RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
Defoe gorges on goals after starting new vegan diet
HEALTH freak Jermain Defoe has given England boss Gareth Southgate plenty of food for thought.
The Sunderland hitman gobbled up a chance on his international return at Wembley on Sunday after a three-year exile.
Now he has revealed it’s his new vegan diet which is helping him defy the years. Aged 34, Defoe scored the opener in the Three Lions’ 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Lithuania – his first international goal in over four years. And Southgate admitted the seasoned striker made such an impression that he could yet force his way into his plans for next year’s World Cup Finals in Russia.
Defoe is determined to make sure his body stays in top shape to keep his England dream alive.
“There’s a lot of things I do away from training and from match-day that help me perform, so I’ll keep doing that,” he said.
“It’s not enjoyable but I try and do it like you’re loving it. Everyone wants to feel fresh in the game, there’s no better feeling.
“I’m just trying to tick every box, making sure I’m doing the right things – cryotherapy, massage, eating the right things, trying to turn vegan.
Drives
“That’s a funny one because when I go to my mum’s she’s got every kind of meat you can imagine out on the table.
“My girlfriend persuaded me. She said to me, ‘You’ve got to do it’ and she’s always showing me these documentaries and that.
“It’s always nice to have someone around you who helps you and drives you on and wants you to do well. I don’t find anything hard because I know the feeling of scoring goals.
“So getting in an ice bath and all that isn’t nice, but I just think, ‘You know what? I’m going to do this and be rewarded’.”
Your won’t catch teetotal Defoe looking the worse for wear after a boozy night out, as Wayne Rooney was when he was pictured at the team hotel between games against Scotland and Spain in November.
Defoe is three years older than Rooney but his body shows no signs ® of letting him down any time soon.
He has obviously hit it off with new England manager Southgate but claims former boss Roy Hodgson, who took the Three Lions to the World Cup in 2014 and then Euro 2016, snubbed him.
He only found out he wasn’t going to France last summer when he saw the squad named on TV.
“It was heartbreaking,” he said. “Because in my heart I felt like I’d done enough to be involved.
“I’m not even saying I expected to start at the Euros, I just wanted to be with this bunch of players and have an opportunity to play with this sort of quality. Even if he had only made a five-minute phone call.
“Gareth phoned me and he said, ‘Even if you’re not in the squad, I’ll still phone you’.
“As a player you appreciate that, because if you have a conversation with the manager you understand and you think, ‘Okay, maybe if I do this I can get in the next squad’.”
He also spoke of his delight at making it an even more special day at Wembley for terminally-ill Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery, who was one of the mascots.
Although Joe Hart was captain, he swapped places with Defoe in the tunnel so he and five-year-old Bradley could lead the team out.
“I had to score,” said Defoe. “It was Mother’s Day, little Bradley was there and I wanted to play well for the team.”