Jose Mourinho divides opinion. He’s won European titles, multiple Premier Leagues, Primeira Ligas, Scudetto, and a La Liga in an honours list that boasts 19 major trophies in as many years in management.

But his self-confidence, temperament, and philosophy have brought detractors. It’s nearly a decade since he won the Champions League and five years since he won the league, bringing questions over whether the 57-year-old is now a manager past his prime.

He is one of only five managers to have won the European Cup with two different teams, and could yet do something unprecedented and win it with a third.

Despite coaching last season’s Champions League runners-up, a victory with Tottenham would be on par with the level of shock that wins with Porto and Inter.

Conor Pope, Chris Flanagan and Seb Stafford-Bloor look at Mourinho's history in the competition, and his task at Spurs.

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This is a special episode, celebrating two British footballing greats. Neither ever kicked a ball, or managed a team. But together they soundtracked the sport for a grateful nation for over 50 years.

We sat down with commentary legends Barry Davies and John Motson to discuss a broadcasting rivalry older than most Premier League coaches.

Read the full interview here: fourfourtwo.com/features/john-motson-barry-davies-interview-podcast-commentary-rivalry-motd-world-cup-euro-96

Buy the Euro 96 special: myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/outdoor-and-leisure/fourfourtwo-magazine-back-issues/fourfourtwo-print-february-2020/

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Paul Gascoigne and Gareth Southgate are both integral to the story of Euro 96 in very different ways. They were at different parts of their career, were different kinds of players, and had deeply contrasting personalities. One scored the goal that encapsulated how England fans felt during the tournament, the other missed the penalty that sent the Three Lions out.

Conor Pope, Si Hawkins, Gary Parkinson and Chris Flanagan discuss Gazza and Gaz.

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Euro 96 took place in a different world. It was a time closer to the three-day week, the Vietnam War and the eradication of smallpox than the present day.

English football had welcomed the start of the Premier League only four years earlier, but had endured embarrassment at Euro 92 and absence from USA 94.

Despite that, the tournament captured the national imagination and came to sum up a moment in both our footballing and cultural history.

Conor Pope is joined by Gary Parkinson, James Andrew, and Chris Flanagan to discuss the whole tournament.

Buy the Euro 96 special: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/outdoor-and-leisure/fourfourtwo-magazine-back-issues/fourfourtwo-print-february-2020/

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It’s very simple. We’re here to discuss the 100 best players in the world.

We’ve decamped to the pub for this episode. The reasons we’ve done this are simple: It’s the end of the year, and we felt like it. 

Joining Conor Pope to go through the #FFT100 are editor James Andrew and staff writer Chris Flanagan.

Read the FFT100 here: https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/best-football-players-world-2019-100-footballers-soccer-list-full

Buy the end of year mag: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/outdoor-and-leisure/fourfourtwo-magazine-back-issues/fourfourtwo-january-2020/

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Let’s talk about facts, baby.

Rafa Benitez is the cover star on the latest issue of FourFourTwo magazine, talking about Mike Ashley, Mourinho, and the Miracle of Istanbul.

He’s currently managing Dalian Yafing out in China, although still has a family home in Merseyside, where we caught up with him for this interview.

Will he end up back in the Premier League soon? I’m Conor Pope, and I discuss the kind of clubs he might end up at with our very own Chris Flanagan.

We also look at Rafa’s greatest achievement – that Champions League victory – with This Is Anfield’s Matt Ladson.

Buy the mag: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/outdoor-and-leisure/fourfourtwo-magazine-back-issues/FourFourTwo-December-2019.html

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On August 7th, 2019, the leader of Lazio’s ultras, the Irriducibili, was shot dead. He was assassinated in broad daylight, in a park in Rome.

A few weeks later, Lazio played their fierce rivals Roma. Andy Mitten decided to attend the match – with the Lazio ultras.

He’s written up the experience in the current issue of FourFourTwo – and here, he takes us behind the story.

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In 1969, a series of World Cup qualifiers between Honduras and El Salvador played part in triggering a conflict that claimed thousands of lives.

This episode looks at how the war began, and the role the beutiful game played in ugly combat.

This story first appeared in FourFourTwo magazine's Autumn 2019 issue, which you can buy here: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/outdoor-and-leisure/fourfourtwo-magazine-back-issues/fourfourtwo-autumn-2019/

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It’s a pretty big rivalry – you might have heard of it. They call it El Clasico.

Right now, the two sides are facing a crisis, in their own way: neither side won the Champions League last season for the first time in six years.

So how do they get back on top in Europe? Conor Pope talks to Andy Murray, who has written a blueprint for success for Barca and Real in the new issue of FourFourTwo.

There is no Clasico match this weekend, even though there should be. Colin Millar, author of the Frying Pan of Spain – a history of the Seville derby – and editor of Football Espana, explains why that is – and what other political shenanigans are going on in the Spanish league.

Read Andy Murray on Neymar: https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/neymar-los-toiss-barcelona-real-madrid-psg-controlling-circle-friends

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Adoration doesn’t come along easily. No one knows that better than Raheem Sterling. Vilified and criticised, there was a time when, despite being the most exciting young English talent in a generation, he was also one of the most unpopular footballers in the country.

Those days are behind him now. Not only has he progressed on the pitch to become one of the best players in the world, he has spoken out on social issues, including press ethics and racism, to become one of the game’s most widely respected figures.

How did he change? Or did he change us? The man himself reveals all in the forthcoming issue of FourFourTwo.

Conor Pope speaks to Chris Flanagan and Hunter Godson about going to meet Sterling, and to Steven McInerney, the man behind the Man City YouTube channel Esteemed Kompany, about one of the greatest club sides this country has ever seen – and the role Raheem Sterling has had in shaping that.

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Watch Esteemed Kompany: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMxNPuhwTVMFkVoRjlARtaQ

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Glenn Hoddle: player, player/manager, manager, pundit, pop star.

The former playmaker was one of the most talented footballers of his generation – but his style of play always felt unsuited to the English game of the 1980s and, while appreciated for his technical ability, he perhaps was not as lauded or as influential as he could have been.

As a manager, he took a continental approach to Swindon Town, leading them to promotion to the Premier League, and guided Chelsea to an FA Cup final with a cosmopolitan flair they had not previously been associated with. The tactical ideas he implemented as England boss in the late ‘90s can still be seen today – though later career stints at Southampton, Wolves and Spurs may stop us acknowledging it fully.

Is it time to reappraise Hoddle’s career? In the latest issue of FourFourTwo Patrick Barclay sits down with the man himself to provide a retrospective on the player they called the golfer. 

Conor Pope, Patrick Barclay and Chris Flanagan reappraise Hoddle’s forgotten legacy on English football.

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