Tickertape at the ready? It's time for FourFourTwo's South American special and there's only one place to start: Boca Juniors, of course.
Our cover feature is the inside story of the world's most iconic football club, the story of Boca Juniors through the ages. The fans, the stadium, the famous blue and yellow shirt, even the badge - everything about Boca is alluring and intriguing. We go behind the scenes at La Bombonera to explore what makes the football club so unique.
How did Diego Maradona, Juan Roman Riquelme and Martin Palermo become Boca legends? Why does Carlos Tevez love the club so much that he decided to leave last season's Champions League finalists and return for a second spell at with the Azul y Oro while still in his prime?
We also speak to president Daniel Angelici, manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena and Argentina's 1966 World Cup villain Antonio Rattin to find out what it's like inside the beating heart of Boca and why the future of La Bombonera - recently voted the greatest stadium in the world by FourFourTwo - is uncertain.
Not everyone loves Boca though, most notably their fierce Superclasico rivals River Plate. This month's One-on-One is with former River striker Hernan Crespo. The Argentine great also played for Parma, Lazio, Inter, Chelsea, Milan and Genoa, and is now manager of Italian Serie B side Modena. Crespo provides answers to your questions. Just how big is the Superclasico? What was his relationship with Jose Mourinho like? Who was Argentina's biggest nutter? And why is he obsessed with Gary Lineker?
We couldn't do a South American special without investigating the continent's maddest grudge matches. From Bolivia to Bogota, Santiago to Salvador, no continent does a derby quite like South America, where the term 'friendly rivalry' definitely doesn't exist. FourFourTwo looks at 14 of the feistiest derbies featuring lepers, voodoo, blazing buses, teams doing a runner at half-time, the side who had to leave the stadium in a tank, and Boca versus River... in Brazil. You'd be mad to miss it.
The next time your club's owner changes your kit or stadium name, console yourself that he wasn't a murderous drug lord. Our Action Replay features Pablo Escobar, one of history's most infamous criminals. His passion and money changed the face of Colombian football forever - not least Atletico Nacional, who would rise to Copa Libertadores glory in 1989.
We all love a goalscoring goalkeeper, but South America loves them more than most. With blatant disregard for the notion of defence or what goalkeepers are actually employed to do, South American managers brazenly wave their shot-stoppers forward at the merest hint of a penalty, free-kick or throw-in. From Rogerio Ceni to Rene Higuita and Jose Luis Chilavert, it's a disappointment if the 90 minutes are up and the goalkeeper hasn't scored. The best goal-grabbing glovemen in the business - including Johnny Vegas, yes, Johnny Vegas - reveal the joy of beating your opposite number, and what happens when you miss...
Hardcore supporters in South America aren't afraid to show their true colours - on their arms, their chest, their face, you name it. FFT investigates the ultras of Brazil and their many, many tattoos. Plus, there's a fascinating feature on playing at altitude, a particular issue in the Andes. We speak to Tostao, Javier Zanetti, Careca & Co. to find out what it's like to run around after a ball at 13 times the height of Ben Nevis, with oxygen levels low enough to put you in hospital... having taken Viagra. We also meet Chile's Deportivo Palestino, the Palestinian club giving hope to fans suffering 9,000 miles away in the Middle East.
In Upfront, we look at the next stars of South American football. Move over, Neymar, because (Gabriel) Jesus walks... Cafu reveals the games that changed his life and there's the top 10 legal wranglings, Pat Nevin: Indie DJ, and Asmir Begovic's views on Catasaurus Rex. Xavi talks to Performance, which also features tips from Javier Pastore, Ivan Rakitic and England women's goalkeeper Karen Bardsley.
Planet Football brings you Zbigniew Boniek and Sebastian Giovinco, plus former Dortmund ace Jakub Blaszczykowski on why Jurgen Klopp is simply the best. There's also Europe's most argumentative club president as well as sex, bacteria and JCBs in another bizarre year in Romanian football.
The January 2016 issue of FourFourTwo was brought to you by Hernan Crespo, Antonio Rattin, Cafu, Pablo Escobar, Tostao, Javier Zanetti, Rodolfo Arruabarrena, Javier Pastore, Xavi, Zbigniew Boniek, Careca, Daniel Angelici, Asmir Begovic, Sebastian Giovinco, Ivan Rakitic, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Karen Bardsley, Pat Nevin, Diego Matias Rodriguez, Sebastian Saja, Jose Milton Melgar, Roni, Arouca, Roberto Avalos, Lucio Blanco, Ken Baillie, Serafim Borges, Julio Cesar Baldivieso, Fernando Aguad, Mauricio Abu Ghosh, Roberto Bishara, Ben McKenzie, Pedro Hansing, Facundo Gonzalez and Johnny Vegas Fernandez. Get stuck into the latest edition, available from Wednesday December 2 in print, on iPad and on iPhone or SUBSCRIBE!
