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.

Buy the magazine: https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/mag-mourinho-vs-world-plus-mane-mendy-kovacic-iniesta-rio-baptista-efl-old-boys-and-more

Subscribe to FourFourTwo magazine: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/fftpod20/

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

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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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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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/

Subscribe to FourFourTwo magazine: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/fftpodcast19/

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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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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.

Buy the magazine :https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/outdoor-and-leisure/fourfourtwo-magazine-back-issues/fourfourtwo-autumn-2019/

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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/

You can also subscribe to the magazine here: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/fftpodcast19/

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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

Order the magazine: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/outdoor-and-leisure/fourfourtwo-magazine-back-issues/fourfourtwo-autumn-2019/

Subscribe to the magazine: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/fftpodcast19/

Buy The Frying Pan of Spain: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Frying-Pan-Spain-Sevilla-Football/dp/1785315242/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3RBTSAGMDDSOB&keywords=the+frying+pan+of+spain&qid=1554469656&s=gateway&sprefix=the+frying+pan,aps,156&sr=8-5

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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.

Order the magazine: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/outdoor-and-leisure/fourfourtwo-magazine-back-issues/fourfourtwo-autumn-2019/

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

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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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But how did he become one of the greatest managers in the world? And how did he turn Liverpool into one of the great footballing sides?

In the new issue of FourFourTwo we have an in-depth interview with Klopp by comedian John Bishop. The interview is an extract from a new book, A Game of Two Halves, where famous names from across the arts, media and politics interview their footballing heroes to raise money for the UN’s refugee programme.

Conor Pope speaks to Amy Raphael, who put the book together, and FFT colleague Ryan Herman about the interview, and to This Is Anfield's Matt Ladson about how Klopp put together his empire in Liverpool.

NOW TRY:

• Jurgen Klopp exclusive: Steven Gerrard should replace me as Liverpool manager one day: https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/jurgen-klopp-steven-gerrard-next-liverpool-manager-fourfourtwo-magazine
• In the mag: Klopp exclusive, River vs Boca, Bury's demise, Wolves' rise, Taarabt, Hoddle and more https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/mag-klopp-exclusive-river-vs-boca-burys-demise-wolves-rise-taarabt-hoddle-and-more
• Matt Ladson: What it’s like to be a Liverpool supporter right now – watching one of the best Reds sides of all time https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/liverpool-201920-jurgen-klopp-mo-salah-sadio-mane-roberto-firmino-virgil-van-dijk
• Order A Game of Two Halves https://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Two-Halves-Famous-Football/dp/1911630032

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Don’t worry: Conor Pope, Chris Flanagan, Joe Brewin and Hunter Godson don’t have time to discuss every single name on the list. Instead, they pick out their favourites, what themes emerge among the league’s best – and, of course, the battle for top spot.

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In August 1997, Ronaldo was 20 years old. He’d just broken the world transfer record for the second time in a year, leaving Barcelona for Serie A with Inter Milan, and was on his way to winning that year’s Ballon d’Or. 

Over the next five years, he’d add a UEFA Cup and World Cup to his trophy collection, establishing himself as one of the greatest ever to play the game.

But was his time at Inter a success? A feature in the current FourFourTwo examines his time in Italy – and in this episode, Conor Pope, Matt Barker and Joe Brewin look deeper into the story, as well as revealing some things you might not have realised about this season’s Champions League.

Now buy the magazine and read Matt Barker’s full inside story of Ronaldo at Inter

THEN READ…

“I'd love to win the Champions League. I hope I can one day.” Ronaldo: one-on-one

Year Zero: The making of Ronaldo (Barcelona, 1996/97)

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From a club that were once synonymous with mediocrity, they have become a staple of Europe’s elite competition.

Poch has become the longest serving manager at the club in over 30 years, and has managed to oversee this transformation without spending big – with finances instead being invested in a state-of-the-art new stadium.

So how has he done it? What drives him? And what happens when he leaves?

In this episode, we discuss all that – as well as Thomas Gravesen, and the weirdest football transfers of all time.

Conor Pope talks to Hunter Godson, author of the FourFourTwo’s latest cover feature on Spurs, and Nathan Clarke, freelance journalist and contributor to the Spurs podcast The Extra Inch.

NOW READ: What's wrong with Tottenham? Hunter Godson on why fans are so frustrated

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In this episode, Conor Pope discusses Bury’s expulsion from the Football League with Bury fan Tom Pickup, Bolton Wanderers’ reprieve with FourFourTwo staff writer Chris Flanagan, and the wider context of this issue – as well as what other clubs could be at risk – with football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

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The game did not go ahead.

The stadium would never be used.

Adapted from an article in the latest issue of FourFourTwo magazine, in this podcast Grant Fulton tells the story of the footballers who had the flee the fallout of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, those who bravely helped in the aftermath – and the football club that disappeared with a city.

Read Paul Brown’s full story on FC Stroitel Pripyat by buying the September issue of FourFourTwo now and getting it delivered straight to your door.

Written by Paul Brown

Script editor, producer and narrator - Grant Fulton

Sound design, editing and production - Pete Mauder of Phonotheque

Other voices were provided by Lyle Fulton, Ruslan Hay and Pete Mauder 

Get more stories like this every month in FourFourTwo magazine. Subscribe now and get five issues for £5.

