?
Santiago Wanderers are from Santiago, right?
Wrong. They play in the gritty port city of
Valparaiso and only called themselves
Santiago Wanderers because another team
called Valparaiso Wanderers existed back
then. They’ve stubbornly refused to change
their name since. Just five miles up the coast
is the richer and more tourist-friendly city of
Vina del Mar. The rivalry is known as the
Clasico Porteno – the Seaport Derby.
The flashpoint
A rather one-sided match in the Copa Carlos
Varela in 1950 saw Everton win 17-0 at
the pleasingly-named Estadio Sausalito.
Understandably it’s a result that gets
mentioned fairly often by Everton fans. But
Santiago Wanderers refuse to acknowledge
the match as official, insisting it was only a
preparatory fixture featuring a string of youth
players and that they didn’t even start with 11.
Thanks to dismissals and injuries, they had
even fewer by the end: either six or seven,
depending on which reports you believe.
The head-to-head
Everton have 37 top-flight wins to Wanderers’
32. Things got lively in 2013 when Santiago
triumphed 3-0 in a match that saw five players
sent off, and this summer the sides’ meeting
in the Copa Chile had to be suspended after
fans rioted on the pitch prior to kick-off.

DEPOR CALI GO BALLISTIC
(FA ARE ATROCIOUS)
 
America vs Deportivo Cali
Colombia
Aggro rating QQQQQ
Who are they?
America are the bridesmaids of the continent,
having reached the Copa Libertadores final on
four occasions only to lose every time. Three of
those defeats came in consecutive years from
1985 to 1987, the third of them in the final 10
seconds of a match against Penarol. Ouch.
Deportivo have lost both of their two finals,
too, but the pair have fared better domestically.
Deportivo have nine titles and America 13,
putting them third in the all-time rankings
behind Atletico Nacional and Millonarios.
They’re in the doldrums at the moment,
though, having dropped into the second tier.
Where are they?
Both play in Cali, a city with a population
of more than two million. They previously
groundshared at the Estadio Olimpico Pascual
Guerrero, named after a poet, but Deportivo
moved into a home of their own in 2010.
The flashpoint
It didn’t take long for this fixture to flare up.
Their first meeting took place in a 1931 cup
final, Deportivo triumphing 1-0 after America
had two goals disallowed. Los Diablos Rojos
(you can probably guess at the translation)
protested at the result, hitting back with...
angry leaflets, circulated in the area. Somehow
that angered Cali’s football authorities to such
an extent that they gave the club a one-year
suspension from local competitions. To get
around the problem, America went on tour,
becoming the first Colombian side to do so.
The head-to-head
Deportivo have won 105 derbies to America’s
86. Carlos Valderrama, Hugo Rodallega and
Hamilton Ricard all lined up for Deportivo, who
can boast Carlos Bilardo and Oscar Tabarez
among their former managers. Freddy Rincon
is among those to have featured for America.
DERBIES
THE VOODOO DERBY
Bahia vs Vitoria
Brazil
 
Aggro rating QQQQQ
Who are they?
Bahia are two-time national champions and
the first club of Barcelona’s Dani Alves. Vitoria
helped to produce Bebeto, David Luiz and Hulk.
Where are they?
Both are based in Salvador on the Brazilian
east coast, a former landing point for the slave
trade, where 80 per cent of the population are
of African descent. The merger of Catholic and
African beliefs gave birth to the Candomble
and Umbanda religions as well as macumba,
a Brazilian version of voodoo. Early Bahia and
Vitoria stars would use macumba ahead of
matches, making offerings to African gods in
an attempt to secure victory, although coach
Nenem Prancha did say: “If macumba had the
power to win matches, it would be a draw.”
The flashpoint
Vitoria midfielder Preto attempted to provoke
Bahia’s Parreira in a mid-’90s derby by hinting
that he had slept with his opponent’s wife. It
worked. A retaliating Parreira was sent off and
moaned to the media about what Preto had
said. That only resulted in taunts from Vitoria
fans when the sides met again, angering
Parreira so much that he punched Preto and
was sent off again. Still furious, Parreira broke
into Preto’s apartment after the game, pointed
a gun at his head and ordered him to promise
that the alleged adultery had never happened.
The head-to-head
Bahia have 188 victories to Vitoria’s 154.
Back in 1934, Bahia’s Bitonha assaulted
the referee in a derby and was sent off,
then arrested. He was so distraught to
see his actions condemned in the papers
newspapers that he chose to end his life.
On a lighter note, in 1999 the match never
took place as both clubs thought they
were at home. The title was shared
and everyone looked at their shoes.
DERBIES
THE ARGENTINE DUNDEE DERBY
Independiente vs Racing Club
Argentina
Aggro rating QQQQQ
Who are they?
A pair of powerhouses, surpassed for
Argentine titles only by (the real) River Plate
and Boca Juniors. Racing Club have won the
league 17 times and were the first Argentine
team to be crowned world champions, when
they beat Celtic in the 1967 Intercontinental
Cup. Independiente have won more Copa
Libertadores titles (7) than any other club,
even though they have only actually been
national champions on 16 occasions.
Where are they?
Right next to each other in the city of
Avellaneda, on the outskirts of the Buenos
Aires metropolitan area. Independiente’s
48,000-seat Estadio Libertadores de America
is just 300 metres away from Racing Club’s
51,000-capacity home, in a more impressive
version of the Dundee derby. The latter’s fans
call their spectacular circular arena El Cilindro
but it’s actually named after ex-Argentina
president Juan Peron. You may remember
him from that time you had to watch Evita.
The flashpoint
Fighting broke out during a 1-1 draw in 1961,
and the referee had to temporarily suspend
the game as he dished out eight red cards –
four for each side. A meeting in 2006 didn’t
go smoothly either, away fans reacting to
hosts Independiente taking a 2-0 lead by
rioting and attacking police. The match was
halted and the FA banned away supporters
in all of the country’s top divisions, as well as
Racing Club fans from their own stadium.
The head-to-head
Independiente have won 80 games to their
rivals’ 57. When Diego Milito lined up for
Racing Club and younger brother Gabriel was
at Independiente, Diego was sent off in the
season’s first meeting and tried to get his
sibling dismissed in the return. Mother Mirta
had to leave the stadium as they squared up.  battles and the match had to be suspended.
THE LEPERS DERBY
Newell’s Old Boys vs Rosario Central
Argentina
Aggro rating QQQQQ
Who are they?
They could be veteran’s teams run by Mike
Newell and Robert Rosario, but they’re not.
Instead they’re veterans of the Argentine top
division, who can both boast rather famous
fans. Lionel Messi represented Newell’s Old
Boys as a young boy, before leaving for
Barcelona at 14, and has been tipped by some
to finish his career at his boyhood club. Che
Guevara was a supporter of Rosario Central
before gallivanting off to Havana to join the
Cuban Revolution. Pfft, fair-weather fans.
Where are they?
In the city of Rosario, the largest city in the
Argentine province of Santa Fe and
third-biggest in the country behind Buenos
Aires and Cordoba. Newell’s play in the Estadio
Marcelo Bielsa, named after the manager who
guided them to two titles in the 1990s. They
were formed in 1903 by a team of graduates
from a school run by Claudio Newell.
The flashpoint
In a curious incident in the 1920s, the city was
hit by a leprosy epidemic. A local hospital
asked the clubs to play a match to raise funds,
but Rosario Central refused. Supporters of
Newell’s branded them ‘cads’ (well, it was
the 1920s), so Rosario hit back by calling their
rivals ‘the lepers’. The nickname stuck.
The head-to-head
Rosario have won 86 derbies, with Newell’s
triumphant on 74 occasions. Maxi Rodriguez is
one of La Lepra’s current stars, but things
turned nasty in 2015 when rival Rosario fans
peppered his grandmother’s house with
bullets and daubed threatening messages on
the walls. Still, relations have never really been
cordial. In 1974 Newell’s made a late
comeback in the final match of the
Metropolitano championship to beat Rosario to
the title. A pitch invasion swiftly led to running
 PINOCHET VERSUS THE OWL
Colo-Colo vs Universidad de Chile
Chile
 
Aggro rating QQQQQ
Who are they?
Chile’s two football giants. Colo-Colo, founded
in 1925, were named after a tribal chief from
the 16th-century Chilean war of independence
and are modestly nicknamed El Popular, or
‘the Popular One’ (don’t get ideas, Jose).
Universidad are known as El Chuncho – ‘the
Owl’ – and, yes, started out as a university side.
Where are they?
Both football clubs hail from Chile’s capital city,
Santiago. Infamous dictator Augusto Pinochet
was honorary president of Colo-Colo until only
a few months ago, when the title was revoked.
That’ll teach him. Even so, their home is
often called ‘The Stadium of Pinochet’ by
Universidad supporters, after a long-running
controversy over whether he donated money
for its completion in the 1980s.
The flashpoint
Colo-Colo won the first two derbies 6-0 and
6-1 in 1938, but a change of approach from
Universidad ensured things got rather more
lively two years later. Jose Balbuena caught
Colo-Colo’s Alfonso Domingues with a feisty
challenge; Domingues responded with a punch.
The Colo-Colo man was given his marching
orders and his team-mates walked off in
protest, leading to the game being abandoned.
The head-to-head
Colo-Colo have dominated the derby, winning
100 matches and losing only 62 – not that
their supremacy has diminished the rivalry at
all. Boyhood Colo-Colo fan Ivan Zamorano may
have played for Real Madrid against Barcelona
and for Inter against Milan, but said: “Of all the
derbies I’ve played, Colo-Colo vs Universidad
de Chile is by far the most important.” His
former international strike partner Marcelo
Salas played for Universidad and scored a
hat-trick against Colo-Colo in ’94, which must
have made for some interesting conversations
in the national team dressing room.
THE DRESSING ROOM
WINDOW ESCAPE ACT
 
Penarol vs Nacional
Uruguay
Aggro rating QQQQQ
 
Who are they?
The oldest club rivals outside of the UK, having
played their first derby back in 1900. Some 80
per cent of all fans in Uruguay support Penarol
or Nacional, and between them they have won
the league 92 times in 111 seasons (Penarol
lead with 47). Luis Suarez cut his teeth with
Nacional, the first team in South America to be
created without foreign involvement; Penarol,
on the other hand, were founded by English
railway workers as the Central Uruguay Railway
Cricket Club. Given they’re on the south coast,
that name is now 60 per cent inaccurate.
Where are they?
Both clubs are based in Uruguay’s capital,
Montevideo. Penarol play many of their games
at the legendary Estadio Centenario, venue for
the first ever World Cup final, in 1930. Nacional
play at the Parque Central, built in 1900, which
makes it the oldest stadium in South America.
The flashpoint
In 1949’s El Clasico de la Fuga (‘Derby of the
Escape’), Penarol were leading 2-0 at half-time
when Nacional, who had already seen two
players sent off, decided not to bother with the
second half. They used escape tactics surely
learned from Harry Houdini, clambering out of
a dressing-room window and scarpering.
The head-to-head
The rivalry hasn’t exactly calmed down in the
decades since 1949. In 2014, four players were
sent off, a total of nine had to spend the night
in prison after the match ended in a mass
brawl, and a full 17 were later banned by the
Uruguayan FA. And that was a friendly. Overall,
Penarol have won 182 derbies to Nacional’s
166 (they meet quite often) and have five Copa
Libertadores titles, two more than their rivals.
Only Independiente (7) and Boca Juniors (6)
have secured more in their respective histories.
 CABALLERO’S DERBY FROM HELL
Cerro Porteno vs Olimpia
Paraguay
 
