MY PERFECT XI OTTMAR HITZFELD

WELCOME

When FourFourTwo told Trent Alexander-Arnold that he was

GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST

“I almost had a dream farewell, with the World Cup trophy in my hands – then suddenly it dawns on you that your career is over”

THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

Playing off the last defender, it’s the big-man-little-man partnership of football and funnies

GAMES THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

IAN HARTE

JULES BREACH

The TNT Sports presenter pays tribute to the young stars shining this season

MEANWHILE IN...

...Turkey, Bursaspor’s cursed crocodile stadium may lead them down to the fourth tier

“IS THAT ME? UNBELIEVABLE, JEFF!”

Have you always wanted to know what Chris

WHEN WOLF PLAYED FOR GILLINGHAM

Thirty years ago, the Kent side gave a surprise debut to a 42-year-old Gladiator

MY FOOTBALL

The Barking-born singer-songwriter and activist recalls meeting Bobby Moore, making Stuart Pearce roar, and playing a gig during a Euros final

ENGLISHMEN ABROAD

Qualification for the 2026 World Cup resumes in various parts of the globe this month – meet five English managers hoping to steer their adopted nations to unlikely success

THE DEBATE

Are the Financial Fair Play rules really working?

CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN!

There’s been plenty of noise around Trent Alexander-Arnold’s performances for club and country over the past 12 months, but the man himself has maintained a cool head. Donning a retro shellsuit for FFT, the Merseyside maestro insists he’s still got lofty ambitions – none more so than becoming the best footballer on the planet...

“I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE SKILL SET I’VE GOT IS BEST SUITED TO THE MIDDLE OF THE PITCH”

Alexander-Arnold tells Adam Clery about his hybrid role – and his admiration for Brighton

30 GREATEST FULL-BACKS EVER

FFT ranks the finest to step foot on Planet Football, via Jon Flanagan superfans, raw chickens and a magic dwarf

NOISY NEIGHBOURS

Part-owned by the City Football Group, minnows Girona emulated Manchester City by surging past Barcelona to gain Catalan supremacy and even topped La Liga this season. FFT speaks to those in the know to find out how

LOCAL HERO

Like Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, Sean Longstaff has shone for his boyhood club this season. The midfielder tells FFT all about his Newcastle revival under Eddie Howe, a £50m move to Manchester United that never was, and why he hasn’t been herding sheep...

EUROS PLAY-OFF PREVIEW

Twelve countries tussle in the Euro 2024 play-off semi-finals on March 21, before the winners battle five days later for the three remaining finals spots. Some want to make history – for others, it’s a chance to forget war...

“WE WON 3-0 AT SPURS. TWO GAMES LATER, I WAS SACKED”

Two-and-a-half years since his Manchester United reign came to an end, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sits down with FFT for a rare interview, opening up on the club’s post-Fergie struggles, Cristiano Ronaldo and the challenges of managing modern superstars

HOW LUTON TOWN BECAME A PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM

The Hatters were tipped to finish bottom of the table at the start of the campaign, but have adapted their game to give themselves a chance of avoiding the dreaded drop

IS XABI ALONSO SUITED TO SUCCEED JURGEN KLOPP AT LIVERPOOL?

Having led Bayer Leverkusen to the top of the Bundesliga, the upwardly-mobile Basque was immediately installed as the hot favourite to take the reins at Anfield this summer

JOSE MOURINHO’S CHELSEA AND THE DEATH OF 4-4-2*

Twenty years since his move to England, FFT assesses how a formation tweak allowed the Portuguese manager to quickly win two league titles

AROUND THE GROUNDS

EFL • NON-LEAGUE • SCOTLAND

EVERYDAY I LOVE YOU MORE AND MORE

Simon Rix somehow juggles his role as head of Leeds United Supporters’ Trust with playing bass guitar for rock royalty Kaiser Chiefs – talk about a full-time gig

RAITH ROVERS

Robbie Weir of podcast Oh No No No on the ‘Mini Messi’ from Kilmarnock and pipping Celtic to the League Cup

TO INFINITY, AND BEYOND?

Every year, the FA considers dozens of applications from amateur clubs looking to commence their journeys at the bottom of the football pyramid. Sometimes, the sensational names alone deserve semi-professional status

WHAT WOULD WOODWARD DO?

Sir Dave Brailsford isn’t football’s first interloping innovator from another sport, as Southampton fans will recall

“THE BOSS TOLD US FRANCE HAD ‘A POOR MAN’S JOE JORDAN’. IT TURNED OUT TO BE A YOUNG CANTONA!”

The diminutive Scot reflects on bust-ups with Sir Alex, scoring at Mexico 86 and teaming up with Vinnie Jones at Leeds

“WE ASSUMED WE’D BEAT MILAN IN 1994, BUT THEY BATTERED US 4-0 – THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR THE DREAM TEAM”

Barcelona’s ‘Dream Team’ defender on rooming with Pep, learning from Cruyff and facing reality checks at Chelsea…

“PEOPLE USED TO LAUGH AT SWINDON, CALLInG OUR COACH OUR BEST PLAYER. BUT GLENN WOULD’VE BEEN ANY CLUB’S BEST PLAYER”

The silky midfielder talks Hoddle’s class, Swindon’s golden period and Jurgen Klinsmann’s VW Beetle…

THE MIXER

THE BEST OF FOOTBALL

CELEBRITY SIGNING

Portuguese second-tier club Vilaverdense have struggled in front