FOUR FOUR TWO INTERVIEW
January 2006

Why were you a Man U fan if your an Essex boy? Whats up with the Hammers?
They were the only club I was interested in because my dad was a Man Utd fan and I wanted to be what my dad was - A cockney red. Ive always been a Man Utd fan and I always will be. I got the piss taken out of me horrendously at school especially when Arsenal or Tottenham beat us which at the time was quite a bit. Mind you there was a more memorable time when we beat Arsenal 6-2 so that went down well. I made sure I wore my Utd shirt to school that day.

How good were Ridgeway Rovers?
The best! They’d beat Real Madrid Man Utd and England all together. Nah im joking but that was a massive part of my life , the first team I was involved with. I had a amazing time. Stewart Underwood was like a sergeant major. He scared me, In fact ive always had mangers and coaches that scared me.

Did you changes your hair style often as a lad?
changed it as many times as my mom let me which wasn’t often. I remember the first time she took me to the hairdressers I wanted it really short but she wouldn’t let me - she gave me the spiky thing. When I look back I cant believe she did that to me!

Young players these days seem to think they’ve made it as soon as they break into the first team. At what moment did you think you’d made it as a footballer.
I still look at myself and want to improve. Ive done a lot of things in my career , ive been England captain ive played for Man Utd and played for Madrid but there wasn’t a point when ,I sat back and thought “Ive made it” because I always remember my dad telling me “ You havent made it yet. You’v played 100 games for Man Utd but you still havent made it. That was one thing we were taught at Utd , until you retire you don’t look back on your career. Untill then you can only better yourself.

Did you ever fancy copying Lee Sharpe and having a fan club set up at Discotheque Royal?
No, definitely not. I actually went to one of those events once. He invited me because I was in the digs on my own. We used to hang around a bit. The event was crazy. Lee and Giggsy were the two at the time. They were young they both got into the first team, they had matching jeeps which the manager wasn’t happy about. They were the cool ones.

Do you think you’ll ever score another goal from the half way line. Have you thought about trying it again? How long did the buzz last?
Id try it in every game if it was on. If I saw the opportunity. Id love to score another one like that. The buzz lasted a long time after. The buzz is still with me now to tell the truth: I get goose bumps when I see it. Ive got a picture in my house that was sent to me , taken from behind where I kicked it and the balls in the air and the selhurst park is in the background and you can see my mom my dad and my sister as it drops down towards the goal. That’s one to cherish.

What was it like to inherit the number 7 shirt from a total legend Eric Cantona. Nerve racking?
The no.7 was the shirt at Utd for me. It has always been worn by really great players - players I looked up to like George Best Eric Cantona and Bryan Robson who I always wanted to emulate. I wore the No.7 as a kid and to be given it at that time was very special. Nerve racking? No I dint find it nerve racking.

When you look back at the way you were treated by fans around the country how do you feel? Shocked? Upset? Can you still laugh about it now or does it piss you off?
It hurt me at the time but when I look back now what I really think about is how the Man Utd fans treated me every time I took a corner for two years - for two years !!- the Utd fans were on their feet clapping me sheering me singing my name. All I had to do was step forward to the corner flag and they did that. The support was amazing on the pitch it made it a lot easier. Being at a club that supported me like they did and having they support of the fans meant a lot.

Which was better: Scoring the last minute free kick against Greece to take England to the World Cup or United's last gap Champions League victory in 1999?
[puffs out his cheeks] I don’t think I could chose between the two. They were such emotional moments. Winning the European Cup was incredible. There were so many twists and turns all year and to win 3 trophies after such a emotional year topping it off like we did winning in the last few minutes was amazing. Looking back at it now I still get goose bumps scoring the goal against Greece was one of the best feelings I've had personally in football. Emotionally it was incredible but it was so personal with United because we’d all grown up together, we all wanted to win the biggest trophy in football. We’d did it togther. But the England thing was huge too...

You come across as patriotic : You sing God Save The Queen with enthusiasm, refer to the nation in interviews and you are clearly proud to be England Captain. Would you prefer it if Sven was English?
I don’t care. As long as he looks after the players and does what he does for us. He’s one of the best managers around and that’s what the team needs. It doesn’t matter if he’s English, Swedish or whatever so long as he’s good for the team, and country.

Have you ever seen Sven angry. On a Fergie hair dryer scale of 1 to 10 where does he feature?
On the scale? Sven is nowhere near Sir Alex that’s for sure. Hes very different. Of course you see him react, but he's different from other managers. Some react in ways people seem to want Sven to react but that’s not his personality.

