Owen Hargreaves: Bayern’s BRUTAL Dressing Room - “I Didn’t Celebrate Winning The Champions League At 20.”

0:00Chris Stark: Hello and welcome to that Peter Crouch podcast. I'm Peter Crouch, no choice, this idea. Can you start with me? Yeah, we had a little funny start there off there, didn't we? All good? Really good, really good. What a great weekend. Yeah, it was a great weekend, wasn't it? Did you enjoy it? Yeah. We enjoyed it. So good. It was a lot of fun, wasn't it? You know, like, obviously, you know, it was my hard to do a forfeit. We were just obviously reminiscing about some of the things that happened on the day. listen it was embarrassing but I think the reaction's been good it's really helped Farnham we spoke to Harry Hugo and all the team at Farnham Town I'm really pleased with it because you never know do you how it's going to go how it's going to be received but it seemed to be received pretty well and we had a great day you've probably seen it by now it ended up going we thought it would go big I don't think we realised how big it would go I saw it on TNT and Sky Sports I think as well because it was international weekend end it there was extra attention on this because it was some of the only football news from from over the last last few days but before we kick it off pete i just gotta say as well what people won't have seen is you must have saw i don't it must have been a world record for the most of my selfies i've got a picture or signatures and you kept saying i kept saying like like go you can go chill for a bit if you and you were like you it was it was almost like if you turn up to find town there was a record attendance for this game, you were almost adamant that you would meet every single person.

1:29I just want to say fair play to you because I think it's a side that people might not have seen from all the fun that was there or even kind of expect of you. But you're obviously doing the forfeit because me and Sid have come up with this idea and wanted you to be mascot. But also well done because I just thought you saw it all. I just thought it was class what you did.

1:54Chris Stark: No, I appreciate that, lads. You know what? When you spoke to people, there was people that had driven from Essex, from Bournemouth, you know, like all over the country to come, you know? And basically laughed at me. But you know what? Everyone was so nice. I actually felt they were laughing with me, bizarrely. And obviously they came to laugh at me because they wanted to see me in a small kit and running out with nine-year-olds. But it ended up being, like you say, And then I think the fact that they have traveled and stuff and you kind of want to make it special for them, don't you? So it's hard to, to kind of turn down an all graph or a thing.

2:31Chris Stark: It was a bit hairy at times. You nearly made it really special with that crossbar challenge. Cause that was so close. Your first one bounce and hit the roof of the net. I mean, it must've just missed. I know. Since called it when it left your foot. I knew it was a good connection. I thought I've got that. I've got that. Yeah. Oh my God. it like that because I don't know if you know but like obviously Harry Hugo the owner of Farnham Town he said he was going to do a free bar for 45 minutes if I hit the crossbar but there was granted we met the girls that were working behind the bar after the game they said if you would have hit that would have been I mean it was bad enough anyway and people were paying for it it was a record amount of drinks yeah it was the record attendance and the record gate receipts and money made from the game so all it was good for Farnham and it was good for us yeah and a great forfeit and it's got us on a kind of dare I say a wartime footing almost in a refreshed attitude to this league a reminder that none of us want to lose this league because how do you go bigger than that that is what worries me now I'm going to take this so serious every single week from now on I'm on this because normally I'm a little bit of slack I go oh I'll have a little look when I get in I'm asking the lads to get me these games a couple of days 100 % because I don't want to get his fourth.

3:52Chris Stark: No. Do you know what one of the worst things was for me was it was top V second, wasn't it? First V second. Yeah. It's a big game. And rightly so, everyone's taking it seriously. So when I went into the gesture, it was like a proper, it was a proper scenario. Like it felt like when I was playing, we were about to go out to war. Yeah. And everyone was focused and switched on. And then I come in with six other kind of eight, nine, 10 year olds. And I've got a little program. I've got a guy around and asked all the players for signatures. And obviously they're like, you know, he's going on. So I'm going around and getting autographs.

4:27Chris Stark: And everyone was really nice. And then obviously the manager says, have you got any questions for the team? And obviously I asked if I, you know, how could I make it as a football player? Yeah, and for the second question, I have to, I won't say it because I think we've got a little, you know, a bit of the day coming out maybe on a Friday. like a little bonus thing of our day there so I'll let you know you'll have to go and look at the episode to find out what the second question was but it made them laugh but the player holding your hand when you came out as well Jack Dean I think he's the vice captain there is now a friend of the pod surely yeah yeah I mean he's right up there with you know friends of the pod fair play to serious game as you say 1v2 and he comes out holding your hand well he said to me he just looked at me and he just said look we're doing this now aren't we and I said yeah because we drew him out of a hat and he said are we holding hands and I said I think we're going to have to it's when you stand in front of him it's like and after that what did the ref say to you oh yeah have a great have a great day young man

5:38it's good everyone embraced it it was great well look hopefully we'll have a little bonus thing coming out with that and you'll see that I mean if you haven't seen it already it's doing around and search it up on social. In other wider pod news, Crouchy, I wanted to bring your attention to this. And it's sent in from Alex Sutton, who was in an Indian restaurant in Surrey. And there's a picture on the wall. Oh, hold on a minute. A full endorsement from Stephen Zipwell.

6:06Chris Stark: Stephen Zipwell on the wall with the, is this the restaurateur? This is my local. Do you want to cheat on the Samrat? Mindful that the Samrat has closed the doors for a while. This photo on the wall. This is old. It's an old picture. It's my local. This is the new Khyber. Because the original was just the Khyber. The new Khyber. The new Khyber. I feel like this is the first time we're hearing about an Indian restaurant that I think is going to become prominent on the podcast. Can you remember Mr. Islam, right? He must be sitting there listening to this going, oh, he's moved on already. He's passed the baton.

6:39Chris Stark: He's moved on. Mr. Islam has happily passed the baton. Where are we going? The new Khyber. The new Khyber. This is the new Khyber. The Khyber chiefs will be there. hey listen it's a great great curry listen let's go there is it top draw well I'm looking for a new one since the Serm Ranch closed down it's nice mate maybe this is what we do you know like a sort of talent show to find the next big pop star maybe we find our next curry house do you know maybe we go and test a few out I've got a great one we need to test out there's my mates one in Twickenham it's phenomenal you know why every I think it's once every couple of months they have an Elvis there oh it's phenomenal that's when you know a curry house with an Elvis in it yeah you have to buy tickets he's unbelievable oh well let's definitely well let's try that okay look I know we I know we get onto you know a few of these sort of side missions but perhaps we need to find a new curry house a new home maybe we try out a few so send in your recommendations as well I think we go as a podcast to the Elvis one I definitely think we try try the new Kyber more for it you know we'll Sid is this the only restaurant you endorse I don't endorse there's actually a few on that wall there's a few other is there?

7:49Chris Stark: yeah Declan Rice is on there there's a few there's a few of the lads on there it's a local it's a nice one do you know why you enjoy it they're good guys I once went to there was an Indian restaurant in Hampstead I think anyone who lives would know it the Paradise and we used to go there quite a bit and quite a lot of musicians live in the area so you know you'd see various musicians there wherever and I remember I was in there with Miles Kane once and he said to me they're doing a curry for me and obviously Miles Kane was in Last Shadow Puppets with Alex Turner right so obviously he knows the Arctic Monkeys really well so he said yeah I've been I've come in here for ages and they've done me a curry I said oh wait well he went down there like it's not what we're unveiling it's called an Arctic Merg it's nothing to do with Miles Kane at all it was Alex they think it was Alex Turner they thought well I definitely thought it was Alex Turner or they just he came in with Alex Turner once but he thought he was going to get curry and unfortunately he didn't but I think if on the menu I think there is an arctic milk on the menu and that was for Miles Kane well let's get we need to get a Peter Crouch podcast curry dish somewhere on someone's menu yeah or a few different places and maybe I don't know whether we branch out from curry as well I mean do we invite other restaurants what I love is restaurants that put pictures of famous people on the wall and it's always with one of the lads who works there have you ever been to San Carlo in Manchester no that's fun like you've never seen that weird wall they've got there it's just insane loads of celebrities yeah yeah Scalini's yes that's a good one I've liked De Niro and everything it's good yeah yeah I think that's what we need to do we need to find a new restaurant that's kind of home of the podcast yeah I agree you know we're forced into this position it's not one we've chosen yeah but you know like like when the Queen went and you know a new one takes place.

9:45Like we need to perhaps... Yeah, yeah, yeah.

9:47Chris Stark: Get your suggestions in. If you own a restaurant, even you'd like us to endorse you.

9:55Chris Stark: I'm going to glaze over this. This international break pretty quick. Yep. Because England and Andorra was 2-0. That's all I'm going to say on it. Germany were 3-1. Northern Ireland and Denmark were 0-0. The predictions were three points for Crouch, four points for Chris, and five points. No, four. That's definitely a lie. I'm going to be honest here. So I've got an extra point there for Denmark, Scotland. Have they balls it up? They've balls it up. And did I get three points from this weekend? Because I was almost certain I didn't. You did. You did Germany, Northern Ireland last night. Yeah, last night, Sunday night.

10:36You had 3-1. You had 3-1. Right, I wasn't even aware the game was last night.

