MADD ABOUT THE BOY
James Maddison talks to Jamie Redknapp
IT was one of the goals of the season. Leicester’s James Maddison flicks up the ball with his right foot, chests it on to his knee before lashing a volley into the bottom corner against watford last weekend.
Five months into his Premier r League career, the 22-year- old is one of England’s brightest prospects. Sportsmail’s JaMIE REDKNaPP caught up with him m at Leicester’s training ground. James Restall and Laurie whitwell l listened in...
REDKNAPP: scoring that goal must have been a great feeling. I always watched my goals back. How many y times have you watched this one?
MADDISON: Honestly? I’ve watched it a fair few times. It was a lovely y counter-attack. with this manager (Claude Puel) we are playing more possession-based football but we had a good few counter-attacks last saturday. Jamie Vardy was in good form and when you are playing on the counter, he can hurt anyone. It was a good team goal and I was just happy to finish it off.
REDKNAPP: The weekend before against Brighton was difficult, getting a second yellow card for diving. Did that make the goal feel even more special?
MADDISON: Definitely. Being booked for simulation is never good. I made a mistake. I expected the contact and went down. I knew straight away. I didn’t argue. I was really angry with myself. I was upset. I knew I had to make amends. I said to my dad before the watford game, whether it’s through quality or hard work, I am going to make sure I give everything.
REDKNAPP: How important is your dad to you? Is he your first call after a game?
MADDISON: My parents, definitely. My dad was the first person to criticise me after the game against Brighton — which I love about him. He will tell me if I’ve had a worldy game or if I haven’t been so good. REDKNAPP: One problem with players now is that they have so many people telling them that they were amazing. sometimes you need someone to just tell you how it is. My dad was so harsh on me sometimes, but if I got a thumbs up it meant the world.
MADDISON: Parents are the perfect people to talk to. They have no hidden agendas. I’ve been brought up in a really lovely family so I’m lucky.
REDKNAPP: Has the Premier League been everything you expected?
MADDISON: and more. It was my dream to play in the Premier League from when I was eight. I’m loving it. I love being on sky sports, the big hype around the games and stuff like that.
REDKNAPP: Your debut was at Manchester United. I always felt that Old Trafford was one of the hardest places to go, but you seemed so comfortable.
MADDISON: I loved every second. The manager took me off after 65 minutes, which I was fuming about, to be honest!
REDKNAPP: Did you say anything to him?
MADDISON: No... it was my first game and I wanted to keep my place in the team! But I enjoyed it so much. I went out in the warmup and thought, ‘whoa, it’s filling up, cameras all down the side. This T is the Premier League.’ I just made sure I stayed calm and played to my strengths. REDKNAPP: R were you not nervous? MADDISON: Nah, not when I went out there. I was good in the warmup. That sometimes gives me a little indication. I’d had a good pre-season, too. when we kicked off I thought, ‘ I’m ready’. Those b big games, that’s what we live for. I want everyone talking about me. I want to be the best player, the o one you are analysing afterwards — for the good things, not diving!
REDKNAPP: You have had the highs of coming to the Premier League, your form has been amazing, but you have also had the devastation o of the helicopter crash. How d difficult has that been?
MADDISON: It’s been really tough. How do you even explain it? It’s been such a sad time for the club. we came in on the Monday after the west Ham game and I have never seen anything like it. Personally, I struggle to deal with losses. It was hard for me. seeing people like Kasper schmeichel and Jamie Vardy, who have known The Boss for a number of years — it’s so hard to see them upset. we all stuck together so well.
REDKNAPP: Has it made everyone feel more thankful for what they have in football?
MADDISON: we were a close-knit group as it was but this brought everyone together. we wanted to show our respects to Vichai and be there for his family. Everyone loved Vichai. He was one of the best guys I have ever met and I had known him for only five months. a memory like that will stick forever with Top — Vichai’s son — that the boys were there in Thailand to support him. I know it was a lot of travelling but it’s two days. I hope we can keep continuing his legacy. MaDDIsON, who took his tally for the season to five goals against Fulham on wednesday, has not had a conventional route to the top. Forcing his way into the Coventry team aged 17, he played in the Championship with Norwich before making the step up to the Premier League in the summer.
REDKNAPP: what was the thinking behind starting out at Coventry rather than, say, aston Villa?
MADDISON: There were lads from where I was from in Coventry who were at aston Villa and Birmingham. They were good players but the opportunities were more limited. I was on the bench at Coventry as a 16-year- old. That was invaluable experience. I was just a little boy amongst the men in League One.
REDKNAPP: Men who are trying to kick you...
MADDISON: One thing I would tell any young player is that games are the best thing for you. You don’t want to be stuck in an academy playing Under 23 games. I have played nearly 150 games. I’ve only just turned 22, but I feel more senior. I feel like I’ve been around the block for ages. I took it in smaller steps but I was playing in the Premier League at 21.
