Chris has taken Wales from the depths of despair to ultimate high
LOOKING around the dressing room, Brendan Rodgers knew the Welsh internationals in his team would take a long time to recover from this. The sudden death of national-team manager Gary Speed had left them grief-stricken and, as he now realises, close to a state of shock.
Watching those same footballers stand just one game away from the Euro 2016 Final, the former Swansea boss admires not only their skills, commitment and athleticism — but the collective character needed to end the journey started by Speed.
Thrilled by the performances of Chris Coleman’s team, Rodgers beams with joy as he discusses players who were part of his own coaching journey, from the youth ranks at Reading to the senior game at Swansea and then Liverpool.
Yet any discussion about this Wales team inevitably drags the Celtic manager’s thoughts back to one Sunday in November 2011. And the confirmation, received just 90 minutes before his men hosted Aston Villa at the Liberty Stadium, that his popular and successful colleague had sadly passed away.
Without even being asked about the tragic loss of Speed, or Coleman’s ability to step into such a fraught environment, Rodgers volunteered: ‘Chris Coleman took on a very difficult job when Gary Speed passed away.
‘I was at Swansea at the time and I know the effect that it had on a lot of the players back then.
‘We had a game against Aston Villa that day and it was a game that should never have taken place.
‘I saw the emotion in the changing room, both with the players that I had, and in some of the boys in the Aston Villa team as well. So to take on that, and then bring the team forward to the stage they are at now — in the semi-finals of a major championship — is wonderful.
‘Firstly, it’s a big congratulations to them — I think they have done brilliantly. And it has not been by accident.’
Rodgers has been a long-time fan of a Welsh system that puts technique at the heart of every stage of a player’s development. He could not be happier with players he has helped along the way.
As for whether Coleman’s team can not only get past Portugal but go on to beat either France or Germany on Sunday, well, he would not bet against it.
‘I think they’ve got every chance,’ said the Northern Irishman.
‘Germany will be the favourites because of their experience, and being the world champions, and for the fact that they’ve got loads of top players who are used to playing under big pressure.
‘But there is no reason why Wales can’t win. I think they will only be looking to their next game and, against Portugal, I think they’ve got every chance, absolutely.
‘I’m obviously pleased for a lot of the players that I’ve worked with. I’ve always said that Ashley Williams is a top-class centre-half.
‘Neil Taylor was a young boy who came in from Wrexham, and he did great. Ben Davies as well. And Joe Allen, I’ve always said, is a topclass midfield player, and is now starting to show it.
‘Hal Robson-Kanu was one I took from Arsenal to Reading as a young player. They have a number of other boys. And then, of course, they have one genuine world-class player in Gareth Bale.
‘Aaron Ramsey will be a miss for them against Portugal. But I think they show that, if you can combine quality along with spirit, and a team ethos, then it can take you a long way.
‘If you look at their players, you realise what they’ve got. Aaron plays in the top four in the English Premier League and has done for several years.
‘Gareth at Real Madrid — a double Champions League winner. Allen — a big player at a top club. And there are others, like Joe Ledley, really good players, good stalwarts to do the dirty work.
‘Taylor has played in the middle
section of the Premier League. Ashley is one of the top three or four centre-halves in the Premier League. So Wales have got good players.
‘It is probably a surprise to people because Wales had not qualified for so many years. But I’m not surprised.
‘I had good relations with the Welsh FA during my time there. I had good communications with Osian Roberts, who was the technical director with the Welsh FA, looking after their boys who were coming through.
‘Wales have a way of working that is about technical ability. The Welsh FA teach all their teams, all their kids, to play football that is based around a technical game.
‘They know they don’t have the size of nation of all the other countries, so you have to do it in a different way.
‘That is how Wales have done it and they’ve done it very, very well. They have developed technical players, with a good physical base, and they are getting the rewards for it.
‘With good organisation and a team ethos — and it is very important that there is no ego; you can’t have ego in the team — then it gives you a chance.
‘I think it has been great to see teams like Iceland get as far as they did at the Euros.
‘But Wales have got top-class players — I think people forget that. They’ve got some very good players, and one of the very few world-class players currently.’
Their talent is undeniable, their team spirit such that Wales are now staking a claim to be both the best and most passionate of the four home nations. That, in itself, is remarkable. When you look at where many of these players have come from, emotionally, over the last fourand-a-half years? It is beyond inspiring.