CONFUSION, DISAPPOINTME BAD DECISIONS AND HYPE... THE TRUTH AB ENGLAND
Former England captain’s explosive new book lifts lid on ‘unbelievable whingeing’ during the 2010 World Cup
I AVOIDED all the bitching among England players. The major tournaments mattered hugely to me and I wanted to make the most of my opportunity to play in them. And so, as captain for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, I couldn’t quite believe it when I heard some of the complaints from the players.
They were long and petty and the worst, which sticks in my memory, was when some of the players came to me to complain that they had to walk 50 yards for a massage.
A few of the lads were used to having their massages done in their hotel rooms and one of them wanted the same routine with England.
Some footballers in that 2010 squad had big egos and they behaved like kids from time to time.
Players will complain about everything. I’ve been guilty of it myself and, as Liverpool players, we have moaned a lot on occasions. But there was some unbelievable whingeing in that Rustenburg camp.
On the inside, I was thinking, ‘We’ve got a really important game in five days and you’re worried about walking 50 yards for a massage?’
I could have let rip but I was conscious of avoiding any divide among the players. So I allowed them their little moan and then I ignored it. I would never go to a manager to talk about such a ridiculous issue. I wouldn’t embarrass myself.
My international experiences had started in May 2000. Despite being quiet and shy, I suddenly had Tony Adams screaming in my face, in the old Wembley dressing room: ‘Are you ****ing ready for this?’
My blood turned cold. My throat was already dry. I managed a Scouse mumble: ‘Let’s have it.’
It was my England debut, the day after I turned 20.
I won my 100th England cap 12 years later, on November 14, 2012, in Stockholm. We lost 4–2, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring all four.
Before the game, when asked to give my England career a rating out of 10, I suggested ‘a six or a seven’. I was being honest rather than downbeat.
Outside of the 1966 World Cup-winning team, which other England players could honestly give themselves an eight or a nine? Maybe I would give some of Bobby Robson’s team that reached the Italia 90 semi-final an eight. But there’s no one else.
England specialise in hype and criticism and constant soul-searching while allowing countless mistakes and bad decisions to add to the confusion and disappointment.
Fabio Capello, one of the England managers I enjoyed playing for, also said that he had been surprised by the mental frailty of England and I hoped he could do something about it.
A lot of England players were scared of Capello and they hated his strict rules. I actually didn’t mind them because I felt a connection with the man.
Capello kept his distance but I went on to the training pitch each day believing I would learn something new from him. He had achieved so much.
He had a weird way of expressing solidarity with his best players. He would never communicate it verbally.
Instead, he would walk over and give me a shoulder charge. A bump of shoulders was Capello’s way of showing you that he appreciated you as a player. I already knew that because he always picked me in his side. But I’m not sure he saw me as a leader — or as powerful a leader as John Terry or Rio Ferdinand. The only real downside to Capello was that he would never show any l ove towards the squad.
Jose Mourinho is a master at making his entire squad feel loved. Capello had none of that. Our time in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup sometimes felt like a real slog.
Capello didn’t have a very good grasp of the language. It was fine in tactical briefings because he would use visuals to make you understand clearly what you needed to do. But it was more difficult during games when Capello tried to give new instructions and his English let him down.
But language barriers, press briefings and moaning players were only on the fringes. The real story for us at the 2010 World Cup was that England were not good enough.
The atmosphere in the squad before the 2014 World Cup was so much better than it had been four years earlier. The mood was relaxed and harmonious and our training camp was well drilled and well organised. There seemed so much more unity in the squad and that was due to one man: Roy Hodgson.
I have great respect for Roy. He’s a very good person and honesty shines out of him. It also helps that he loves football. Of course, not everything was perfect and there were some disappointing aspects with training which I didn’t think was intense, sharp or aggressive enough on a daily basis.
Some of the sessions were far too slow. Maybe it was down to the heat in Brazil or some tiredness after a long season and a lot of travelling. But there was no place for excuses at a World Cup.
I went back to my hotel room a couple of times before the first game against Italy and I wasn’t very happy. It didn’t look good when the standard of training was so slow and predictable. I’m not sure who was at fault for that because I think sometimes it’s up to the players to create the tempo, the speed and the aggression.
There were mistakes in matches, too. Against Italy, we were drawing 1-1 and it was not my place to argue against the manager as he urged us forward in a bid to maintain the momentum of the first 45 minutes.
My instinct was different. This was not a Premier League match. It was our opening World Cup group game. Why didn’t we just shut up shop and go for the draw? We poured forward. We lost 2-1.
We also chased the game against Uruguay too and also lost that game 2-1. We were out after two games.
Before our last game against Costa Rica, the match that was to be my last as an England player, I walked in to meet the media: I felt like s***. I looked like s***. There were black circles under my eyes. I had hardly slept the last three nights. I hadn’t shaved for four days. My stubble was hard and spiky.
I was also badly wounded because of deeper, personal reasons. I knew I would never play in a major football tournament ever again. It was over. Six tournaments; six different scenarios of heartbreak.
I felt I had a connection with Capello but his grasp of English let him down
I think we got caught. Roy got some criticism at Euro 2012, where we were a bit too defensive and negative.
He felt as if he was left with no option but to go for the jugular. But that also damaged us because I’m not sure it’s Roy’s way. For a long, long time he had always been an organised manager with two banks of four in a standard 4-4-2.
Modern football is very different now and you have to be much more sophisticated tactically.
But Roy, essentially, is a dogged manager. He’s very organised, very compact and he is similar to Rafa Benitez in preferring to play midfielders who graft for you in wide areas — rather than attacking dribblers and wingers.
I think the criticism we received in Euro 2012, losing on penalties to Italy, was unfair.
It made us more positive in Brazil but we came unstuck. We had a squad of honest lads who did their best.
Before deciding to retire, I spoke to Jamie Redknapp, Gary McAllister, Jamie Carragher, Didi Hamann and David Beckham, all the usual former team-mates I turn to when I need advice about football.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had said he would manage my game time to allow me to play for England but I didn’t want that. As soon as he said that, I knew I had basically decided I would retire from England.
Only one person disagreed with my instinctive reaction.
David Beckham was very firm. He said: ‘Don’t retire. Don’t walk away from England. If you do, you might regret it.’
I knew David had really missed it when Steve McClaren left him out after the 2006 World Cup. He fought his way back into the team and ended up playing 115 games for England, one cap more than me.
But once I had spoken to Becks in detail, he listened closely. I told him I was paranoid about becoming a squad player and he softened his stance. He said he understood and respected my decision.
Roy was also very understanding and our relationship is still strong. We stay in close touch and I was very happy when the FA agreed that he should remain as England manager.
I firmly believe Roy is the best man to be in charge of England.