Why Sterling could be England’s most valuable commodity
NOTHING brings home the youthfulness of England’s squad more than a quick check of their first World Cup memories: Raheem Sterling’s are from South Africa 2010.
‘The first World Cup I fully remember was the last one, when Steve [Gerrard] scored in the first game against the United States,’ said 19-year-old Sterling.
‘I was sitting at home eating pizza with friends during the game and then we went out for a little kick-about at half-time to try to imitate these boys.’
Sterling gestures towards to Gerrard, who is sting alongside him as part of the World Cup squad. Four years ago he was a 15-year-old youth playing football on St Raphael’s Estate in the shadow of Wembley, though for most of his early life the stadium was a building site.
Only in his teens did the new stadium emerge and by then Sterling was on QPR’s books before joining Liverpool at 16.
But no one epitomises the youthful potential of this England squad more than Sterling. He is not the youngest — that honour falls to Luke Shaw — but in terms of a young man most likely to make an impression on the world, Sterling is the prime candidate.
As pressure intensified in Liverpool’s title run-in, Sterling looked nerveless, becoming a key player in the title challenge, despite having being marginal at the start of the season. He fairly forced his way into the team with his pace, finishing and skill impossible to ignore. Just ask Arsenal’s back four.
‘It was an enjoyable team to play in,’ said Sterling. ‘And the fans as well, the way they got behind us in the last few games was brilliant. I’ve never seen anything like it. I got real goose bumps.’
England have had their fair share of youthful prodigies, from the over-exposed Theo Walcott, who joined the squad at 17 in 2006, to Michael Owen, a raw 18year-old who lit up the World Cup in 1998. Wayne Rooney also burst on to the world scene at 18, but that was at the European Championship in 2004.
Sterling approaches this World Cup with expectations of his experience being more akin to Owen’s than Walcott’s, who didn’t play. If anyone is likely to shock opponents, it is Sterling.
‘Now I’m just working hard, so anything can happen, but I’m not going to say I’m going to do amazing things,’ he said. ‘I will give 100 per cent and hopefully what I try will come off and work. But I’m not going to put myself under pressure and say I’m going to do what Michael Owen did. I’m just going to work hard for the team.’ Even the most confident young prodigy can shrink a little when promoted to the England squad. ‘It’s a bit nerve-racking, sitting there eating dinner with your new England team-mates. You don’t want to be too much in someone else’s zone. But I’ve had a lot of help and advice from the Liverpool lads.’
Though he was born in Maverley, Jamaica, he came to London when he five. His initial emergence saw him given an England cap at 17, becoming the third youngest after Walcott and Rooney since 1881. Yet the limelight faded as Brendan Rodgers demoted him from the first team.
His life off the pitch was also under scrutiny, a wellestablished rumour asserting that he had fathered a number of children. In reality he has only one daughter, one-year-old Melody, although he is no longer with her mother.
In football terms, it looked as though he might have shone brightly but faded quickly. Rodgers’ restraint paid off in the second half of last season, Sterling’s renaissance bringing him back into the national consciousness. Not only was he key to Liverpool’s rise, but he was also considered mature enough to play centrally behind the strikers as well as wide right or left.
‘It was a new position for me and I had to adapt. I think Brendan mainly put me there to move the ball quicker. Sometimes I like to stay on the ball a bit too long and I think he put me in there so someone might smash me or something like that! He put me in there to make sure I play with two touches. I played there when I was younger at QPR, just behind the striker, and I quite like it.’
Tactically, he has proved himself adept and Rodgers felt he had grown up enough to describe him as the best young player in Europe. ‘Obviously that’s nice to hear,’ said Sterling. ‘But I try to block it out. For a manager like Brendan to say that is obviously good for me, but I just try to keep levelheaded.’ He says it is his mother, Nadine, who keeps him grounded and in the next breath reveals he has moved out to his own place. Like most teenagers, he doubtless feels ready to take on the world.