Bruno Fernandes played mostly as a centre-back until he was 15, according to his former youth coach, speaking in the Mayissue of FourFourTwo.The Portuguese midfielder, 25, has shone since joining United for £67 million in January, picking up the Premier League Player of the Month award for February.In a wide-ranging feature, those who knew Fernandes best as he made his way from Boavista to Sporting, via Pasteleira, Novara, Udinese and Sampdoria, tell us all about his character and ability.Fernandes asked to be loaned to Pasteleira, a Sporting satellite team, explicitly because he was frustrated with playing in defence.Antonio Peres, Fernandes’ coach during that loan spell, recalled the way fortune and skill combined to allow the teenager to excel in his...
We’re living in uncertain times. When aren’t we? But right now – these times especially – are particularly uncertain.Because throughout history, football has rarely stopped completely. Our great-great-grandfathers devised the game’s calendar that we still set our watch to, and it’s never stopped during peacetime. Not through recession or depression. Not through political upheaval. High profile tragedies and bad weather have only ever postponed games to foreseeable dates.Whether money’s been tight or the future looked bleak, football has always been there as a comfort to all of us. Now, along with lives and livelihoods, coronavirus has even robbed the distraction of the football from us - “the most important of the least important things in life”, as Arrigo Sacchi once...
With actual news in very short supply, Harry Kane probably should have stepped more lightly than he did in conversation with Jamie Redknapp. Kane didn’t say anything remotely controversial, but his ‘maybe, maybe not’ response to questions about whether he’ll finish his career at Tottenham invited all sorts of wilful misinterpretation.Reliably, within 24 hours the discussion had mutated from a fairly gentle enquiry about the forward’s future intentions, into – late on Monday night – Chris Sutton insisting that he must leave Spurs immediately and join Liverpool.The more things change, the more they stay the same. Kane has never made any secret of his ambition and, logically, if his club were to continue on their current, post-Mauricio Pochettino trajectory, then...
Ten minutes on the clock, 48 namesto guess - that's three from each of the last 16 teams in the 2019-20 Champions League.Remember to tweet your scores@FourFourTwoand send to some friends!NOW TRYQuiz! Can you name every Premier League club ever?It's no secret that money plays a big role in European football.If you're going to be successful in the Champions League, the chances are that you'll have to spend. And boy, have there been some eye-watering sums of money spent by the big teams in Europe in years gone by.But while Europe's are always going to flash the cash, sometimes it's a little difficult to remember who they actually bought.It sometimes seems obvious, but record signing quizzes can often throw up...
Ten minutes on the clock, 86countriesto guess - the continent that we've listed for them refers to the federation they were a part of when they first qualified.Remember to tweet your scores@FourFourTwoand send to some friends!NOW TRYQuiz! Can you name every Premier League club ever? According to those that have done it, there's no greater feeling than representing your country at the World Cup.While the World Cup, for many, is about the stars - the Maradonas and Peles, Ronaldos and Messis - a nice subplot every four years in the group stage is welcoming a country that have never competed before.There's always one. There always has been at least one new country at every tournament since the inaugural World Cup...