Sterling deserves respect
Rahee m Sterling (pictured) is England’s most important player and yet is the most questioned. He has kept England in the Euros, kept popping up with goals with 15 in his past 20 internationals, kept attacking and tracking back and kept being accused of not being Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka or Marcus Rashford.
After Sterling scored again in the 2-0 win over Germany, Gareth Southgate, the England manager, was only half-joking in observing that he hoped the questioning about proving his doubters wrong would continue.
“Please keep asking the questions because if we cannot motivate him, everyone else will certainly be able to (with their questions)” Southgate said, smiling.
Sterling, 26, deserves more respect. Since the 2018 World Cup no player has delivered more consistently for England than him. Even in Russia, Sterling’s movement helped Harry Kane in his journey towards the Golden Boot.
Splenetic phone-ins and tribal social media posts are rarely the best bellwether of public opinion but some mainstream columnists and pundits have also weighed in, arguing that Grealish should start. Sterling bridles slightly when asked, again, whether he has “answered his critics” with another match-winning display.
Sterling should be more properly appreciated. For some reason, whether to do with colour, affinity for a rival, the controversial manner he left Liverpool or his fearlessness in calling out the media, Sterling frequently appears targeted. One suspects that his critics are merely biding their time, and if Thomas Müller had equalised from Sterling’s misplaced pass, one knows the treatment he would have received. As Müller ran through, Sterling held his head in his hands. When the German missed, Sterling sank to his knees almost offering up supplication.
“He is a fighter,” Southgate said. “He has got an incredible resilience and hunger. He has developed over the last couple of years this real hunger to score. When the ball has flashed across the box he has been in between the posts.”
The journey Sterling has been on was initially concerning: he scored only twice in his first 45 England games but now has 17 in 65 matches. First capped in 2012, Sterling did not score for his country until his 14th international — having played 820 minutes — against Lithuania at Wembley in 2015. His second goal arrived four games later against Estonia, again under the arch.
But his next goals, a double, came 28 matches and three years later, in Seville against Spain, three months after Russia 2018 where he worked tirelessly alongside the prolific Kane but was constantly questioned.
“He was probably the only one of the players to come back from the World Cup with a different feeling (to the genera squad elation at reaching the semi-finals) and I talked to him at length about that,” Southgate said. “I think Seville was a real lift-off moment for him.”
“You could almost see it. He almost jumped into the second tier of the stadium if you look at the celebration that night of one of his goals. I feel this was a significant moment for him and, of course, he had been scoring for his club but had not been able to translate that across (to internationals).”
At this tournament Sterling has scored winners against Croatia and Czech Republic and the breakthrough goal against Germany.
“Now I think he feels happy in our environment,” Southgate said. “He feels he can be himself, knows the respect we have for him and yes, he has been a huge threat for every opponent in this tournament.”
Southgate also voiced his opinion that Kane’s goal, his first in 467 minutes, would trigger a spree. The manager recalled how Alan Shearer failed to score in 12 games leading up to Euro 1996, including a friendly against China in Beijing, yet when the tournament started he scored against Switzerland and finished top scorer.
“I played with Alan in 1996 and [remember] the change in him once he got that goal,” Southgate said. “I remember when he played in China and it was another game without a goal and you could sense how it was for him, so that will be a high release for him (Kane). We know with Harry and Raheem their goalscoring record with us has been immense and so important. We cannot just expect Harry to be the one to deliver so Raheem has weighed in at a crucial moment and is looking electric. If we can get Harry scoring as well, that is great for us as a team.
“The life of a centre forward is a lot of pressure. There is a huge expectation and although from the outside it would feel like a glamorous position to be in and they get paid well, it comes with immense pressure and expectation. It’s important as a manager to understand that and have empathy with that. Not only is there the public expectation but there is an inherent desire and drive that centre forwards have that if you win the game and they don’t score they are irritated. They cannot help that. That is the mindset of the top players. So it will have been a perfect day for him. He wants the team to win more than anything but for the team to win and him to score will put a big smile on his face.” — Times.