REDKNAPP: who do you watch? who do you want to emulate?
MADDISON: David silva is the master. You couldn’t get it off him in a phone box. Philippe Coutinho is someone I really like, a No 10 who scores and creates goals. Bernardo silva, too. City’s forward line is scary at times. Their players are the level you want to get to. watching them can only help.
REDKNAPP: You are a great free-
MADDISON ON THE HELICOPTER TRAGEDY It’s been really tough. Vichai was one of the best guys I have ever met and I had known him for just five months
MADDISON ON WHO HE WATCHES David Silva is the master. You couldn’t get it off him in a phone box. City’s forward line is scary
kick taker. Do you take a bag of balls out after training?
MADDISON: All the time. Demarai Gray does it with me. He keeps moaning that he wants one but I’m not going to let him! We’ll hit them until we are told to go in. The physio will end up saying, ‘All right, that’s enough’. It was what I practised most as a youngster: penalties and free-kicks.
REDKNAPP: Your technique has a little bit of Ronaldo, a little bit of Beckham...
MADDISON: Me and Dimi (Gray) tried a Ronaldo but they don’t come off very often! Beckham was the one. The whip he got on the ball, the pace. With Premier League keepers, if you’re shooting from 25 yards you need to have so much pace on the ball to score. Even if you get it over the wall, if it’s not right in the top corner it’s going to be saved because of the quality of the keeper now. HALFWAY through their conversation and Redknapp spots that Gray — close friends with Maddison — has entered the room. The pair played together with England Under 21s before Maddison joined Leicester in the summer.
REDKNAPP: When you arrived it must have made it easier having this guy here?
MADDISON: When I came here I already knew Demarai and Ben Chilwell. It feels like I’ve been here for years. REDKNAPP: How far can Demarai go? I watch him and think he’s got so much ability... MADDISON: He’s got the lot. As a full back, you would not want to play against him. We link up really well. Being mates, it helps on the pitch — that extra hunger to link up and make something happen for the other. REDKNAPP: I’ve seen your Instagram — you are like a band of brothers! MADDISON: I buzz off seeing Dimi and Chilly do well. Chilly playing for England... watching that game I was like a proud brother.
REDKNAPP: How did you find out about your first senior England call-up? In my day, you found out on Teletext...
MADDISON: I got the text saying I was in the senior squad. It said: ‘...the upcoming games against Croatia and Spain’ and I was thinking, ‘ I’m sure we’ve got Andorra and Scotland!’ If I hadn’t been in the squad I’d have been back with the Under 21s! My mum and dad were in shock. I phoned them straight away and mum burst into tears. I knew there were a couple of injuries and I’d been playing well, but you can never expect it, can you? It’s where I want to be. I want it to be the norm.
REDKNAPP: When I played for England, the Manchester United players used to sit on their own table. It used to do my head in.
MADDISON: I didn’t get that feeling from when I was there. The seniors made the transition so easy for me. You are playing cards with all the boys, you feel like part of the group. From the outside, it looks like a club. I’m excited to watch England even if I’m not involved. The future is bright. If we keep going as a country we can achieve something.
REDKNAPP: What have you got to do to become an England regular?
MADDISON: I just have to focus on Leicester. Gareth Southgate is always watching. Assists, goals, affecting the game in general, that’s what you are judged on. I’d love to be at Euro 2020 but it’s short-term targets for me. I don’t want to get derailed. As long as I stick to what I do, I hope the rest will take care of itself. IT WAS not just his wonder goal that made last Saturday special for Maddison. Before and after the game he spent time with Sophie Taylor, a four-year-old Norwich fan suffering from cancer.
In January, Sophie’s family were told that she had an osteosarcoma in her knee and that tumours had spread to her lungs.
Maddison first met her in April when she was a mascot at Carrow Road and he has kept in touch with her family ever since.
She was Leicester’s mascot last Saturday and Maddison posted a picture with her on Twitter after the game, captioned: ‘ My beautiful best friend.’
REDKNAPP: I like the fact that you’ve taken Sophie under your wing. How did you meet her?
MADDISON: She was a mascot at Norwich last year and took a place in my heart ever since. I invited her to watch the England Under 21s against Holland. I gave her my shirt and got the boys to sign it. I invited her to the game on Saturday. I seem to score whenever she is there. After the game, I introduced my mum and dad to her family. We sat in the players’ lounge for an hour and Sophie was kicking the ball in between the chairs. I went to sit down for a bit and she was like, ‘James, come and play with me!’
REDKNAPP: Does it help you stay grounded?
MADDISON: I took her on the pitch. Her family were on the sidelines watching me and Sophie kick the ball and they were just smiling. To see them so happy at me doing this little thing for her, that’s priceless.