saurabh
12-04-2006, 06:10 AM
http://sportsposterwarehouse.com/warehouse/kewell03gb-1.jpg
After finally overcoming his injury problems to regain his place and form in the Liverpool first team, Harry Kewell speaks to the official website.
You seem to be enjoying your football again…
Harry Kewell: I am, I'm loving it at the moment. It's nice to be able to go out there onto the pitch and know you don't have to think about your groin all the time. I can concentrate on the football and that's great. I feel fitter and stronger than I have for a while so things are going well for me. Long may it continue.
Are you back to your best?
No. I don't think you can ever be at your best. You can always improve and that's why you go out training every day. You want to learn more and you want to become better as a player. At the end of your career you can look back and say when you played your best football, but I'm not sure you can ever be the perfect player.
You've had to put up with a lot of criticism in the press...
Wherever you go in life there will be critics. It's not just a problem which is exclusive to footballers. Even if you're the greatest singer, the greatest actor or the greatest chef, there will always be someone who doesn't like you. There could be a guy sat in the front row who doesn't like a particular actor in a film and he has the power through his work for a newspaper to make his criticism public. That's his job. He wouldn't have a job if he wasn't a critic. I'm not concerned about what they say. The most important people to me are the manager and the supporters.
Were you an easy target because you weren't able to play?
I've got big shoulders and I've been in this country long enough to know how it works. You have to take the good with the bad. When you're doing well then that's great but when things are bad you have to stay strong and get through it. I had an injury problem which stopped me from playing or performing at my best. There was nothing I could do until it got sorted.
There were people who said Harry Kewell doesn't want to play football anymore…
Who are these people? I wish they would come to me and say it to my face but they won't. They hide behind others. They didn't know what they were talking about.
Isn't it just human nature though to be hurt by those kind of comments?
I wouldn't say I was hurt, honestly. I just laughed them off. They are people who probably want to start a war of words with me so they can get their name recognised. Football is a massive thing in this country and nowadays everyone is looking at every aspect of the game.
Is it the case that being a footballer is the best job in the world because of all the perks which come with it but also the worst job because of the intense scrutiny you are forever under?
That's true. Even if you're a right back and all the players are on the opposite side of the field to you there'll still be a camera on you. Everyone criticises every part of the game but we get paid good money so we have to take the good with the bad. You are doing a job you love, you get looked after very well and so you have to accept all the other stuff that comes with it.
Did you ever fall out of love with football?
I wouldn't say I fell out of love with the game but there were days when I wondered if I could be as good as I was because of the injuries. Players who have been there and done it know you can come back stronger and that's what I'm aiming for now. I'm feeling good and feeling fitter with every game.
Did you ever doubt you'd come back?
I always knew I'd come back but the question in my mind was whether I could be as good as I had been previously. You go through stages where you think the worst and can't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I had confident and positive people around me though and they were telling me I'd probably be able to come back an even better player.
Was it a mental battle as much as a physical one?
Yes, definitely. Out of ten days you work really hard for eight of them and on the other two you think to yourself 'stuff this, I can't be bothered anymore'. You get through those negative days though. Everyone has them. It's normal.
Is it an under-statement to say you've been through a really tough time?
Yes, it was tough, but you can't go through life without anything bad ever happening to you. There are always going to be bad patches and that was a very bad patch in my life.
It's horrible but it's even worse when you are out there playing and you can't do what you know you should be doing. It's far more frustrating but sometimes you have to do a job for the team and get on with it.
How much did you appreciate the constant support of your manager?
Without that I'd have been left in a hole and probably faded away. If you don't have the backing of your manager and team-mates then you're lost. I went home to my family and they were supportive as well. I'm not a very nice person when I'm injured and I know that better than anyone. It was difficult but the people I care about the most stood behind me and I'm thankful for that.
Let's be positive - you're playing week after week now so that must be great for your confidence….
It's great for my fitness as well but if I want to repay the manager back then I have to start scoring more goals for him and for the team. I want to do the things I know I'm capable of doing. That's what is driving me on.
You've scored some pretty special goals of late…
To me a goal is a goal whether it's from 25 yards out or a tap in on the line. It doesn't matter. We are a team and it doesn't matter who scores. In this day and age you need to score as many goals as you can because even at 2-0 you're not safe, teams can come back from that sort of scoreline. You need to work as a team to put games away as soon as possible.
