Entrevista En Ingles

Gareth Bale was last season’s PFA Player of the Year, labelled “the No 1 player in the world” by England manager Fabio Capello and sparked a summer transfer rush for young British players. No pressure then…

This summer has seen a trend towards buying young British players. Is that a positive change?

Yeah I think so. If you look at Italy and Spain, there are always young players coming through. Even when the older guys are still strong, the younger ones come through. It seems like British clubs are starting to realise that bringing through or buying home-grown talent is the best way to go because they are the ones who best know the way English football is played.

Do you think a big price tag puts a lot of pressure on a young player?

I wouldn’t say pressure, to be honest. Obviously to move from a lower league club to a big Premier League club and suddenly play with big-name players is going to be a bit difficult and a bit nerve-wracking. The more young players get to play and train with top players, the better they get and the more chance they have of reaching their potential.

It must have been tough for you when you didn’t manage to feature in a winning team for Spurs for 24 games?

I wouldn’t say so. When I first started, I started off really well. I scored three goals in four games and was playing really well. I was unlucky to get an injury which kept me out for ages. It was difficult to get back from that mentally and physically. We changed managers and it was all a bit difficult, but I stuck it out, worked hard, trained hard and turned things around.

One of the highlights of last season was your hat-trick against Inter Milan. What was going through your mind when you were down to 10 men and 4-0 down?

‘Please don’t let it be eight!’ [laughs] We definitely thought the worst was going to happen. We were scared they might go and score another four or five.

Your feat was even turned into an artistic hand-drawn animation by Richard Swarbrick.

Yeah, I saw that video. It wasn’t like I was aiming to score the second I got the ball in my own half. I knew they would be high up the field, pushing up because they had eleven men against ten, so I thought there would be a lot of room in behind the defence and there was a chance I could kind of hurt them.

You were voted PFA Player of the Year last season by your fellow professionals. Who did you vote for?

I voted for [Carlos] Tevez. He had an excellent season. I would think that award was probably a close one.

What are your personal aims for this season?

I just want to improve as a player. I’m still learning and I only turned 22 recently. I’m hoping to improve on last season. That’s the main thing: to keep playing well and keep improving.

Is it true you weren’t allowed to use your favourite left foot in school games to give the other kids a chance?

Yeah, I wasn’t allowed to use my left foot (laughs). I needed the help with my right foot anyway. It used to maybe annoy me a little bit, but it probably helped me a bit in the long term.

You’re teetotal. Is that for health and fitness reasons?

I just don’t like drink, to be honest. It’s not the fact that I choose not to drink alcohol. I just don’t like the taste of it. I’ve obviously tasted it, but I just don’t like it so it doesn’t do anything for me to be honest. In a way, it probably helps me though.

So how do you like to spend a night off?

I just like chilling indoors, watching DVDs, playing on the computer or maybe going out for a meal with the family. We’re always on the go with training and travelling so when you get a night off, you want to relax.

Is it important for footballers to be role models?

Yeah, definitely. You only have to look at the little kids out there who love the likes of (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo and you do have a responsibility to behave well. Every human being will make mistakes, but that’s life and people learn from it.

Is it true Spurs manager Harry Redknapp once told you off for messing around with your hair?

Yeah, a bit! He had a little bit of a go when I was about 18 or 19, but that was just to get me focused on my football and it worked.

Are you friends with any players at rival clubs?

Yeah, I’m good friends with Theo (Walcott) at Arsenal. We used to share a room together at Southampton so we’re good friends and talk a lot. I speak to Nathan Dyer quite a lot. He’s with Swansea now, who just got promoted, so being a Cardiff man I give him a lot of stick. I keep in touch with as many people as I can.

Looking to the end of the season, would you like to play in the Great Britain Olympic team?

Yeah, definitely. For Wales, we know it’s not going to be easy to qualify for big tournaments as we haven’t qualified for a World Cup since 1958. It is something which I would definitely want to be involved in if it was possible. That would be a great experience. Though I’d love to play in a World Cup with Wales too.

Would it bother you if most of the team were English?

I don’t think it would bother me. We’re all British. We obviously don’t know what all the FA’s would decide but you obviously want your best XI on the pitch. If it means one or two or three from a country, then it doesn’t matter.

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