The Euros are upon us, but we've managed to squeeze out one more intensely intriguing issue before heading to the pub for a month. (The boss isn't reading this, right?)
After a look back at the season's best stories â and a One-on-One with Gareth Southgate, obviously asking about that penalty among many other things â we settle to a nice old reminisce about Euro 96, featuring exclusive interviews from Shearer, Sheringham, Venables Gazza, Macca and Baddiel.
As you'd expect this month, there's plenty of Eurocentric stuff. There's a forensic examination of Groups of Death and why they may be a thing of the past (after this summer). There are the 50 Moments That Rocked The Euros: you can watch videos of some here â and there's a taster below: watch the classic 70s Dutch side completely lose the plot as the Czechs beat them in the Euro 72 semi.
We also look at why France may be an accident waiting to happen. And there are profiles of the 16 men to watch at Euro 2012 (including exclusive interviews with Sheva, Gomez, Eriksen, Dzagoev and the Czech Ethiopian). Oh and we get tips on tournament preparation from our regular columnist, Michel Salgado.
We also examine the underappreciated managerial genius that is Giovanni Trapattoni, who has led the Republic of Ireland to their first tournament in a decade. What makes Trap tick? We'll tell you.
But this is FourFourTwo, and although we get the interviews that make other hacks weep, we're not just about the big names. We were with the fans at Hereford v Torquay as the Bulls strove to stay in the Football League. We spoke to Martin 'Mad Dog' Allen about how he keeps calm through gardening. And we interviewed midfielder Daniel Cocks, whose Bacup Borough side bravely battled through a fixture pile-up of 21 games in 56 days. Eat that, Fergie.
There's so much more to tell you about â Ashley Young taking over our Performance advice section, Jurgen Klinsmann on taking the USA to the top, a look back at Roy Hodgson's Inter era â but we'll leave you to discover the hidden treasures. Bag it now, and we'll see you down the boozer for kick-off, OK?
This issue of FourFourTwo was brought to you with the help of Gareth Southgate, Bacup Borough, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Euro 2012: The Ballet, Ian Wright, Liam Chilvers, Martin 'Mad Dog' Allen, Simon Charlton, Michel Salgado, The Player, Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham, Terry Venables, Paul Gascoigne, Steve McManaman, David Baddiel, Matthias Sammer, Jamie Redknapp, Peter Schmeichel, Jan Molby, Chris Waddle, Kevin Doyle, Christian Eriksen, Ivan Rakitic, Luuk de Jong, Alan Dzagoev, Robert Lewandowski, Olivier Giroud, Nelson Oliveira, Mario Gomez, Ioannis Fetfatzidis, Fabio Borini, Kim Kallstrom, Theodor Gabre Selassie, Andriy Shevchenko, Richard O'Kelly, Harry Pell, Jurgen Klinsmann, Antonin Panenka, Fraizer Campbell, Kevin Phillips, Kyle Walker, Ashley Young and Harry Redknapp.
Right that's it, I wish to read this magazine NOW, sir!
