Your first club was Colchester in 1998 – did starting in English football’s lower leagues give you a good grounding?

Colchester Newcastle Portsmouth Olympiacos

Al- Arabi Omonia Blackpool Karabukspor Caykur Rizespor Akhisar Belediyespor Sanliurfaspor Merit Alsancak Yesilova Dogan Turk Birligi Girne Halk Evi Peterborough Sports DR Congo

I wouldn’t have wanted to start anywhere but Colchester, because they opened the way for me. When I joined the youth team, I didn’t feel it was my level and the players laughed at me, but I knew what I wanted. Colchester gave me the chance to express myself. Without them, I wouldn’t have played in the Premier League, Champions League or represented my country.