On a dark night at Priestfield in October 1994, one name leapt out on the teamsheet. Number five, Andy Arnott. Number six, Robin Trott. Number seven, ‘The Wolf’.
Real name Michael van Wijk, the star of TV show Gladiators was 42 years of age, with no previous football career to speak of, but was starting for Gillingham’s reserves at home to Cambridge. Because why not?
Back then, the Gills were languishing near the bottom of the fourth tier and struggling financially. Van Wijk was a household name after becoming Gladiators’ pantomime villain since its launch in 1992, and ran a gym not far from the area, so there were suggestions his appearance was an attempt to bring in much-needed gate money. The club insisted it wasn’t a publicity stunt – of course not, a long and prosperous Football League career could have been ahead of him.
Denne historien er fra April 2024-utgaven av FourFourTwo UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April 2024-utgaven av FourFourTwo UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Over the Top with Brian Clough - The legendary former Derby and Nottingham Forest manager was a columnist for FourFourTwo from 2001 until his death in 2004 at the age of 69 - not all of his forecasts came true, though he was never short of an opinion...
The legendary former Derby and Nottingham Forest manager was a columnist for FourFourTwo from 2001 until his death in 2004 at the age of 69 - not all of his forecasts came true, though he was never short of an opinion...
"THE PLAYERS DIDN'T SEE KEVIN KEEGAN'S 'MELTDOWN' AS ANYTHING NEGATIVE. WE LOVED HIM FOR HIS PASSION"
The Geordie recalls King Kev's rant, shares his love for Ossie Ardiles and reveals what it's like to cross the Tyne-Wear divide
"HODDLE HAD BEEN PLAYING FOR MONACO UNDER WENGER, SO WE COULDN'T BELIEVE IT WHEN HE JOINED SWINDON HE WAS LIGHT-YEARS AHEAD!"
The tireless winger opens up on playing in his dad's shadow and making the wrong kind of headlines at Sunderland...
"I'M PROUD TO BE THE FIRST AFRICAN IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE - BUT LOOK WHO CAME LATER"
FFT chats to the three Boy's A Bit Special stars of Issue 1: first, a humble hotshot on rejecting Arsenal and being 'Nuddy'
AROUND THE GROUNDS
Rangers' in-form keeper tells FFT he has his sights set on a Three Lions recall
WHY MESSI'S ARGENTINA HAD TO GET 'WORSE' TO CONQUER WORLD
The Albiceleste didn't have their most talented squad in 2022, and their star wasn't at his absolute peak - but 4-4-2 helped them to win anyway...
WHY 1999 WAS THE FINEST MOMENT FOR 4-4-2... AND SIR ALEX FERGUSON
Manchester United swept to a famous Treble thanks to the management skills of their legendary boss - and a formation that suited them perfectly
HOW THE 4-4-2 BECAME BRITISH FOOTBALL'S MOST ICONIC FORMATION
A system of playing inspired the name for this very magazine - on these shores, for numerous reasons, it's football heritage
FINDING DIEGO
A little over a year before his untimely death at the age of 60, Diego Maradona was managing Mexican second-tier side Dorados de Sinaloa - FourFourTwo went deep into drug cartel country to track him down
RESPECT
That's what women's football demands more than anything. Its status has grown exponentially during FourFourTwo's lifetime, but finally the long and arduous battle for recognition is starting to pay dividends
