Jay Bothroyd: Sapporo hotshot

The former Cardiff striker has entered his sixth season in Japan – and is loving life at Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo

hot. The food is brilliant, although I have a vegan diet. You can come in March to go skiing, then pop over to Tokyo where it’s 20 degrees. You can be on a beach in Okinawa and it’s 30... The only negative thing on [ the island of] Hokkaido is that we have to fly to away games. [ Ever seen a bear?] God, no – there have been sightings on Hokkaido, though...

Perugia’s owner, Luciano Gaucci, was notoriously mad – did he really try to recruit female star Hanna Ljungberg while you were there?

I think some of it was banter. He said to me one day, “Jay, I’m going to put in the paper that we’ll sign this Swedish girl so you can feel more at home.” I was like, “Really?!” The next day, there it was and I was answering questions about it. He did some crazy things, but was a funny guy. Playing for Perugia was a fantastic experience, in what was the best league in the world at the time.

You trained alongside Saadi Gaddafi, the son of ex- Libyan leader Muammar. Was he any good?

Oh, he was poor – not good at all. But he had shares in the club and liked football, so just trained with us every day. He also had shares in Juventus, so would go on the bench against them; he came on for 15 minutes once, when we won 1- 0. To be fair, he was a billionaire – the fact he wanted to train with us every day, you had to admire it. It was because of him that I met my wife. He took me to Milan for a birthday party and she was there, so I owe him! He was always very polite and kind. I remember he’d be speaking to Diego Maradona on the phone about free- kicks, and had [ former sprinter] Ben Johnson as his fitness coach. I met him for drinks a few times and heard all his tales about the Olympics. Saadi tried to maximise what he could do.

You won one England cap, at home to France in 2010 – how did that happen? I’d started the 2010- 11 season well for Cardiff, and there was one home game where Dave Jones said Franco Baldini [ Fabio Capello’s No. 2] was in the stand. I couldn’t believe it. We played away at Scunthorpe shortly before the squad got announced, and I was desperate to do well. Luckily, I scored twice. That night, I got a text, stood up and yelled, “Yes!” I trained at The Grove a day later and it never felt like, ‘ You’re a Championship player’ – I was just another guy who’d earned a place. I’m so proud of my cap.

You’re 38 now, but in fine goalscoring fettle. Are you mulling retirement yet? I’ve always said that I’ll finish when my body stops doing what my brain tells it to. I want to retire from football; I don’t want football to retire me. I feel great – much of it is down to my diet and I look after myself. I didn’t start doing stuff in the gym until I turned 30; before, I just relied on my technique and build to get out of situations. Either way, I’ve played in the Premier League and Serie A, and for England. I’ve lived my dream.

Not a regular scorer, the then- Ipswich Town man didn’t know how to react. “It’s unreal, so what are you meant to do?” he says. “You don’t pre- plan it. I ran off one way, then I remembered all my family were up in the stands, so I went the other way. My dad, wife and two boys were there. I later learned that one of my sons was asleep when I scored, and that my wife soaked loads of people with a can of Coke while celebrating the goal!”

Coming shortly after Roy Keane’s infamous spat with manager Mccarthy which had resulted in the Manchester United midfielder heading home, the goal was vital to settling down the squad. In the end, the 1- 1 draw helped Ireland reach the last 16.

“A lot had gone on, and that did put a bit of extra pressure on the first game,” admits Holland. “Back in Ireland, it was 50- 50 about whether Mick or Roy was in the right. Not getting beaten was important.

“It’s a lovely memory to have, and I’m proud to have scored at a World Cup for Ireland. Every year on the anniversary I get reminded of it on Twitter, which is nice – and I’m so happy that my dad, who isn’t with us any more, got to see that moment.”