PREMIER LEAGUE
We felt we were all in it together and I think that was a massive reason why we were successful.’ HOW did he navigate the journey from a Championship relegation season at Wigan to a World Cup semi-final in three years? As with most sporting success stories, there are multiple heroes. First and foremost, there is family: dad Alan, mum, Zoe, brothers Laurence (at Chesterfield), Joe (at Gainsborough Trinity), sister Daisy (studying for A Levels) and his fiancee.
‘The sacrifices that my family made throughout my life,’ he says. ‘Getting up on a Sunday morning at six o’clock taking me to Newcastle away. Things like that. It’s really tough for them. But they did it all the way through my life.’
Family nurtured him through academic exams as well. He got three A*, four As and a B at GCSE. ‘They took me to training every night, fed me good things, kept me well. It’s nice to repay them and give them something back. Mum tries to keep our mind on other things as well as football. But my dad’s always football. If he’s not watching me, he’s watching one of my brothers.’
Sheffield United were vital. He still goes back to support, even slipping into the away end for last season’s Sheffield derby. ‘They’re a club that set me on my career. It’s a club I really follow and feel close to and I have fingers crossed they make it up and I’m playing them in the Premier League next year.’
Leicester, of course, play their part, which brings us to Jamie Vardy, famously a Wednesday fan. That must be why he was so keen to ensure the media knew about the Slabhead nickname. ‘Yeah, but I’ve got the bragging rights at the moment!’ he says, referring to Wednesday’s struggles. Though he perhaps needs to retain a certain wariness. ‘Vards is always up to some sort of prank. If you walk in the changing room just be aware and maybe put a shield on.’
Michael Dawson, who kept him out of the Hull team will get a namecheck. ‘ Even when I was down and not playing, he always pulled me and said: “Just be patient. I’ve great belief you’re going to go to the very top”.’ Then Chris Morgan, a centre- half at Sheffield United, would teach him his trade. John Terry was a role model from afar. ‘He was one of the best on the ball. Left and right foot, he used to spray the ball all over the pitch. When you’re a big lad and good at heading, people think you’re not good on the ball. But it’s not always the case.’
Many coaches have helped but two at Hull stand out. Mike Phelan, now back at Manchester United, played a back three which helped Maguire establish himself. And another, who is not so fashionable right now: Marco Silva.
‘Marco is a wonderful manager. He’s obviously having a difficult time at the moment but I think he’ll come out strong. Thanks to him, he gave me a great run in the team.’
It was Phelan, Silva and Gareth Southgate who put Maguire in the spotlight at the top level. In another era, his languid style of throwing in a shoulder shrug, beating his man and bringing the ball out from the back might not have been tolerated in England. ‘ The game has evolved in a way that has helped me. Centre-halves now, to play at the top, are expected to deal with the ball. Goalkeepers too. That’s how extreme the game’s gone.’ Maguire first caught Southgate’s eye in an England training session centred on bringing the ball out from the back. It was then that the manager earmarked him for the World Cup. This was in August 2017, when Maguire was 24 and yet to make his international debut.
‘I remember it,’ he says. ‘We do that session quite often and it was a big reason we played well at the World Cup. He said we were good enough to play out. I think the confidence they bred into us, the trust that they have shown has helped us perform and play out from the back like we did.’ TRADITIONALLY this is pitched as a fairy- tale: from Boundary Park to the World Cup semi-final. Only Maguire doesn’t quite see it that way. Of course, he is enormously appreciative of the summer of love, a lifetime memory. ‘Overall I think it was a real success for the country,’ he says. ‘ The fans got right behind us and the support was incredible and it’s something we should be proud of.’
And yet, it might have been more. ‘I think about it quite a lot,’ he says. ‘It was a great summer for myself. [But] obviously it ended in disappointment. And that’s something that still gets to me now. Whenever I see pictures (of the semi-final against Croatia), it’s still not a nice feeling. We were so close. At halftime we had one foot in the final.’
He acknowledges his part in that failure. ‘Playing out from the back was a big part of why we were successful at the World Cup. Everyone was cool, calm. The second half against Croatia, we probably let that go a bit. And we were panicking a bit more than previous games. That’s a big reason why we got knocked out of the tournament.
‘But you can see from the performances already in the UEFA Nations League, that when the big teams come, we’re a lot more experienced. We learn to cope with the pressure and the ball a lot better. Hopefully it puts us in good stead for the future.’ WHAT might the future hold for Harry Maguire? There are those UEFA Nations League semi-finals in Portugal in summer, which might yet be a less-intense repeat of his experiences in Russia.
Before that there is Spurs today. Leicester need to knuckle down. The season hasn’t been bad, it’s just everything is a bit of a comedown from 2016 and despite the progress under Claude Puel, boos often accompany home matches.
‘We’ve been a little inconsistent. When we’re playing against teams we’re expected to beat at home and not performing to a level we should be performing to, you understand fans not being happy.’
It’s no secret Maguire might have moved had Jose Mourinho prevailed at Manchester United. But there were no tantrums. ‘Leicester gave me a great platform to go and play at a World Cup. If it weren’t for them I maybe wouldn’t have done. So repaying them is important. There was no doubt in my mind I was going to be loyal and start the season with Leicester.’
And yet he is surrounded by England team-mates who will play in the Champions League this month. ‘Every young player wants to play at the top level. I take everything step by step and concentrate game by game and see where it takes me. Leicester are a club on the up and we’ll see where they go and we’ll see where I go,’ he says.
There is something innately likeable about Maguire. He has won player of the year awards voted for by fans at Sheffield United, Hull and Leicester. Now England fans have taken him to heart. ‘I’d probably say it’s my journey,’ he says. ‘Playing in League One and building my way up the ladder. And your style of football and the way you want to play the game.’
In all honesty, there are plenty like him in football, ordinary, downto-earth men who have extraordinary fame projected upon them. Somehow we settled on him as a symbol for a new England and a fresh type of relatable footballer. Still, he wears it well.