Magazine covers are history being written before your eyes. We've all sat cross-legged in a loft pulling out old issues of magazines and fondly remembering the days when that player was big enough to grace the cover.
2024 will be no different, with an array of stars of the past, present and future appearing on front of FourFourTwo, from Sir Alex Ferguson to Bukayo Saka to Rodri.
We also took in the Euros, celebrated our 30th anniversary, and looked at the next generation of managers looking to knock Guardiola off his perch. We can't wait to see what 2025 holds for us...
In January, we got misty-eyed and nostalgic
Sir Alex Ferguson graced the cover of our first issue of the year as we geared up for our 30th anniversary celebrations. Appropriately enough, that also included a bit on our first ever cover star, Terry Venables, and the groundbreaking tactics he used at Euro 96.
We also had more hard-hitting stories of football in apartheid South Africa from Lucas Radebe and Palestine's struggles to keep putting out a football team in a war zone.
February recognised the past, the present and the future
From the greatest manager of all time to the greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi was our February cover star as we looked at his effect on the US soccer scene since his move to MLS.
Still only halfway to becoming an Invincible manager, we took a look at the job Xabi Alonso was doing at Bayer Leverkusen, and we had a look back at Portsmouth's late-2000s glory years before it all went terribly wrong.
March kicked off with Trent Alexander-Arnold expressing BIG ambitions to us
Trent Alexander-Arnold was good enough to meet us in his home town, West Derby, and tell us of his ambitions of becoming the very best player in the world. He wore a retro Liverpool tracksuit for the photoshoot... will that be where he stays to try and see out that aim?
So it only seemed fitting that we also looked at the 30 greatest full-backs of all time, while we also spoke to those who know Girona best to get the view from inside their meteoric rise.
Later in March, we celebrated 20 years of Arsenal's Invincibles
Arsenal were still in the running for the Premier League title at the time we went to print, and while they narrowly missed out, they'll still always have that incredible unbeaten 2003/04 title triumph. We sat down with several members of that legendary squad to get the inside tale.
Ada Hegerberg also joined us to talk about her hopes of putting her injury woes behind her, while Jamie Carragher and Ian Rush helped us choose Jurgen Klopp's greatest Liverpool games as the club prepared for life without their soon-to-depart iconic manager.
Euros fever was already getting us by April
Yes, we love a summer tournament, and we had high hopes for England as we looked ahead to the Euros in a special preview edition. Poor Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire were both included in the photo shoot inside the magazine...
The summer wasn't all about England, of course: we also looked at Scotland's heartbreaking history at summer tournaments (surely this was their year to finally get past the group stage?) and talked up Germany's hopes of a revival as they prepared to host the Euros. Just absolutely nailed it all round, basically.
June really was all about the Euros
It was a star-studded June issue with features on some of the potential gamechangers who would grace Euro 2024: Cristiano Ronaldo, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe all came under the microscope.
And hey! We finally got one right as we suggested Georgia might just surprise a few people out in Germany, and Alan Shearer joined us to talk about Euro 96.
July was manager season after some big summer appointments
Enzo Maresca and Arne Slot both took up big Premier League moves in the summer, prompting us to look at the new generation of managers who had learned from Pep Guardiola and now wanted to topple him. That cover could make us look very good in a few years, couldn't it?
We also went across the pond to take in the New York derby, while Rene Higuita joined us for a chin-wag and we had the minor distraction of the Olympics to look forward to, as well.
Later in July, we geared up for the new season
The Euros had come and gone, and now it was time to start looking ahead to the impending campaign with a big season preview special.
Every team's chances were rated and ranked, while we went through no fewer than 51 things we were excited about for 2024/25 and took a deep dive into Ipswich Town's ascent back up to the Premier League.
August pondered a new era of Galacticos at Real Madrid
We took on a European flavour in August. Kylian Mbappe's move to the reigning European champions prompted us to look at a new era of Galacticos at Real Madrid, the Champions League's new format was explained, while Aston Villa were preparing to grace the top table of European football for the first time in 40 years.
And speaking of former European giants... we had a look at Manchester United's pre-season and their big plans for the future under Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
In September, Bukayo Saka got his props
Lovely boy Bukayo Saka took centre-stage on the September cover and explained how he had silenced his critics following Euro 2020.
We also reflected on a somewhat mad couple of years of teething troubles for Chelsea following their big 2022 takeover, while some of the Premier League's summer moves were assessed.
October: Happy Birthday to... us!
A cover full of covers as we celebrated our 30th anniversary proper, which raises the prospect of FourFourTwo having a cover full of covers full of covers in another ten years. It's covers all the way down.
We paid tribute to our former columnist Brian Clough and our first cover star Terry Venables, charted the monumental rise of women's football over the previous three decades, rounded up the most ridiculous quotes from our many interviews over the years... and told the incredible story of your favourite football magazine.
November was full of tales of triumph through adversity
Luis Diaz joined us to talk about life under Arne Slot, his humble origins in Colombia and his reinvigoration since putting his father's kidnapping behind him.
We also went to watch The New Saints' incredible journey into European football after they qualified for the Conference League, and Andoni Iraola gave us a look inside the great job he has done at Bournemouth.
December rounded out the year with awards season
We flew to Madrid to interview and chat with Rodri as he recovered from his knee injury. He told us all about his wonderful season that earned him the Ballon d'Or, and admitted he 'kind of' slept with the trophy after winning it, and we ourselves handed out a few end-of-year awards.
Bayer Leverkusen was one of the big stories of 2024, and we relived it all in exacting detail as told by those who were directly involved, while Emma Hayes talked to us about winning Olympic gold and her big dreams for the future as USA manager.