How fit were you at the 2002 World cup? Before you broke your metatarsal you were n the form of your life. Do you think England would have won the WC if you had not been injured?
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Who’s to say what might have happened? I wasn’t as fit as I would of liked to have been going to the World Cup but I'm not sure what difference that made. Even now people still look back at the Brazil game and say I pulled out of the tackle maybe because of my foot. But that’s not true. I thought the ball was going out that’s why I jumped. I wasn’t avoiding the tackle. Who know it might have been different if my fitness was better? At times it might have effected my performance because I was nowhere near as fit as I would have been if I hadn’t have broke my foot. Coming back from a injury like that I was going to be in pain.

Three days after the final game of the 2002-2003 season you were offered a new 4 year contract. If, as you publicly said you wanted to stay why didn’t you sign it? Can you appreciate why some utd fans lost respect for you because you made out you were being forced out? No. A year before id signed a new four year deal, I was on the pitch hugging and cuddling Sir Alex in front of everyone. I was saying this is where I want to stay. I didn’t see why anyone would lose respect for me or not believe I wanted to stay at Utd. Then after it all changed I don’t know what happened to be honest. [fft: So why didn’t you sign that contract?] I signed, I signed. [fft: no , the subsequent year immediately before you left for Madrid?] Because I still had 3 years left on my contract and 3 years is a long time

How pissed off were you that Laporta used you as a political pawn in Barcelona’s presidential election? Have you spoken to him about it?
Ive never spoken to anyone from Barca. When I found out Man Utd wanted to sell me I was annoyed. They wanted to make the decision for me and I wanted to make my own decision. Barcelona are a great club it was obviously a honour to be mentioned by them and Laporta is a nice person a good guy, but id always said if I left Utd which I never thought I would do - then id join Real Madrid. And I would decide my future. I was angry that I was leaving Man Utd : the club ive always supported the club I started my career with and the club I thought id end it at. I found out while I was on holiday , which wasn’t nice.

What went wrong with you relationship with Fergie? You were so close for so long and then it all seemed to fall apart. If you had your time again would you do anything differently?
There's not one thing I'd change because I had a amazing time there with the fans the players with the manager, without them I wouldn’t be where I am today. They gave me the chance to fulfil my dream by playing for Man Utd. I respect that and I'm grateful to the manager for that. There are always going to be ups and downs with managers and team-mates that happened with the manager. It was well documented with me and the manager than between anyone else. And it got blown out of proportion. When the club told me they wanted me to leave I was gutted. I can remember my last game at old Trafford I was supposed to have said to Gary Neville “Ive had talks” but I actually said “They’ve had talks” I hadn’t spoken to anyone - I had no reason to. Id just won the league with Man Utd and I was assuming everything was fine. I had not had any set of talks not even when we played Madrid and I was dropped for that game. People were saying it then but I never, ever spoken to anyone. Even the players at Madrid say to me now “The deal was already done for ages wasn’t it?” and I say (Laughing) No! No it wasn’t.

Whats the weirdest thing you’ve read about yourself?
[rolls his eyes] Oh, god! There’s a different one everyday; Every single day people are making up things, lying trying to publicise there business. Its literally everyday; One of the things that bugs me is when I was at Utd people kept saying I lived in London and I was travelling up to Manchester everyday . That annoyed me because even the manager ended up questioning me about it. I had a house in London but I lived in Manchester. People used to say “Why do you do all that travelling?” but I really didn’t. What else? God theres so many things. People said I brought my son a Ł25 000 earring for his 5th birthday which….was . Not. True.

Have you ever eaten a bulls testicle?
No. But I have eaten a bulls ear. Grim? No - lovely actually.

Is it true Ronaldo has Turtles swimming in his pool?
No. Not true [starts giggling] Definitely not true. Trust me id notice ive swum in his pool.

Neither Real Madrid nor Man Utd have managed to win the championship since you switched clubs doe sthis prove Utd would have been better with you and Madrid without you?
I don’t know. I’m happy playing at Real Madrid. I haven’t won anything but its been a great experience.

Real Madrid have vastly underachieved in recent years. Why?
Because we have not been good enough. Valencia beat us in my first year and Barca last year the best team won at the end of the season. That’s what happens in football. Real Madrid are expected to win every trophy every year but it hasn’t happened because we havent been good enough.

Cantona or Zidane?
Tough choice but id have to say Zidane. Eric was special he has a aura about him he is the king of old Trafford and that’s the way he should always be remembered. Eric is a grwat guy , a great player , one of the best ive ever played with but I still think, Zidane.

