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SPECIAL ISSUE: YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPIONSHIP AUSTRALIAN

September 2017

fourfourtwo.com.au

THE ULTIMATE FOOTBALL MAGAZINE

2017

2018

SE On

LET'S GO LADS! EVERY CLUB ANALYSED, RATED AND SLATED. PLUS MOOY AND RYAN HIT THE EPL & ROGIC ROLLS ON

GEAR UP AT NIKE.COM/FOOTBALL

A PLACE FOR

EVERYO

JUNIOR LEAGUES SOCIAL LEAGUE MENS & WOMEN TRAINING SESSION ELITE LEAGUES STATE & NATIONA TOURNAMENTS

o c . z o l

. m

a s t u MELBOURNE f B

E E R F & E V LI Y NIGHT EVERY FRIDA

SERIES FUTSAL VICTORIA Watch the action unfold from the Thomastown Futsal Oz Stadium or catch the livestream

seriesfutsal.com And don’t miss Series Futsal Australia ADELAIDE, SEPTEMBER 22-25

LEVEL 6, BUILDING A, 207 PACIFIC HIGHWAY, ST LEONARDS, SYDNEY, NSW 2065

AUSTRALIAN

EDITORIAL Tel (02) 9901 6100 Fax (02) 9901 6116 Website fourfourtwo.com.au Email [email protected] Facebook www.facebook.com/FourFourTwoOz Twitter @FourFourTwoOz Group Editor Kevin Airs @KevinAirs442 Head of Sport - Digital @ Next Media Email [email protected] Art Director Danny McGonigle Australian Online Team Ben Somerford @BenSomerford, Kathy Stone @SheWritesMe, John Davidson @johnnyddavidson, Con Stamocostas @ConStama10, Clement Tito @ClementGTito, William McInnes @william_mcinnes, Lucas Radbourne-Pugh, Joe Nicholson Australian Magazine Writers William McInnes, John Davidson, Thomas Stelzer. ADVERTISING Advertising Manager Hugo Scotto Tel (02) 9901 6328 Email [email protected] Head of Sport - Sales Adam Jackson Tel (02) 9901 6109 Email [email protected] PUBLISHING Prepress Manager Jonathan Bishop Production Manager Alison Begg Circulation Director Carole Jones FOURFOURTWO GLOBAL UK Editor Hitesh Ratna International Director Alastair Lewis Brand Director Andy Jackson

Subscriptions hotline 1300 361 146 Email [email protected] Level 6, Building A, 207 Pacific Highway, St Leonards NSW 2065 Locked Bag 5555 St Leonards NSW 1590 Chief Executive Officer David Gardiner Commercial Director Bruce Duncan This magazine is published by nextmedia Pty Ltd ACN: 128 805 970, Level 6, Building A, 207 Pacific Highway, St Leonards NSW 2065 © 2017 under licence from Haymarket Media Group. ISSN 1832-987X. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed by Bluestar WEB, Sydney, distributed in Australia by Gordon & Gotch. The publisher will not accept responsibility or any liability for the correctness of information or opinions expressed in the publication. All material submitted is at the owner’s risk and, while every care will be taken nextmedia does not accept liability for loss or damage.

Privacy Policy We value the integrity of your personal information. If you provide personal information through your participation in any competitions, surveys or offers featured in this issue of FourFourTwo, this will be used to provide the products or services that you have requested and to improve the content of our magazines. Your details may be provided to third parties who assist us in this purpose. In the event of organisations providing prizes or offers to our readers, we may pass your details on to them. From time to time, we may use the information you provide us to inform you of other products, services and events our company has to offer. We may also give your information to other organisations which may use it to inform you about their products, services and events, unless you tell us not to do so. You are welcome to access the information that we hold about you by getting in touch with our privacy officer, who can be contacted at nextmedia, Locked Bag 5555, St Leonards, NSW 1590

Straight from the stands You can follow me or send me a tweet on @KevinAirs442

The off-season gave Australia another taste of the EPL on its doorstep with visits from Liverpool and Arsenal giving football-starved fans a chance to see their heroes in the flesh and compare the world’s elite with our own local stars. And what expensive and finely-chiselled flesh it is too. Our A-League stars are no pub teams and in great physical shape... but their EPL counterparts were just on another level. Compared to the upper-body strength of Olivier Giroud for example, or the muscle-bound Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - Ox by name, ox by physique – our lads looked liked skinny kids. Side by side, it was like men and boys. I don’t know what the strength and conditioning boys are doing in the EPL training grounds – or if it’s just in these players’ genes – but the power these guys are packing is beyond anything we see in Australia... and without slowing them down in the slightest. That was one of the other great mismatches that became apparent in these games – the EPL clubs play at an amazing rate, far beyond anything we see locally. And most importantly it’s not just speed down the wings here – we have seen that often enough from fliers like Bernie Ibini. But it’s the speed of decision-making, of taking shots, making passes, interpreting where their team-mates will be and putting the ball there, long before an A-League side has even weighed up its options against the man with the ball – although running the A-League over summer plays a big part in slowing down the local game. Our local sides don’t lack for skill and talent and as Sydney showed a couple of years ago against Spurs and Chelsea, they are more than capable of matching it with the big boys, but there’s no denying the gulf in skill and speed and even physical build. Considering the $120m transfer fee of just one EPL player, Romelu Lukaku, could cover the salary-capped wage bill of every A-League club for four years, that should come as no surprise though in reality. Regardless now, the sideshows are over. The new seasons are starting all over Europe. Bring it on... AND GIVE ME FOOTBALL!

Kevin Airs Editor

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fourfourtwo.com.au September 2017 5

UPFRONT 8

14 16 18

Upfront - One on One Perth Glory’s William Gallas. Oh, and he played a bit in Europe... Global Stories My Greatest Goal Todd Howarth At The End Of The Day Socceroos coach Ante Milicic

08

26

FEATURES 20

Look at Mooy! Former Socceroos greats give their tips on how the Aussie Zidane can impress in the EPL.

22

Home Sweet Hove For Ryan The Socceroos keeper has moved to Brighton and the EPL this season – now it’s time to shine.

24

12 EuroRoos To Follow Here are our 12 young Aussies to get excited about in 2017/18

26

Tommy Terrific! Like a Roy of the Rovers story, Tom Rogic bounced back from last season’s penalty miss to be Celtic’s Cup Final hero.

30

EPL Season Preview Every club analysed, rated and slated, the lessons learned from last season and what they need to do this season - plus we ask the fans what they want to see. It’s your ultimate EPL guide!

74

Championship Season Preview It’s often called the toughest league in the world – and these are the teams battling it out... with several Aussies starring!

PERFORMANCE 92 94 95 97 98

Masterclass: Troy Deeney Like A Pro Tried and Tested Harry Kane Goes Masterchef My Perfect XI: Brendon Santalab

30 92

98

E GAM FUL UTI BEa THE

FOOTBALL’S CROWDED HOUSE China’s third-most populous mainland city after Beijing and Shanghai, Guangzhou’s 14 million people are used to squeezing into tight places. For the residents of Tianhe Village, in the shadow of city centre tower blocks, finding space for a kickabout amid the tightly packed streets can prove a tad tricky. There is, however, hope for any local looking to emulate Paulinho, Alan Carvalho and former Charlton midfielder Zheng Zhi at Guangzhou Evergrande, thanks to this marvel of engineering. Mind the windows! Picture Zhu Zhuo Hao

UPFROnT UPFROnT >




BACK IN A FEW MINUTES A Mexican fan told his wife he was popping out to buy cigarettes, then flew to Russia for the Confederations Cup