It must have been nice to smash that one home in the derby though…
Yes, it was a good feeling, but I have to be honest and say the result was all that mattered really. It was a great team performance because we played for so long a man down and it was brilliant to see the unity and the strength we showed to come through that test.
After your goal against Everton you turned towards the Main Stand and started banging your wrists together. Why?
A lot of people have asked me that but it's between me and my family.
So are you a happier husband and dad at home now that you're happy in football?
I think there's a link there, definitely. Life is like that. If you're happy at work then you're happy at home. If you leave home happy then you go to work happy. It works both ways. I'm very happy at the moment in work and at home.
How much do you enjoy being a family man?
I love it. I love being at home with the kids and seeing them happy and playing. The other day I went for a walk with my little boy to pick my little girl up. It's a 20 minute walk but it was a lovely day and it was nice to do that. I had to carry her back on my shoulders all the way home, but that's part and parcel of being a dad! It's great.
Your wife has been in the papers a lot of late after appearing on "I'm a Celebrity" - did you get any stick from the lads about any of the comments she made about you on the television?
There were a few comments, weren't there?
One or two…
It was all just a laugh really. I couldn't believe what I was hearing one day though when some guy appeared on the television and sort of hinted that the other players would be standing behind me in the shower looking at my bum after what my wife said. He must be living in a deluded world or something. It was ridiculous.
So you got no stick at all?
One or two of the lads had a laugh but I think Ant and Dec made a mountain out of a molehill with it to be honest. When my wife came back from the jungle we had a laugh about it.
What sort of season has this been for Liverpool?
It's been up and down. We had a slow start but then recovered to go on a great run. Unfortunately we then hit a barren spell which you can't afford to do if you want to win titles. We're kicking ourselves because we know we have thrown it away. We could be in a great position now and we can only blame ourselves for the fact that we're not. On the other hand it makes us more determined for next year.
Has it been hard to watch the Champions League since you were knocked out?
I haven't watched any of it.
Really?
Really. I do watch games but I tend to flick through them. I won't sit there and watch a full game, I'm not like that. I'll watch for ten minutes then change channels and come back for another look a bit later on.
Giving up our trophy was hard though. People say we were lucky to win it but that's not the case at all. The boys went out there last year and did the business, it's as simple as that. We're disappointed to lose it but we're all determined to try and take it back again next year.
Who will win it this year?
You have to look at the major clubs who are left in. I'd like to see Arsenal win it.
How keen are you to win the FA Cup this season?
I've never been in an FA Cup semi final so on a personal level it's going to be a big thing just to play in that. If we can reach the final then that'll be even better. It's going to be a tough game against Chelsea but we're not looking that far ahead yet because there are other matches to play and win before that one comes along. There's no doubt it's going to be a fantastic occasion though.
If you win the Cup and finish third, is that progress?
Yes it is, but the manager has very high standards along with the players. If we win a Cup and come third then you can say it has been a good year but our mentality is that we want to win all the Cups and we want to come first in the Premiership. That's the way it has to be at a club like Liverpool.
You must have started letting your mind wander towards the summer and the World Cup?
The manager keeps our feet on the ground where that's concerned. He's told us we have to make sure we keep concentrating on Liverpool until the end of the season and then start to think about the World Cup. We have a job to do here first. Liverpool pay our wages and our minds have to be focused on the job here before we think about the summer.
Australia v Brazil in the group stage of the finals sounds good though…
Not really. To me it's just a game against another team. Okay, they're world champions and they deserve a lot of respect but at the end of the day it's eleven men against eleven men and we won't be going onto the field fearful of them in any way.
But one of those men is going to be Ronaldinho…
He's a great player but we have good players in our team as well and we can cause them problems.
Will you feel a weight of expectation on your shoulders because you're the key man for your country?
No, because the Australian team doesn't do that for me. We will go out there and play as a team. We will all have our roles to play.
If you win the FA Cup and do well in the World Cup will that represent a good end to difficult period in your career?
It would be nice. If you were to say you'd have an injury for six months but then a year later have a Champions League medal, an FA Cup medal and enjoy a great World Cup then I'm sure a lot of players would settle for that.
