MARATHON MAN GUNTER READY TO GO EXTRA MILE FOR WALES
CHRIS Gunter suffered Championship play-off final heartache as his Reading side missed out on a place in the promised land of the Premier League after being beaten on penalties by Huddersfield Town at Wembley at the end of last month.
But the Wales defender’s season is not quite over just yet, with Gunter set to be playing for the national side today as Chris Coleman’s men take on Serbia in a crucial World Cup qualifier.
The Wales ace has already played a remarkable 57 games for club and country this season and will be able to enjoy a thoroughly-deserved rest after the international break.
But just how impressive are Gunter’s numbers in recent seasons?
Here, we take a closer look...
THE NATIONAL RECORD
IT says a lot about Gunter’s quality and durability that he has so often been one of the first names on Coleman’s team sheet in recent years.
The defender went joint-third with Craig Bellamy on the list of Wales’ most capped footballers of all-time after the 0-0 draw with Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in March.
His ever-increasing tally of 78 caps is just 14 fewer than Neville Southall who tops the list and seven fewer than Gary Speed who is second.
And at just 27 years of age, Gunter is arguably the favourite to become the first player to win a century of caps for the men’s national side, with Jess Fishlock becoming the first player to achieve the feat when she played for the women’s team against Northern Ireland earlier this year.
But arguably the most impressive stat of them all when it comes to Gunter’s magnificent contribution to the national team is that he has made 53 consecutive appearances for Wales, a run that stretches all the way back to October 2010 when he was unavailable to play in the 4-1 Euro 2012 qualifying loss to Switzerland.
Even then, he only missed that defeat in Basel having been sent off in Wales’ 1-0 defeat to Bulgaria at Cardiff City Stadium four days earlier.
His expected appearance in the clash with Serbia will make him Wales’ third highest outright capped player of all time.
THE 2016-17 SEASON
IT was a case of so near and yet so far for Gunter’s Royals who suffered agony in the form of a penalty shootout defeat to Huddersfield at Wembley.
The 27-year-old - who skippered the Royals at Wembley – played in every one of Reading’s 46 Championship matches this season as well as playing every minute of their three play-off matches.
He was subbed off in the 81st minute of Jaap Stam’s side’s 1-1 draw with Derby in October, but has played every single minute of his side’s other 48 Championship matches this season, meaning he played a remarkable 4,431 of his side’s 4,440 minutes of league action in the 2016-17 campaign.
Add to that the five 90 minute appearances he made for Wales against Moldova, Austria, Georgia, Serbia and Republic of Ireland and his three cup appearances for the Royals, his overall tally of minutes this season stands at 5,090.
APPEARANCES (CLUB AND COUNTRY)
GUNTER’S display was his 57th of the season for club and country and his 228th in the last four seasons for Reading and Wales combined. 2016-17 - 57 (49 Championship, 2 EFL Cup, 1 FA Cup, 5 international) 2015-16 - 66 (44 Championship, 5 FA Cup, 3 EFL Cup, 14 international) 2014-15 - 51 (38 Championship, 4 FA Cup, 3 EFL Cup, 6 international) 2013-14 - 54 (44 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 1 EFL Cup, 8 international)
WHAT THE MAN HIMSELF HAS HAD TO SAY
SPEAKING after Wales stunning run to the semi-finals of Euro 2016, Gunter revealed he was missing football so much that he went back to training with Reading a few days early, despite being given an extended break having featured so prominently for the national side in France.
“It was a tough couple of weeks. For many weeks, it was building up towards it, then it was a long time when we were in it, so it was seven weeks in total. A routine, always aiming for a game or travelling.
“For it to all stop was a massive thing, the semi-final, the homecoming and then it was just... you could get in your car and go anywhere you wanted.
“It was tough. We don’t see a lot of games. We see the clips – the good stuff, the bad stuff the coaches show us – but we’re not seeing the full
games. A lot of it you don’t see.
“You spend a couple of days looking back at stuff like that. It’s only natural because the high and the stuff going through your body with the adrenaline, for that to just stop is not great for you.
“It was pretty tough. I got away but all you’re thinking of is what you’ve been through because it’s all in such a short period.
“It wasn’t the greatest and I was actually quite pleased to get back in at the club to have something to focus on.
“When you do what you want, we’re not used to that. I probably wasn’t the greatest [on holiday] and I was just pleased to get back in.
“The boys had a friendly at Swindon, which was down the road. That was about a week before I was meant to go back in.
“When you’re home or away, normally you’re in pre-season so when you feel that people are at the club working and gearing up for the season, you feel like you’re in limbo.
“I went back in a couple of days early and it was nice then because the season was pretty much ready to go.”