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Euro vision

Continental capers from Scandinavia to the Med



Triumphs, bitter defeats and curiosities: Heynckes, Bayern and the Foals

Thursday 23 May 2013, 16:56

As Jupp Heynckes prepares to lead Bayern Munich into the Champions League final, Layth Yousif examines the fascinating back story of this venerable manager "The circle is closing," said the 68...
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More than two horses: The German sides following Bayern & BVB into Europe

Wednesday 22 May 2013, 12:30

The Champions League final has given the world the idea that there's only two sides in Germany, but Bundesliga expert Matt Hermann says otherwise... With two teams in the Champions League final, Germany...
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Schalke keep their stars and aim for the skies above Dortmund

Friday 10 May 2013, 17:08

‘Change’ certainly seems to be the word on everyone’s mouth these days. Whether it’s the new manager at Old Trafford, the new head jester at Real Madrid or the whereabouts of football’s next top youngster...
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Which was the greatest Champions League final goal?

Wednesday 01 May 2013, 00:01

The 20 Champions League finals have produced 51 goals and their fair share of corkers. But which was the greatest of all? We agonised over the list and whittled it down to these final five. You can do...
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Hoeness hirelings Guardiola and Gotze show Bayern's determination to dominate – and dismantle

Wednesday 24 April 2013, 11:09

Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president who created the Galactico project that bestrode European football at the beginning of the new millennium, has been described as a "golden tongue and a lucrative...
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PSG's reluctant hero Thiago Silva earns applause but eyes the door

Wednesday 10 April 2013, 12:28

Is Thiago Silva the best defender in the world – or better than that? Ahead of PSG's second leg at Barcelona, French football expert Jonathan Fadugba examines the brilliant Brazilian When Fabio Cannavaro...
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Feyenoord finally thriving thanks to their award-winning academy

Tuesday 19 March 2013, 11:55

Financial difficulties at Feyenoord may have necessitated a focus on youth development, but the Rotterdam club are thriving as a result, as Scott Johnson explains… The last few years have hardly been a...
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Beckham will boost Ligue 1, but key to development is keeping young stars

Friday 22 February 2013, 08:30

By the time the final day of the January transfer window had arrived, lovers of French football were understandably quite concerned. January had been a damaging month for French football. It had seen several...
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Before Ajax and Barcelona, there was Schalke

Wednesday 20 February 2013, 10:00

The biggest German club never to win the Bundesliga, Schalke dominated the domestic game in the 1930s and 40s with a pioneering style played by tight-knit local lads, reports Stefan Bienkowski To describe...
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Plus ça change? PSG aim to end France’s failure at European level

Tuesday 12 February 2013, 17:06

Can Qatari-backed Paris Saint-Germain end half a century of French underachievement at Europe's top level? TheFootballDiaries.com editor Stuart Coleman investigates... Although Britain will always...
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Dortmund's Euro-conquering '97 vintage: What Happened Next?

Friday 08 February 2013, 11:37

The new issue of FourFourTwo goes deep inside Borussia Dortmund, Europe's most exciting side. In 1997, they were Europe's best, beating Juventus 3-1 in the Champions League final. What happened...
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The Dortmund stars who could take the Premier League by storm

Thursday 07 February 2013, 14:20

Terrifying Europe with the most exhilarating football outside Catalonia, FourFourTwo's current cover stars Dortmund are everyone’s favourite Germans. FFT staff writer Andrew Murray ponders who should...
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Eintracht Frankfurt bring fireworks to the top flight

Thursday 24 January 2013, 12:19

The Bundesliga's back with a bang in Frankfurt, as Stefan Bienkowski reports... With Eintracht Frankfurt, expect fireworks. From the promoted side's sparkling start with an introductory undefeated...
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PSG resume struggle to stay on top in France while eyeing Europe

Thursday 10 January 2013, 08:42

Ligue 1 starts again on Friday, with Paris Saint-Germain on top – but they struggled to get there, and their owners expect success, says Vaishali Bhardwaj When Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) took over...
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What the Dickens!? How Ricardo Quaresma fell on hard times

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 09:00

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was a career of skill, it was a career of foolishness. He had everything before him, and in a flash, he had nothing before him. The complications...
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Nancy boys get violent

Friday 16 November 2012, 13:56

Things have gone very sour very quickly for Nancy, reports Jonathan Fadugba ... In a way, it was like a scene from a comedy show. Rennes had just taken the lead for the second time against Nancy, pushing...
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Why it took so long for Germany's team to become multi-cultural

Friday 16 November 2012, 11:55

The Germany team is a model of multi-cultural harmony – but only since the turn of the century. Bundesliga expert Stefan Bienkowski investigates why... It’s been six months since Germany beat Holland in...
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From out of the shadows: Why Newcastle, Liverpool & Spurs should respect the Europa

Thursday 04 October 2012, 12:30

Blogger and FourFourTwo contributor Ben McAleer explains why fans of this year's Premier League representatives in the Europa League should relish their team's involvement... It’s sometimes difficult...
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Blast from the past drags Marseille back to the summit

Thursday 20 September 2012, 09:19

An unexpected and unpopular appointment is winning over the Marseille fans – by winning all five of their games so far, as Vaishali Bhardwaj reports... It hadn't happened in France for 14 years, since...
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A Lancastrian in Hungary: that's football Europa

Monday 17 September 2012, 16:53

Why would Lancashire lad Chris Flanagan find himself in deepest Hungary watching a Europa League qualifier? For the love of football... It's 3am and I'm waiting in the departure hall at Szekesfehervar...
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Tattoos, luck & barbecued bananas: Borini returns to England with the bit between his teeth

