Four Four Two - UK (2020-11)

“CLUBS WAnTED ME

TO CHAnGE MY HAIR

BEFORE SIGnInG –

I SAID, ‘nO, THAT

IS UnACCEPTABLE’”

Didmanagerseveraskyoutochangeit?

Managers?It’sworse– I receivedoffersfrom

severalclubswhowantedmetochangemy

hairstylebeforesigningthecontract!I shook

handsandendedthemeeting.HowonEarth

cansomeonebeworriedaboutmylook?It’s

unacceptable.Peopleshouldonlycareabout

myperformancesandprofessionalism.

Didyoudeliberatelyhandletheballinthe

semi-finalagainstFrance?

Peoplehavebeenaskingmethatforthelast

20 years.Wasit a penalty?Forme,no.I had

nointentionatall.Therefereedidn’tgivethe

penalty.Thelinesmandid,buthowcouldhe

see?Hehadnolineofsight.Notlongbefore,

I’dnearlyscoredbutFabienBarthezpulled

offthesaveofthetournament.I couldhave

beenthehero;insteadI wasinvolvedinthat

incidentwhichwe’restilltalkingabouttoday.

Howdidyoufeelaboutyoursuspension?

Everyonesawwhathappenedonthepitch.

Wedidcomplaina lottothereferee,butthen

I satinthedressingroomandcried.I could

hearsomethingwasgoingoninthetunnel,

butdidn’tgetinvolved.I wassubsequently

bannedforninemonths.Why?I wasinthe

dressingroom!I appealedandthebanwas

reducedtosixmonths,buttheprofessional

damagewasirreparable.

WhattookyoutoMiddlesbroughin2005?

SteveMcClarencalledme,sayinghewanted

a centraldefenceofGarethSouthgateand

myself.It wasmusictomyears.Wereached

the 2006 UEFACupFinal,whichwasa great

momentforthetown.

Duringthatcuprun,youwerebannedafter

testingpositiveformethandrostenolone.

Whathappened?

It waslaterprovedatUEFA’slabsin Germany

thatI wasn’tguilty.Tomysurprise,I tested

positivefollowinga gamein Greece.It wasn’t

a performance-enhancingsubstance,but

I couldn’tplayforsixmonths.Finally,it was

shownthatI tooknothingintentionally.Boro

werealwaysbymyside,andI’llneverforget

it. WhenI returned,40,000fanscheeredme.

ThenyoumovedtoLAGalaxy...

A wonderfulexperience.DavidBeckhamwas

thefaceoftheclub,buttheywerelookingfor

fluentinSpanishtocommunicate

hugeSpanish-speakingcommunity.

peopleI neverimaginedI’dmeet.

carpets,musicevents,dinnerswith

ywoodactors– it waslikea dream.

spentthreeyearsasthemanager

Mozambique,thecountryofyour

birth.Whatdidthatmeantoyou?

movedtoPortugalduetothecivil

warinMozambique.Myfamilylived

a slum,soit washardtoimagineI’d

keit asa footballer.Becomingthe

nagerwasspecial– webuilta new

nerationofplayersandcameclose

qualifyingforthe 2019 AfricaCupof

ons.I’mproudofthelegacyweleft.

w I’mwaitingfortherightchallenge.

You left PSV to sign for Evertonin 1999 –
what did you make of Englishfootball?
My feelings about England werethesameas
players today: that’s the countryyouwantto
play in as a professional footballer.I almost
signed for West Ham, but in theendI chose
Everton – Walter Smith convincedme.

Did you get on well with PaulGascoigne?
In terms of team spirit, everyplayerwould
have loved him on their side.Heshouldhave
been one of the best playersintheworld.He
also has an enormous humansidethatnot
many people speak about. Unfortunately,his
big heart put him in difficult situationsand
some bad people took advantageofit.I had
a close relationship with him.Walterasked
me to stay close to him – to givehimadvice
and keep him motivated. I’msosadthathis
career didn’t pan out as it couldhavedone.

Duncan Ferguson twice foughtoffburglars
at his home – was he the hardestmanyou
ever played with?
He was a tough man, strongandfit,andhe
knew how to intimidate everyone– notonly
opponents! He was very competitive,butalso
honest and loyal. He would gountiltheend
to get the job done. A missionis a mission,
and I guess the burglars knowwhatI mean.

How did your Liverpool movehappen?Did
you worry about going therefromEverton?
I was loved at Everton, and myrespectand
gratitude for them couldn’t behigher.They
were suffering financial issuesandfighting
relegation. I had a two-and-a-half-yeardeal
and they couldn’t extend it. Outofrespect,
I didn’t want to go for free, soEvertoncould

receivea feeforme.Liverpoolweretheones

whomadeanoffer,andit wasa shock.I was

onlythefourthplayertomovefromEverton

toLiverpool,buttheygavemethechanceto

playintheChampionsLeagueandcompete

fortrophies.Whensomeonedoesthingswith

dignity,peopleshouldrespectyourreasons.

WheneverI returntoMerseyside,I’mtreated

verywellbybothLiverpoolandEvertonfans.

Whydidn’tyoustayatAnfieldforlonger?

WeplayedGalatasarayinIstanbulandI was

impressedwiththeatmosphere.It wasmy

firstmatchinTurkeyandI couldn’tbelieve

whatI wasseeing.ThatdayI lefttheground

knowingI wantedtoplayforGalatasarayat

somepoint.WhenJamieCarraghersuffered

a biginjuryandGerardHoulliersignedSteve

Finnan,I knewI wouldn’tgettoplayasmuch

asI wanted,soI joinedGalatasarayonloan.

Whydidyoubleachyourhairblond?

BeforeEuro2000,I wenttoa hairdr

said,“Iwanttotrya differentlook.”

metheidea,andwhynot?I couldn

imaginedtheimpactofthechange

wassomuchattentiononme.Sadly

involvedin thatcontroversialpenalt

thesemi-finalagainstFranceandg

anunfairsix-monthban[forarguin

withtheofficials].I wasa hostageo

myownimage.Maybeit wouldhav

beeneasytochangemystyleafter

thatincident,butI didn’twantit to

looklikeI washidingfromsomethin

I didn’tdoanythingwrong.I couldn

changemyhairinthatmoment,th

I didn’tchangeit everagain.NowI’

a manager,andI stillhavethislook

InterviewFelipeRocha

The defender stood out from the crowd

during a career that featured Big Dunc,

Gazza, Becks and a pair of lengthy bans

FourFourTwo November 2020 91

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