JERSEY BOYS
Maddison couldn’t swap his shirt... his dad had claimed it
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WHEN James Maddison made his Three Lions debut on Thursday he made his father the happiest man at Wembley.
Gary Maddison had always dreamed that one day his son would play for England and, when the midfielder became the 1,245th player to pull on the national jersey, there was only one man getting his hands on it.
Maddison said: “When I was a little kid my dad always said to me, ‘ If you ever play for England, I want your shirt’, so I had to give it to him. I’m going to get it signed by all the lads.
Pinnacle
“My family will be very proud. Playing for your country is the pinnacle. I’ve had to wait a little bit. I’ve been on the bench a few times, been in a few squads, but that’s made it all the more sweet, all the more special.
“I’ll never forget that feeling when I was waiting to come on – that was special.”
The fact Maddison faced a delay of a couple of minutes between stripping down to his kit and coming on as a 64thminute substitute for Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain only added to the sense of occasion for the Leicester star.
And when the final whistle sounded, there was no way he was going to hand over his shirt to the member of Montenegro manager Faruk Hadzibegic’s backroom staff who asked for it.
“You’d have had to fight me to get that off me,” he added. “As I was waiting to come on, I kind of just took it all in.
“Representing your country is a big thing and it’s hard in the moment to realise what’s going on.
“But I’m sure once I am sat in my room I will realise I’ve represented England, the country I grew up in, and that the dream I had as a boy of representing the Three Lions came true. It was a special night.”
Maddison ( left) joined Leicester from Norwich during the 2018 World Cup and, 17 months on, he is now a candidate for the next major tournament, Euro 2020.
The 22-year-old, who spent six months of the 2016- 17 season on loan at Aberdeen, said: “You can always dream of playing for England but you’re never quite sure how far away you actually are.
“I’ve come to Leicester and it’s a fantastic club for me, a great platform for me to showcase what I’m about.
“Obviously the England manager is keeping a close eye on the Premier League each week and, as long as I’m doing well at club level, the rest will take care of itself.”
Smiles
While Maddison, who celebrates his 23rd birthday on Saturday, has an eye on next summer, he hasn’t forgotten his past and remains close to those in the Coventry City academy who put him on the path to achieving the dream he shared with his dad.
He said: “They’re my roots. I owe it all to them because I wouldn’t be where I am now without my upbringing and the development stage at Coventry academy.
“So I always go back and see the smiles on the faces and remember I was one of the little lads at the academy there.
“I was in that position myself and here I am now. It’s a good message to them to show it can happen.”