Stroke survivor, 72, lining up forWales in old enemy clash
FOOTBALL is littered with incredible, scarcely believable stories. Leicester City winning the Premier League, Greece Euro 2004... Wales rampaging to the semifinals in France last summer.
The tale we are about to share will never grab the headlines like those truly extraordinary achievements, yet in its own right can be viewed as equally as remarkable.
Football history will be made at the FAW’s Dragon Park HQ on Thursday afternoon when Wales host England in the world’s first over-65s international. This is not walking football – it will be a full-on encounter (well, as best as the case can be with pensioners) between players whose background is either professional or semi-pro.
That’s a feat in its own right. But playing for Wales will be defender John Convery, a former Cardiff City and Barry Town captain, who just happened to suffer a stroke 18 months ago.
At 72 years of age, he is the oldest registered footballer playing in Wales and is adamant he wants to be involved in this unique fixture.
There will be more than 2,000 years of football experience on display in Newport and former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher, these days a Sky football pundit, will be the man in the middle.
The game has been organised by the Wales Veterans Football Association. They have a brilliant motto, which reads: “We never grow too old to give up football, we grow old because we give up football.”
That is certainly the case with Convery, who goes from hospital bed with many fearing he would not pull through, to taking up his accustomed position at the centre of the defence for Wales.
David Drew, secretary of Wales Vets, says: “I recall going to visit John in Merthyr’s Prince Charles hospital and just thinking it would be remarkable if he could get over this.
“He couldn’t speak at the time, struggled to move parts of his body. Yet here we are, 18 months on, and he’s back on the football pitch playing for Wales against England.
“His medics and physios have been great. I’m convinced the determination to train and play football again has helped John recover.”
He continued: “Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is some soft sort of walkabout. These players, because of their strong football background, have always been fiercely competitive. It’s England and we will be desperate to win, albeit with a great degree of sportsmanship at this age.
“John wants to be a part of that and he can still play a bit. A few of the youngsters, namely the 65-yearolds, have incredible fitness levels and must be seen to be believed!
“Crikey, when I first got involved with the Vets seven years ago John was 65 back then. He’s obviously slowed up a bit, but is just one remarkable guy.
“My football idol was Alan Ball, the ex-Everton, Arsenal and England midfielder. After him, it’s John. By a country mile, too.
“Most people with the Welsh Vets will have an injury setback and you never see them again, which is understandable, really. Yet John had his problems and was adamant he would be back. His story is one of the more remarkable ones you will come across.
“John doesn’t boast about his playing background, but he was on Cardiff’s books and captained them as a youngster. The story goes that he looked at the team-sheet one day, saw he wasn’t on it, knew there were no substitutes back then so he wouldn’t be involved, and left to join the Army.
“I’ve never asked John about that, but that’s what the older players say happened. Whatever, he was clearly a top, top player, as are others in our team.
“We’re talking about players who were professionals with Aston Villa, Bristol City or Hereford, or leading semi-pros with Merthyr, Newport and Barry.
“With that sort of background, it’s inevitable these international matches are competitive.”
So, what about the history-making game?
“It’s definitely the first over-65s international played in this country and Europe, but we also believe that to be the case with the world,” said Drew.
“They do play older football in Canada, but we’re not totally certain they have had a proper international like ours, so to speak.”
Even if they have, it’s doubtful they have come across anybody quite like John Convery. Wales squad v England over-65s (FAW Dragon Park, Newport, 2pm, today): Mick Algieri (Swansea), David Abbott (Newport), Fred Beech (Mathern), Handley Brustad (Newport), Andre Burt (Swansea), Paul Caviel (Merthyr) John Convery (Penybont), Jeff Dudley (Merthyr), Nigel Gallagher (Newport), Steve Hold (Ely Rangers), Steve Humphrey (Penybont), Gerald Jones (Newport), Tony Jones (Mathern), Frank Lennon (Barry), David Mayer (Newport), Dennis Murphy (Merthyr), Mike Williams (Penybont).