Aggro rating QQQQQ
Who are they?
The clubs supported by 90 per cent of the
Paraguayan football-loving population.
Cerro Porteno are named after a battlefield,
where the Paraguayans repelled the massed
forces of Argentina in 1811. Still, that history
hasn’t stopped them appointing several
Argentine managers over the years,
including Tata Martino and Ossie Ardiles.
Olimpia were Paraguay’s first club, founded
in 1902 by Dutchman William Paats and
named after the Greek city of Olympia. They
appointed the brilliantly named Chiqui Arce
as boss earlier this year, only months after
his departure from Cerro Porteno.
Where are they?
Both sides hail from the Paraguayan capital,
Asuncion. Cerro Porteno are from the district
of Obrero, which means ‘worker’, with most
of the club’s fans coming from a humble
background. Olimpia were originally
associated with the elite. Fight!
The flashpoint
A derby clash in 2009 proved to be one to
forget for Olimpia’s Dario Caballero. The
ex-Cerro Porteno defender headed the only
goal of the game into his own net, needed
treatment for a head wound after being
floored by a block of ice thrown from the
crowd, and was one of five players sent off.
The head-to-head
The clubs are tied on 145 victories, although
Olimpia (known as El Decano, or ‘the Dean’)
have 39 titles to their rivals’ 31. Roque Santa
Cruz started out at Olimpia, while Geremi had
a random spell at Cerro Porteno – nicknamed
El Ciclon, or ‘the Cyclone’ – en route to Europe.
The first derby ended in farce when Olimpia
didn’t turn up, and in 1969 Cerro Porteno’s
Miguel Angel Sosa angered rival fans with
some barefaced cheek, rounding the keeper
and sitting on the ball before rolling it home.
KARATE KICKS AND CHICKEN
DANCE CELEBRATIONS
 
Blooming vs Oriente Petrolero
Bolivia
Aggro rating QQQQQ
Who are they?
They may not be as successful as Bolivian
powerhouses Bolivar and The Strongest (who
are surely compensating for something), but
Blooming are five-time champions once
managed by Argentina’s 1978 World Cup hero
Mario Kempes. Oriente Petrolero were formed
from workers at Bolivia’s main oil company in
1955 and have four league titles to their name.
Where are they?
This derby is known as the Clasico Cruceno
because both are from Bolivia’s biggest city,
Santa Cruz, which is considerably larger than
the country’s administrative capital La Paz and
its constitutional capital Sucre. Blooming are
so called because they were seeking to take
inspiration from Santa Cruz’s flourishing youth
when they were founded back in 1946.
The flashpoint
Oriente Petrolero’s Argentine forward Marcelo
Aguirre angered Blooming in 2008 with a goal
celebration in the form of a chicken dance,
which sparked a mass brawl and three red
cards – police had to step in before play could
eventually be restarted. This never happens to
Kevin Nolan. Anyway, Blooming hit back a year
later as a scuffle led to Sergio Jauregui, clearly
an Eric Cantona fan, directing a flying kung-fu
kick to the face of Oriente’s Leonardo Medina.
Both players were sent off, and Jauregui was
banned for nine months. Blooming madness.
The head-to-head
Oriente Petrolero have registered 70 victories
to Blooming’s 48 in the derby, but Blooming
claimed the biggest triumph in the history of
the rivalry, winning 5-0 in 1994 – even if the
match didn’t actually finish. The last 20
minutes went unplayed as a result of miffed
Oriente Petrolero supporters storming the
pitch like a bunch of sore losers.

THE ALTERNATIVE SUPERCLASICO
Boca Junior vs River Plate
Brazil (yes, Brazil)
 
Aggro rating QQQQQ
Who are they?
Boca were founded in 1993 by Brazilian
supporters of the Argentine giants, although
the Brazilian FA would only agree to register
them if they called themselves Boca Junior
rather than Boca Juniors. A friend of Boca’s
president then decided that it would be really
funny if he bought neighbouring club Sao
Cristovao and renamed them River Plate – so
he did, in 2007. What’s Portuguese for ‘banter’?
Where are they?
Both clubs are from the small state of Sergipe
in the north east of Brazil. In 2011, Boca Junior
moved to the small town of Estancia from
Cristanopolis, while River Plate are based in
Carmopolis, a settlement with only 14,000
inhabitants. Matches are rarely watched by
more than a thousand supporters.
The flashpoint
Despite being named after two of the fiercest
rivals in world football, there has been very
little aggro between the clubs so far, which is
disappointing. The sides didn’t even meet
until 2013 and have played each other only
once since then, but there’s still time. The
rivalry has attracted interest from Argentina,
with journalists from the country travelling
to Sergipe to film a short documentary.
The head-to-head
The first ever match between the two occurred
following Boca Junior’s promotion to the top
division of the Sergipe state championship, the
fifth tier of Brazilian football, and ended in a 0-0
draw. River Plate won the return match 2-1
and have enjoyed more success overall, being
crowned state champions on two occasions,
while Boca have had to content themselves
with three titles in the regional second tier.
And now Boca are in the top flight, River
haven’t taken part in the Sergipe championship
for two years because of financial problems.
No sense of timing, these two.
DERBIES
THE TEAM THAT FLED THE
STADIUM IN A POLICE TANK
 
Millonarios vs Atletico Nacional
Colombia
Aggro rating QQQQQ
 
Who are they?
With 14 league titles each, Millonarios and
Atletico Nacional are the most successful
clubs in the history of Colombian football
and enjoy a fierce, but sometimes ugly, rivalry.
In 1989 Nacional became the first Colombian
team to lift the Copa Libertadores, having
controversially eliminated Millonarios in
the quarter-finals, and have been far more
successful over recent years. But Millonarios
fans point to the early ’50s, when their side
were one of the best in the world and featured
a certain Alfredo di Stefano. Millonarios beat
Real Madrid 4-2 while touring Spain, and
Di Stefano moved to the Bernabeu a year later.
Where are they?
Hailing from high in the Andean mountains
of capital Bogota, Millonarios play at the
El Campin stadium, which was built in 1938
to celebrate the city’s 400th anniversary.
Atletico Nacional are from second city
Medellin and their stadium is named after
revolutionary leader Atanasio Girardot.
The flashpoint?
In 2013 Millonarios and Nacional met in the
final of the Copa Colombia and, after a 2-2
first-leg draw in Bogota, headed to Medellin.
Nacional won 1-0 but the game was marred
by violence: the Millonarios team bus was
attacked so the losing side had to escape
the stadium in a police tank, as you do.
The head-to-head
In 2014, Nacional thrashed Millonarios 5-0 to
record their biggest ever win in the Colombian
clasico. But if Millonarios fans were already
smarting, their bumbling boss Juan Manuel
Lillo – considered by some to be Pep
Guardiola’s mentor – didn’t exactly help by
insisting, “These things happen. Look at Brazil:
they conceded seven!” Nailed it.

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 T
he reputation and legacy of Pablo
Escobar, the Colombian drug trafficker
who became the wealthiest criminal in
history, is a messy knot to untangle.
As Netflix viewers worldwide gorge on
his bloody journey via the superlative Narcos,
passing the popcorn as he blows up planes,
assassinates ministers and builds his own zoo,
the people of Colombia who lived through his
very real mayhem remain conflicted.
Escobar was many things: a murderer,
briber, bomber and racketeer, according to his
mile-long rap sheet. But to some, he remains
Pablo Escobar may be one an unlikely saint. A huge Escobar flag still
of history’s most infamous marks the entrance of the barrio he built on
criminals, but he also had the site of a former rubbish dump in order to
house the poor. On the roadsides of his home
a soft spot for football. city, Medellin, salesmen hawking car stickers –
His passion – and money – Jesus, Hello Kitty, The Simpsons – report that
‘Pablito’ remains their top seller. There’s even
changed the face of the an Escobar children’s sticker album.
game in Colombia forever Others cannot hide their disgust. Rodrigo Lara
Restrepo, son of assassinated Justice Minister
Words Nick Moore

Lara Bonilla, says that selling Escobar imagery

is “an example of the triumph of the culture
he embodied... profit is more important than
anything”. For many, this man destroyed their
land. But for all, their country’s recent history
is inseparable from El Patron. His influence on
the underworld, the government and the police
is obvious. Less well-known is how far his
tentacles extended into the world of football.
Pablo played, watched and discussed the
game at every opportunity – but he also
became the shadowy figure behind the
incredible rise and fall of the Colombian game
between the mid-’80s and USA 94. “Pablo
always loved soccer,” says his sister, Luz Maria,
in The Two Escobars, the superb ESPN
documentary about his life and that of
murdered player namesake Andres (above,
scoring that fateful own goal), whose story is
intertwined with Pablo’s. “His first shoes were
football boots. And he died in football boots.”
This is what happened in between.

“HE WAS CRITICISED FOR BEING A

DRUG LORD, BUT WE JUST FELT LUCKY
TO BE GIVEN FOOTBALL PITCHES”
Familiarity with Pablo’s story hasn’t dimmed its
power to astonish. One of seven children born
to a farmer and a schoolteacher, he had a far
from deprived childhood, but his ruthlessness
was evident early. While committing petty
crimes with his brother, Roberto, he schemed
about how they could make some real money.