Who decides your hairstyles you or Victoria?
[straight away] Me! Theres non I regret because [smiling a bit sheepishly] at the time I felt it looked good . Sometimes I was up and im bored of my hair so I cut it. Today its long tomorrow it could be short again. [FFT: There isn’t one where you think “Jesus Christ what was I thinking?] The mohican. That’s probably one of the ones I look back on and [pauses] or the spikey one my mom did! That’s probably the one. The worst one ive had wasn’t even my fault it was my moms fault so we’ll blame her [laughing]

What was the last thing that went through your mid when you took the penalty against Portugal and what was the first thought when you missed?
The first thing that went though my head was “What happened?” Because even when I kicked it you could see the ground lifted up considerable and I never strike balls as bad as that. For the ground to move up was unfortunate. What went through my mind when I realised id missed was probably how badly I was going to get caned . [And what did you think about the fan who caught it and sold it on e-bay?] It went for Ł 32 000 in the end. Its one of things that happens to me . Nothing amazes me anymore. I wasn’t a all tempted to buy it myself though - It could have been any ball. It might have been a snide!

Is it true you separately to the rest of the England squad and stay in different hotels? If so how do you think this effects team spirit?
Yeah, When the team are in dodgy hotels im in the four seasons! Of course not. We stay as a team. If it was offered to me I wouldn’t want it. I might be England captain but that doesn’t mean I get treated differently. It does irritate me a bit when I see stories like that written about me - because people believe it hence being asked the question - but that’s part life these days. People read things a belive them - that’s another myth.

What did Wayne Rooney say to you when you told him to calm down in the N/Ireland match?
think the papers got it pretty right, it started with ‘f’ and ended with...[laughs] . He’d done the same to Rio and then did it to me. It was a frustrating time for the team but its not a problem. That happens in football and im not complaining. Id rather he react like that than not react at all. What did I say to him? Just “Play football” . I think Wayne’s a strong personality one of the best young players in the world. His personality is what makes him a great player so I would rather he react like that to me than not react. Its not a sign of disrespect it’s a sign of passion and its great to see.

Do you understand why England fans want you to play on the right?
Yeah, of course because crossing is a big part of my game. If I get the ball on the right and im in a good position I’ll find a player so of course I understand.

Paraguay , Trinidad & Tobago , Sweden …Has the draw made you even more confident this is England’s year to win the WC?
We’re just as confident as we were before the draw. If we work hard and play to our potential we can beat anyone on our day. We’ll always respect our opponents but we don’t fear anyone.

England seem to have bad luck in major tournaments, but you make your own luck in football, But what will England do differently in Germany to get the rub of the green?
Working hard and playing well. You can make your own luck but in the last couple of tournaments we’ve had goals disallowed - and they were goals. If we get that sort of luck on our side this time, if we play good and if everyone’s fit, Who knows?

You’ve retired taking penalties but what if Frank Lampard is injured or there’s a penalty shoot out would you step up?
Yeah, I don’t mind having another go. It doesn’t bother me. Frank takes penalties for Chelsea and its better for the team to have a regular penalty taker - but if I needed to take one it wouldn’t be a problem.

Who do you think the best player in the world is? And who’s the hardest you’ve played against?
Ive always said Roberto Carlos is the toughest player ive played against and the best player ive ever played with is Zidane. He’s just the best now there’s Ronaldinho - at the moment he’s the best in the world.

Are you the most famous person you know?
Erm...No Tom cruise. Hes a lot more famous than me.

Doesn’t all the adulation , the autographs the screaming girls and so on, freak you out? Whats the maddest thing you’ve done to shake of the paparazzo?
No it doesn’t freak me out. People turn around to me and say “Don’t you hate it?” How can you hate it? People want your picture, your autograph it’s a honour to have that, to have the ability to make people happy. It doesn’t freak me out [smiles] unless they come up and start crying, and then they want a hg and a cuddle - that happens quite often. [FFT: So what do you do if a 10-year-old girl come up to you and wants a hug?] You give her a hug because you never like to see kids crying. As for the Paparazzo : a lot of things. I try to get into my house everyday without being followed and its pretty hard.

You’re said to have back problems because of your kicking style. Will this be curtains for your career in a few years?
No. I have got a bit of aching in my back. Its there but its not going to stop me playing football.

You’re said to have back problems because of your kicking style. Will this be curtains for your career in a few years?
No. I have got a bit of aching in my back. Its there but its not going to stop me playing football.

If Malcolm Glazer gave SAF the money to buy you back would you come? We’d chuck Carlos Quieroz in as a part-exchange?
Hahaha! Oooh That’s a tough one. I don’t know. Im happy at Madrid but ive always said if I ever go back to England the only club id want to go back to is Utd . Im happy here but you never know what could happen in the future.

If you could do it all again what would you do differently? And what parts would you like to do again?
There’s not one thing Id do differently because that’s all been part of my life and every situation has changed me as a person. Of course 1998 was a tough time and in a way I wish it never happens but if it hadn’t have happened maybe I wouldn’t be the person I am. I wouldn’t be as strong as I am. Id like to play the 1999 season again. And of course scoring that Greece goal. That what I mean about not changing things 1999 was made more special because 1998 for coming through it. Mind you, I was still getting abuse 3 or 4 years later.

Forrás: Four Four Two Magazine February 2006