Tuesday 07 August 2012, 10:55

Among the tattoos Fabio Borini has inked on his body, there is ‘The Talking Cricket’. Like Jiminy was for Pinocchio in the Disney animation, he is supposed to represent the Italy international striker...
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U19 Euros preview: England set for glory... possibly

Tuesday 03 July 2012, 14:41

After England’s typically frustrating Euro exit in Kiev, most Three Lions fans will think all is lost this summer. They’re wrong. The European Under-19 Championships kick off this week in Estonia – and...
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Manolo Preciado: more than just a Spanish Ian Holloway

Thursday 07 June 2012, 10:59

Manolo Preciado, one of Spanish football's most beloved characters, tragically passed away on June 7 , just a day after agreeing to take over as manager of the recently relegated Villarreal and a day...
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Dutch development model highlights where England are going wrong

Monday 21 May 2012, 15:19

With the European Champions now less than three weeks away, Tom Bennett explores the differences between youth development in England and the Netherlands... As Euro 2012 moves ever closer, it's no...
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Sackings, cup wins & relegation: Why Spurs will want to avoid 'doing a Zaragoza'

Monday 21 May 2012, 09:00

Tottenham fans will have been left feeling rather green in the gills after their club's Champions League spot was pilfered by London rivals Chelsea on Saturday evening, but this isn't the first...
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Madrid's youth academy deserves as much respect as Barcelona's

Thursday 17 May 2012, 13:21

Barcelona's la Masia youth academy is renowned for its productivity, but as Gareth McKnight reports, Real Madrid's Castilla has arguably had a bigger effect on Spanish football Much to Real Madrid...
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Prosinečki's Red Star revolution already bearing fruit

Monday 02 April 2012, 13:05

Robert Prosinečki did a hop, skip and a jump. He hugged a member of his coaching staff, then turned back towards the field of play and raised a celebratory fist in the air. Once the elation subsided, he...
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Ribéry returns to Marseille with a point to prove to France

Wednesday 28 March 2012, 11:00

Franck Ribéry is coming home. Not to Boulogne-sur-Mer, the place where he grew up and is about to open a shisha bar called O’Shahiz with his brother and two brothers-in-law, but to Marseille. As he walks...
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Pavey looking to keep walking down English football's rarely trodden path

Wednesday 16 November 2011, 17:00

Its fair to say that the forging a career overseas is not a well trodden path for English footballers. When it comes to discussing the subject, your mind may subconsciously edge towards Joe Cole at Lille...
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More Than A Game: Germany v Holland

Tuesday 15 November 2011, 10:30

As Germany prepare to face Holland in Hamburg, FFT looks back to Euro 2004 when the two teams met in Porto's Estadio do Dragao. In a More Than A Game special, we presented two views – the Dutch and...
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Czech chances of Euro qualification hinge on Petr's head being right

Thursday 10 November 2011, 14:55

Referee Mike Dean stopped play at Ewood Park for seven minutes on Saturday as Chelsea’s medical staff tended to Petr Čech’s bloodied nose. The goalkeeper had put himself in harm’s way again, clashing with...
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Ole Gunnar Solskjær follows Fergie into trophy triumph

Wednesday 09 November 2011, 12:19

In the same week Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated his 25th year at Manchester United, one of his former players was revelling in his first managerial success. And while Ferguson has to wait three years to...
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Ranieri hops aboard Moratti's £70m carousel and into Mourinho's shadow

Friday 23 September 2011, 15:01

Claudio Ranieri knows what the inferno looks like. He doesn’t need to read Dante. He doesn’t need Virgil to be his guide. Interviewed after resigning from his position in charge of Roma, the club of his...
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Ajaccio get more than they bargained for in Guillermo Ochoa

Wednesday 21 September 2011, 11:24

The red light flashed. The Blackberry vibrated. Another email. Another message. Another Facebook status update. “We receive hundreds on a daily basis,” revealed Ajaccio President Alain Orsoni. Under the...
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Purple the colour for Cagliari as owner Cellino comes over all superstitious

Thursday 15 September 2011, 13:49

On Monday evening, Cagliari's press office issued a statement on the club's website. Nothing strange about that, you might think. Except this wasn't another banal training update or a new ticket...
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Conte looking to the future as Juventus hope to rediscover themselves

Thursday 08 September 2011, 11:19

The Old Lady was developing Alzheimer’s. That was the analysis of Andrea Agnelli after his first year as President of Juventus. “I am disappointed,” he said following yet another disappointing seventh...
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The rise, fall and re-birth of Davide Santon

Wednesday 31 August 2011, 11:34

The night of February 15, 2009 seemed like a watershed moment in Italian football. Milan and Inter were lining up in the tunnel at San Siro awaiting kick off and the cameras focused on the old man and...
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Crisis at Marseille as Deschamps oversees another sluggish start

Tuesday 30 August 2011, 16:52

The name Jung Jo-Gook is enough to cause Didier Deschamps a sleepless night or two. When he closes his eyes, the Marseille coach can still picture the scene clearly. It's the 77th minute on a hot summer's...
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Mutual Maradona memory meeting is més que un friendly for Barca and Napoli

Monday 22 August 2011, 12:33

A Swiss businessman with a waxed moustache starts his daily commute to the office. He takes the train and from the carriage window sees a motley group of youngsters kicking what could be described as a...
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A Bari clasico between locals from Italy and Spain


Wednesday 10 August 2011, 11:52

A grainy photograph taken in the early 90s shows a mischievous looking scamp riding a green bicycle through the streets of Bari Vecchia, his hair parted to the side, as though combed by a doting mother...
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