The executive producer is James Brown, and FourFourTwo podcasts are overseen by Steve Morgan and Conor Pope

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They cover this week’s major talking points from the world of football including the England women’s semi-final against the USA, the continuing saga of VAR and Frank Lampard’s appointment as Chelsea manager.

They examine what Arsenal need to do to achieve success, James shares some of his pre-match superstitions and Kevin Philips gets to the bottom of the infamous ‘Poogate’ controversy.

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James reveals how the release of the fixtures for the new season only reminded him how raw the wounds still are from the last one and Hunter deliberates on what’s next for Rafa Benitez.

Plus we speak to Tony about his career behind the camera and hear how his ground breaking documentary “Keane and Vieira – Best of Enemies” came into existence. He also reveals who are the best and worst pundits he’s worked with and how to fill time when rain stops play.

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The topics of conversation include the cartoon sportsmen of childhood, what’s next for Frank Lampard and the latest VAR controversies.

We speak to Paddy about his long and distinguished career as a football writer, the managers he’s written about and what it was like to watch Diego Maradona play at Napoli.

Plus, in a FFT podcast first, James manages to make the first reference to Leeds Utd in under five minutes.

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Shaun shares tales of what the summer months mean if you’re a footballer, the job insecurity that comes with this time of year and the players who over indulge ahead of pre-season training.

He also tells us what the coaching courses don’t prepare you for when you become a manager and pays tribute to former team-mate and close friend Justin Edinburgh.

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Tony reveals what Graeme Souness told him what they did with winners medals in his day and what the reaction in the Liverpool ranks was when Harry Kane was included in the Spurs side.

They also preview the Women’s World Cup, examine where England went wrong in the Nations League and discuss Andy Mitten’s interview with Diego Maradona from the latest edition in which Diego revealed that he wanted to manage Manchester United.

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They dissect the magazine’s list of the best 101 players from the past twenty five years and look at some of the reader’s suggestions for the worst.

Both Barney and Chris pick their favourites from list as well as discussing who missed out.

Chelsea fan Barney reflects upon their victory in Europe and Chris questions whether it has actually been a successful season for the blues.

In other European matters we look ahead to the Champions League Final and James wonders how David Batty would be viewed if he were Italian?

Find out the 101 best players of the past 25 years – buy the special FourFourTwo anniversary issue here

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They reflect upon a monumental week for English clubs in Europe, question what delights Baku has to offer Arsenal and Chelsea fans and why it's never good to see your footballing rivals show weakness.

The 25th anniversary edition of FourFourTwo is out now and features a countdown of the 101 best players of the magazine's lifetime, the unseen life of Pele in pictures and Peter Hooton of The Farm on Bill Shankly.

Buy the new 25th anniversary issue of FourFourTwo here or subscribe and get five issues for £5 here

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Steve discusses his return trip to Bournemouth to interview manager Eddie Howe having first interviewed him for the magazine in 1994 when Eddie was a trainee at the club. And Neal, in his capacity as one of the world's leading experts on football shirts, celebrates one of the game's most iconic strips. 

Also up for discussion is whether Bournemouth is a proper football city or not? Was there a golden age of the football shirt? Are YouTubers the modern equivalent of fanzine writers? And James tells us why you're no-one until you've had points deducted.

The 25th anniversary edition of the magazine is on sale now and features a countdown of the 101 best players of FFT's lifetime, the unseen life of Pele in pictures and Peter Hooton of The Farm on Bill Shankly.

Steve Hill is author of The Card: Every Match, Every Mile his quest to to follow Chester home and away over the course of a season. And Neal Heard is the author of The Football Shirts Book: The Connoisseurs Guide - which covers everything from the iconic to the unusual.

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Representing Spurs is Gazza, Rooney and Beatles biographer, Hunter Davies.

We discuss the fortunes of both sides this season, the state of tv punditry, Hunter draws parallels between Spurs and The Beatles whilst Boyd tells us why Roy Keane is like Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones.

You can check out Boyd's Arsenal podcast, Footballistically Arsenal, here, and his entertainment podcast, Pilot TV, here.

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They discuss the race for the title, Steve shares the high and lows of being a decades-long City fan, Raphael reveals why Klopp never went to Man Utd, and James is desperate to know more about the food at Disneyland and Wembley.

Follow FourFourTwo, James, Steve and Raphael on Twitter

GET FIVE ISSUES OF FOURFOURTWO FOR A FIVER

READ: Why Man Utd fans want City to win the league

READ: The Slip, five years on: why Chelsea are no longer the enemy for Liverpool in 2019

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Andy reveals the true nature of Sir Alex Ferguson's involvement behind the scenes at Man Utd, we discuss Sam's interview with Kevin Keegan and how he's still haunted by missing out on the title with Newcastle, and there's genuine appreciation of the work of Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds.

Plus, James explains why there's a similarity between football in the Championship and craft beer. 

READ: In the mag: Solskjaer and Bielsa! Top 51 EFL Players! Frenkie de Jong! Joe Cole answers your questions!

FourFourTwo is on sale now – you can get it delivered to your door by buying it here.

Subscribe to FourFourTwo and get five issues for £5!

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