Mariappa is a role model
ADRIAN MARIAPPA is the model pro.
On the pitch, ever-reliable and ready to “run through a brick wall for Watford” according to Hornets legend Paul Robinson.
Off it, one of the faces of Fresh Ego Kid, the rising fashion label started by his friend and former footballer Marvin Morgan.
The growth of Morgan’s brand, a favourite for a string of Premier League players and celebrities, means you do not have to go too far to find pictures of Mariappa.
“I was asked during the summer and said, ‘Why not?’ And it has snowballed,” he said. “I thought it would just be one or two days and it has ended up being a lot more. They asked me to come back and do some more which means it must have been all right.
“If Marvin binned me off I don’t think I’d be sticking my CV out anywhere! Football is my priority and this just came and I’m seeing where I can go with it.
“I had so much stick it was a joke. But it has died down.
“I end up getting sent the pictures with messages from mates at other clubs like, ‘Ah, what a model!’
“It’s way out of my comfort zone but I’ve enjoyed it. I give it the same approach as I do with playing football – try and do it to the best of my ability.”
That approach is a big reason why the defender has battled back from failing to get a scholarship at 16 to make almost 300 appearances for Watford.
“Not getting a scholarship made me knuckle down,” he said. “It was heartbreaking but I look back now and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
He answered concerns about his height – “5ft 10in at a push” – by working relentlessly on his heading ability, positioning and timing of challenges while also leaning on traits picked up from his schooldays playing basketball.
He studied similar-sized defenders such as Fabio Cannavaro, Carles Puyol and Ivan Cordoba, plus strikers who headed the ball well, such as Les Ferdinand and Heidar Helguson during their Watford days.
Those efforts helped him handle 19st Jon Parkin on his full league debut and in tussles with Peter
Crouch and Kenwyne Jones when he was targeted by Stoke. Mariappa also responded to concerns about a rumoured lack of pace by joining a local sprint club in Harrow. Seeing the slightly older Ashley Young recover from a Watford knock-back because of his size provided further inspiration. “Things that were seen as negatives spurred me on,” he said. “Now my heading ability and pace are strong points.” So Mariappa has become a player Watford trust. “I have been part of this club since I was nine,” he said. “I’ve watched us at Wembley get promoted, seen us under Graham Taylor, been through a lot so to still be here means a lot.”