Read Online Rio Ferdinand--Five Star--The Biography by Wensley Clarkson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Wensley Clarkson
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during that summer break in 1997. The previous season they’d produced mobile, well co-ordinated and tactically aggressive performances. They were tight at the back and were being tipped to go even further in the following Premiership season. Ian Pearce’s arrival from Blackburn had had a particularly steadying influence on young Rio. His calmness under pressure and astute distribution of the ball helped teach Rio a few important lessons.
It was no surprise that Glenn Hoddle dispatched his Number Two, John Gorman, to White Hart Lane to watch Rio’s progress on the second Saturday of the 1997–8 season. Rio’s performance as sweeper during West Ham’s 2–1 win over Tottenham was so superb it prompted some Spurs officials to describe him as the best young defender in the world. Even Gorman admitted: ‘Rio’s obviously a great prospect but I wouldn’t like to put too much pressure on the lad. After all, he’s only had two games this season, but we will be keeping close tabs on him over the coming months.’ The Hammers’ managing director, Peter Storrie, let it be known he was going to place a bet on Rio winning an international cap before Christmas.
And just to make sure all the praise didn’t go to his young head, Rio’s feet were kept firmly on the ground by West Ham’s assistant manager, Frank Burrows, who always picked the two nine-a-side teams during training. Harry Redknapp later explained: ‘The other day it was the “Good-looking” team against the “Uglies” and he picked Rio for the Ugly line-up. Rio couldn’t believe it. All through the match, he kept muttering, “It’s impossible”, but it was a good laugh and he joined in with the spirit of the thing.’
In some ways this incident summed up Rio’s Jack-the-Lad opinion of himself. He’d spent so long ducking and diving on the Friary Estate and charming even the most evil of characters that he believed he was now somebody – a force to be reckoned with in football. The only problem was that some others still saw him as a south London kid with a good pair of feet. There was still a long way to go, although you wouldn’t believe it from some of the glowing reports about Rio.
Simon Barnes in
The Times
perfectly summed up the grace and artistry that made Rio such a great talent. ‘At the age of 18 he is a trifle long in the tooth to be considered an infant, but he is a fine and precious talent. The point is not that he can play football, but the fact that he understands it. He understands the rhythms and the patterns, the well-laid strategies and the sudden inspirations that make up the game of football.
‘He is a defender with ball skills, but that fact does him an injustice. A footballing centre-half is usually a big bloke who likes to fanny about on the ball and then gets caught out in some mad foray upfield. The point with Ferdinand is that there are no frills in his game. He eschews the easy back pass and turns forward neatly to lay the ball into midfield, but there is nothing self-indulgent about it.
‘Watching him play is an astonishing, rather disquietingexperience. There is something almost freakish about his calm, his understanding. Naturally, people have been coming forward to say good things about him. “Immense skill,” said the West Ham manager Harry Redknapp. “Incredible maturity,” Roger Cross, the assistant manager of Tottenham Hotspur, added after a game earlier this season.’
Other sports writers soon picked up on the Rio phenomenon. Typical was Henry Winter in the
Daily Telegraph:
‘A new wave promises to race in across the familiar shore. Come the season’s climax, when West Ham visit Manchester United, two of the tyros on view could be firmly established in the national consciousness. West Ham offer Rio Ferdinand, a mobile central defender who impressed while on work experience with England at Bisham Abbey. In opposition at Old Trafford should be David Beckham, already a double-winner and now heading
It was no surprise that Glenn Hoddle dispatched his Number Two, John Gorman, to White Hart Lane to watch Rio’s progress on the second Saturday of the 1997–8 season. Rio’s performance as sweeper during West Ham’s 2–1 win over Tottenham was so superb it prompted some Spurs officials to describe him as the best young defender in the world. Even Gorman admitted: ‘Rio’s obviously a great prospect but I wouldn’t like to put too much pressure on the lad. After all, he’s only had two games this season, but we will be keeping close tabs on him over the coming months.’ The Hammers’ managing director, Peter Storrie, let it be known he was going to place a bet on Rio winning an international cap before Christmas.
And just to make sure all the praise didn’t go to his young head, Rio’s feet were kept firmly on the ground by West Ham’s assistant manager, Frank Burrows, who always picked the two nine-a-side teams during training. Harry Redknapp later explained: ‘The other day it was the “Good-looking” team against the “Uglies” and he picked Rio for the Ugly line-up. Rio couldn’t believe it. All through the match, he kept muttering, “It’s impossible”, but it was a good laugh and he joined in with the spirit of the thing.’
In some ways this incident summed up Rio’s Jack-the-Lad opinion of himself. He’d spent so long ducking and diving on the Friary Estate and charming even the most evil of characters that he believed he was now somebody – a force to be reckoned with in football. The only problem was that some others still saw him as a south London kid with a good pair of feet. There was still a long way to go, although you wouldn’t believe it from some of the glowing reports about Rio.
Simon Barnes in
The Times
perfectly summed up the grace and artistry that made Rio such a great talent. ‘At the age of 18 he is a trifle long in the tooth to be considered an infant, but he is a fine and precious talent. The point is not that he can play football, but the fact that he understands it. He understands the rhythms and the patterns, the well-laid strategies and the sudden inspirations that make up the game of football.
‘He is a defender with ball skills, but that fact does him an injustice. A footballing centre-half is usually a big bloke who likes to fanny about on the ball and then gets caught out in some mad foray upfield. The point with Ferdinand is that there are no frills in his game. He eschews the easy back pass and turns forward neatly to lay the ball into midfield, but there is nothing self-indulgent about it.
‘Watching him play is an astonishing, rather disquietingexperience. There is something almost freakish about his calm, his understanding. Naturally, people have been coming forward to say good things about him. “Immense skill,” said the West Ham manager Harry Redknapp. “Incredible maturity,” Roger Cross, the assistant manager of Tottenham Hotspur, added after a game earlier this season.’
Other sports writers soon picked up on the Rio phenomenon. Typical was Henry Winter in the
Daily Telegraph:
‘A new wave promises to race in across the familiar shore. Come the season’s climax, when West Ham visit Manchester United, two of the tyros on view could be firmly established in the national consciousness. West Ham offer Rio Ferdinand, a mobile central defender who impressed while on work experience with England at Bisham Abbey. In opposition at Old Trafford should be David Beckham, already a double-winner and now heading
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