After finally overcoming his injury problems to regain his place and form in the Liverpool first team, Harry Kewell speaks to the official website.
You seem to be enjoying your football again…
Harry Kewell: I am, I'm loving it at the moment. It's nice to be able to go out there onto the pitch and know you don't have to think about your groin all the time. I can concentrate on the football and that's great. I feel fitter and stronger than I have for a while so things are going well for me. Long may it continue.
Are you back to your best?
No. I don't think you can ever be at your best. You can always improve and that's why you go out training every day. You want to learn more and you want to become better as a player. At the end of your career you can look back and say when you played your best football, but I'm not sure you can ever be the perfect player.
You've had to put up with a lot of criticism in the press...
Wherever you go in life there will be critics. It's not just a problem which is exclusive to footballers. Even if you're the greatest singer, the greatest actor or the greatest chef, there will always be someone who doesn't like you. There could be a guy sat in the front row who doesn't like a particular actor in a film and he has the power through his work for a newspaper to make his criticism public. That's his job. He wouldn't have a job if he wasn't a critic. I'm not concerned about what they say. The most important people to me are the manager and the supporters.
Were you an easy target because you weren't able to play?
I've got big shoulders and I've been in this country long enough to know how it works. You have to take the good with the bad. When you're doing well then that's great but when things are bad you have to stay strong and get through it. I had an injury problem which stopped me from playing or performing at my best. There was nothing I could do until it got sorted.
There were people who said Harry Kewell doesn't want to play football anymore…
Who are these people? I wish they would come to me and say it to my face but they won't. They hide behind others. They didn't know what they were talking about.
Isn't it just human nature though to be hurt by those kind of comments?
I wouldn't say I was hurt, honestly. I just laughed them off. They are people who probably want to start a war of words with me so they can get their name recognised. Football is a massive thing in this country and nowadays everyone is looking at every aspect of the game.
Is it the case that being a footballer is the best job in the world because of all the perks which come with it but also the worst job because of the intense scrutiny you are forever under?
That's true. Even if you're a right back and all the players are on the opposite side of the field to you there'll still be a camera on you. Everyone criticises every part of the game but we get paid good money so we have to take the good with the bad. You are doing a job you love, you get looked after very well and so you have to accept all the other stuff that comes with it.
Did you ever fall out of love with football?
I wouldn't say I fell out of love with the game but there were days when I wondered if I could be as good as I was because of the injuries. Players who have been there and done it know you can come back stronger and that's what I'm aiming for now. I'm feeling good and feeling fitter with every game.
Did you ever doubt you'd come back?
I always knew I'd come back but the question in my mind was whether I could be as good as I had been previously. You go through stages where you think the worst and can't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I had confident and positive people around me though and they were telling me I'd probably be able to come back an even better player.
Was it a mental battle as much as a physical one?
Yes, definitely. Out of ten days you work really hard for eight of them and on the other two you think to yourself 'stuff this, I can't be bothered anymore'. You get through those negative days though. Everyone has them. It's normal.
Is it an under-statement to say you've been through a really tough time?
Yes, it was tough, but you can't go through life without anything bad ever happening to you. There are always going to be bad patches and that was a very bad patch in my life.
It's horrible but it's even worse when you are out there playing and you can't do what you know you should be doing. It's far more frustrating but sometimes you have to do a job for the team and get on with it.
How much did you appreciate the constant support of your manager?
Without that I'd have been left in a hole and probably faded away. If you don't have the backing of your manager and team-mates then you're lost. I went home to my family and they were supportive as well. I'm not a very nice person when I'm injured and I know that better than anyone. It was difficult but the people I care about the most stood behind me and I'm thankful for that.
Let's be positive - you're playing week after week now so that must be great for your confidence….
It's great for my fitness as well but if I want to repay the manager back then I have to start scoring more goals for him and for the team. I want to do the things I know I'm capable of doing. That's what is driving me on.
You've scored some pretty special goals of late…
To me a goal is a goal whether it's from 25 yards out or a tap in on the line. It doesn't matter. We are a team and it doesn't matter who scores. In this day and age you need to score as many goals as you can because even at 2-0 you're not safe, teams can come back from that sort of scoreline. You need to work as a team to put games away as soon as possible.
