Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BUBBLE GUM KEEPS DEFOE IN MINT CONDITION
JERMAIN DEFOE reckons he’s still playing for England because his only vice is bubble gum.
Now the 35-year-old Bournemouth striker hopes he’ll be blowing bubbles at the World
Cup.
Defoe, who was disappointed to have missed out when Roy Hodgson named his squad for Brazil 2014, believes he is reaping the rewards for his cleanliving lifestyle at an age when most players are looking for a nail to hang up their boots.
He doesn’t drink. The only thing that prevents him from having a fully vegan diet is his love of fish. And he reckons the annual summer boot camps he worked at under the expert guidance of French fitness guru Tiberius Darau has added at least five years to his career.
Defoe gives his mum, Sandra, all the credit for his iron discipline. He said: “Mum always used to say to me, ‘You have been telling me since the age of two that you want to be a footballer, so you have to do everything right. It’s a sacrifice’.
“We used to live on an estate and I would be sat looking out of my bedroom window watching my mates smoking and drinking and talking to girls.
“Of course, as a young lad you want to be involved in all of that. I’m still human.
“I’m not saying I’m an angel or that footballers shouldn’t drink. It’s all about moderation, but I have never drunk alcohol, throughout my whole career and that’s why I am probably still playing.
“I just learned to be tough on myself from a young age. I try to be vegan, but I love fish so it’s a difficult one.
“But there are times when I go to a restaurant and think, ‘That chocolate brownie looks nice, but nah’.
“I suppose that’s the sacrifice I make but over the years, you get to this level because of that.
“It’s the little, tiny things that can make a
difference. Do you know what I love? Bubble gum.
“When I was at Sunderland, there was this sweet shop with all this old-style bubble gum. As soon as I walked in, they’d go in the back and get a box.
“I still get them delivered to my house, but apart from that I try my best to stay disciplined.”
Defoe hopes his sacrifice will be rewarded with a place in Gareth Southgate’s plans for Russia.
No one in England’s squad has scored more international goals than Defoe’s 20.
But after celebrating his 35th birthday last Saturday, he admitted: “When you’re in your 20s you don’t think that at 35 you’ll still be in the England squad and hopefully going to a World Cup. But I’ve always known how important it is to put the shirt on and play for your country.
“Growing up, going to Lilleshall at the School of Excellence, playing in the Under-17s, the Under-18s and the Under-21s and dreaming about getting into the full squad.
“It’s the pinnacle. I still get that same buzz when I meet up with the squad now. It’s hasn’t left me. I don’t think it will ever go.”