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 85


Early involvement in a kidnapping – Pablo
netted $100,000 from the ransom – showed
that he had the stomach to do whatever was
necessary. And in the mid-1970s, the brothers
realised that smuggling was their best bet.
A simple eureka moment, in which Escobar
recognised the growing popularity of cocaine
and the relative ease of flying it into Florida,
would lead to a fortune eventually estimated
at $50bn. At his zenith, Escobar was supplying
80 per cent of America’s coke. His equally
simple strategy for getting away with it –
“silver or lead” – saw him bribe willing officials
and murder those who couldn’t be bought.
But Pablo had a problem: too much cash.
With the government and the USA monitoring
his activities, tons of notes were buried in the
countryside. And while wads were splashed
on cars, ranches and other indulgences, many
attested to Escobar having a genuine social
conscience, determined to use his wealth to
help those in need. As he built houses and
schools in impoverished communities, he
won a reputation as a latter-day Robin Hood.
His favourite act of benevolence was creating
football pitches in the slums. “He focused on
generosity in the community,” says Luz Maria.
“In our neighbourhood, Pablo donated
floodlights and football supplies.”
Pablo was always a keen player. Right-footed,
he liked to operate on the left wing and cut
inside (imagine Craig Bellamy with a dodgy
’tache). He wasn’t an athlete, but he loved
86 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
“The referee blatantly
robbed us. Pablo told us
to find him and kill him”
to mix with genuine contenders. His pitch
projects led to an early friendship with many
players who went on to become professionals.
“There were tournaments in the slums,” recalls
Chonto Herrera, who later turned out 61 times
for Colombia. “Whole communities forgot their
worries. I was very poor, but on the field we
were important, and lived in a perfect world.”
Alexis Garcia, Chicho Serna, Rene Higuita
and Pacho Maturana were among the future
internationals who developed on Pablo’s
pitches, and often watched in admiration as he
opened them, making speeches as if he was
a benevolent mayor. “Everyone talked about
who donated the field, and he was criticised
for being a drug
lord,” says Leonel
Alvarez, who won
101 Cafeteros
caps. “But we just
felt lucky to be
given pitches.”
Football also
provided a darker
benefit for Pablo. His brother Roberto – AKA The
Accountant – wanted to legitimise their loot.
A club was perfect. With turnstiles taking cash,
they could easily declare far higher earnings
than were made, often by a million dollars or
more, and immediately ‘clean’ the drug money.
A similar trick could be turned with player
transfers. The sport was a laundering heaven.
It was also a chance for Escobar to play God
Above and left There at his hometown clubs. Just as he was starting
was little doubt who his empire in 1973, Medellin’s Atletico Nacional
– and what – helped were winning Colombia’s top flight for only the
fund Nacional’s rise second time in their history. By the ’80s, with
Below Drug raids are millions rolling in, it was decided: Pablo would
not just a thing of fund the team further, and turn them into one
the past in Colombia of the best sides in South America.
He wasn’t brazen - or dumb - enough to
appoint himself director or owner, but his
involvement became an open secret. “The
introduction of drug money into soccer
allowed us to bring in great foreign players,”
says Maturana, Nacional manager from 1987
to 1990, in The Two Escobars. “It also kept our
best players from leaving. Our level of play
ook off. People saw our situation and said
ablo was involved. But they couldn’t prove it.”
Escobar also invested in Nacional’s city
vals, Deportivo Independiente Medellin (DIM),
nd was regularly in the stands for games at
heir shared Estadio Atanasio Girardot. The
budget bonanzas were mirrored elsewhere,
oo, as fellow drug lords saw the value. Pablo’s
ssociate Jose Gacha (‘El Mexicano’) ploughed
funds into the Bogota , n
Escobar’s rival Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, head the quarters. This time Nacional had the upper
of the Cali cartel, bankrolled America de Cali. hand, and scraped through 2-1 on aggregate.
‘Narco-football’ had arrived. A 6-0 thrashing of Uruguay’s Danubio set up
a final with Olimpia of Paraguay. After a 2-0
ESCOBAR HANDED HIMSELF IN ON THE defeat in Asuncion, Pablo took his place in the
CONDITION HE COULD BUILD HIS OWN stands for a tense return leg – but in Bogota,
PRISON – WITH A FOOTBALL PITCH with Nacional’s stadium deemed too small.
Now the big cheese at the Medellin clubs, With Andres Escobar anchoring the defence
Pablo took the concept of fantasy football to and flying goalkeeper Rene Higuita performing
a whole new level. He’d regularly stage private heroics, an own goal and a strike from Albeiro
matches at his home against an XI picked by El Usuriaga levelled the tie on aggregate, taking
Mexicano. “The games were a friendly rivalry,” the game to penalties. “This is a moment for
says Pablo’s cousin Jaime Gaviria. “Pablo would the history books,” gushed the Colombian
say: ‘Pick your dream team – we’ll fly them to commentator, a nation hanging on his words.
the ranch and bet.’” Players were generously Andres Escobar slotted home Nacional’s first,
compensated, and the cartels would often and Higuita made athletic stops and converted
wager a million or more on the outcome. Some his own spot-kick to take the shootout into
players, such as Nacional’s Andres Escobar (no sudden death, but their team-mates wasted
relation), were said to be uncomfortable about chances to seal the title. “I told them: stop
having to perform for the traffickers – and with short, because their keeper is diving early,”
the source of their wages. Most were happy said Maturana. “But no one listened… except
not to think about it too deeply. Leonel.” Following three missed opportunities
After all, on the pitch, Maturana’s Nacional for his side, Leonel Alvarez paused, read the
were on the verge of something big: they were dive, and pumped home the crucial penalty.
looking to become the first Colombian side It was a moment of euphoria. “Pablo jumped
to lift the Copa Libertadores. In 1989, they and screamed with every goal,” says Jhon
were drawn in the same group as Millonarios. Jairo Velasquez Vasquez, AKA Popeye, an
El Mexicano’s Bogota outfit topped the group Escobar henchman who committed more than
after a 2-0 victory at Nacional, but both sides 200 murders for the cartel. “I’d never seen him
progressed to the knockouts. Nacional then so euphoric. Normally he was a block of ice.”
beat Argentina’s Racing Club and Millonarios Nacional’s players were summoned to
overcame Bolivia’s Bolivar, only for the Escobar’s ranch for a giant party. “They came
Clockwise from top for their bonuses; Pablo even raffled off
left Medellin barrios a truck,” says Jaime Gaviria. “For Pablo, the
haven’t forgotten players weren’t commodities, they were
Escobar; sampling friends. It went beyond money. He wanted
match atmosphere; them to be happy.” As national team coach,
Chonto Herrera stars Maturana started to steer a squad including
at USA 94; here, Pablo several Nacional players toward USA 94.
Escobar was shot by Colombia suddenly had a true source of
police; Rene Higuita pride: football. It was thanks in no small part
dropped the ball by to the drug lords. But there was a sinister side
speaking to reporters already in evidence. At a November 1989
match between Escobar-backed DIM and
Miguel Rodriguez’s hated America de Cali,
rumours circulated that referee Alvaro Ortega
had been bought off. “The ref blatantly robbed
us,” says Popeye. “Pablo told us to find him
and kill him.” Ortega was gunned down shortly
afterwards. Footballers in Colombia soon
realised the downside of the narco millions.
“When I was going back home after the game,
I heard the referee was killed,” says Oscar
Pareja, a midfielder for DIM. “We were numb.
We knew there was a lot going on with the
owners; that they were very shady. But when
you’re a footballer, you don’t know too much.”
Away from cup-winning glory, 1989 had been
an extraordinarily bloody year for Escobar. His
biggest fear had always been extradition to
the USA. To get immunity, he’d gained election
to the chamber of representatives in 1982,
propelled by working-class support. His status,
however, had been overruled by the crusading
of the Minister of Justice, Lara Bonilla. Escobar
FourFourTwo.com January 2016 87
had Bonilla assassinated. A wave of anger
followed, and Liberal Party candidate Luis
Carlos Galan gained popularity thanks to his
anti-cartel platform. But in 1989 Escobar’s
men killed Galan, as well as blowing up a jet
with more than 100 passengers (mistakenly
believing Galan’s successor, Cesar Gaviria, wa
on board) and truck-bombing the Colombian
security service’s HQ. Eventually, Gaviria was
elected president, vowing to dismantle the
crime syndicate of “a deranged leader”.
While Colombia’s streets descended into
Government vs Cartel mayhem, the national
team lost just one game in 34 in the years
building up to the 1994 World Cup. And in
1991, after extradition was abolished, Pablo
handed himself in – on the condition he could
build his own prison, La Catedral, complete
with a football pitch. Colombia’s international
players – celebrities due to their hot streak –
were among his visitors, playing games
against the prisoner and his ‘guards’, even in
the middle of a season. “Coach said practice
was cancelled,” recalls Pareja. “What else
could he do? He [Escobar] talked about footba
– he knew everything. He said to me: ‘Why do
you yell at the refs so much? We pay them.’”
In 1991, a go-between approached Diego
Maradona, saying only that a very important
person in Colombia wanted to pay him “an
enormous fee” to play a friendly alongside the
likes of Rene Higuita. “I was taken to a prison
surrounded by thousands of guards,” claimed
Maradona recently. “I said: ‘What the f**k is
going on? Am I being arrested?!’ The place
was like a luxury hotel. They said: ‘Diego, this
is El Patron’. I didn’t read the newspaper or
watch television, so I had no idea who he was!
We met in an office and he said he loved my
game and that he identified with me, because,
like him, I’d triumphed through poverty.
“We played the game and everyone enjoyed
themselves. Later that evening, we had a party
with the best girls I’ve ever seen in my life. And
it was in a prison! I couldn’t believe it. The next
morning, he paid me and said goodbye.”
Pretty much the entire Colombia squad went
to La Catedral, it later emerged, often covered
up with towels over their heads on the road in
there – but one of them didn’t get away with it.
Higuita, the 5ft 9in sweeper-keeper nicknamed
El Loco, made the mistake of speaking to
reporters en route. A national outcry resulted.
How could Colombia’s pride and joy associate
with a criminal? Higuita was imprisoned in
1993, supposedly for acting as an accomplice
in a kidnapping, but, according to The Two
Escobars, his association with the cartel was
the true reason behind his arrest. “All they
asked me about was Pablo,” he recalls of his
interrogation. “He has always taken care of
the poor: he built homes and pitches. But he
is also responsible for an awful war. I had
an opportunity to thank him personally for
handing himself in. I did not think I was
breaking the law.” Coach Maturana defended
his player, saying: “If Don Corleone invites me
to dinner, I show up.” But Higuita would miss
the World Cup in the USA as a result.
Pablo had bigger problems. Murders were
committed inside La Catedral, and under
88 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
Diego Maradona was paid
to visit Escobar in prison –
“It was like a luxury hotel”
intense pressure, the Government concluded
that he needed to be ‘properly’ imprisoned.
Escobar went on the run.
“ONE MUST ATTRIBUTE COLOMBIA’S
RISE TO DRUG MONEY’S INFLUENCE”
Even in the gravest danger, football remained
on Pablo’s mind. His only break from waging
war was to watch matches. Popeye recalled
the pair hiding in a ditch, pursued by
government soldiers, while Escobar listened to
a World Cup qualifier on a tiny radio. “I could
sense troops closing in, and I’m freaking out.
Pablo turns to me and says: ‘Popeye!’ I think
they’ve caught us, and I cock my M16, but he
says: ‘Colombia scored a goal!’ Football was
his joy; his escape; his cloud nine.”
But he would not live to see his country play
in the USA. In December 1993, Escobar was
shot dead by Colombian police on a Medellin
rooftop. He was wearing football boots. His
passing left a void that was filled by bloody
feuding among the cartels. Football, as ever,
was affected. During USA 94, Chonto Herrera’s
brother was killed in a car crash. Barrabas
Gomez, brother of assistant coach Hernan, left
the squad after death threats demanded he
didn’t play. And then young Nacional defender
Andres Escobar, whose own goal against the
hosts helped to eliminate the side from the
tournament, was gunned down after a dispute
with gangsters. “None of it would have
happened under Pablo,” claims his cousin,
Gaviria. “He had rules.”
Colombia’s golden era of football was over
before it had begun. Informed that their lives
were in danger, numerous high-profile players
decided to opt out of playing for the national
side. Criminal involvement was weeded out of
the sport, and the cashflow into the domestic
game dried up. Colombia dropped from fourth
to 34th in the FIFA rankings over the next
three years. Deprived of their key financier, it
took Nacional 11 years to win another league
title, while a Colombian side didn’t lift the Copa
Libertadores again until Once Caldas in 2004.
“One must attribute Colombia’s rise to the
Clockwise from top influence of drug money,” says Juan Jose
Andres Escobar’s Bellini, President of the Colombian FA. “We all
funeral drew many allowed it. We all participated.” Bellini himself
mourners; Pablo still was later convicted of money laundering.
does, over 20 years Andres Escobar’s death, a watershed tragedy,
later; we’ve seen was seen as the ultimate result of a violent
worse prison cells storm initially unleashed by his namesake.
Whether ‘narco-football’ truly died with
Pablo Escobar, though, is questionable.
In 2007, Colombian magazine Semana
intercepted a telephone call from feared
paramilitary leader ‘Jorge 40’ to a director
of Valledupar FC, offering players “who have
a certain gratitude towards me” to the club
on loan from America de Cali. Another
trafficker known only as ‘Macaco’ allegedly
controls Pereira FC and attempted to buy El
Mexicano’s old outfit, Millonarios. Few doubt
that drug profits are still lurking; it’s just not
quite as brazen as it was under Escobar.
Maturana admits that as long as there
are people willing to take blood money,
the problem will continue to eat away at
Colombia’s soul. “We exchanged winning
for our safety,” he despairs. “Our society
was built on a defective foundation.”
 
