S MAGAZINE ★ 28 JULY 2019 57
INTERVIEW
condition. That’s how I got involved
and now my wife’s involved in the
organising committee.
I did the London to Brighton
bike ride for the British Heart
Foundation last year and enjoyed
it. I am very competitive but on
the ride it’s not a case of being
competitive, it’s a case of getting
it done. And it’s for charity, so
you want to say hello to as many
people as possible instead of
trying to beat someone.”Next Sunday, David is taking part in
the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey
100 in aid of the British Heart
Foundation. For further information,
see bhf.org.uk/bikerides2019.out very well as I met my wife,
Frankie Poultney.
But all you have to do is look at
Paul Gascoigne to see somebody
who struggled with retirement.
He’s fine in his way, now, and
hopefully he can stay like that. But
he’s a guy I’ve got a lot of time for
and a lot of love.
My relationship with the British
Heart Foundation comes through
my friendship with David Frost’s
family. I’m his son George’s
godfather. I’ve known the family
for a long time. Then, in 2013,
David passed away.
A year later, his eldest son,
Miles, died – after going out for
a jog – of a really rare heartI’m a lad from Rotherham
and joined Leeds at 16. Being
released from the club at 19
was the biggest kick in the teeth
I’d ever had – so I went right
down to the Fourth Division with
Peterborough. That’s what made
me mentally strong – the will to
prove people wrong.
Honestly, being hit by a ball in
goal doesn’t hurt, unless you get
it you know where. That’s when
everyone laughs. Because we train
every day for it, we’re always
landing, we’re always diving, we’re
always getting the ball hit at us
and your body gets used to it.
After retiring in 2004 I did
Dancing On Ice, which workedMy favourite photograph by
footballer David Seaman
The former Arsenal goalie, 55, recalls the greatest save of his career and reveals
why the British Heart Foundation means so much to him Words by Susan Gray
“THIS photo
was taken in
2003 and it’s
my 1,000th
competitive
game. I was
playing for
Arsenal in
the FA Cup
semi-finals against Sheffield
United at Old Trafford and I made
the greatest save of my career. I
was 39 and a lot of people said
I was past it – so it’s always nice
to shake people up and prove
them wrong. We were winning
one-nil but we were struggling in
the game. We couldn’t dominate
Sheffield United as much as we
thought we could but we ended
up winning. This save came at
a vital time in the second half.
Paul Peschisolido took the shot.
He was surprised it didn’t go in
because it was like an open goal.
It had come in from a corner and
ricocheted a few times, he had
a header on it and it was going in,
no doubt about it. I had to arch
backwards to stop it. If I’d have
parried, I wouldn’t have been able
to push it out of the net. Then
a United defender came in for the
rebound and luckily he kicked it
straight into the crossbar. If he’d
got the rebound in that save would
never have been mentioned, so
I certainly owe him a drink.
When you go out on to the
pitch you have to be mentally
strong. You have to deal with
the crowd shouting, to deal with
making a mistake in the first five
minutes, or even the last minute,
and then react positively after
that. Don’t lose all your confidence
because then you can’t play.●SGETTY IMAGES