10:40Chris Stark: Yeah. That's why I was kind of tricked into the glaze. over this bit really it's international break yeah but Crouchy three points is absolutely fucking massive you didn't even know you had three points you got three points I can't believe that I know this is massive this isn't an admin error I've got three points no it is legit we actually he actually thought he said three one we've before you got here we just watched I've been going through it like a fine tooth we just watched the we watched the recording he said I'm sure I've done three one oh really I thought I had it yeah I thought I had it it was five four one that is so brilliant so I'm going to hold my hand up and say there's an honest mistake there.

11:16Chris Stark: So I am on eight points. Okay, all right. So Sid's on eight, Crouch on eight, and Chris on six. So Chris, you're right back in the mix. Okay, that's good. That's good. Just a quick one on current news. Obviously, Daniel Levy's left Tottenham. I mean, he has done an amazing job off the field, hasn't he? And I think there was a lot of issues with the fans, and I'll speak to a lot of Tottenham fans, and they weren't happy with certain things that were going on. I understand that as well. It just feels like a bit of a shock kind of mid-season, you know, not even halfway through the season, just to start the season for it to happen.

11:55Chris Stark: Whatever has gone on, listen, you know, I think he did give his all to Spurs and he made mistakes along the way, definitely. But if you look at the business of the club now and the stadium, the training ground and, you know, kind of what he's left behind, I think certainly when someone leaves like that, you end up looking at it from a good point of view and he has done a lot of good work there. You feel as though he's bailed out at the top, really. Like you said there, the stadium is unbelievable. Best in Europe, maybe. Trading grounds, brilliant. Got him a trophy. I say got him. Come out with him winning a European trophy.

12:29Chris Stark: You feel as though he's gone out at the right place, but... The issues with the players, I don't think he improved the team. You know when they had that team, it was so close to winning the league almost. if you went again then you end up you stay in that and I think that was the issue with the fans he didn't continue what the you know Pochettino was kind of out of his skin I think and then he got a great squad together he just needs to keep improving that and I don't think they did but you've always said if you had a football club he would be the one that you'd kind of want to run it by the way he does so it'd be interesting to see now how Spurs run that football club because they've done it in a certain way for the last 25 years are they going to go in a different direction is he going to be right is he going to be wrong I don't know there's some people saying it could be not a good idea that he's left but it's it's in the balance now main memory going around his house leaving was my main memory yeah you know like yeah I mean it was ruthless you know but I suppose that's reminders well he was just like you know basically we've had we've had an offer from Stoke and I said oh yeah it was deadline day and he said so you'll be you'll be leaving and I said I've got two years left so I've done alright here I thought you know I love it here I'm living in London we're all settled he said yeah that doesn't matter basically you're off and I was like we're signing out of Bayor we're getting 10 million for you 30 years old and we're getting 6 million for Wilson Palacios who's got a dodgy knee basically and that's 16 million and I was like well I'm happy here and that was it and I left and then our phone just did not stop ringing it was you know basically did he get you a gift?

14:19Chris Stark: did he get me a gift? he told me I wouldn't get a squad number oh fuck him man don't send him a card get me a gift that was it mate ruthless but you know what like I say if you run a football club and it's dog eat dog isn't it and I totally get it like I've got no bad blood if I I spoke to him at the time. I said, that's harsh. But now, I get it. It's business, isn't it? I'm a commodity that is 30 years old. You're getting 10 million for. Good business to move me on. But still, it's my business to go where I want to go or be where I want to be. So you both ended up coming to an agreement. I'll say I'm sure Crouch Luck come out on top.

15:04Chris Stark: Well, I was in a great position. You're just holding the cards. Yeah, basically, they're not going to take Wilson Palacios unless I go as well. So that's 16 million. Exactly. I didn't get that, but...

15:22Oh, you did well, mate. You've done very, very well.

15:24Chris Stark: On other news, quickly, did you see Michael Owen? Yes. Well, there's all sorts with this Owen stuff, isn't it? There's different levels to it. What do you make of it? So, because I remember when Michael Owen burst on the scene, and he did burst on the scene, it was outrageous what he'd done in the first few years. And I think it's actually set a tone for the new generation to go, I was an unbelievable player. And it actually reminds me of how good he was. Yeah, well, I think, you know, spending time with Michael, like, you know what he's like. I don't think, because he was comfortable there with Rio, he's actually just probably saying how he would talk to us, like, off air.

16:07Chris Stark: And I really liked it about the interview, you know. You think he's 17, 18, and he said, forget about the Ballon d 'Or, no player's ever going to score, win the golden boot, two years on the spin at 17 and 18. That is bursting on the scene, right? And no player will ever do that again. No. and you think about the other strikers that there was around that time he was outrageous I don't know what I think to a certain extent here people almost want him to join in in some of the fun that people take the piss out of him about but like he's obviously going to be proud of his career and from his comments I thought he represents it well the funny thing about Michael Owen I've noticed is like he's always the comparison person.

16:58He's always there. Whenever there's a new talent that comes out, like a young player, he's always compared and he's always comparing and contrasting. And I think he's just finally sort of, I guess, nibbled a little bit at those comparisons. I think, you know,

17:14Chris Stark: people are going like, look at the current crop of England players. I've always said, Jude Bellingham's probably like a superstar. What, Declan Rice, like forward, Harry Kane obviously has been an incredible player. But at 17 and 18, there was no one. I mean, he shook the world. Yes. I think that is a different scenario. Everyone in the world knew his name. At 17, 18, he's winning golden boots at that age. Regardless of what you think of him, at that age, he was the best player on the planet, up there with the best players on the planet. You know, he would get in any team. Easily. and obviously had his injuries and stuff like that it kind of held him back as well I think there's an element of like maybe the generation now not knowing actually how good he was yeah and you want to I guess you want to firmly establish and remind people of your legacy and sometimes perhaps you need to especially if you're the type of player that is doing quite a lot of media or a lot of interviews and things like that because that stuff sort of acts as maybe a bit of a buffer between your playing career and what you do now people forget don't they I remember I was with Steve Stone right in Dubai and I was at the bar and he said hello and I got chatting I played with Steve Stone at the villa and he said it was he said it was mental I said how are you doing now and he said I think he was coaching at Newcastle at the time and he just went to me he says amazing he said you know I played for England he was at Euro 96 yeah he played he had a really good career for England he was doing great at Villa and he said the minute I retired he said there's a minute everyone forgot who I was it's true he said I've got young kids now I'm trying to coach them and they're like trying to mug me off obviously I'm there I'm like you're Steve Stone I've got a tremendous amount of respect for him but you know it's like the young lads they don't remember him yeah so they like that it's just amazing how quickly your career gets forgotten yeah fair play then yeah no yeah for Michael Owen yeah fair play

19:19Chris Stark: okay this next part of the podcast is supported by Paddy Power this is the big weekend fixture. It's Manchester City versus Manchester United. Obviously a massive game. City are 8-13. United are 15-4. A repeat of last meeting was 2-1 United. You get that 12-1. Oh dear, look at the last five prem meetings. Two wins for City. Two wins for United. One draw. Shaky starts for United and City this season. United are above City, aren't they, in the league? Yeah, and everyone's talking about crisis at United. Yeah. Yep. This is at City. So, I mean, yeah, I think they're still finding their feet a little bit at City getting in the rhythm, but they're strong at home.

20:04Chris Stark: I think this is a good game for City. You know, like Burnley at home is a potential banana skin. You know what I mean? Especially at home, I just think that's a difficult game for them. You know, like, if they're not winning, the crowd are on them. Whereas I think going as bad as it sounds, for a Manchester derby you go to City and you're not expected to win I think you can you can go and get a good if you get a positive result I think the whole mindset you know it could change it's averaged 2.6 goals per game in the last five Premier League meetings between the clubs

20:41Chris Stark: Joe what worries me with this and these fixtures coming up it's just after the international break that always worries me especially with the big teams because they get some players late because they're the travel and when they've played. And you know someone like Pep would have loved to have had a four week training with these players which is not going to have had it. It'd probably be two days maybe. He looked like he enjoyed himself. I was watching tennis, US Open. He was at the US Open tennis. Yeah. New York. That's such a good point because you've got games last night, haven't you? Yeah, you won't be able to train until they'd be flying back, train Thursday.

21:16Chris Stark: We would have had players that have come back Thursday or even on the Friday. the day before the game. Yeah. So, yeah, especially the ones out in South America so far. That always worries me with the games, especially big games as well. Difficult one to call there, isn't it? Yeah. Do you want to call it? Have you put it out there, Chris? Yeah, I have worked it out there, yeah. Is this one of these where, like, both teams have sort of negativity surrounding them, but the prize is more than just the points potentially for for either team that wins because is such a fan favourite if you've got to win this game between the two of them, you know?

21:53Do you see what I mean by that? Yeah. Does it inject that much needed positivity that perhaps a different Premier League game might not have? That's what I'm saying. It would just be seen as a good win. Yeah, that's right.

22:05Chris Stark: It can really kickstart your season. Both struggled so far. Yeah. It can really, like beating your local rivals, you know, in the derby. Yeah. Just that all, you can imagine everyone singing, everyone happy on the way home. It's a bit of a reset, it might offer us an opportunity to both teams. And I think you're right there. I think it's bigger for Man U as well because of the cup draw, the defeat to Grimsby, was it? I think he needs to get the fans back on side a bit and I think this could be the one. I will shout out a few people who've DM'd me their predictions. Damon Rhys-Oxley. I always like hearing the names.

22:41Ben Smith, Chris Buswell.

