A rival striker? Zlat’s just fine
Richard EXCLUSIVE ANDY COLE does not hesitate when asked the question: Would he swap all his medals, goals and football memories for good health?
“In a heartbeat,” he said. “What I’ve been through, what I’ve seen my family go through, how distressed they have been, not sure if I was going to come through the other side, I’d swap it all day long.
“It doesn’t matter how many millions you might have, or what I achieved playing football, your health is your wealth. I would give up all the goals, the trophies, the accolades for good health.”
Cole, 45, had a kidney transplant in April after two years of illness that started when he caught an airborne virus while returning from a Manchester United ambassadorial trip to Vietnam.
Four months down the line, he is on course to make a full recovery and is well enough to go back to Old Trafford today to manage a United legends team against Barcelona to raise money for the club’s Foundation. He would love to be out on the pitch but knows he has to be patient.
“The first three months is the most difficult stage because there is more chance the kidney will be rejected,” he said. “I’m now four months down the line and the medical team are happy. The doctors said the fact I was a footballer and had kept myself fit since retiring gives me a better chance.”
There are a lot of people Cole has to thank. His doctors, of course, but most important his nephew Alexander, who donated the kidney, and his wife Shirley for nagging him to get himself checked when he first fell ill.
“I’m forever indebted to Alexander,” he said. “Never mind the pain I went through for two years, to see him in more pain than me after the operation was humbling. It brings tears to your eyes to know that someone was prepared to do that.
“When I first became ill, I treated it like a footballer would ROMELU LUKAKU insists he welcomes the competition Zlatan Ibrahimovic will bring to Manchester United.
Lukaku continued his blistering start to the season with a hat-trick for Belgium against Gibraltar on Thursday night.
But the 24-year-old, with three Premier League goals already to his name, will see the veteran Swede forward back in the fold later this season at Old Trafford after his serious knee injury.
Ibrahimovic was the main man for United last season, scoring 28 goals in all competitions, but Lukaku said: “I don’t fear the competition as a striker, or Zlatan.
“He will bring many qualities to the team and help us in our goal of winning the title.
“I said to Zlatan I hoped he would be back. We need his personality.
“And I knew for a while that he would sign a new contract.”
Lukaku rang Ibrahimovic over the summer to ask if he could wear the No9 shirt at United, with the 35-year-old now set to wear No10 after Wayne Rooney’s departure.
Lukaku added: “We know there are big rivals for the title – City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham. But things are going really well for me at United. The pre-season was good and it helped knowing a lot of the players before arriving.”
Lukaku admitted he had wanted to play for United manager Jose Mourinho for most of his life. Some had assumed Mourinho’s decision to sell Lukaku while they were both at Chelsea had affected their relationship before his move to Old Trafford.
But Lukaku said: “It is all about progressing and learning .
“I’m now with a coach that I have wanted to play for for a long time, since I was 11.”