   

 





  
 


 




  
 
  


    
 PLANET FOOTBALL

PLANET

Left or right wing? Japanese councillors turn Gamba Osaka’s new stadium into a political football
Words John Duerden; Planet Football editor Chris Flanagan

We re used to seeing Angela Merkel
cheering on the German national
team, or David Cameron declaring his
undying love for Aston Villa/West Ham
(delete as applicable). But in Japan
they’re taking things one step further,
nailing their colours to the mast
during an important political debate.
At a recent session of the Suita city
assembly, every politician present
donned the shirt of Gamba Osaka to
mark the completion of the J-League
club’s shiny new stadium.
Gamba, based in Suita, are leaving the
ageing Osaka Expo ’70 Stadium to
move into the new 40,000-capacity
Suita City Football Stadium in time for
the start of the 2016 season in February.
The venue cost £75m and was built
thanks to a combination of private funds
and na ional subsidies; he club hope it
can be used to host football matches at
the 2020 Olympic Games.
As part of their devotion to all things
Gamba, the council have also arranged
a public viewing of the new arena and
plan to do plenty more to support the
club in the months ahead.
“We have passed a resolution that the
city will promote the activities of Gamba
Osaka ith enthusiasm and hard w rk;
we wish Gamba the best of luck in its
new home and are looking forward
to seeing lots of exciting games in
the years to come,” said Suita city
official-turned-fanboy Okutani Masami,
presumably before screaming excitedly
and joining his fellow councillors in the
queue for tickets for the first match. And
they say politicians are out of touch...

Switzerland A Basel fan has returned home 11 years after a match at Inter. Rolf Bantle got lost after the game and, unable to get home, ended up living on Milan’s streets

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 91

 P L A N E T FO OT B A L L

[ INTERVIEW ]

“Jurgen Klopp changed me, not only

as a footballer but as a human being”
Polish midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski was one of Borussia Dortmund’s key men until injury
changed everything. Now the man known as ‘Kuba’ has been revitalised on loan at Fiorentina

Since moving to Italy in August
you have been named the best
summer transfer in Serie A by
respected newspaper La Gazzetta
dello Sport. How pleased have you
been with your time at Fiorentina?
So far I am very happy with my
decision to come here. It’s important
that I can play every three or four
days. In my last season in Dortmund
that wasn’t always the case – I was
dealing with injuries and could never
find a rhythm. I’m not going to lie:
leaving Borussia was very difficult
for me. I have the club in my heart.
I’ve left many great friends there,
who were with me in both good and
bad times. I still talk to them a lot.
From a football standpoint, though,
I had to make a change. I’m very
humble about this new challenge.
So far it’s working out just fine. It
was a risky move, but I’m adapting
well to the new environment.
Paulo Sousa, your coach at
Fiorentina, was a very good
midfielder himself with the likes
of Benfica, Juventus, Dortmund
and Inter Milan. What is it like
to work alongside him?
He was not only a very good player,
but he’s also been a successful
coach at every club he’s worked at.
The most important thing is that he
trusts me. That’s what every football
player wants, because then you can
play with confidence. I like the group
of guys we have here. There’s a great
atmosphere in the changing room.
That’s a fundamental thing; a
cornerstone for success. My role
is a little bit different in terms of
responsibilities on the pitch, because
we play with a 3-5-2 formation,
instead of the 4-4-2 we played at
Dortmund under Jurgen Klopp. I
won’t go into too many tactical
details, though – I don’t want to do
the job for our opponent !
You mentioned
playing for Jurgen
Klopp. What’s he like?
He was, he is, and he
always will be a special
guy. He’s changed me,
not only as a footballer
but as a human being.
No one had more
influence than Klopp
on who I became as
a player. I owe him a lot. Kuba says Klop
He always taught me tha
is “a great m
in all this craziness and
competition, there is als
a human side inside all of us
that we need to cherish. He’s
a very smart and positive guy.
Liverpool couldn’t have hired
a better manager. They have
already won by appointing him.
Do you think he can succeed there?
I’m pretty sure he will – but only if
the players buy into his philosophy.
That’s what we did at Borussia and it
paid off. They just need to trust him
and follow his guidance. He knows
what he’s doing, on and off the field.
We had to work and make a lot of
sacrifices, but we accomplished a lot
with Dortmund. I’m 100 per cent
sure that after we finish our careers,
we’ll look back and say it was worth
all that effort. I’m very grateful to
have been part of that experience.
What makes Klopp so special?
H ’s not only a great
ach; he’s a great
ychologist and
reat man. He
akes decisions
sed on what
e sees, not what
ther people
re telling him.
hat’s extremely
mportant, because
he is honest
with people and
p
we could sense
an” that. He knows
how to deal
with different
characters and different egos.
You surprised many fans by
releasing an autobiography, Kuba,
in which you talk honestly about
the experience of your mother’s
murder when you were young.
Most players wait until they hang
up their boots to write a book; why
did you decide to do it now?
I just thought it would help a lot of
people, which I hope it did. I don’t
think I’d be able to find the inner
strength at the end of my career to
talk about some things from my life.
Plus, how many people would pay
attention if I’m already retired?
What would make you happy for
the remainder of this season?
Just staying healthy. That was my
major issue last season. I want to
keep playing well for Fiorentina and
be 100 per cent ready for Euro 2016.
Poland haven’t made it out of
the group stage in their last four
major tournaments, including
when the country co-hosted the
last European Championship.
What do you think can be learned
from those previous failures?
Every tournament is different and
has its own path. I believe we
can take that experience into
consideration, stay humble and stay
focused. It will be a new story,
written from scratch.
Beating Germany for the first
time in Poland’s history during
qualification must give you
confidence, and you’ve been
tipped by some as dark horses for
the tournament. Do you agree?
We have several months before
Euro 2016 so a lot can change, but
we’re satisfied that we were able to
qualify. It’s hard to say there is
a specific goal at this stage, but
there is lots of confidence within
the team. This is a very ambitious
group of players, so we’re not done
yet. We want to accomplish more.

BLASZCZYKOWSKI IN NUMBERS
Kuba’s career has been pivotal in the rise of one Robert Lewandowski Stats provided by

35 6 3 4
Interview Martin Harasimowicz

Bundesliga assists for Assists for ex-BVB colleague Players hit double figures for Years as captain of Poland,
Dortmund after joining Robert Lewandowski, more goals and assists in ’12-13: before being replaced by
in 2007, a team high than for any other player Muller, Ribery and Kuba Lewandowski in 2014

Argentina Cordoba club Talleres were roared on by 60,000 fans as they went for promotion against Union Aconquija – not bad, considering they play in the third division

92 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com

 P L A N E T FO OT B A L L

LUNATICS,
MISFITS
& MARIO
Gazzetta named Blaszczykowski
Serie A’s best summer signing in
October, using a ranking based on
results, match ratings and cost. His
form and £750,000 loan fee placed
him just ahead of these stars...

 
Nikola Kalinic
Fiorentina
From Blackburn misfit to
Serie A star, he joined from Dnipro
to score a hat-trick at the San Siro.

 
Mario Balotelli
Milan
Unwanted at Liverpool,
Super Mario announced his return
to Milan with a stunning free-kick.

 
Lucas Castro
Chievo
A protégé of Diego Simeone
at Racing, the Argentine bagged
a derby leveller against Verona.

 
Daniele Baselli
Torino
The midfielder scored four
goals in his first four games for his
new club after arriving from Atalanta.

 
Wojciech Szczesny
Roma
“He’s a good goalkeeper,
there’s no doubt about that,” was
how pundit Stefano Tacconi summed
up Szczesny’s start in Italy. “But he’s
also an uncontrollable lunatic.”

 
Stevan Jovetic
Inter
Even the Montenegrin was
surprised by his early goals on loan
from Manchester City. “I wasn’t
expecting this,” he admitted.

 
Marco Borriello
Carpi
The former Roma and
West Ham forward hadn’t scored for
two years before netting for Serie A
debutants Carpi in September.

 
Allan
Napoli
Words Chris Flanagan

Sounds like he’s from

Wakefield; actually from Rio. Allan
moved from Udinese in the summer
and quickly impressed in midfield.

China Commentator Dong Lu was sacked after falling asleep and snoring live on air during Real Madrid’s Champions League clash with PSG. To be fair, it was 5am in China

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 93

BRUNO VS
REFEREES
The bout: It’s not the
norm for a club president
to be sent off, but Bruno
de Carvalho isn’t your
normal president. A man
with a penchant for “Oi, bottle – d’ya
sitting on the bench want some?”
during matches, even
helping to treat the injured
Alberto Aquilani in one fixture,
Bruno marched onto the pitch
after a match against Boavista
to register his disgust at the
match officials, before telling
the press that all referees have
“egos the size of the world”.
The verdict: Bruno was never
going to win this one and loses
by disqualification, earning
himself a 20-day touchline ban.

BRUNO VS BENFICA
The bout: De Carvalho isn’t
afraid to stoke things up with
Sporting’s biggest rivals.
Poaching serial trophy-winning
manager Jorge Jesus from the
Estadio da Luz made things
interesting; then, before
October’s derby, he suggested
Benfica might have been giving
referees ‘presents’ more
expensive than the €183 limit
allowed in the rules. Benfica,
not surprisingly, strenuously
denied the accusation.
The verdict: A bitter, niggly
fight with a few rabbit punches
to the back of the head, but
Bruno wins on points. He got
under his rivals’ skin: Sporting
won the derby 3-0.