22:43Chris Stark: Chris Buswell sounds like one of the two of yours. this is a great name Jack Penfold Jack Penfold sounds like a Bond villain yeah love him should we see what he's saying that was Danger Mouse's guy wasn't it was it Penfold yeah Penfold was his little assistant with the glasses yeah Danger Mouse was just slightly before my time I think yeah aware of Danger Mouse's work but not never really saw it I was a big fan yeah Penfold was stole a show for me come on then let's see what Jack Penfold's saying he's saying alright boys regards to your families there was a lot of that this weekend by the way a lot of that says play it simple he's gone to City 2-1 missionary most people going City I think the occasional Desmond here but for that reason I'm probably going to follow Penfold here are you going to go with the 2-1 City?

23:393-1 oh you got 3-1? I don't know I'm just sort of knocking this around a bit seeing what you're saying what you're saying do you want to know what I am saying

23:50Chris Stark: I think it's going to be a draw do you yeah I think it's going to be a draw going to sit on the fence let's go 1-1 1-1 yeah do you want me to go please I'm going to go 3-1 Man City alright I'll go 2-1 Man City oh no one's gone Man U ok alright alright then let's get into the Paddy's Boost this is where we pick a leg of a CrouchPod bet builder. The odds on that bet builder will then be boosted by 20 % and put on the special section of the website and app. Yeah, can I just apologise for this in the last podcast because I selected a player that wasn't playing. I really did. You paused that right up.

24:29Did you? Yeah, I got a few messages about that. I'll kick this one off with an obvious one if that's all right, guys. Go for it. I'm going to go to score first, Harland. Okay. Go on.

24:40Chris Stark: Okay, I'll go with player to be carded, Yoro. okay I'm going to go for a player to have two or more shots on target I'm going to go for Brian Mbwemo yeah he does like a shot odds are correct at time of recording please gamble responsibly next game is Arsenal v Forest started the season well Arsenal obviously a narrow defeat to Liverpool was a bit of a crushing blow didn't really come out in that game I didn't think didn't really go for it no but yeah looking to bounce back against Forest yeah it was Forest they're always a tricky team aren't they they would obviously fly flying isn't he still I think this has got a potential to be a banana skin for Arsenal Elliot Anderson played well for England didn't he wow I've got yeah I just think with Forest I mean there's huge hype now on Arsenal they have got to be they've got to be going for the league that's where they've got to be looking at what they've got to be second to three seasons past three seasons they've got to now I'll be going, right, this has got to be our season.

25:44Chris Stark: And I think they've got a great shot and they need to win games like this to be winning the league. But Forrest just sometimes throw just a little firework in there every now and again. I've got a feeling this could be the one. Oh, it's tricky. I'm just looking at people's predictions on here. Skid Billy says... Pardon? Skid Billy? Uno Bollico, Mr. Flamethrower, Senior Longlegs. Arsenal 2, Forrest 0. the bald golfer Arsenal 2 Forest 2 it's quite varied Curtis Jones Forest 2 Arsenal 1 see that's really split in the field Jesus Christ so that's from Liverpool's Curtis Jones I don't know it's a Curtis Jones potentially from Liverpool yeah it says in his profile London London's Curtis Jones okay okay well I went first last time so I'll let you guys go I'm happy to go I'm going to go for 2-1 Arsenal Arsenal to nick it in the last few minutes?

26:42Chris Stark: Oh, I bet you think a Forest goal. I'm going to go... I'm going to go Arsenal 3, Forest 0. That's punchy, that, isn't it? But I think Arsenal look good. Okay. I don't like doing this, so I'm going to go against myself and I'm going to go for a Arsenal 1-0 win. Okay. I'm going to scrape it. Okay, next game, Everton Villa. Might have been a few fears that Everton might struggle this season, but going to the new stadium they've looked good our boy Jackie Grealish yes mate great to see him enjoying his football again assist after assist after assist Dewsbury Hall is a good signing as well I think they've signed well haven't they like Grealish is he looks like he's enjoying himself it's the Grealish Chumbawamba isn't it that's the story so far yeah and Villa aren't they're not they're not firing at the moment Villa no just struggling struggling struggling at the minute.

27:41Chris Stark: Yeah. To score goals, right? Yeah. So this is at Everton, yeah? Yes. So the buzz is still there. They've only played there once, haven't they? Have they had one? Was it two? Maybe. So, yeah, they're still, the fans are loving going to this new one. Just, again, Villa on the day can beat anyone, but they need to get their act going. This, this has always been a good game, this Everton-Villa. I think this could be close. I think this could be close. Chris? I'm, yeah, it feels like about time Villa score. I think I'm going to go an Everton win here just because I think Grealish is on fire. I feel it in my bones as well.

28:23And everyone seems to be, most people are suggesting an Everton win. I'm going to go,

28:31I'm going to go Everton two, Villa nil. I see a Villa goal though. I see their first.

28:39Chris Stark: Everton's yeah you could go 2-0

28:46Chris Stark: pain you this yeah because I don't want to lose I don't want to lose his forfeit I'm joking I'm going to go for a draw I'm going to say 1-1 1-1 that's didn't you go 1-1 that's two horny draws for you isn't it that is two horny draws wow yeah why are draws horny again I can't remember yeah let's make them horny I don't know why they are horny. I'm going to go 3-0 then. 3-0 Everton. Whoa. Comfortable. Whoa. Whoa. I was all correct at time recording. Please gamble responsibly. Right, guys, we're going to get our guest on. This is someone, obviously, I work with at TNT. Someone I played with. Actually, when I made my England debut in 2005, he was part of that squad and part of it for the next five years.

29:34Chris Stark: So someone I know really well, love him as a fella. top top lad really good lad and a great player and what a career yeah are you going to mention him or not what are you going to mention his name his name's Owen Hargreaves oh he was on building oh I just thought you just wanted to tease it yeah just wanted to tease it I think everyone knows by now he's a great lad no he's a top man he's a top man I thought you were going to miss it Sid you know you're you're going to to answer them yeah I'm getting subbed subbed out I'm going to the dam yeah So it's for work purposes. This is no... I'm sorry.

30:09Chris Stark: Jolly up. Yeah. There's a construction convention out there. It's convenient. Yeah, the side business, the side hustle that I've got going on with the box-free projects. We're going to go there. We're going to network. We've got some lunches. And then... Well, mate, may your box be free in Amsterdam.

30:29Chris Stark: I don't have to take that. But you've got to get... You're going to get a line bike to the airport. So at the moment, I believe the tube strike is on. Well, yeah, this is a bit behind the scenes here. Basically, we've had an absolute shocker today. I've got here late, which means Sid's has now got to get his plane. So it's actually my fault. I was getting my balls examined on the other end of town. There's no tubes, so... Ball's okay? Well, ball. Yeah, yeah. Is it ball? Plural. Ball okay? No, it seems to be. Yeah, yeah. That's good. We moved. Hang in there. so anyway because of that Owen Hargreaves is on the way yeah well and Sid's off to Amsterdam well I'm going to the dam and I'll send you a couple of a couple of videos let me know please do please do alright Owen Hargreaves

31:21Chris Stark: well ladies and gentlemen Mr Owen Hargreaves thank you for having me how are you it's been a long time coming well I've known you a long time I think when's the first time we met okay first time we met well I imagined it was you're definitely going to get this one yeah I know 2005 England squad Portugal Crouchy we met well I don't know we met way before that we played against each other in 1997 I think did you go to the milk cup yeah yeah yeah yeah so you were at the milk cup with Wales with Bayern no was it Bayern was it Wales I don't But I remember seeing this lad that was really tall and looking over.

32:08And somebody told me after that it was you, but that was literally, I think I was 16. 16? Yeah, I was. You remember that? Yeah, I was. Well, I was at the Milk Cup. No, I just remember. Do you know, somebody tells you after the fact, say, oh, these guys played in this tournament. I think you were younger. They made it.

32:24Chris Stark: Well, I was 14 when I went to the Milk Cup. Yeah, I was 16. Were you? But you're older than, you're not two years old. older than me. No, but you obviously, you looked bigger, didn't you? Did you play up some time? No, we played under 16s. Yeah, we did. I think I might have been 15, but we played under 16s. I was 16. It was my first tournament and yeah, that's, yeah. No way. So we ended up winning that tournament. I was there at Tottenham. Did you? Yeah. But at that age, it is tricky because you do have some players that are sort of freakishly big for their age at that point. You have to get them ID'd afterwards.

32:57Chris Stark: Yeah, it's true. I used to get hammered all the time because people said I was, if I scored or did well, all the parents were like, yeah, but he's older. How big were you at 16? Well, I was well on the way to being, I don't know, 6 '3 or something. Yeah, because I, not like taking the piss, but you stuck out. Did I? Yeah, yeah. That's not like me. No way. Well, I didn't know that. So you'd have been with Bayern maybe or something. That was Bayern. Literally, I just moved, I've just moved to Munich and we went there. That was my first time. I remember thinking, what is going on here? It was such a change for me, like from Canada and everything, but I was just...

33:31Chris Stark: But, no, that's what, obviously, I'm dying to get into this with you because you're different to, like, all the players that 2006 World Cup, right? We all kind of had a pathway. Yeah. You know, and it was all the same. I think, I think, you know, fans, kind of, players even, it was hard for everyone to comprehend your path. Yeah. Can you talk us through it? Like, you grew up, obviously, in Canada. Mine was, I couldn't even, it's just so, it was just different. I mean, my dad was English. My mom was Welsh and my dad used to work in the steel industry and he got an opportunity to go to Canada. You know, and obviously there was loads of jobs and it was cheaper housing.

