EDITOR’S LETTER

Here are some of the questions we asked ourselves during the making of this issue: how do you get a dog to pose for the camera? What’s the German word for space hopper? Why is it so hard to get a proper birthday cake in Bavaria? And, of course, who’s the best young player in the world?

We didn’t have to go far to find the answer to this final question. In the 12 months since we last chatted to Dele Alli, the Spurs midfielder has gone from being the hottest prospect in England to the most talked about young player in the world. Not that it’s all been plain sailing for him. In his interview, Dele talks about the pain of missing out on the title, being ‘targeted’ by defenders and coping with the trauma of having his trainers destroyed by dog Hugo (p32).

We also travelled to Germany, where the Bundesliga’s big two are planning for the future. We rocked up in Munich to speak to Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich, on his 22nd birthday no less (p40), while Borussia Dortmund introduced us to their new crop of youngsters aiming to conquer the world. If the chemistry between the players during our interview is anything to go by, Dortmund’s future is in very good hands.