BRUNO VS
SHIKABALA
The bout: Everyone thought
winger Shikabala was on his
way back from an authorised
break when the Egyptian
posted a picture of himself
online as he was about to
board a plane. Not so. Upset at
his omission from Sporting’s
 P L A N E T FO OT B A L L

“Let me
educate
you…”

“He must be here

somewhere, dear”

I PRONOUN
FAN AND WIFE
How do you make use of a World Cup stadium once the
tournament’s over? Put on mass weddings, of course!
Brazil haven’t been afraid to of Corinthians, the club who, on the shoulder and asked
Odds Ballklubb
get creative in their attempts as you may have suspected, them to sit down for health Norway
to keep their World Cup stadia play at Arena Corinthians. and safety reasons.
in the public eye. After turning In total, around 10,000 “Corinthians welcomed the
the £350m Estadio Nacional wedding guests packed inside event: it was good for the Why should I care?
Mane Garrincha in Brasilia one stand at the stadium, club’s image and there has They’ve been known as Odd Grenland, IF Odd and just
into a giant bus depot, they presumably launching into been such a positive reaction plain Odd. They play in Skien and are named after Orvar Odd,
have now had a brainwave in a chant of ‘You’re not single any for us,” director Lucio Blanco a fictional character from a 13th-century Norse fornaldarsaga.
Sao Paulo. Mass weddings. more’ once each set of vows tells FourFourTwo. “Will we
Yes, there’s nothing more had been completed pitchside. repeat it? Why not?” I’m not even going to ask. What else?
romantic than the venue for Swathes of embarrassing Hopefully the weather will Their star striker in 2015 has been a Canadian called Olivier
Argentina’s 1-0 win over uncles danced in the stands to be a little better second time Occean, which has effectively made them Occean’s eleven…
Switzerland, so 398 couples music provided by a local police around. Rain put a slight
Words Felipe Rocha

hotfooted it to the Arena band and samba school – dampener on the first event, Has Occean [below] ever tried to pull off
Corinthians one Saturday for although if it’s anything like but thankfully no love matches a heist in Las Vegas with Brad Pitt?
a different kind of match. Many English grounds, we expect were abandoned because of No, sadly he hasn’t. He has, however, played for the SCSU
of the couples were supporters a steward quickly tapped them a waterlogged hitch. Fighting Owls. As you know, that’s a state university team.

And Odd? Have they even won anything?

"PARLEZ VOUS
They’ve never won the Norwegian league, but they have picked
up the cup 12 times, which is more than anyone else has.

FOOTBALL?"
That’s odd.
Yes, that’s Odd. Keep up – we established
what they were called at the beginning.

Why haven’t they won

We translate that baffling foreign lingo the league then?

Standardsituation
Another Odd team haven’t helped
matters. Originally named as an homage

Yes, it’s a combination of two English words, but in to their Skien counterparts – i.e. this lot – the new club
became Rosenborg in 1928 and have won the title 23 times.
Germany this means something entirely different.
So what should I say about Odds
The phrase, used to describe a set-piece, originated in
Words Max McLean

Ballklubb to look clever down the pub?

East Germany in the 1970s before slipping through In 2011 Odd midfielder Jone Samuelsen scored football’s
longest recorded header, from his own half; a whopping 58.13
Checkpoint Charlie and making it to the West. Standard. metres out – or 190-odd feet. Get it? Odd feet? Oh, never mind.

Colombia Groundsman, you’ve had a ’mare. Alianza Petrolera’s top-flight tie with Independiente Medellin was delayed because the penalty area was three metres too small

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 95

 P L A N E T FO OT B A L L
“BARCELONA?
I’M HAPPY
AT TORONTO”
in just one season – and how he’s determined to star for Italy at Euro 2016
“The best individual season in
the history of MLS,” was how
one coach summed it up. And
with a league record 22 goals
and 16 assists, plus a recall to
the Italy squad, Sebastian
Giovinco has to admit that
his debut campaign with
Toronto FC went pretty well.
“It was the right decision to
move here,” the 5ft 4in forward,
AKA the Atomic Ant, tells FFT.
Juventus were three months
away from 2015’s Champions
League final when Giovinco,
Words Martin Harasimowicz
largely a substitute with the
Old Lady, decided to swap Turin
for Toronto. Some accused
him of choosing money over
football ambition. As it turned
out, it was a great career move.
[ Museum piece ]
THE FIGO PIG’S HEAD
Museum Caja Madrid Cultural Center Weirdness rating
When the Caja Madrid
Cultural Center of Barcelona
(that’s right, Barcelona) held
a ‘Passion of the Stands’
exhibition on football, there
was no other place to start.
There have been few, if any,
more bizarre moments in the
lively history of El Clasico
Words Jon Radcliffe
than those on the evening
of November 23, 2002.
Luis Figo had joined Barça’s
biggest rivals two years
Brazil Referee-turned-model Guilherme Ceretta claims his officiating career is being judged unfairly because of his looks. “Why must we have just ugly referees?” he asked
96 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
Thwarted in his desire
to make the No.10 role
his own at Juve following
Alessandro Del Piero’s
departure, he has
flourished in a central
role with the MLS side.
“I’ve had a good role
with a lot of creative Buffon and Giovinco in both goals
freedom,” explains the – Superman and
28-year-old. “In MLS, the Atomic Ant
teams score more
goals. It’s a different
league to Serie A.
I have more room.”
If anyone thought
Giovinco was bringing
down the curtain on his
international career when
he left Serie A, they were
proved wrong. His form
earlier after Real Madrid met the
£37.4m buy-out clause in his
contract. As he trundled over
to take a corner, all manner of
missiles were thrown from the
stands – including the severed
head of a local cochinillo.
“Figo provoked the fans,” said
Barcelona boss Louis van Gaal,
accusing his former star of
taking the corner deliberately
slowly as he pondered it –
a claim that the Portuguese
was such that Azzurri boss
Antonio Conte could not
ignore him, even from
across the Atlantic.
The Atomic Ant
was recalled to
the Italy squad,
having a hand
as Italy came
from behind to
On target in MLS
playmaker later disputed. “I’ve
saved his arse more than
once,” an angry Figo added.
The game was dubbed El Derbi
de la Verguenza – the Derby of
Shame – and the suckling pig’s
head was taken to Germany for
an exhibition in Essen.
It was then brought ‘home’
to Barcelona, although by that
time the swine was looking
a little worse for wear. We’ll
have the chicken, thanks.
beat Norway in their Euro 2016
qualifier, before jetting back to
Canada and netting a stunning
solo effort for Toronto only a
day later. Jetlag? What jetlag?
“One of my main goals was
to play for Italy again,” he says.
“I wasn’t part of the World Cup
squad. I’m happy that we’ve
qualified for the European
Championship and I’d like to
have an
important
role with
the team,
establishing
myself as
a main
contributor.
(as usual) We have
a new
d
group, with young players
who are hungry.”
Giovinco, a free-kick specialist,
has impressed so much in MLS
that he has been linked with
moves to Milan and even
Barcelona. It’s a measure of
how much he is enjoying life
at Toronto that he’s perfectly
happy where he currently is.
“I’m flattered to hear my
name associated with such
big clubs,” he says. “It’s a big
compliment, but I just leave
it at that. I’ve made my
commitment by coming here
and will honour it. I see my
future with Toronto FC.
“I’m happy with the way
things are at the moment.
I feel welcomed here.”
This missile was
snout of order
Meanwhil
in Romani
Take your seats and get your speeches ready: it’s time for F
awards from another loony year in Europe’s maddest footb

The Kama Sutra The Pojorata Prize team of their

Positional for the Most Perilous own, but
Awareness Award Pitchside Perch aborted the
Gigi Multescu is a veteran at Demand for tickets is high at project after
the management game, and village club Pojorata, who have just a week.
he had a plan when he was reached the second division for Meanwhile
placed in charge of top-flight the first time in their history. Mr Becali
strugglers Voluntari. It was his With their 1,000-capacity threatened
33rd appointment as a coach, stadium sold out, a group of to withdraw his money
and he knew exactly how he fans decided that the only and let Gica Popescu
wanted to run things. “I have to sensible thing to do was to (above) become Steaua
control everything at the club,” commandeer a local excavator, president – even though
the 63-year-old explained. park it next to the ground and the former Tottenham
“I have told my players what hoist themselves up in its defender was in jail at the
to eat, when to sleep and bucket, giving themselves time. The fiasco has seen
when and how to have sex. a lofty – if precarious – view of attendances for some Pojorata’s fans
We need their full potency the action. As far as executive Steaua games drop to thumb their noses
so we can help ourselves.” boxes go, it’s not the most 5,000, with ultras very at Health & Safety
Unfortunate choice of words. luxurious in world football. confused. “Is this Steaua
or isn’t it Steaua?” fans’
The Marius The Massimo Cellino leader Dorin Taban muses Chiajna. I s that mad acter a
Sumudica Gamblers Commemorative to FFT. Don’t ask us… causing problems,” Astra The Hitchhiker’s
Eponymous Award Medal for Best moaned, noting ex-Concordia Guide to the
While Astra Giurgiu’s billionaire Long-running Drama The Most Deranged captain Vasile Maftei had been Dressing Room
owner Ioan Niculae likes to Taking on the nation’s armed Micro-organism Cup out for a month last season Biannual Trophy
unwind with a spot of forces may not seem sensible, Not only is everyone in with a similar issue. So the Times haven’t got any easier
elephant hunting, manager but Steaua Bucharest owner Romanian football behaving bacteria are impartial, at least. since Brasov’s relegation,
Marius ver been oddly, but even the bacteria are either. Former Romania
partial . Hence mental. At least that’s what The Turkeys Voting Under-17s midfielder Razvan
a gamb a around who Astra officials reckoned, after for Christmas Award Avram joined the club in
did, ho star man Constantin With eight top-flight clubs August, but Brasov’s lack of
up with Budescu picked up entering insolvency last year, funds meant he had to live in a
way to curious leg infection the Romanian FA decided to hellish hostel and hitchhike to
his pro while playing on the reduce the league to 14 teams, the stadium – so the club kindly
“I went op flight’s only artificial relegating six clubs instead of permitted the 29-year-old to
each a tch, at Concordia four. Brasov were among those sleep in the dressing room
every o to vote in favour, before instead. “On my first night
of the realising that they had voted there I slept on the massage
casino for their own relegation as table,” said Avram. If he gets
Sumudica: a great
I used they finished fifth from fed up of that, maybe
deal more responsible
gamble bottom. “It was a bad a hop over the border to
than most managers
and as idea; why did we go for Moldova might be an
to be that?” asked Brasov’s option. An unnamed
blacklis chairman, who quit club in the neighbouring
– simp three days later – just nation is recruiting on
as that before he could endorse LinkedIn for “fast and
the gaf a proposal for the club’s strong” players – but “no
reveale Becali (above) gambled shirts to be disco dancers”. Romania
Still, th on beating the army emblazoned with the don’t have a monopoly
always words ‘KICK ME’. on crazy, you know.

