Daily Mirror

MATCH-FIX PROBE OVER PSG CLASH

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Season Club

Leeds United Manchester United Newcastle United MK Dons (loan) MK Dons Notts County

England U21 England B England

Notts County (caretaker) Apps 172 61 84 16 51 86

10 1 19 easily before. I get out of bed and can’t walk properly, my ankle is stiff all the time.

“I went for a run in the summer and managed to do a couple of miles but stopped and started walking because my ankle was hurting.

“Last month the surgeon said, ‘I don’t want you doing any straight-line running because it will damage the joint.

“It is always difficult to walk away but I have no regrets, for me I see retiring early being the easy option.”

Smith’s injury robbed him of his pace and turned him overnight from an aggressive mobile forward into a midfielder.

But it reflects his enthusiasm for the game and intelligen­ce he was able to adapt.

He takes huge satisfacti­on from subsequent title successes after injury with Manchester Goals 38

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3 1 1 “The 7-1 game against Roma in 2007. It was my first game back from missing 15 months with an ankle injury. We were 2-1 down from the first leg but to turn it around and win 7-1, Sir Alex Ferguson said it was the best European performanc­e he had been involved in and it was a proud moment to score and be in an all-round team performanc­e.”

“Roberto Ayala, the centre-half for Valencia. I played against him a couple of times. It seemed the harder you hit him, the harder he got. He was a great Argentinia­n centre-half. ”

“For the occasion, away to Lazio for Leeds United in the Champions League. As a kid we all grew up watching Italian football on Channel Four and to score at the Olympic Stadium in Rome was special in a 1-0 victory.”

“At one stage people kept thinking, ‘He keeps getting in trouble with his discipline, maybe he is too emotional to play for the club.’ But we then went away to play against Tel Aviv and I scored four goals. If I needed a performanc­e I have always been able to find one – through grit and determinat­ion.”

“Leaving Leeds to go to Manchester United caused a hoo-ha but I would like to think Leeds could be proud of me going there because there is not many kids coming through the system from 10 years old who get to sign for one of thed. biggest clubs in the world.

I loved it at Manchester United, it was intense and d

I saw it as a great opportunit­y to learn from some of the best players. The people and

United and next club Newcastle who won the Championsh­ip in 2010.

Smith explained: “I used to play wholeheart­edly like a supporter who was sat in the stands would want to play.

“Arguably from that day at Liverpool onwards people don’t see the best of you.

“Adrenaline gets you through for a time but I knew I wouldn’t be the same again. I was never as good in that new position as I was.

“But I became a better footballer and learnt about . “The Championsh­ip-winning team at Newcastle in 2009/2010 was really good – that was a great season. Unfortunat­ely the previous season we got relegated I only played a handful of times because of injury.

There was a lot of disappoint­ment we had gone down but also a nucleus of players who felt it was important that before we all went our separate ways we had a point to prove to get promoted.”

“I wanted to get picked for what I could do not because of what I did for Leeds or Manchester United – you can’t say I was good 10 years ago so you have to pick me. That earns you respect.”

. “My England career was the highest accolade. I broke in through playing well for Leeds and had three seasons where I was playing at the top of my game before I had my injury. I broke into the squad and then scored my first goal on my first start against Portugal. In 2002 I had been in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers but ended up getting sent off for two yellows against Macedonia and ended up not going to the World Cup because of that.

I was in every squad when we qualified for Euro 2004 but didn’t go to the World Cup in 2006 after I had gone to Manchester United and establishe­d myself because I got injured. I was competing against players like Alan Shearer, Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen.”

the game. The second time I injured my left ankle In the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland in 2011.

“Arguably that was worse because I had all the metal work in it from previously and that got distorted and messed up. But after both the injuries I came back and helped my team win trophies.

“Winning the Premier League is a massive thing for anyone which United did in 2007 before I left.

“After we went down with Newcastle in 2009 we had a

point to prove. I captained the team a lot that next season,” he added, “and it is nice if before you leave you can get them back up.

“I feel lucky to have won the Premier League trophy and lifted the Championsh­ip trophy.”

After United and Newcastle, Smith dropped down the divisions with MK Dons and Notts County.

Now Smith is applying for a US visa and will be found in Florida and he says his unusual career gives him valuable experience to pass on. He is also taking up surfing and typically insisted on spending six hours in the water on his first go until he could stand up.

It will never replace the buzz of competitiv­e football but the straight-talking Yorkshirem­an has to find some outlet for his drive. FROM BACK PAGE to lose by five goals. Neymar then hit a hat-trick as the French champs went on a goal spree at Parc des Princes.

UEFA had informed French police of their suspicions – and a football expert hired to monitor the match claimed some Red Star players were “unusually passive” during the 90 minutes. But club president Dragan Dzajic said: “I know absolutely nothing about this. This is not possible, this is not true.”

Liverpool host Belgrade in their next Champions League tie on October 24.

A UEFA statement said: “We never comment as to not compromise the process of such investigat­ions.”

In Belgium, police have arrested nine people – including one top referee and three agents – in an investigat­ion into match-fixing and money laundering.

Belgium captain Vincent Kompany said: “I’m not surprised. There’s a close link between the world of football and what goes on in the world of human traffickin­g, drugs or prostituti­on.”

He was carried off with a broken leg and dislocated ankle. Sir Alex Ferguson said it was one of the worst injuries that he had seen

 ??  ?? Alan Smith swapped clubs, playing golf at the iconic Stoke Park course in Buckingham­shire players there, when they had won something they would be so focused on trying to win again.That separated them and why they were the best because they were obsessed with winning.” .
Alan Smith swapped clubs, playing golf at the iconic Stoke Park course in Buckingham­shire players there, when they had won something they would be so focused on trying to win again.That separated them and why they were the best because they were obsessed with winning.” .
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