34:10And he just thought for him, I just want to change the scenery. So we ended up, I ended up living there, growing up there. But both my brothers were born over here and my mom and dad. So in the end, I was like an outcast in my own family because I was the only person not born in England or Wales.

34:24Chris Stark: Did you have a Canadian passport? Yeah, we all did in the end. But so then, yeah, growing up there, we just played football because my dad, even though you're, people think you're Canadian and such, and I am because I was born there. But you are, we grew up in an English home because my parents were English, do you know what I mean? Or British. So we, you know, we were Sunday roasting, 20 cups of teas a day. My dad played football. I had two older brothers. So we just did whatever, you know, as a boy or as a younger kid, you just, wherever they go, you go. So my dad was like semi-pro, really good player.

34:53My older brother was really good. and I was just always on the side of the pitch playing football just because of them.

34:59Chris Stark: Yeah, because you think, certainly Canada, you think like ice hockey or, you know, games that we don't really have over here. But you're saying, did you play those sports as well? we played everything. I didn't play much football. Before I signed for Bayern, I played more basketball. So, but I, like our winters are crazy. They're like minus anything. Minus five to 30. So I'd come home from school and I dropped my backpack. I'll go straight to ice ring. just play hockey for like four hours. Do you think that had any sort of, I don't know, did it give you some extra skills that perhaps you didn't see in other, like did that sport have anything transferable that brought into your football game?

35:37I think so. I think they've proven that now academies now, rather than just play football all the time, they say, go do other stuff, play other stuff, stimulate other muscles. And it's good also to not just play football, you know, seven days a week. So I think, I think I, cause I played basketball and I loved it. That's why I wore 23 at Bayern Munich because of Michael Jordan. because because of the time difference i couldn't really watch football my dad got up at like seven to watch it but i didn't because i was like 14 so i grew up watching michael jordan because that whole you know michael jordan era chicago bulls that was when i turned the telly that was on um so that's why he was like my hero and i want to play basketball but if i could have i would have been a basketball player but i was vertically challenged yeah that's the thing you had the skills and i had the i had the physique and i wasn't i wasn't a really good shooter but i was a good playmaker so because I was fast so um actually playing basketball not being very good at it but having to work at it when I took that over to play football it actually really hit kind of helped me I guess the speed of both games as well I mean you can't not have an intensity with ice hockey or basketball yeah and it's super explosive because you're like always jumping and stuff so yeah I mean if you grew up in North America you play everything you know you play in the summers you play tennis and golf with your mates you you know you you play ice hockey you play american football basketball yeah literally literally everything i didn't know he's such a massive influence did did you ever get to meet michael jordan uh no but to be fair a good friend of mine was steve nash you know you know steve nash when he was um his brother played for the canadian national team and steve was the opposite of me so steve's a big tottenham fan he wanted to be a professional football player but was good at basketball so we have a mutual family friend that set us up and I used to go watch his games I used to get him tickets for the world cup and he basically we had the flip I wanted to play basketball and he wanted to play football so that was um yeah I love basketball because it was just so the guy like the size of them and stuff like everyone goes on about you at your size and stuff but you're like average size in

37:39Chris Stark: the NBA I was in my member being in Miami once summer break and you know that the whole this the whole team came in i mean it might be miami heat most of them and i i was just i couldn't believe it you know like it felt normal have you ever met michael jordan no how does it come about with brian then so you're in calgary calgary where i grew up yeah so i just played in my neighborhood team to be fair and then how did brian spot you how does that happen so our team was pretty good but we were kids you know the thing is in in canada everybody's from somewhere do you know because the country's quite young so everybody you know you just got a mix of Spanish and Italian and Irish and Scottish and English and every South America literally everything and most of those guys play football they love football so their kids play so you know I think up to like 12 13 the kids I play with we could have gone and played anybody anywhere in the world they're good size no they're just that talented okay thing is when you get up to like 12 13 and then there's other distractions in there you know there's other school and girls and friends and you you know, some of the guys get off track.

38:44So, yeah, I just played for my neighborhood team. And my dad was obviously quite keen on it because he, you know, he was semi-pro. My older brother was a really good player, probably could have been a Premier League player from TalentWise. But hurt his knee when he, you know, got offered a contract at Bolton, went home to finish the last year of school and hurt his knee. So that never materialized for him. So it was kind of in the family. I remember I had this German coach who saw me when I was about 13. He was from East Germany. When the wall went down, he went over to Canada, you know, just for an opportunity.

39:20And he saw me play and he said to my parents, I mean, he said, like, you're pretty good. But I was tiny. He said, keep going. I'll set some trials up in Germany because he was German. His best mate was a youth team coach at Bayern. And you probably couldn't do it nowadays. But I remember going on trials, staying in his place. But that's crazy. so he can't have been doing that with many people because that's a big thing to to spot someone locally and basically say like we'll set something up in general oh no i mean yeah i mean i think is you don't i don't mean it's different for these guys because they all grew up in all these systems and stuff and you know in these academies and everyone's spotted and you're like we didn't have any so after me then everybody was trying to recreate what happened to me because obviously you know it didn't cost anything um and i didn't really do you know like i used to pay to play football you used to pay but my parents had to pay yeah for me to play yeah it wasn't like so then after when it all kind of um when it all kind of happened it was just it was quite surreal really so he yeah he he set up the trial i went over i didn't know anything about germany literally did you not speak the language i didn't know it's crouchy i did not know one thing about Germany not one but how does that feel like for you you know back then I mean people are gonna laugh and think we're like granddad's and stuff but there was no real there was no mobile phones or anything you know so remember I didn't even there was no internet really I don't even think really at that time so you should add like a calling card and I used to go to the phone phone booth or whatever it was and call my parents but basically you had to figure it out because you didn't really have all this instant feedback or FaceTime or phone calls and stuff.

41:03So your dad must've thought it was the right idea. Oh yeah. He knew what a huge opportunity was. Um, I didn't, I literally didn't have clue if somebody would have told me they were in the, you know, fourth division or, you know, champions of Europe three times and said, I wouldn't known any different. So in that sense, I was called probably quite fortunate. I went to a great team. Um, and I remember thinking when the first session started, you know what it's like with the boys, like people, new people coming in all the time. have you think is he is he any good is he rubbish um i remember thinking and the coach said to me oh and there's there's like 12 under 17 international players in this team from

41:38Chris Stark: germany and how old are you now over there i was 15 15 when you come over and he said yeah we got like all these international players and i remember thinking i'm out of my depth really yeah yeah i just thought no no they hadn't kicked the ball before i just when he said that yeah okay i mean I could be in trouble like a year that year I was still working at McDonald's really yeah because I like my parents didn't have much money so I wanted a part time job so after school I go you know I was like I wasn't saying chef I was cooking stuff so then to be on a pitch in a game like in training like that I remember thinking I'm in trouble yeah and then literally like the ball rolled and after like 30 seconds I thought hmm I might be alright yeah and that that was one of the moments that kind of changed my whole mindset of because you know when you grow up everybody says oh you can't you can't do this or don't dream so big or don't so you don't really think it's even possible until you actually get in the mixer and then you think it might be all right yeah so you feel comfortable amongst these players uh yeah i i wasn't out of i wasn't out of my depth definitely not and then also you seem very relaxed about this situation yeah i was outside if that feels like the most But you know what I think you got?

42:55Fight or flight. Yeah. And I think I was really lucky. And I think I've read this as a statistical thing. A lot of professional athletes are the youngest sibling or have siblings. Because I think growing up being the youngest, we were three boys. I had to, you know, your brothers, you fight, don't you? It's just how it is. And the youngest one gets it the most. So I had to learn to just compete. And I didn't realize until I actually got into these environments and stuff, we can all play because we were professional. But I didn't realize my greatest attribute probably was that I could compete. And I could probably out-compete people that were more talented than me when it got into the mixer.

43:31See, I'm just trying to work out the timing on this as well, because I've got memories of being young, really enjoying the film Space Jam. Yeah. Right. And so you must have been a big fan of that as well. I'm imagining Michael Jordan, 23. But you're also working at McDonald's. And I remember going to Mackey's and getting the little space. I can't believe they employed me. I don't even know how that's even legal. the little space space chat doesn't feel right 425 I got 425 425 but this is incredible so you're going over there you're making things happen it's actually working for you this sort of bizarre situation that's come about so were you intending to be in Germany for a really short amount of time or was the intention to you know this could be the next stage of your life well no the plan was they wouldn't have taken they'd never taken anyway from that far yeah and they had you know Crouchy knows what the teams are like there's boys coming in all the time from everywhere were on trial so they had never taken him from that far but you don't know until you put the boys in the mixer you know and so they um they thought that like the i think i remember him said wolfgang drembley was he used to be an ex-german international he saw me play after like 30 seconds he said to me the worst you'll play is third division so the bayern second team played in the like league one yeah so if when you when you kind of were finished in the academy you'd go into there and if you're good enough then you go into the first team that you know philip lamb thomas mollars they all played in this the second team which was league one and i remember he said to me and i remember thinking third division you know but still it was professional football which we didn't which i didn't have in canada so um yeah once you get into that environment then it just then it's up to you you know what you

45:09Chris Stark: what you kind of make of it and i mean how you i mean you you made of it pretty well you end up what first season winning the Champions League we won the league with the last kick of the game you win the league two weeks later we won the Champions League yeah and you're 20 years old and you know I'm fast forwarding a little bit there obviously you've got you've got to play obviously in the youth team and then you say the second team but then you're thrust into this line like you've got players like Effenberg Scholl Kahn Larm no Larm wasn't he came up to the first team and the manager I remember he said no not ready go away Before you were ready Two years he went To Stuttgart on Larnia They all did David Alaba Tony Kroos I don't think many Schwanensteiger Was one of the only ones That stayed But most of them Went on a couple years But I mean What's that like Training in that kind of environment Oh it was Brutal In a good way You know Back then you couldn't do it now Because of like HR and all that But Back then Training was brutal Who's the toughest Everyone Even when you did a box Like the boxes You did a box and somebody play a bad ball.

