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| Liverpool and England defender Nathaniel Clyne wanted to be a striker |
THE tattoo of a three-year-old Nathaniel Clyne with a ball at his feet is etched onto an arm.
While rarely a day passes without the Liverpool star recalling the bruising long hours of pretending he was Gianfranco Zola in a concrete pen on a harsh estate in south east London.
He tells with pride the day his mother Anne, who has been constantly at his side on an incredible footballing journey, shed tears of joy after a first England call up.
The 24-year-old Clyne is your original street fighter, his skills honed against the odds in games of survival against older kids not slow in learning the dark arts in tests of endurance from dawn to dusk.
It’s why Clyne who once scored four goals in an Arsenal trial only to be rejected, who quit Tottenham’s academy due to the travelling, has survived to earn himself a big money summer move to Liverpool and integrate himself into England’s European Championship plans.
He’s had to sacrifice the banner headlines which usually accompany the exploits of a top striker to become – the next Gary Neville?!
A relaxed Clyne, taking time off from preparing for the qualification double header against San Marino and Switzerland at St. George’s Park, laughs at that image.
“Ideally I wanted to be a striker. I liked playing up front and scoring goals.” he admitted. “But I always had this hunger in me to run after people and get the ball back and I was really good at it so they decided I was better off as a defender.
“Back in the day I used to like Gianfranco Zola. He was a top player. I liked him because he was small and I was small. I’m still small now.”
It was during his time at the Spurs academy where he became an attacking full-back. But it could have turned out differently.
“Yeah I once scored four goals in a trial game at Arsenal when I was seven or eight. That’s when I was playing as a striker.” Clyne added.
Strangely it wasn’t enough to impress the Gunners and so it was back to the Stockwell concrete pen.
“Because it was concrete if you slid you'd graze your knees. Any trainers to play in would do. You just had fun with your friends. Playing with older kids was tough. They didn't like me being on the ball and I was pushed and fouled.”he said.
“But I had the bug for it and would play until it was dark. My mum would often have to reheat my dinner.”
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| After leaving Tottenham academy, Clyne signed for Crystal Palace where he broke into the first-team |
Spurs spotted Clyne’s raw potential but after three years of travelling across London to the club’s Essex based academy he moved to Crystal Palace.
“Mum (Anne) didn’t drive and we had to take the train. So I decided to go somewhere closer, which was Crystal Palace. It was just round the corner.” he explained.
After progressing through the Palace ranks a move to Southampton followed where he quickly attracted the attention of the big clubs and Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson.
The England call up was a momentous moment for both mother and son. “When I told her on the phone, the first time I was called up, I think she cried.
“It was a proud moment and we were all happy. When I told my family and friends everyone was ecstatic.” he recalled.
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