Russia No need for stewards to deal with a pitch invader at Dinamo Moscow – Dinamo TV’s pitchside presenter did it for them, aiming a punch, then a kick up the backside

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 97

 P L A N E T FO OT B A L L
retold ]
[ Great goals
ZBIGNIEW
BONIEK
vs Belgium, W
orld Cup, 198
2
Career-defining moments
don’t come much better.
One minute, Zbigniew Boniek
was in danger of losing his
Words Martin Harasimowicz; Illustration German Aczel
place in the Poland team;
the next, he had guaranteed
his status as a national hero.
Boniek would later be named
in Pele’s list of the 125 greatest
living footballers, but the press
called for him to be dropped
after Poland made hard work
of progressing from Group 1
at the 1982 World Cup.
“There was a lot of pressure
and criticism,” Boniek tells FFT.
[ Derbies Deconstructed: AFC Leopards vs Gor Mahia ]
TRIBAL TENSIONS IN NAIROBI
Kenya’s derby with ethnic roots is rarely more than a stone’s throw away from causing conflict
Why all the fuss?
Kenya’s oldest footballing
rivalry extends far beyond
Nairobi. The capital clubs are
Words Alasdair Mackenzie
the most decorated in the
country and remain neck and
neck in terms of honours. Gor
Mahia – managed by Scot Frank
Nuttall – are edging it with 15
league titles to Leopards’ 13.
Spain La Liga minnows Getafe have hatched a plan to increase their fanbase, by encouraging supporters to date via a new Tinder-style app that works only at the stadium
98 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com
“We drew 0-0 with Italy,
then with Cameroon.”
A win over Peru put the
Poles through, but they
went into their opening
match of the second group
phase against Belgium as
underdogs. Four minutes
in, everything changed.
Andrzej Buncol sprayed
the ball wide to Marek
Dziuba, who found
Grzegorz Lato.
“Lato got the ball on the
wing and used his speed
to go past the defender
Reasons for aggro
The rivalry is rooted in tribal
tensions, with the Gor Mahia
fanbase largely from the Luo
ethnic group of western Kenya,
whereas Leopards supporters
are traditionally Luhya. Derbies
between the two are often title
deciders, too – an equally crucial
ingredient in their ferocity.
and deliver a perfect
cross,” Boniek says. “I hit
it without hesitation.
It was a perfect strike
[off] the ideal spot on my
boot. Had I missed it by
a millimetre, the ball
wouldn’t have gone in.”
His thunderous strike
proved to be the first goal
of a sumptuous hat-trick,
with each goal set up by
rilliant passing play.
oland won 3-0 and went
n to finish third at the
orld Cup in Spain.
Maddest moment
In 2012, Gor Mahia defender Ali
Abondo’s red card sparked a riot.
Leopards fans were injured as
stones were hurled at them and
Gor Mahia were banned from
using the stadium for the rest of
The aftermath the season (a club official called
of a 2010 derby it ‘witch hunting’). Abondo’s
since been nicknamed ‘Teargas’.
FourFourTwo.com
Get online to see this and other
great goals from FFT’s archives
“People still talk about that
game,” says the ex-Juventus
ace. “They always ask me
about that hat-trick.”
The 59-year-old is now
president of the Polish FA,
at a time when the national
team have a new star in
Robert Lewandowski.
“He’s more of a natural
goalscorer – a classic sniper,”
Boniek says. “He’s a class
player, but he needs help
from everybody. I got all the
accolades against Belgium,
but it was a team effort.”
Cult figures
Allan Thigo helped Gor become
the first side to win the league
title unbeaten, before returning
to manage the club having
retired as a player. Ugandan
coach Robert Kiberu is
a Leopards legend on the back
of overseeing their trophy-laden
golden years of the early ’80s.
 P L A N E T FO OT B A L L

MODEL, TV STAR,
WIFE... AGENT?!
After ditching Maxi Lopez for his best pal Mauro Icardi,
ex-model Wanda Nara is taking over her new hubby’s
contract negotiations. Be afraid, Inter, be very afraid
Steaming into action at
TJ Tatran Cierny Balog
Mauro Icardi’s missus ndeed, Wanda quickly
has never been the und a shoulder to cry
shy and retiring type.
Model, showgirl,
reality TV star, centre
in the shape of Icardi,
en Lopez’s Sampdoria
am-mate and close pal.
“What do you
mean, our
of a bitter football love ardi was soon tweeting
triangle and now a new s love for Wanda. More
role: player agent. ontroversial was his

stadium is
Abian Moreno had attoo with the names
been the agent of Inter f the three children
Milan captain Icardi for he’d had with Lopez,

several years, but recentl
announced that the
free-scoring Argentine
striker wanted to appoint
his wife as his agent instead.
So now there’s a new big fish
in the agent world – a fish
called Wanda Nara.
Inter’s hierarchy could
have been forgiven for not
greeting the news entirely
enthusiastically, because
things tend to get complicated
when Wanda’s around.
When she was married to
the former Barcelona forward
Maxi Lopez, she appeared on
Argentina’s version of Strictly
Words Matt Barker
“Oh come on, wh
at
did I ever do to yo
u?”
With such trust issues, it s
perhaps not surprising that the
marriage collapsed during
Lopez’s time at Sampdoria.
“I am living with hidden pain –
it’s been three months since
my husband had sex,” Wanda
complained, presumably while
who was not best
pleased. After moving
o Inter, Icardi’s first
me back at Sampdoria
aw Lopez refuse to shake
is former friend’s hand
re-match (left). Undeterred,
cardi netted twice, while
pez missed a penalty.
Icardi has since married
Wanda, who brushed off
criticism from Diego Maradona,
saying: “Before speaking, [he]
should look at his life”.
Icardi recently signed a new
four-year contract with Inter,
so his new agent might not
have a lot to do for the time
a bit weird?”
Meet the puzzled club who can’t
understand the fuss surrounding
their ground’s loco location
Slovakian club TJ Tatran
Cierny Balog seem
a little bemused when
FFT gets in contact to
enquire how on Earth
they’ve ended up with
a railway running right Train in pitch
through the middle of

Come Dancing and sent a spy
to make sure there weren’t any
wannabe WAGs harassing her
husband while she was away.
crossing off another day on
her club calendar and noticing
a rather attractive player called
Mauro Icardi on the next page.
being. Meanwhile, Lopez –
nine years his senior – is on a
one-year deal at Torino. Maybe
Wanda can represent him.
their ground. After all,
what’s weird about that?
“To be honest, we don’t
find it out of the ordinary,”
says community manager
Marcela Belkova. “It has
been part and parcel of our
“The entry gate to the
stadium is opened by
the engine driver using
a remote control, and the
steam train announces its
entrance with a roaring

FI R ST NA M E ON
club’s life for many years.” noise,” Belkova explains.
That’s as maybe, but not “Fans applaud and people

T H E T EA M SH EE T
unusual? Really? Situated in inside the train wave back,
the mountains in central supporting both teams. The
Slovakia, the railway has train doesn’t stop; it only
connected Cierny Balog with passes by. It takes no more
neighbouring villages for than two minutes.”
Slovakia words Martin Rendek; Couto words Nick Moore

more than a century. For “Sometimes visiting

some reason, amateur club
Tatran decided to place
their football pitch right
next to the line – and then
built their only stand on the
other side of the tracks.
It leads to some severely
restricted views when
a steam train arrives while
a match is taking place.
players are a bit fazed,”
laughs Tatran supporter
Vladimir, “but the game
continues normally.
“As well as the whistle of
the referee, you can hear
the whistle of the train!” he
adds, before checking his
watch and dashing off to
board the 16.57 to Hronec.

Egypt Al Ahly’s Ramadan Sobhi apologised to opponents Zamalek for standing on the ball with both feet to showboat – then did it again in the next meeting. Result: brawl

FourFourTwo.com January 2016 99

! 
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 NEW SITE! VISIT US ONLINE
fourfourtwo.com/performance

WHERE PROS REVEAL THE SECRETS OF THEIR GAME

KICK TOC, YOU DON’T STOP

Footballer. Thinker. Inventor. After winning everything there is to win with Barcelona and
Spain, Xavi has created a training device to whip your ball mastery into shape. It’s fun, too

t try
“No, you don’ Xavi admits that
it...”
to slide tackle even he finds
Tocball difficult

Performance editor Ben Welch; Words Nick Moore

As any child of the ’90s knows, Sunday
afternoons meant a bit of back garden
Swingball. Even your neighbours were
fans, given the increased likelihood of
their windows staying intact. And now
footballers and window owners alike
can rejoice, because ex-Barça legend
Xavi has created Tocball, a football
version of the tennis classic.
“When people think about me, they
think about the pass,” Xavi tells FFT.
“I’m not physical, I’m not quick; Tocball
perfectly reflects the Xavi way.”
It’s a gloriously simple idea: a football
swings from side to side with every kick,
while mounted on a weighted base.
“You can kick the ball with any part
of your foot and put some spin on it,”
says Xavi, shortly before giving us a
demonstration. “You can spot a mishit
straight away. You have to concentrate
– even I struggle sometimes. It’s tough,
but brilliant for your technique.”
After a number of less-than-perfect
attempts, FFT agrees – it is tough – but
Xavi reckons academies around the
world will be keen to buy into the idea.
“We’re taking it to clubs now,” says the
Spain legend. “I just hope it can improve
players. Sergio Busquets saw a photo
of it and rang me up asking about it,
maybe for his back garden!”
Well, if it’s good enough for Xavi and
Busquets, put us down for 12.
To buy one (RRP €125), visit tocball.com

THE FOURFOURTWO PERFORMANCE PANEL

Meet the experts available to answer your questions about every aspect of the game

MASTERCLASS FITNESS PRO TIPS TRAINING

Ivan Rakitic
Barcelona’s latest
pass master
The Croatian crux of Barça’s midfield
gives a six-step guide to controlling
the game without breaking sweat.
Glen Thurgood Javier Pastore Mick Rathbone
Fitness guru and Playmaker for PSG Former Premier
SAQ expert and Argentina League physio
Prepare for 90 minutes of box-to-box The Ligue 1 champions’ chief Unearth classic training exercises of
action with help from the leading assist-maker helps an FFT reader yore with invaluable insight from the
Speed, Agility and Quickness coach. learn the art of a midfield creator. ex-Everton head of sports medicine.
 PERFORMANCE
LOSING THE
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Contact with another player
was the most common reason
for heading-related concussions
among boys playing football in
a US study, at 78 per cent. The
other 22 per cent were caused
by collisions with a post.
10 THINGS
WE’VE LEARNED THIS MONTH
REFS IN NEED OF
REFRESHMENT
Spare a half-time energy drink
for the referee if you want him
to make the right calls. A study
shows that officiating increases
blood lactate and lowers sprint
performance, and that fatigue
can affect decision-making.
Studies and authors: FIFPro World Players’ Union (‘Injuries have a lasting effect’); University of Colorado, USA (‘Losing the head-to-head’); Sheffield Hallam University (‘D for defence’);
Football Foundation (‘G-whiz’); Atletico Mineiro, Brazil (‘Longer setbacks for forwards’); University of the Basque Country (‘Refs in need of refreshment’); Royal Bolton Hospital (‘Hip op’);
British Psychological Society (‘Sell, don’t yell’); Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Turkey (‘Strikers stay more flexible’); Northumbria University (‘Up your energy levels’)
INJURIES HAVE
A LASTING EFFECT
Studies into depression among
footballers reveal that those who
sustained three or more severe
injuries during their professional
career are nearly four times more
likely to report mental health
problems than pros who hadn’t
suffered as many, or any at all.
D FOR DEFENCE G-WHIZ LONGER SETBACKS
Footballers given supplements of 3G pitches have a positive effect on FOR FORWARDS
quercetin and vitamin D are far the nation, according to a new survey. Wing-backs are more prone
less susceptible to post-training Up to 73 per cent of players said that to muscle and tendon injuries,
drops in their immunity and to playing at the venues helped to midfielders are more likely
resultant colds and flu, according increase their fitness levels; 68 per to suffer joint problems and
to a 12-week study among football cent claimed their social interaction forwards have longer layoffs
players with prior incidents of upper had been boosted by having access than defenders, claims a study
respiratory tract infections. to all-year-round surfaces. of 48 top-flight Brazilian pros.
HIP OP SELL, DON’T YELL STRIKERS STAY
Ex-pros have an increased risk of The reputation of football coaches MORE FLEXIBLE
osteoarthritis of the hip compared plays a big part in how players respond Tests carried out on 68 pro
with non-players at the same age. to them. A survey of 136 footballers Turkish players to measure agility
Tests on 92 Premier League and found that they’re a lot more likely to according to position found
Football League managers recorded warm to a successful coach – especially strikers to be the most flexible.
greater prevalence of bone wear and when he reminds players of his previous Defenders were found to be
hip operations in former pros than achievements – than to one with more agile than goalkeepers,
in those who didn’t play. a track record of failure. while midfielders were less so.
UP YOUR
ENERGY LEVELS
Young footballers don’t take on
enough energy-boosting nutrients,
say UK sports scientists. Using food
diaries among 10 Premier League
academy players, researchers found
that energy intake was less than
expenditure, especially on matchdays
and days of heavy training.
 PERFORMANCE