46:14And it's like, bad ball, you go in and say, like we're going to have a tear up.

46:20Chris Stark: Oh, really? Yeah. There was loads of tear ups all the time. We were like pure winners though. Yeah, everybody was a winner. And it was just within, like our three presidents were probably, you know, Franz Beckenbauer, Karl-Heinz Munega. So he was like Ballon d 'Or winner in the 70s. So we come in after games and they'd just be there and they'd be like, that was rubbish. You lot were rubbish. And we won. so that was like it wasn't enough just to win you know everybody had a really high standard and training every day was just I mean literally you just had to scrap for it I remember the first six months everyone just kicked the life out of me but as a young lad you just take it on the chin and you get up did you feel looking back that was a bit of a kind of blooding in oh big time I remember Hitzfeld who was my manager at the time probably the best piece of coaching advice I ever got from anyone I was like Germany is very much about young lads you know do everything for the older the guys open doors and balls and cones and goals and everything and I remember I was like collecting the balls after a session one day I was on my own and he come over and he said to me he said oh and the only way this works is if these guys hate you these guys hate you they respect you because they're fearful of you he said when you come out onto this pitch you got to hunt everybody down and you go for the juggernaut and everyone and you gotta have you know no respect but when you get off the pitch you got to open doors carry balls carry cones and he said i can't help you anymore because i gotta be loyal to the old boys and i can't lose them but you keep doing what you're doing you'll be just fine so from that moment on my quiet moment yeah with me every time i went on the pitch i was getting after everyone and it literally probably changed my whole mindset really i didn't change my mind because i was doing it anyway but it just him just give me a little quiet mate you're good mate there's some girls like that this only works if they hate you yeah and do you know what six months later Effenberg who was like our captain of the time amazing player we were getting on a plane somewhere and for a friendly and I remember he was like I was like oh no Effen you go first and he's like no no you go you'll be my successor you've earned it and that's how it was really yeah yeah just mad out of the blue just you know I didn't ask for anything and I think back then you had to really earn it like and it took about like six eight months of that but so and i quite like that you know that we had that back then you know it was different you did have to earn it didn't you but that you course you had to earn it but i think you know in that environment being away from home like a different language there's so many factors so there must have been periods where you went home and went like this is tough like was there was there some dark times over there yeah of course it was but you know what I don't think we I didn't really have a chance to make excuses do you know I didn't really have anybody to you know like again there wasn't much of an HR department well there wasn't one yeah yeah yeah and you weren't going to say to your coach oh I'm you know I'm feeling upset or stressed or something because he would look at you like yeah yeah yeah yeah which is great now that you can yeah but we you probably didn't have that no no definitely no and I didn't and sure not in Germany I wasn't going to say to my guy who's like he'd be looking at me like you want to make it yeah so I yeah it was hard but you know what I just I got my head down and just kept chipping away did you learn the German insults first was that your first experience yeah I remember that literally my first week because Germany was really cool like that you had to every morning or afternoon the boys were coming after school you had to go training and they managed me on the pitch and you had to go up and shake his hand so I remember like you gotta shake his hand which we don't really we didn't do that in Canada really and so I'd go and they'd like tell me a few things to say to him so I for literally the first week every time I shook his hand And he just looked at me like, this fella for real, like look over, all the lads are laying on the floor.

50:01I literally told them the worst things possible as a German. Then after about a week, he said, oh, and stop listening to those guys.

50:08Chris Stark: What is your German like? I'm fluent now. You're fluent now. And how long did it take for you to be fluent? That's probably, that's probably what completely changed my accent. So like, even my mates from Canada, like what, mate, what is your voice and accent? And I'm like, honestly i don't know i think just speaking a different language just completely altered it you know you're being in canada and trying to learn german you're a mess no literally i'm a man i call myself a global citizen now i get people coming up to me arguing with me that i'm irish yeah they're like you i said mate i'm not irish i swear to you and they're like you are but and they're from ireland and i'm like but do you think do you think that's what like i blew people's mind in you know fans of england you know did that when obviously all of a sudden you're you're playing for England, you've chose to represent England.

50:56Chris Stark: You know, I think a lot of people struggle to take their head around the fact that, hold on a minute, what can I mean? Because you wouldn't be able to place it. My name is English. Well, Owens Welsh and Argers is very English. So I think somebody saw me play in a tournament for Bayern against Man United in, I think it was 2000, I think. Somebody called DFA because of my name on my shirt. So, yeah, I mean, in a way you know i never really thought about it because in growing up in canada everybody's from somewhere so all up all my friends were every race and religion and color so i didn't i didn't really see that only when people started to see me differently because i was like i remember when i had that first training session in munich the lads are like do you can't you live in an igloo i was like no man i don't live in an igloo i live in a house but they didn't they couldn't you know they couldn't picture it yeah and then being in germany as this canadian and then playing there and then getting picked by england with where i was born and where i was playing and then my accent it was like what is going yeah who is this guy it's used people right but to be fair i learned to just kind of just embrace it and i used to consider myself like switzerland i was like neutral i was you know because back then we had all the camps you had liverpool and also and chelsea united and very clicky but i was i i felt like i could drift in and out of the more because I wasn't yeah you know we've talked about when Pete got his call up when you got it I guess I've always wondered this about you did was it because there are all these other countries that in theory you could represent did you seek a kind of further commitment from England or want to understand a sort of long-term goal was no was there an element of just getting a call up and I wasn't really in a position for that like Germany wanted me to play Canada want me to play um Wales want me to play um could you have conceived you played for Germany no no no my dad wouldn't he wouldn't have cared because he would have been happy for me but if I chose that but what do you want to do when you're a young kid yeah you want to make your dad proud right because that's why you play and you know in the end that as much as you're wearing an England shirt your family's names on that shirt so for me my dad used to say to me I don't care how you play just give it all you got so whenever i used to play i used to just think of that so when i when the opportunity like canada i always started playing for canada but then back then it was different like with time differences and i was coming away i was in the first team trying to break in and then to go play a camp in you know yeah in north america i would have might have lost momentum get into the first team and then in my first year we won the league champions league and all of a sudden everyone's like who's this who's this kid and everybody was like knocking on my door but really ultimately all it came down to was hey i wanted to play with the best players and b i just wanted to make my dad proud and i wanted to if even if i played one game for england i would have been proud do you remember the moment telling him that you were going to play for england not really i think he knew more than me like i didn't know what i could achieve but i think he did because he knew football so i think growing up in the environment i did i just was i wasn't on the right i wasn't on my thought process really like i was going to school and working with i was playing on my basketball team and obviously my football team was good too but not you know not good so it just wasn't and then once i got into that space and and then i was i probably had like four or five hurdles in my career like going to the bion academy and then get into the first team and playing internationally and stuff then i was like every time so what i used to do i tried to to make it as hard on myself as I possibly could, just to see, not if I could fail, but I hadn't stumbled yet.

54:43And I wanted to see how far I could take it. So like everybody was like, oh England, you'll be a one cat wonder. I was like, cool, that's it. That's it. And in the end, you don't know until you get out there and you gotta believe in yourself. So for me, I just tried to chip away and kind of just believe in yourself. None of these guys probably know any of this stuff because back then you would never make yourself vulnerable until anyone. Yeah. Also, you'd had this experience in Germany where you'd been taught to be quite hard, I guess. Was it the same when you joined England and how you sort of integrated with the team?

55:17No, they were all mad friendly. I couldn't believe it because at Bayern, the older guys, you were getting smashed up. No, honestly, that's just how it was. And then when, remember I was in my first team that David Seaman was in there and Teddy Shang and they were N30s.

55:32Chris Stark: 2004, your first or not? My first? No, my first team was 2000, Germany away, 5-1. Oh, you played in that? Yeah, that was my first cap. It's not a bad first cap. So I started the World Cup 2002. Yeah, wow. That must have hit differently for you. That was your first cap. So how old are you then? Yeah, that got me dropped for a month. For real? For real? I came back. We won the League Champions League. Came back next season. And I came into the team quite late. and I was still on like a U-team contract at the time. So I remember the bonus was more than I earned for the winning that was more than I earned the whole year.

56:10So anyway, I did a new contract and then England called me up and then we play in Munich. It was like September and I came on for like the last 20 minutes and won 5-1, which was like a national travesty for Germany. And literally up to that point, I thought, right, I would just, I want to play like every game. And up to that, the first six weeks, I played every game, played more minutes than anyone. And after I got dropped for a month, and they just said it's going too fast.

