England call got me out of doing the housework!
FULHAM’S No 1 ON BEING PICKED BY SOUTHGATE
MARCUS Bettinelli had his gloves on when he answered the call that sent him into a spin. Not the kind of gloves you would expect a goalkeeper to wear, though. A pair of Marigolds.
England’s newest goalkeeper had planned to surprise girlfriend Nadia by sprucing up their flat when the name of Darren Preston, Fulham’s chief operating officer, flashed up on his phone.
‘He asked if the FA had been on to me — I thought it was a home drug test, the last thing I wanted on my day off,’ recalled Bettinelli. ‘Next thing, Darren was telling me I’d been picked for England. My first reaction? “Bloody hell!”
‘When England call, you drop everything. The messy kitchen could wait. To be fair, it got me out of doing the housework,’ joked 26-year-old Bettinelli.
He has every reason to be chipper. His call-up underlined his status as one of Engand’s best goalkeeping talents. Yet there is a humility to Bettinelli that is endearing. The goalkeeper is self-deprecating as we discuss the few weeks that turned his life upside down.
Behind the smiles, though, there is a steely determination. Having played a key role in Fulham’s promotion to the Premier League last season, Bettinelli looked to be on his way out of Craven Cottage following the arrival of two new keepers — Sergio Rico and Fabri — during the summer.
‘I had to stay mentally strong. I wasn’t involved at the start of the season and that was tough to take, especially after helping us get promoted,’ he said.
Credit to Bettinelli for refusing to sulk. Five weeks later he is back as Fulham’s No 1 — and now part of the England set-up. He hopes to keep his place when England manager Gareth Southgate names his squad next week for the games against Spain and Croatia.
Bettinelli said: ‘When I got that phone call, it was a whirlwind, probably the proudest moment of my life. I may never have the chance to play for England but I can always say I was in the squad. No one can take that away.
‘You dream of moments like that — when it happened it was surreal. You remember the hardships, like the serious knee injury I had in 2015. But more than anything I thought about my family — I wanted to tell my mum and dad right away.’
He did that — but not in the most conventional way. ‘Dad (Vic Bettinelli, Fulham’s academy goalkeeping coach) phoned 15 minutes after I spoke to Darren, so I assumed he knew,’ said Bettinelli.
‘But he didn’t, so I played it cool and told him to come round. When he arrived I called Mum, put her on loudspeaker and broke the news to them. Mum was in tears, Dad nearly choked on his tea.’ For Vic, his son’s international call-up was particularly emotional. Parental pride aside, Bettinelli Snr has witnessed his son develop into one of England’s finest goalkeepers.
‘I call him Vic at the training ground and Vic at home,’ explains Bettinelli.
The pair are incredibly close, yet remarkably, Vic refuses to watch Bettinelli in action.
Mum Sandra, sisters Rebecca and Laura — a physio at Fulham — grand-father Eddie and girlfriend Nadia are regulars at Craven Cottage. Vic, though, is nowhere to be seen. ‘He’s too nervous to watch me play — he wants me to do well so much,’ said Bettinelli.
‘We have a fantastic relationship and I know he is proud of me but he just can’t hack watching. But then he’ll text Mum to find out how I’m doing.’
The torment of watching his son in action caused Vic to miss the biggest afternoon in his boy’s career to date — last season’s 1-0 play-off final win over Aston Villa. ‘I asked Mum to make sure he came, so when I saw him I was almost tearful,’ Bettinelli recalled.
But what the Fulham goalkeeper did not realise was his father walked out just seconds before kick-off. Vic paced round Wembley several times before venturing to a nearby park to kill more time. Eventually, the suspense got the better of him, checking on his phone to see Fulham were ahead. Vic dashed back to Wembley only to be stopped in his tracks.
‘He ran up Wembley Way but the steward wouldn’t let him back in,’ revealed Bettinelli.
‘Eventually he got in and ran up to his seat just in time for the final whistle. He did not watch a single minute — but he was there for the start and the end.
‘I’m sure in a few years he’ll look back and think, “I wish I’d been there for a few more games”. But if he thinks that will make me play better, then so be it.’