WELCOME

Five men have given their best shot at

CHRIS COLEMAN

“Michael Jackson walked into the dressing room – Ijust remember looking down and thinking, ‘Jesus Christ, his feet are massive...’”

MEAN WHILE IN …

...Saint-Etienne, fans took a serene approach to relegation – they attacked anyone and everyone with flares

GAMES THAT CHANGED MY LIFE DIDA

Ghana 1-2 Brazil March 20, 1993 FIFA World

JIMMY’S REBEL TOUR

Hill’s controversial visit to apartheid South Africa, 40 years on

“I WILL LOVE IT IF SCOTLAND BEAT THEM, LOVE IT”

Iron Mike in tartan? Just one of many unlikely events unearthed by the Weird Crossovers Twitter account

GROUN DHOPPER

QEQERTARSUAQ GREENLAND Greenland’s Disko Island sounds like a

OSTERSUND’S DEMISE

Four years after beating Arsenal, the Swedes may be headed for the third tier

JUNIOR MORAES

The Brazil-born Ukraine international starred in the Champions League for Shakhtar – but twice had to escape from war

THE NEW KING ERIK

A sizeable list of super-gaffers have tried to restore Manchester United’s glory since 2013, but none have been like Erik ten Hag. The fastidious, obsessive Dutchman’s unique style will shake things up at Old Trafford. It’s worked before… with some patience

WE’VE COME A LONG, LONG WAY TOGETHER

England hosted their most recent major women’s tournament back in 2005, when the landscape was rather different for the Lionesses. It’s taken snubs, blunders and no shortage of serious heartbreak to make serious progress – but now, Sarina Wiegman’s ambitious side have a nation dreaming of glory

WHY THE LIONESSES WILL WIN

1 PROVENWINNER IN CHARGE Sarina Wiegman is the

“WE WAn TABUZZ, TO MAKE A nATIOn FEEL PROUD OF US”

Ellen White was a teenager with big dreams the last time England hosted a major tournament. Now she’s the Lionesses’ all-time record goalscorer – and desperate to give the nation a summer that would go down in history, she tells FFT...

WOMEN’S EURO 2022

MIND OUT... ADA’S BACK!

“ MY FATHER WAS KILLED BY THE TALIBAN … NOW I WAN TTO HELP PEOPLE BELIEVE THE WORLD CAN CHAN GE”

Nadia Nadim was forced to flee Afghanistan as a child, before finding asylum – and football – in Denmark. Now, nearing her 100th cap and a newly qualified doctor, the forward takes FFT through her incredible story

THE AGENTS OF CHANGE

Mino Raiola’s death was global news in April, given his extraordinary reputation for doing deals for football’s top stars. From pizza restaurant to mega-broker, Raiola became the face of super-agents – an eye-watering phenomenon 65 years in the making. FFT finds out more

NON -LEAGUE VS THE WORLD

Montserrat were unofficially the world’s worst international team 20 years ago, but now they have real dreams of reaching amajor tournament. Just one thing: nearly all of their players come from England’s lower reaches. FFT rallies the troops in, er, north London

LIFE WAS BETTER IN BLACK AND WHITE

Alessandro Del Piero made himself an icon of late ’90s football in the world’s best league, then lifted the 2006 World Cup in an explosive summer for both club and country. The man himself relives his bumpy ride with FFT: scandals, Jagger and all

FEVER PITCH

Nothing speaks to fandom like Hornby’s 1992 classic, published when Highbury was crumbling and football literature amounted to little more than your matchday programme. Thirty years later, FFT grabs lunch with the author himself to chew the pasta over Arsenal, Fever Pitch’s legacy, the wider game – and just a touch more Arsenal…

MY PERFECT XI

LUCAS MOURA

AROUND THE GROUNDS

EFL • NON-LEAGUE • SCOTLAND

FROM LEICESTER TO LAGOS

Foxes stopper Ashleigh Plumptre played for England’s youth sides and grew up in Melton Mowbray – but this summer, she’s chasing AFCON glory with Nigeria...

BEST&WORST MILLWALL

Merv Payne, author of Because My Dad Does and four other books, still isn’t over 40-year-old broken promises

IAN HOLLOWAY

Sometimes, you’ve just got to hold your hands up. In his final column for FFT, ‘Ollie’ happily admits he’s now Steve Cooper’s biggest fan – but it took some miffed communication from the Forest boss to make it there...

AGE? IT’S RUDE TO ASK...

New Chester FC manager Calum McIntyre might only be 28, but the Liverpool native is no immature greenhorn. And he’s out to prove people very wrong...

“BROWN COULDN’T DISCIPLINE US FOR THAT CELEBRATION – THERE WERE TOO MAN YINVOLVED!”

JIMMY BULLARD • RONNY ROSENTHAL • GIANLUCA FESTA • TONY WOODCOCK

“I LIKE IT WHEN PEOPLE ASK ME ABOUT THE MISS. IT DIDN ’T AFFECT ME WHATSOEVER”

The Israeli discusses Souey’s struggles, that goof against Aston Villa and his golden swansong at Vicarage Road

“GAZZA HOPPED ON THE TEAM BUS AN DDROVE IT STRAIGHT INTO A WALL. HE WAS GREAT”

The no-nonsense Italian shares Gazza’s antics, his respect for Boro – and which current player reminds him most of himself

TONY WOODCOCK

Forest’s ex-goal machine on miracles under Old Big ’Ead and pressure in Deutschland