56:35Chris Stark: Really? Yeah. Well, they wanted to kind of keep you grounded. Yeah, because they were like. Also, the fact you've just. Yeah, that didn't help. That didn't help. But I couldn't get my head around. I was so annoyed. Because like two months before I helped, you know, you win like the biggest thing you could win. But again, there's politics on every level, you know. And as a young kid, you also got to navigate all that and learn all that. Yeah, but that's a mad conflict of interest. if you would then if you then come away from that feeling that playing well for the England national team could have any kind of bearing No but again also you've got to remember you know you still get this clubs don't talk about it but if you get a kid coming through and he's flying Max Amel's going to have a real quick you know you you'll then all of a sudden you're on a contract that you're on but then you outplay it like Yamal and then you say okay well say Crouchy plays ahead of me but the manager's picking me now even though I'm 19 well the simple thing is whatever he earns give me a pound more right because if the manager you're paying to pick the team picks me ahead of him then I don't think it's really that complicated and then so if you get young kids all of a sudden taking these big steps it messes with the financial side and I think for clubs you probably experienced this they they're like what do we got to do so you try and slow it down a bit so you can sort of back in a box yeah a little bit yeah but like I mean we've skirted over the fact that I mean you're 20 years old right you're in a foreign country we're one of the biggest clubs in the world you win the Bundesliga in the Champions League you're 20 years old right you start in the final man you'll have an incredible game you're playing with these absolute legends I mean you know we were talking off air before you know Michael Owen gave an interview recently about you know and he was very honest and open and you know I think sometimes it's nice like for him he's obviously reminding people actually you know put some fucking respect on my name.

58:30Chris Stark: Yeah. I think sometimes, do you feel like, you know, you get enough respect in England for your achievements? You're the only Englishman to have won two Champions Leagues with two different teams. Yeah, I mean, do you know what? There's only three Englishmen that have won a Champions League abroad. You know, yourself, Stephen Manneman and Jude Bellingham. You know, these are things that, you know, these are incredible stats. Yeah, but do you know what? I tend to, to be honest, I don't have any stuff in my house, memorabilia, no trophies well I know you because I know that no shirts no medals no it's all in moving boxes in my office so I didn't play for people's um what's the word I just played to make my dad proud really you know and he used to give it to me straight when I played good or not so obviously when people cheer your name and they love you that's great and when people are against you you know it's hard it is hard I'll be honest I had some moments I thought man this is this is mad is unfair I remember I come off winning the double in Germany and I was getting booed for being in the England squad and I got man of the match in the cup final so bear in mind I'm like buzzing I come back and I remember I was driving down I had I was walking down the road in London I must have been doing some shopping and the guy was driving like give me the middle finger I was just walking so is there is there and I'm thinking what is I'm not done anything doing you know the Germany England situation obviously we all know it's big role in England I I just assumed that we probably take it more seriously than the Germans would.

59:57Chris Stark: But you're saying in Germany, there is a definitely a, almost an anti-English. No, no, that was in London. Oh, sorry. That was like, because it's like, they must've seen me as like Canadian or German or something. Do you know what I mean? Your situation is so confused that like fans don't know which point the finger. And you know what? And I never, I never, I never cleared it up because I just didn't think, well, I wasn't that type to like blow my own horn anyway. people just see Germany maybe but you know but I remember I got picked in that England squad and Adrian Bevington you remember so when they did the team like all the Sunday Germans were in there and they like they all got they all got annoyed which was anyway so we're at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester and I had to have a sit down with them with like 8 of them basically they sat in front and said what are you doing in the team why are you in the squad Another day.

1:00:49And I was like, okay. Well, I've earned it, no? No, no, but Adrian knew.

1:00:55Chris Stark: Number one, I've just won the Champions League. I'm 20 years old. But no, no, this was like, that was 2006, I think. But Adrian knew I could hold my own. And I said to him, guys, look, with the utmost respect, if you would watch me play properly, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't say that. But you guys are busy covering the Premier League, which is fine. But you guys, there's no way if you watch me play, you're going to think that. and I remember as we walked out of that room, Adrian was like a bit lively with them, you know, because they're lively, aren't they? And anyway, at the end of that tournament, when I, when I walked through the mixer and all those guys that had a go at me, they all kind of, and I still see them to this day.

1:01:31They all like gave me a round of applause. Really? God, I love that. Yeah. I'm quite like Bassett about that situation. No, but it's not, I wasn't, I didn't, I wasn't trying to get anything out of it. I was just like, guys, like, come on, man, just give me a chance. Do you know what I mean? it's hard enough playing anyway than having you guys against me do you know what I mean

1:01:47Chris Stark: I suppose I mean was it 2006 I mean in the World Cup that was my first World Cup and you know you ended up with England's best player right and you won for the year as well is that when we went to Val de Lobo yes I remember do you remember this when we went to lunch yes with Abbey yeah that's what and I remember Abbey like she said to me obviously because you know I was like I was probably the outcast in the camp wasn't I really why are you playing for English? Do you know what? She asked all the questions that everyone wants to ask that doesn't. Do you know what? And I said to her, no, it was such a good question because like everybody used to think it and stuff.

1:02:25I was like, oh, my dad's English and you know, he'd be really proud and stuff. I was like, oh, cool. But you know, it was like...

1:02:30Chris Stark: I remember I was going for lunch and dinner. We spent a lot of time with you on Avenue. You did. We were the young guys. Yeah, that's right. And obviously like he mentioned his dad there and obviously we worked for TNT together and stuff and we ended up what, Champions League finals and his dad is one of the best human beings you'll ever meet in your life. Has his dad met your dad? Yes, and Ab absolutely loves your dad. I remember your... Honestly. How's Owen's dad every time? We had such a laugh. But again, people forget like you're football playing, you're young guys trying to break into you, me and me breaking into England and stuff and then your family's there, your missus is there, your parents are in and around.

1:03:07You know what I'm saying? It's a big adjustment for everyone.

1:03:10Chris Stark: But you know what's so difficult about that? about that team, right? You know, at midfield, right, you've got Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes in and around it, Carrick. Crazy. You know, Scott Parker, Jermaine Genis on the fringes as well. Like, you played games, and, you know, I've got lots of questions about this midfield, and I'm sure you've answered them all before, but you managed to get yourself in there. And did you feel like there was a better balance, say you play with Lampard or you play with Gerrard, rather than kind of Gerrard and Lampard? You know, something, when you came in in 2006, you gave us kind of more stability in there you know what would you have done if you're England manager you know regardless take you know you're not bigging yourself up or putting yourself down who do you play midfield?

1:03:52Chris Stark: To be fair it was probably your guys' fault it was probably the strikers fault in a way because we had to play two yeah because back in the day you played 4-4-2 and it was it was Michael Owen and Wazza and you're going to play them right because they were both out of this world and then you had Bexson right so he wasn't going to get dropped and the left wing was always kind of a thing for us we didn't really sort that out so then we'd work around those we work on those three and then we work back and they say well well stevie's got to play and well frank's got to play and then scolsey kind of lost out which is insane really because it probably could have been the whole thing could have been built around him really so i think if if it wasn't back if you would have played like now and you would have had say one striker and a couple of wingers you could have played 210 stevie and you know skulls here or whatever but it's i think one thing i learned is football's about balance and as much as you want to play the the fantasy football guys when we had the ball do you remember training was crazy unbelievable the standard was just off the charts crazy the boxes were were a joke you know the little boxes little rondos yeah that that that was the best standard of of rondos but that's what i I mean, the standard was, I used to think before a game, we're going to win everything.

1:05:08We'll win the years, we'll win the World Cup, definitely. But the problem we had was all those guys were the best guy for their team, Frank at Chelsea, Bex at United or Real Madrid, Stevie at Liverpool. Literally every guy was the guy. So the problem is we only had one ball, and then the other team wanted it too. So you got one guy, one ball between 22 guys. And I always thought our biggest issue was when the other team got it back, we could never get it back. Do you remember? Yeah. crazy teams keeping the ball off us. And if you couldn't get it back, then basically those world-class guys couldn't, you know, they weren't world-class without the ball.

1:05:43So we couldn't really, we couldn't win those games. Do you know what I mean? So in a way, if I was fan, I probably would've picked the guys too. You probably would've wouldn't you? Cause you wouldn't want to really drop anyone or you would've gone to a back three or something. But every guy was so elite and to be fair to win it. You gotta remember like my first tournament, 2002, we played against R9, Rivaldo. Roberto Carlos Cafu this is my problem that Brazil team and everybody goes oh you guys underachieved we lost to Brazilian Ronaldo Rivaldo Cafu Roberto Carlos literally the whole team was stacked so what right

1:06:17Chris Stark: did we have to the France team at that time as well Henri Zidane and the other two we went out on penalties against Portugal so and it could have gone either way so yeah we definitely underachieved but we I think if anything we probably had too many too many great players didn't feel like a team did it and I think even you know we talk about how fractious it was in a you know in and around the place you can't go to war like that on a saturday and then be friends on a but you know what crouchy i don't think it was as fractious everyone makes out no no it's not not fractious but there was certain that obviously and i think it was very clicky back then once we're all on a football pitch that goes out the window anyway it's not you know i i agree with you but there is out of interest what table would you sit on because you're a young lad liverpool yeah now do you know what you'd sit with the guys your age really i think yeah i think like when especially the new lads that come into the camp they kind of sit together wouldn't they and you get the united boys at the end the other guys and stuff so you you know you it's like anything it's that school you find your little tribe within it you know you just said something really interesting i just want to make sure i've interpreted it right um you talk about obviously the team full of world-class players but they need the ball to be the world-class players i've never really thought about could there it's not that you could select a different team necessarily but the idea that getting the ball back and getting the ball off these other teams however ridiculous they are do you think there was enough of an emphasis on that?

