Revista de la Liga with Graham Hunter

On Wednesday, at Celtic’s Lennoxtown training complex, I caught up with the mighty Harry Kewell, now a coach for the Glasgow giants.

When you think of Harry, you picture a footballer of elegance, intelligence, lethal effectiveness. And the great Leeds United side he played in was his perfect domain, surrounded by formidable talents such as Alan Smith, Lee Bowyer, Gary Kelly, Mark Viduka, Michael Bridges, Robbie Keane, Robbie Fowler and not least David Batty. Yet for all their sophistication, those men would battle it out in training – with regular flare-ups, and be willing to go to war for each other come Saturday.

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Here’s my dispatch from the Barcelona training ground, shortly after interviewing Dani Olmo and Raphinha. I touch on that - and on the most emotional football story you’ll hear this week.

Jamie Carragher’s new book The Greatest Games documents the best matches he has experienced as a player and as a spectator. He played in a few crackers, not least the 2005 ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ when Liverpool came back from the dead against AC Milan in the Champions League final.

As a pundit, Jamie employs the same exacting standards he applied to his long and auspicious career as an Anfield defender. He has to, because supporters are incredibly well informed and analytically astute these days. And Jamie wants to ask why a manager makes a decision rather than just lobbing criticism.

We chat about Jamie’s time playing for England under Sven-Göran Eriksson. Sven picked the safest options and didn’t impart anything new. His coaching was very basic. Yet British players are too loath to criticise. Former Liverpool coach Pepe Reina once told Jamie and Steven Gerrard that he was surprised that they and other senior pros were so humble and silent.

Enjoy

Graham

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In part two of my chat with Darren Anderton, we hear about playing for England at Euro ’96, the indescribable feeling of that summer and the classy midfielder’s involvement in THAT Gazza goal against Scotland. There was the perfect performance against Holland at Wembley which was so sublime that Darren was able to take it all in, even hum along to the singing from the terraces. Compare that with the match against Argentina in France two years later, when an inept Danish referee ended England’s World Cup hopes.

Playing alongside Teddy Sheringham was a joy; he made you look a better footballer because of his brilliantly simple movement and assists. He was a leader, as hard as nails, and could score any goal. You’ll also hear about how Sir Alex Ferguson tried to woo Darren – but his loyalty to Spurs was too strong.

Enjoy

Graham

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The English game suited Uwe Rösler, and in part two we hear about how he loved the spacious Maine Road pitch and how the home fans made him feel invincible.

Paul Walsh was a great guy to be around and he was also the perfect partner up front. There was also Steve McMahon, Peter Beagrie, Niall Quinn, Nicky Summerbee, Nigel Clough, and, of course, Georgi Kinkladze – the maestro. If you made the run, he would find you with a pass.

You’ll hear about what it’s like to score a brilliant goal in a Manchester derby at Old Trafford. There was also the agony of relegation, when City played out a draw against Liverpool, not realising that a point wouldn’t be enough to save them.

We chat about Pep Guardiola’s Bayern and City revolutions, and we hear about Uwe’s current managerial role at Fortuna Düsseldorf, where promotion to the Bundesliga is the target.

Thanks, Uwe

Graham

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