On 29 April 2000, Chelsea took on Stamford Bridge to meet Liverpool, an 11-year-old Chelsea caddy began his star-chasing journey, and the Liverpool team under Hollier's wing met Reds captain Jamie Redknapp and plucked up the courage to ask for a photo with him.
The Chelsea caddy was none other than Theo Walcott, who joined Southampton Academy shortly after. Five years later, Jamie's father, Harry Redknapp, made walcott, then 16, make his first-team debut. In 2006, Eriksson selected the 17-year-old Walcott into the World Cup squad, and he became the youngest England international in history. Recently, as a commentator, Jamie Redknapp conducted a video interview with Walcott about some of Walcott's feelings at various clubs and national teams.
【Please read this article for the Arsenal section】
Ray: "Back then in Liverpool, we would always hear a kid named Owen do well at the Academy, and then he made his debut in the first team. When I played for Southampton in 04/05, similar feelings struck and I always heard your name and how you did in training sessions. I remember my dad saying, 'That kid is really walking like a fly, he's lightning!' ’”
Walcott: "I laugh every time I think of your dad, chelsea also want to sign me before joining Southampton academy, but to be honest, their formation scared me! They took me to meet the first team members, toured the dressing room (and the caddie mentioned earlier), I met Zora and other players, which was a bit unbearable for me. ”
"Southampton only showed me the academy part and didn't make me feel anything about the first team. You don't feel overwhelmed or distracted (thinking about the first team) and that's why I chose Southampton. I think it's the right choice, it's more like a family club and Chelsea are too hard for me at 11 years old. ”
Ray: "Your Southampton debut came in August 2005, when you were 16 years old and my dad thought you were ready. ”
Wolcott: "Looking back, I was just a kid, studying little by little every day. (After my debut at 16) I couldn't continue to grow behind the scenes, I had to improve myself in front of everyone's eyes. It was exciting in a way, and I was free to play and show myself, but for me at that age, it was scary to take so much attention. ”
"It was fine, but when I got into the England national team, it was a clear feeling. I haven't played in the Premier League yet, and then I'm going to be teammates with Gerrard and Lampard. Maybe some people say behind my back that I shouldn't be in the national team, and I really shouldn't be there! It's really scary, man, it's horrible. ”
Xiao Lei: "It's interesting, I actually heard you say that you shouldn't be in the national team." Okay, if you had to go back in time, back to 2006, eriksson made it up to you to decide whether to go to the national team for the World Cup, what would you do? ”
Walcott: "You know what? I'm not going to change history. Maybe I have some contradictions myself, but I'm not going to change that choice, I'm going to go to the national team. This is the World Cup, the World Cup that so many children dream of, and I don't blame those who think I shouldn't be there. Melanie – my girlfriend at the time, my wife now, and I were always being watched by the paparazzi, talking about it, and we were overwhelmed by this, but we were still just children, children lost in the public attention. ”
"It's not bad to have a bit of a ride in my World Cup journey, my Arsenal team-mates Saul Campbell and Ashley Cole are also in the national team and they've been taking care of me and without them I probably wouldn't have had much harder time coping with it. In the end, I didn't get a chance to play in that World Cup, but as long as I stepped on the pitch, I wouldn't be afraid of anything, I wouldn't pay attention to the distractions on the sidelines; I would show myself as much as possible, and the playing field was where I got rid of my troubles. ”
Ray: "How did you make the transition from Arsenal to Everton?" ”
Wolcott: "I enjoy living at Everton, where the fans, the culture, the club have a great history. At Arsenal, I only experienced one manager, Wenger, and at Everton, I went through all three managers, Allardyce, Marco Silva and Ancelotti, which I was not very comfortable with. But I still enjoyed my time at Everton, where they got a very high-level coach (Carlo Ancelotti) and an amazing plan to build a new stadium, but I may have retired by the time the new stadium opened and I'd love to play there. ”
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Ray: "You definitely have a few more years of career." You have to adapt to the tactics of Hasenhuttel (Southampton manager) and his positioning of you. At Arsenal, you seem to have broken the 40-meter sprint record that Henry had held for several years, when he was 4.82 seconds and you were 4.42 seconds. Now in Southampton, are you still number one on the sprint list? ”
Walcott: "Actually, we haven't done a sprint test yet!" Apparently Obafemi and Nathan Terra will be at the top. It feels like everyone is running fast now, everyone is a track and field athlete. One of the things I want to praise myself the most is that Adama Traore wanted to go one-on-one with me when we played Against Wolves, but he didn't! He went back! ”
Ray: "He obviously didn't expect a racing race!" ”
Walcott: "I've played a lot of games with my feet. The first time I spoke to Hasenhuttel, the way he spoke made me feel like he was absolutely 'hungry'. I wanted to be a part of them and I felt Southampton would be the right choice. ”
"Some people may be worried that I won't be able to keep up with the intensity of the game, but I feel like I'm adapting as well as I used to. The team can have the current results are great, but we want to make sure that it doesn't blow our minds. It was so exciting to have fans coming into the stadium to watch the game before, and it was so exciting that playing in front of the Southampton fans again was like a dream, and I got goosebumps. ”
Ray: "I have to say, this season in the Premier League, my favorite thing to watch is the Southampton game, is Hasen-Hüttle very strict about your training? ”
Walcott: "All I can say is that I get massages more often than I used to. ”
Ray: "But as a player, you probably wouldn't mind all this extra work after the game. ”
Walcott: "It's part of the season and the team is in a good position right now, especially with the league now competing so openly. I'm not saying Southampton want to fight for the title, but with where we are now, not many teams want to play against us. We are now hungry for victory, and we are united in our hearts and believe in and carry through the ideas of the manager. ”
Ray: "In 2019, I covered a southampton-watford match where we were told whichever side lost the game and its manager would be fired. In the end, Southampton scored two goals in a row in the closing stages to reverse Watford 2-1. The next day, Watford sacked Flores, while Hazen hüttle kept his job. He had faced such a dangerous situation, but now he was leading the saints to take off. Securing a European spot may be your goal, will you players look at the standings and think, if there is a season to compete for the title, it is now? ”
Wolcott: "It's been a really crazy season, who knows? Everyone has a lot of confidence in the game and no one knows how far we can go. But if we maintain that confidence, make sure we're in good health, try our best to express ourselves, and remember the way Southampton wins – seriously, we can go further under the manager. ”
(Jacky)