[ You ask, we answer ]

Become a
Learn to play defence-shredding passes wi
t king
SG’s creator-in-chief
“My manager wants to
use me as a playmaker
behind the striker. I’ve
never played in this
position. Any advice Did you
on creating chances for
my team-mates?” w?
Chris Hendrix, via Twitter 5 assists
in
ning of
last
nly form
er
Javier Pastore i Payet
–
Argentine creative am this
mastermind ing to
ore

“Perseverance and consistency

are crucial – don’t lose your focus.
In this role you need to be
switched on at all times, as
games can easily pass you by.
Work hard every day: training
performances often mirror
matchday displays. Today, talent
alone is not enough to succeed
in this role at the highest level.
Developing technical skills and
learning to read the game is also
key. Killer passes are difficult, riskier
than a sideways pass. You need
conviction and the mental strength
to try again until you produce them
regularly. In the beginning, practice
and concentration were key for me;
now the passes come naturally.
These passes, or moves, to
unbalance the opposition are my
favourites. It is glorious when they
work well – there is nothing better.
The risk is great. You must be
Interview Jonathan Johnson

confident, motivated, focused and

full of belief that you will succeed
in making such a difficult pass. If at first you don’t
Without risk, it is difficult to break succeed, says Javier,
down your opponents. Now I take try, try and try again
risks as part of my game.”

“I play with a group of really talented players, to join in with things if they want to.
but when things go against us we just implode. If they don’t want to, that’s fine.
How do we get team spirit and togetherness?” At Manchester City we go out a lot
Tony James, via email for coffee or dinner. For birthdays,
we’ll try to get the whole team out.
Karen Bardsley doing that, it’s almost like a 12th We’ll also have a sing-song on
Manchester City and man. Your opponents see you’re the coach after a game and we
England goalkeeper a good team working together. have team-building events, too –
Every once in a while you’ll have go-karting and Jump Nation,
“The more positive you can be, to say something critical, but if you a place with loads of trampolines.
Interview Chris Flanagan

the better – it helps people feel
confident about themselves.
If someone makes a great
tackle or wins an awesome ball in
the air, congratulate them. It’s so
contagious. If your whole team is
have a rapport with the person, they
know it’s not personal. It’s crucial
everyone knows they’re valued, with
an important role on or off the pitch.
With quieter members of the
squad, give them the opportunity
It’s important that people are
enjoying themselves.”
Karen Bardsley wears the “It’s important that
Manchester City training apparel, people are enjoying
available now at nike.com themselves,” says Karen

FourFourTwo.com/Performance January 2016 103

PERFORMANCE

[ Masterclass ]

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ow?
ear’s in
stalme
100 Be nt
st Playe
hing th rs
e to
o see w p 20
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even be joins
tte
100 an r),
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#FFT10 in
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IVAH
W I
PLAY URET
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Barcelona’s C r th e midfield battle
are fo
how to prep u te s a mid the traffi
c
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and find c

1 Prepare and be positive
Get in gear to build unstoppable momentum
“If we’re playing in the evening, I make sure I eat
right during the day and rest with a siesta. Then I will
have a shower, either at the hotel or at my house.
Sometimes I’ll listen to music with the other players,
but I don’t put headphones on. I do also like to have
some time alone, though, so I can really focus. Doing
all these things helps me build momentum and feel
positive. It fills me with energy before a game.”
4 Relish the challenge
Relax – it’s meant to be fun
“Remember you’re doing what you like to do. Playing
football is my job and there’s a lot of pressure that
comes with that, but I love it. When I’m out on the
Interview Joe Brewin
pitch I say to myself: “I’m here and I like to be here.”
But just because football is fun, that doesn’t mean
you can take it easy. At Barcelona we can’t say:
‘OK, we’re 2-0 up – let’s go and get a coffee!’ We have
to play with the same intensity from start to finish.”
PRO
TIP GLEN
THURGOOD
The SAQ
helped No
Interview Ben Clark
and North
Town; he
how best
box-to-bo
2 Pass with confidence
Practise playing the ball with conviction
“To play the right passes, either difficult or simple,
you must have confidence in your ability. There are
a lot of tricky ones you have to give to your strikers –
the killer pass – and you’ll only be able to do that if you
have the self-belief to take a risk. There are a couple
of simple drills you can do to help you with this. Play
two-touch during possession exercises and master
rondos to help you find the rhythm of the game.”
5 Don’t get flustered
Keep your cool if you lose the ball
“You will make mistakes and have bad moments
during a game – this is normal in football. But you
have to recover quickly. If you play a bad pass, the first
5-10 seconds afterwards are crucial. Don’t dwell on it;
forget it and work to win the ball back. To avoid losing
possession in the first place, know what you’re going
to do with the ball before you receive it. Don’t receive
the pass and then try to decide what to do with it.”
“Football is a physically demanding sport, with
professional players covering up to 11km during
the course of a 90-minute match.
To outrun your opponents you need a multi-energy
ding aerobic fitness – the ability to pump
blood around the body, as long-distance
and anaerobic fitness: the ability to
ximum running speed over and over
p of that, you also need an efficient
osphate system. In layman’s terms,
PERFORMANCE
3 Play with intelligence
Do what the game demands
“There are a lot of things to think about in central
midfield. For example, when your right-back is going
forward, you have to cover him. As soon as you lose
possession, work hard as a team to win the ball back
quickly. In attack, with the ball at your feet, set the
tempo – know when to drive forward and when to
be patient. Overcommit in attack at the wrong time
and you will leave yourself and your team exposed.”
6 Stay mentally strong
Dig deep when fatigue sets in
“You get a lot of confidence from seeing the opposition
tire. This is when you have to take advantage and push
yourself harder. You need to have energy reserves in
the tank so that you’re ready. The game is so fast, you
don’t have time to think – even if you’re struggling or
playing badly, you have to say: ‘There are 10 minutes
left; I can give more’. This is when a lot of games are
won and lost, so you have to find an extra 10 per cent.”
that is a system that helps power short-term,
high-intensity activity for a longer period.
The high-intensity stop-start nature of football
places a lot of demand on the body. Research has
shown that midfielders can experience up to 1,300
changes in exercise intensity during a 90-minute
game, and just as many changes in direction.
Instead of going for a long run, mark out a running
track of 60 metres. Try to complete the distance
in 12 seconds. Repeat this four times in a minute.”
FourFourTwo.com/Performance January 2016 105
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 PERFORMANCE

“BACK IN
Mick Rathbone had
a 35-year career as
a player and Premier
League physio, so who

MY DAY…” better to explain the

advantages of tough
old-school training?

JUMP THROUGH HOOPS

AND AVERT INJURY
“This is a great PT (physical training)
drill because the
whole squad are doing it at once,
one after the other,
and what stands out with these old
exercises is the
group dynamic. This strengthens the
legs, and the
players are learning to fall softly, reduc
ing injury. In
the modern game, they could teach
it to all those
Premier League divers! There’s no
current equivalent.”
Usefulness O O O O O

TAKE POLE POSITION

“This is a fantastic exercise. It’s incre
asing
flexibility and balance – it’s core stabi
lity,
1950s-style. There’s a wonderful co-op
erative
element. If I tried to do this with youn
gsters
now, they’d look at me like I was mad
. But
there are very real advantages – you
are
developing trust in your team-mat
es.
Nowadays, core work is done in the
gym.”
Usefulness O O O O O

PROP UP THE BAR

s
these! I’ve done million
“I’m the king of doing
It’s a tim eles s exercise for upper
over the years.
ps you retain the ball,
body strength, which hel
you r legs into your stomach from
and you can lift
abs. Again, the main
this position to work the
is tha t the re are a couple of guys
difference here
g each other on.”
doing it together, pushin
Usefulness O O O O O

108 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com/Performance

 PERFORMANCE

HANG TEN
days
now, because in those
“Players couldn’t do this g around on
HIT THE BEACH kids grew up wearing thin plimsolls, run nin
lower
eloped much stronger
hard surfaces, and dev leg and foot
nd work is hardcore. I was lt. This wou ld dev elop
skeletons as a resu id injuries.
good runner, but sand-dune drills toughen you up to avo
strength superbly, and cou ld attempt.”
could make me sick. You needed most current players
But it’s not something
them back then, because the
Usefulness O O O O O
pitches looked like this – the pictu
re
here could have been taken at
Blackburn Rovers! Now, players
are too protected to be pushed
in this way. We did it at Everton
once, and they were shattered.”
Usefulness O O O O O

GET A GRIP
ing
“This enhances strength without need
any equipment. We used to do drills
and
where you’d pick up a team-mate
great
pass them round your body: it was
ankle , knee and arm powe r. It
for leg,
is also boosting that magic trust and
rrent
teamwork again. This would be abho
it back!”
nowadays, but I’m going to bring
Usefulness O O O O O

BANISH THE
SPARE TYRE
“This increases leg stre
ngth, speed,
accuracy and balance
– it’s another
timeless exercise. Today
we have the
SAQ training hurdles, wh
ich are very
similar and do the sam
e thing, but
these are just as good
and don’t cost
as much. Again, the dist
inction here is
there are lots of player
s going through
at once – that’s real tea
m spirit.”
Usefulness O O O O O

Mick Rathbone is the aut

hor of
The Smell of Football, ava
ilable now
from Amazon. Follow @M
i one
 PERFORMANCE

[ Nutrition ]

Let the grai

take the str
Want a break from conventional carbs without it af Quinoa
your performance? Try these, from quinoa to good ol This superfood from the
Andes is a high-energy seed
packed with carbs, protein
Meal suggestion and minerals.
Curried oats
“You’d have porridge before a morning kick-of
why not a savoury alternative for lunch before
a later game?” asks sports nutritionist Gavin
Allinson. “This is like a dal, swapping lentils for Meal suggestion
oats. Cook onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and Tabbouleh salad
just a few spices, and add water until the oats “This is good two or three hours before kick-off
are soft. Stir in some because quinoa releases carbs slower than
spinach, to slow the white rice,” says Allinson. “Boil and combine it
release of glucose with chopped tomatoes, spring onions, lemon,
into the blood, and parsley and olive oil. Serve with non-oily white
add Greek yoghurt fish for protein.
for a protein hit.” And go easy on
the onions – you
Bulgur wheat don’t want them
This low-GI Middle Eastern repeating on
Oats staple is high in fibre and you mid-game!”
We all know about the protein, and is known for its
slow-release carbs in oats, anti-inflammatory qualities
but they don’t have to – perfect for post-match.
be eaten as breakfast
or in a flapjack.
Meal suggestion
Chicken tagine
“Moroccan spices such as cinnamon will help with
muscle recovery post-match,” says Allinson, who
runs a course on how to become a sports nutritionist.
“Using bulgur wheat as an
alternative to couscous,
cook onions, garlic and
spices, adding a tin of
tomatoes and a chicken
Wild rice
breast for added protein.” Black flecks in ‘Basmati and
wild rice’ packets aren’t rice
at all, but gluten-free whole
grains, full of anti-oxidants
and slow-burning carbs.