It must have been nice to smash that one home in the derby though…
Yes, it was a good feeling, but I have to be honest and say the result was all that mattered really. It was a great team performance because we played for so long a man down and it was brilliant to see the unity and the strength we showed to come through that test.
After your goal against Everton you turned towards the Main Stand and started banging your wrists together. Why?
A lot of people have asked me that but it's between me and my family.
So are you a happier husband and dad at home now that you're happy in football?
I think there's a link there, definitely. Life is like that. If you're happy at work then you're happy at home. If you leave home happy then you go to work happy. It works both ways. I'm very happy at the moment in work and at home.
How much do you enjoy being a family man?
I love it. I love being at home with the kids and seeing them happy and playing. The other day I went for a walk with my little boy to pick my little girl up. It's a 20 minute walk but it was a lovely day and it was nice to do that. I had to carry her back on my shoulders all the way home, but that's part and parcel of being a dad! It's great.
Your wife has been in the papers a lot of late after appearing on "I'm a Celebrity" - did you get any stick from the lads about any of the comments she made about you on the television?
There were a few comments, weren't there?
One or two…
It was all just a laugh really. I couldn't believe what I was hearing one day though when some guy appeared on the television and sort of hinted that the other players would be standing behind me in the shower looking at my bum after what my wife said. He must be living in a deluded world or something. It was ridiculous.
So you got no stick at all?
One or two of the lads had a laugh but I think Ant and Dec made a mountain out of a molehill with it to be honest. When my wife came back from the jungle we had a laugh about it.
What sort of season has this been for Liverpool?
It's been up and down. We had a slow start but then recovered to go on a great run. Unfortunately we then hit a barren spell which you can't afford to do if you want to win titles. We're kicking ourselves because we know we have thrown it away. We could be in a great position now and we can only blame ourselves for the fact that we're not. On the other hand it makes us more determined for next year.
Has it been hard to watch the Champions League since you were knocked out?
I haven't watched any of it.
Really?
Really. I do watch games but I tend to flick through them. I won't sit there and watch a full game, I'm not like that. I'll watch for ten minutes then change channels and come back for another look a bit later on.
Giving up our trophy was hard though. People say we were lucky to win it but that's not the case at all. The boys went out there last year and did the business, it's as simple as that. We're disappointed to lose it but we're all determined to try and take it back again next year.
Who will win it this year?
You have to look at the major clubs who are left in. I'd like to see Arsenal win it.
How keen are you to win the FA Cup this season?
I've never been in an FA Cup semi final so on a personal level it's going to be a big thing just to play in that. If we can reach the final then that'll be even better. It's going to be a tough game against Chelsea but we're not looking that far ahead yet because there are other matches to play and win before that one comes along. There's no doubt it's going to be a fantastic occasion though.
If you win the Cup and finish third, is that progress?
Yes it is, but the manager has very high standards along with the players. If we win a Cup and come third then you can say it has been a good year but our mentality is that we want to win all the Cups and we want to come first in the Premiership. That's the way it has to be at a club like Liverpool.
You must have started letting your mind wander towards the summer and the World Cup?
The manager keeps our feet on the ground where that's concerned. He's told us we have to make sure we keep concentrating on Liverpool until the end of the season and then start to think about the World Cup. We have a job to do here first. Liverpool pay our wages and our minds have to be focused on the job here before we think about the summer.
Australia v Brazil in the group stage of the finals sounds good though…
Not really. To me it's just a game against another team. Okay, they're world champions and they deserve a lot of respect but at the end of the day it's eleven men against eleven men and we won't be going onto the field fearful of them in any way.
But one of those men is going to be Ronaldinho…
He's a great player but we have good players in our team as well and we can cause them problems.
Will you feel a weight of expectation on your shoulders because you're the key man for your country?
No, because the Australian team doesn't do that for me. We will go out there and play as a team. We will all have our roles to play.
If you win the FA Cup and do well in the World Cup will that represent a good end to difficult period in your career?
It would be nice. If you were to say you'd have an injury for six months but then a year later have a Champions League medal, an FA Cup medal and enjoy a great World Cup then I'm sure a lot of players would settle for that.