1:07:42Well think about it You were so good at that as well Yeah that was probably my you know best attribute so I always when I was a kid I was always the 10th but then as you go further up the level and everyone gets good everyone gets better and better you think so you gradually get pushed back don't you? And what I didn't realise at the time was my greatest actually I was really explosive so that was quite valuable but the thing is when you play in a game right think about it his job was score goals you know Bex's jobs Kratom or Stevie or whatever but if I can get Crouchy an extra 10 opportunities to score it'll probably take one if you can give Bex an extra eight or ten looks which a good player like that they turn over the ball probably eight or ten times they get it back for the team so if I can give Scalzi or Stevie or Frank or Bex another the 10 looks at that Michael Owen they're gonna you know that's I've never thought about your team like that it's an important part of the game that's advantageous to our team getting them the ball the problem is everybody wants to play fantasy football oh that's you get all the guys in it it made it doesn't work yeah there's one ball there's 22 players you in a top game you might get what 50 you know 60 100 touches depending on what the game is but you got to run 12k Do you know what I mean?

1:08:53So it's not just like, oh, that's all of a sudden everybody's in number 10 now. Goalkeeper, the centre-back. Mate, I don't need you to be a number 10.

1:09:00Chris Stark: Just save the ball. But you know what? Even at Tottenham, right? We had an incredible side, right? Bale one side, Aaron Leonard, the other, Modric in the middle. The best, when we had Wilson Palacios in there, it was, we played, he'd go, he'd go, win the ball high up and he'd just give it to Modric, give it to Bale. You know, there's an unsung role in there that is so necessary. But look at Modric and Kroos, two of the best ever. When they won all those Champions League, who played in the middle of them? Casemiro. Do you know, you can't, I don't think you can win at the top level without having all the ingredients to the recipe.

1:09:36Yeah, we don't see enough YouTube highlight videos of players just winning the ball back. No, but you wouldn't. Because I mean, you can't just win the ball back. It's insane. You know what I mean? But all the boys can play. Yeah. At our level, you just, you have to be able to play. But again, when you get in a game like that to win a Champions League, win a World Cup, it's not about can you play. It's about can you compete. And you can outplay players that are more talented than you. On what Crouchy was just saying there as well about Tottenham, got to ask, really how close were you to signing for Tottenham?

1:10:11I had dinner with Frank Arneson in Munich. yeah i did um i did i had dinner with frank honest in munich in this amazing italian restaurant and then i think he realized i don't know i think they had finished in a crazy position and excuse me buying signed a couple players german internationals for my position um or not my position but to play center mid because there's always you know at the top clubs always signing two or three players every year um and so i thought maybe and i was in the england team i thought i might look into this but then they were like 13th or something and I you know like I was playing Champions League football every week um so it didn't materialize but I was I had I had dinner with Frank who was really cool I thought about it um but no in the end I stayed at Bayern I mean obviously incredible career but

1:11:00Chris Stark: I've got to ask you about some of the experiences like talk me through winning the Champions League at 20 years old it was Valencia right you played a whole game and obviously you know you win it again at United like talk us through the Bayern one first I was so young and I think at that age I don't know if you experienced that you're so fearless because you've never failed you know so you're literally like rearing I remember walking out with the young mascot and I remember he was walking out in the San Siro and he's shaking this little kid shaking and I remember I was probably shaking too but I remember grabbed his hand I was like don't worry about it it's going to be alright and as I walked out there was this big banner in German that said today's the day to write history and I just remember thinking and yeah, that's what we're going to do.

1:11:41So for me, like... Really? Yeah, and not like... I just remember being on the pitch and the game started, I flew my parents over for the game. And I remember just thinking, like, before kickoff, it was just full. I remember thinking, the whole world is stood watching this game. How lucky am I? You know, from when I was a young boy and your parents are watching you and it's just you guys slogging out, getting to these games all around the world. And then you literally stood there in the biggest game of your life. and I just remember thinking mate just go for it so like at 20 that was that was that was just the maddest experience you know

1:12:16Chris Stark: can I just say I've been a mascot recently and like when he held my hand I was so nervous it was incredible did you see this yeah only coach he could do that but no special special moment did you know I mean that team you had did you know like when you look round your Bayern team did you think we got this no well ish yeah because we were in the 99 one that same group of players that lost to United kind of one of the most how was that from a Bayern perspective well I was in the youth team at the under 18s and I was in the stand we all lost our voices because we were shouting so much but Bayern played amazing we were just lost at the end so then to be there was actually incredible really because it was quite resilient and Valencia were in two finals so we played Valencia and they had an incredible team like Mendieta Yeah, I'm on John Carew.

1:13:10Yeah. So I remember after the game, we had won and I was sat with my mom and dad and I was just really new to the first team and I didn't even celebrate because I didn't want the boys to think I was a bluffer. Yeah. So I swear to you, I didn't even celebrate, didn't have a drink, nothing. I was just like, I was just, I was just zoned in for already next season. Well, just mad focus. You've just won the Champions League and you're - I think we won. I'm pretty sure this is true. We won. That game was Wednesday evening. We finished at like midnight, extra time, whatever. We played a game in New York, I think, on the Friday or Saturday against the Metro Stars because Mateus went to New York.

1:13:51And because they didn't think we were going to win the Champions League final, so they had this friendly arrange. And I played 90 minutes in that.

1:13:57Chris Stark: Fuck me. Hold on. Didn't you play 120? Yeah, we did. Yeah, 120. I mean, in Milan. but I said in the friendly two days later I think I played in that you played 90 minutes so like I was I probably wasn't wired you know I was just I don't know when you feel like you get an opportunity like that you just want to like do everything you can do you know what I mean so there was no real celebration after that win oh the boys celebrated yeah but I didn't because I was so new to the team you know what it's like when the young kids come through he's like oh he's a bit flash and all that you didn't do that in Germany you just did not even if you win a chance even if you win a championship it was a different time yeah you know it wasn't i could have easily and they i'm sure it would have been completely accepted because i you know i played a part in the game and stuff i've played the whole game but it was more out of respect for them you know i didn't want them to see me like like a flash in a pan you know well that's credit to you mate you know that's an old head on young shoulders i wish i would have if i the only regard i would say i wish i would have enjoyed it more my career but you know what when you're in it and you you You're just that.

1:15:01And say you play for your club team and then you play Champions League and then you play internationally. It's actually, I think it's a lot different than just playing one game a week. So you've got to, and if you play for like a top team and expect to win all the time, you can't really have an off day because if you have one, you're going to get it in the neck. You're getting replaced. What a mad situation for you to be in the stands then watching Bayern Munich lose to United in that, you know, one of the greatest finals of all time. But from, you know, of retrospective looking back now like for you to be a player for both and yeah and you win the

1:15:35Chris Stark: Champions League for United right do you know and that's why yeah I mean it was amazing and to be fair the only team I was probably people I don't think people understand how big a club Bayern Munich is like stadium training ground living in the centre in living in Munich's like the centre of Europe a day off if you had a day off I could drive to like four countries in five hours a lot of the players don't leave right I know you wouldn't leave I know speaking to Xavi Alonso yeah Pepe Reina was there for a while they've all said speaking to you I spoke to you at length about it and you're like you don't realise until you're there the size of that football club well so I remember one of the times I first did a television like show Graham Soudis was there and he said to me he said do you mind if I ask your question I said yeah he said why the F did you leave Bayern Munich I'm thinking what do you know like what would he know about Bayern Munich you know he didn't play there whatever and that's what he's at what a great club that is and I said you know what Graham it wasn't that I wanted to leave I just wanted a different sporting challenge after 10 years and he said that's the right answer so it wasn't it wasn't like against I mean I just the only club I really had like I don't know like a soft spot for was was just United and then the team that we had was like Sir Alex and then you you walk into the dressing room imagine going to a new school and you you you don't really know anyone.

1:16:57Imagine going into that there and you literally know everyone because they're just all, they're all, you know, Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez, Giggs, Skoll, I mean, Van der Sar, Ferdinand, Neville, you just go on forever. So, and I knew them all from England as well. So, I remember Gary was the first one to, to call me after the World Cup. He's like, boss wants to sign you. You want to come to my United? I was like,

1:17:23Chris Stark: yeah, if we can make it work. Do you have a conversation with, with Sir Alex Ferguson? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, of course. What was that conversation like? Do you know, I remember the, the, the, the, one of the coolest things was, cause it's quite surreal, all those things, you know, like, um, I don't know how I'd react to like, do you know what it was? and give him a bell. But again, we all have like a poker face, right? So you try not to like, you're just like reading it as you're going. And I remember, um, he said, oh, do you want a cup of tea? And I remember thinking, I can't let him make me a cup of tea.