Pearl barley
Less calorific than brown eal suggestion
Meal suggestion and white rice, it’s packed nter stew
Pea and feta risotto with protein, fibre and akes longer to cook than its white
“Try this the night before a game,” s slow-burning carbs. so it is perfect for slow cooking,”
Allinson. “Cook onions, garlic and pa nson, who has previously worked
for extra protein, then add the barley c medallists. “Cook it with onions,
chicken stock to boost the immune sy thyme, sweet
When the b potato, carrots
nearly abso and chicken for a
Words Louis Massarella

the stock, a hearty pre-match

nutrient-rich meal two or three
and a little f hours before.”
which has a
fat than Parm Visit sportsnutritioncourses.com for more info

110 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com/P

 PROMOTION
PLAYERTE
GPS STATS FO
EVERY PLAYE
Performance analysis isn’t just for Premier League outfits – y
too can measure your match movements and learn from them
W
e all know top teams use
GPS to track players’ pitch
movements, but what if
your team could do the same? Using
PLAYERTEK, a revolutionary GPS tracking
system available to players at all levels,
As our test
subjects find,
results may vary
SLIP ON, PLUG IN, UPLOAD
PLAYERTEK is easy to use. Simply slip
the Pod into the pocket on the back of
the baselayer garment (above) before
each session, be it training or a match,
and then use the micro USB cable to
sync the device with your Apple Mac or
Microsoft Windows computer. Once you
have uploaded the data, you can log in
using your account details and the
data will be there waiting for you.
FourFourTwo kitted out Surrey semi-pro
side Laleham FC for their game against
Farnborough North End to see how their
players compared to the world’s best –
and to find out how professional-grade
technology can help raise your game.
“The full-back’s
on fire, lads”
TRACK YOUR
MOVEMENTS
TO IMPROVE
YOUR GAME
Using sensors that record nearly 2,500
movements per second, PLAYERTEK
measures 10 main metrics of a player’s
performance in training and matches;
everything from intensity to speed and
distance covered to energy expended.
So, we can see from data collected
during Laleham’s 1-0 win that the nine
outfield players who lasted the full
game covered nearly 9km on average,
only 30 per cent less than a seasoned
Champions League performer.
While this suggests the team’s base
fitness levels are respectable enough,
their sprint distances averaged around
As well as analysing your own game,
Show your stats to
PLAYERTEK allows you to compare your
the world (if you’ve
game with friends, team-mates and
nothing to hide)
pros, connect with footballers all over
the world via PLAYERTEK leagues – you
might even make the Team of the Week
– and share your performances via
social media. A companion app is also
available, so you can access your stats
on the go via smartphone or tablet.
half of what you would see in a game
at the highest level. Something to
work on in training, then?
But while managers may use
PLAYERTEK to see where their team can
improve overall, the stats also prove
that no two individuals are the same.
Winger Paul Baker covered the most
distance (9.7km) and will no doubt be
having a friendly dig at captain Paul
Bartholomew for covering the least –
but PLAYERTEK is not all about getting
one over on your team-mates. As
a centre-back, Bartholomew is unlikely
to cover every blade of grass, but his
sprint distance of 522m was about
average for the team, suggesting he
Words Louis Massarella; Photography Leon Csernohlavek
went up a gear when necessary.
The volume and intensity of each
player’s movements are summarised
on the dashboard (above), where heat
maps, five-minute breakdown charts
and speed graphs reveal further insight
and allow you to make comparisons.
By measuring everything about your
game, PLAYERTEK lets you set targets
and improve your individual and team
performance. It’s not just for the pros.
Available from playertek.com
 SUNDAY
LEAGUEL
SURVIVA KNOW YOUR
GUIDE
REFEREE
Not all match officials are the same, so read the signs
and adjust your game before you come a cropper

THE STICKLER
Overly officious and offensively
pedantic (“That throw-in is three
yards further back, thank you”),
The Stickler is yet to grow meaningful
stubble but has read the Laws of the
Game 16 times. Still, he turns up on
time and actually knows what he
is doing, even if he will insist on
measuring the height of the corner
flag. How to identify him? The two
spare whistles are a giveaway.
DO encourage him before kick-off
to allow a flowing game.
DON’T give him a wedgie.
THE TRY-HARD
Everybody’s mate – or so he thinks.
Overly chummy, he’s from the Mark
Clattenburg school of refereeing, but
without the experience, ability or,
vitally, authority: his strictest tone
is a pleading “Come on, mate” as
an opponent rips off your full-back’s
head. The Try-Hard isn’t a doormat
(see: The Coward), but he’d rather
share a laugh than show a card.
Words Huw Davies
DON’T mock his ‘banter’. It’s fine to
be friendly as long as he does his job.
THE COWARD
“Red free-kick.” “What the f***,
ref?!” “Erm… actually, yes:
blue free-kick.” “What game
are you watching, ref?”
“Oh God. Drop ball?” The
Coward is a fine, judicious
official – until a player
contests his decision. Then
he loses confidence, fearing
losing his teeth. In short:
easily intimidated.
DO encourage
him to have
belief in his
decision-
making,
or – depending on your ethical code
– tell your players to question every
single decision, whatever it is.
DON’T let his flip-flopping
frustrate you. If it persists,
just refocus on your game.
THE OLD
CODGER
Arriving promptly in an
impeccably ironed kit
carrying Dubbin and
homemade sandwiches,
The Old Codger has
been officiating
for 40 years
and won’t
hesitate to
remind you
of the fact.
His knees have seen better days, but
underestimate him at your peril: fail
to get him onside and he’ll give you
nothing all game, even if he can’t
remember why that is.
DO nobble him early, greeting him
with a hearty handshake and
a patient ear. “You refereed an
FA Cup match in ’87, you say?
My word. Please, tell me more...”
DON’T give the old chap a heart
attack by sneaking up on him.
Not if you’re winning, anyway.
THE OPPOSITION’S
12TH MAN
AKA: your worst nightmare. The ref
hasn’t turned up and the other team
have a spare man. You know what’s
coming – but you can’t stop it. For
the next 90 minutes, you’re his bitch.
DO tell your team-mates to keep
calm and dial down the 50-50s. It’ll
make winning harder, but no harder
than playing with eight men.
DON’T engage him in any verbals.
At all. Not even sarcasm. He is

DO firmly remind him of his looking for any excuse to flash

responsibilities once the first the red card so don’t give him one.
horror tackle goes unpunished. Just let his tyres down at full-time.

REFFING FOR DUMMIES

The man in black’s AWOL and you’re left holding the whistle. Here’s a crash course…

1 COMMUNICATE
Get the players onside, says ex-ref Mark Halsey:
“When you do the toss, tell the captains: ‘I’m not
2 WATCH THE OFFSIDES
a qualified referee but I’m doing it so you can have
a game, so I won’t tolerate any backchat.’ Be firm.”
If you’re lucky enough to have linesmen, check
they know the offside rule – or do it yourself. “Decide
whether to try to take up a position where you can see
if a player’s offside,” says Halsey, “but it is difficult.”
3 TRUST YOUR INSTINCT
“Don’t change your mind,” advises Halsey, who
refereed more than 250 Premier League matches.
Having self-confidence will assert your authority.
“Just give what you see,” Halsey adds, “and enjoy it.”

112 January 2016 FourFourTwo.com/Pe

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 MY PERFECT XI

Elano
The Manchester City cult hero picks a line-up of the best Brazilians he
played with and against during stints at Santos, Gremio and Flamengo

GK  DIDA LB  LEO CM  ZE ROBERTO

He is a real character and the perfect
example of a professional. Dida is
technically excellent and impressively
cool in any game situation – have you
ever seen this guy look nervous?
He was one of the main targets for my This guy knows how to protect the
jokes inside the Santos dressing room. defence – he’s one of the best in his
He’s a great lad, and he’s my chosen position that I have ever seen. He is SUBSTITUTES
left-back because of his agility and comfortable in possession and always
capacity for running all day long.  in the right place at the right time.

RB  PAULO CESAR CM ELANO AM  DIEGO

We won the 2004 title with Santos. I’ve
played with and against several good
right-backs, but Paulo Cesar was the
best in South American football because
of his skill, quick thinking and great feet.
CB JUAN
He’s a top defender – one of the best
I’ve seen. It’s hard to find a centre-back
with such vision. He’s got an impressive
record, winning 79 caps, and is still
going strong at 36 with Internacional.  midfield as Renato. He’s in.
OK, let’s play without a proper striker
so I can squeeze myself into the team.
In such a technical midfield, I don’t
want to miss the line-up – it would be
amazing to play beside these guys.
CM RENATO
Another of my former team-mates at
Santos. What a classy footballer in the
middle of the park – it’s hard to find
a player as calm and composed in
He was quite young – 17 – when we won
the Brazilian championship in 2002, but
still a leader. He’s a great character,
which is essential for a No.10 at a big
club. It’s why he has had such success.
1
CF  ROBINHO GILBERTO SILVA
This man is simply a world-class I learned a lot from him,
footballer. I am proud to have played especially about getting
with him and also to have had a part into the right position.
in his development at the early stages
of his career. Robinho is a craque. 

CB  ALEX CF  NEYMAR

I used to call him a bull when we were He is the best Brazilian player right now,
together at Santos, and I guess it is GK and he’s at the same level as the very
quite scary for the forwards when Alex is best players in the world. He’s different,
coming in for a challenge. He’s big and
fast, and can also score from distance. 
he’s a genius and he’s also a very good
friend of mine, so of course he’s in. 2
DIDA LUIS FABIANO
RB CB CB LB A proper No.9, a prolific
goalscorer and a good
friend of mine.  

PAULO JUAN ALEX LEO

CESAR

CM CM CM

ELANO RENATO ZE ROBERTO 3

RICARDO OLIVEIRA
What else can I say?
Can you just copy and
paste what I said
AM about Luis Fabiano?!
COACH

CF CF DORIVAL JUNIOR 
Wait, I can’t be manager?!
OK... I’ve worked with
DIEGO several great coaches,
but in my last spell with
Santos I had the
Interview Felipe Rocha

opportunity to work
ROBINHO NEYMAR with Dorival Junior.
He would be the
man to get the best
out of the players I’ve
chosen in this team.

YOUR NEXT FOURFOURTWO IS ON SALE JANUARY 6