Milner: Quitting England made me a Euro star
JAMES MILNER is showing no signs of slowing down – after quitting international football to throw himself into Jurgen Klopp’s gruelling Liverpool fitness regime.
The former Leeds, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Manchester City midfielder is enjoying arguably the best season of his career at the age of 32 as the Reds head towards a Champions League semi-final showdown with Roma.
He puts that down to his decision to bring an end to his England career in 2016 after 61 caps.
But he also reckons the physical demands that Klopp places on his players have given him an added edge.
Milner said: “We train hard at the club, and fitness has always been a strength of mine.
“Obviously the decision with England was a tough one, but the manager has looked after me in international weeks, giving me time off. It really does help me.
“But I’m not at the stage where he’ll tell me to have a sauna instead of going out to train.
“And I don’t think you can do that the way we play. We train very hard here.
“I am still mixing it and covering the ground for Liverpool and it is probably one of the hardest places to play because of the physical demands.
“I am in a good place because people seem to look at your age and think once you get over 30 then you’re coming to the end.
“I’d like to think I’ve got a number of years left in me and I feel really good.
“That is down to the great work the staff at the club do looking after us and the facilities we have.
“And obviously eating the right things and doing the right things at the right time off the field.”
Milner isn’t the only Anfield hero to emerge from left field this season.
Andrew Robertson was being relegated with Hull this time last year, but after taking time to settle after an £8million switch to Merseyside in the summer, he has emerged as arguably the Premier League’s most consistent left-back. Robertson (below) was an eight-year-old schoolboy growing up in the Glasgow district of Giffnock in 2002 when Zinedine Zidane volleyed Real Madrid to a Champions League triumph just a couple of miles away at Hampden Park.
He recalled: “That game between Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen is probably the first the first Champions League final I remember.
“Zidane scored an unbelievable goal – I definitely still remember that.
“I only got to watch the game on television, but I remember all the build-up to the excitement that it generated around Glasgow.
“When you are a kid, you watch these incredible games and tournaments and you dream that one day you will get to play in them.
“So I realise how lucky I am to get getting the chance to play in a semifinal.”