1:17:52Feels disrespectful. So I was like trying to, like get in the mixer but I didn't want to piss him off either so you know there was this whole it was it was just it was cool that he had acknowledged you you know you as a player and wanted you to be a part of see I remember he said to me you can help us win the Champions League and I said yeah but boss that's why I'm here do I remember I was at Bayern at the time um so April we had got knocked out and they were playing AC Milan and I was watching the game in a in a restaurant with some of the Bayern players and they kept getting knocked out against AC Milan and that was a big hurdle because they had, you know, Pirlo and Gattuso and, you know, Maldini, all their amazing players, Cedo.

1:18:32And I remember watching thinking, no one else was going there, you know, kind of for a game like that. So it was cool that we were so fortunate that we were actually able to get, beat Barca in the semifinal and then beat Chelsea in the final. But it's, you know, it's hard to win the Champions League because everyone's so good. Do you know what I mean? So people go, oh, you didn't win or whatever, but there's so many great teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona it wasn't PSG at that time so Chelsea and Arsenal at the time so it was like when you get an opportunity to actually just even be in a final

1:19:08Chris Stark: it's such a privilege I remember how desperate the players were certainly from an English point of view the players that hadn't won it the players from Chelsea and Manchester United you've already won one I think there was a hoodoo with Chelsea and Man Utd they were the two best teams in the league but Liverpool had won one and they got to another final in 2007, you know, they had something over Chelsea felt in Europe. You know, like they beat them in two semifinals. You know, I was part of one of those and it felt like, and it just, the pressure that you must have been feeling because I know that Rio and Rooney, they would have felt that and JT and Lamps from an English perspective, I knew how desperate.

1:19:46Chris Stark: I kind of saw, I sat and watched Istanbul with Joe Cole and he was desperate for them to lose. You know? Yeah. You know, there was something that... It's weird when you play against guys you know so well. And those players deserve, I'm not saying they deserve it, but their careers warrant having a Champions League on the CV. And that's the brutal thing about football. Like somebody wins, somebody loses. It's like instant. And it's not personal. Like, so even for me, I felt for, you know, JT when he slipped. Because as much as like you want to win, also on a human level, you know, we know what it's like to lose with England and stuff on penalties.

1:20:18You know how heartbreaking that is. so as much as you win and you're like you're also a bit gutted for the book because we were together in an England camp three days later and you know how you know that how hard that is

1:20:31Chris Stark: but I obviously like it felt to me like I remember you took a penalty in 2006 against Portugal scored it when quite a few missed again in in Moscow for Manchester United you take a penalty and miss is that the German in you? do you know what I always I always took them as kids as a kid for my team. So I was always quite confident. And then... I always felt confident. Like in 2006, when you stepped up, I was like... Yeah. I think everybody knew what I was going to do. Were you always going to step up for that? Yeah. Everybody, all the boys were pointing top left. Yeah. All the Chelsea boys were pointing top left because they knew I was going top left.

1:21:09So for me, but in the end, I just thought, you know, I practiced it that much and I just remember getting up. I remember walking up because it's the maddest walk, isn't it? take a penalty it's like the whole world stops for 10 seconds and like because if you go too fast you look you look weird you know what i mean and if you go too slow you look weird so you're trying to style it out without looking weird i've never really thought about the walk up no no but what

1:21:33Chris Stark: you're thinking about that 10 seconds is crazy but like too fast is nervous yeah too slow is too casual yeah but you know what it's mad so i because i had a lot of them my whole career was decided on penalties i won two champions leagues on penalties got knocked out of two major tournaments on So I had the flip of both. So I could feel people's body language and energy if you could feel it or not. So I remember when I walked up against Chelsea, I was quite experienced. I was like 26, 27. I remember walking up, trying to style it out. And I remember I put the ball down. And Cech, obviously, was in goal.

1:22:08He's massive. I remember as I put the ball down, my whole plan was to smash your top left. And as I looked at the goal, I thought, Christ, he's massive. So what are you thinking, right? and all the Chelsea everybody's pointing top left behind me which I didn't know at the time they told me after so as I walked up I said those dicks are going to tell them where I'm going so I thought right I'll go bottom you're thinking this in the walk up too yeah 100 %

1:22:30Chris Stark: you doubted your penalty no no no I was just thinking about it and I was very fortunate that I was stable enough in my own thoughts and experiences that I can go so as I put the ball down I thought mate A they've told them where I'm going and B he looks massive so I thought screw it I'll go bottom right yeah but hang on but is your brain not at that point competing with that idea no no if they all know it's that side they know you're yeah exactly so that's so then i'm like i just go bottom bottom right and then as i put the ball down and i took a couple steps back i thought fuck it better time to be experimenting smash your top left if he saves it he saves it and when it went in i was just thinking it made me realize mate we're all here for a reason because we're all good like at our job if he saves it he's you know, he's Peter Chet, he's pretty good too.

1:23:15But in that moment, don't doubt yourself, back yourself. Do you mean, and the guys that miss are the ones you can tell they don't believe, the shoulders are, you know, the confidence is in there. So, penalties is all about, in the end, it's a really easy thing, you know, to shoot from there. We've done it a million times, but the pressure of the moment, and then your thoughts on that walk and everything is what? You know, because if you think, if I miss, I'm going to be on the front of the paper and everyone's going to be pissed off at me. But if you think, if I score, I'm going to go up into the lounge with my family.

1:23:51I'm going to have 10 beers with my family and we're going to go mad and have the best time ever. Instantly, the feeling within you is different. You know, it's not, if I miss, everyone's going to hammer me. And I think you can see that on people. So I was very fortunate at 26 or 27. I could, I process all that on that walk and I thought, okay, go with, trust your gut and that is i think is that's why experience is is kind of important what what what

1:24:19Chris Stark: was that night like in moscow was that initial moment where you where you've won it i know you've done it before but to celebrate kind of a lot of your england teammates there oh it was amazing yeah no do you know like you know that's like it's hard to win and then to win at that level and you celebrate with all the staff and your family are there um what did you do that night oh everyone just went mad Rio was absolutely smashed it was all over the game you know people are missing like the coach the next day it was just but you know it was just like the best the best carnage you could get and I just think sharing that with like you know it's like with your parents are there and stuff everybody's put in like 15 years of work you know getting you to that spot so then to be able to actually you know and share with the kit man and all the other staff is just, you know, like to this day, I reckon at least every day one person comes to me and speaks to me about Man United, every day.

1:25:10And that's, you know, that's why I always say to the guys, when you play in a game like that, you have the opportunity to create memories forever. You know, people will remember you, they'll remember your moments on that. You think about Michael in the game's Argentina or Wazza, the overhead kick. People remember players on probably four or five moments in their whole career, no matter how good they are. So you have an opportunity in that moment to make a moment that not only changes your life, but people will remember you for a long time. And I just think that's really, if you can take that into the game, it's actually a really powerful thing to actually, you know.

1:25:42Chris Stark: I think that what you're saying there is so inspirational because if you look at it when you're going into big games, if you think, you know, I can, this can be my moment. And I think that would make you want to take a penalty, you know, want to step up, want to perform. When you think about how hard it is, actually, you look at your kids, you know, my kids, I coached my son Sunday leg team. If you think now, like the little journey that they're on there and how much it means to them and you, and then to actually have a moment where you could decide something to win something, you know, it's like, there's so much hard work that goes into that.

1:26:13So obviously you got to enjoy it, but actually, you know, be conjured, like grab the chance while you got it. Yeah, but even if, does that positivity or that want to have that positive moment, does that not just add pressure in a different type of way? Yeah, but pressure is a privilege. Pressure is a privilege. no if you're no good pressure's a problem but if you're good there's a reason you're playing in the Champions League final at a World Cup because you're good go show people oh god you're brilliant you are no I'm just saying like I'm just thinking of anyone who's listening to this on the way for a job interview no but it's true you've got to back yourself go do it no but yeah even if you don't think it mate you've got to back yourself so if we get mate I want you to believe in me because if I want you to give me a job if I say mate I'm not very good at nothing with a pain in the ass.

1:26:59I annoy everyone. You know, you got to, so I think when you get a chance like that, and I probably have four or five in my career, like then the first one was when I went on trial and those moments were so powerful. They just, I was like, wow. You know, and we all get chances like, but you got to grab them when you get one and make the most. And then you got to think, right, how far can I go? Can I do more? Okay, let me test myself. And that's why leaving Bayern, I didn't want to leave Bayern, but I wanted to test myself in the Premier League. I wanted to play for Man United you know so even like that England step so actually I love when guys leave their comfort zone like Jude and Trent you know so much respect for them for actually saying right let's see what this is about put myself in the mix with these guys and see you know I might fail but at least I tried

1:27:45Chris Stark: yeah I love that obviously all the players you played with you know like I think of Ronaldo his peak at United Rooney Tevez Scholes Larm Effenberg you know some of the great players Khan who's the best I mean who would you I mean who would you say is the best you've played with where you start I mean they were all crazy I mean my first big game I played against Luis Figo in the Champions League semi-final and I remember walking out in the tunnel car and he was stood next to me in the white room and drew Kit his hair slicked back he literally looked like God he was glowing and I was like this little scraggly like 19 year old kid Kit wasn't even tucked in and I remember looking across thinking this guy is like literally glowing and you know so for me playing against your heroes and then actually you win a game like that makes you realize as good as those guys are they're actually out there you're all just a player um so i love like playing against idan that was one of the coolest things he was he was probably the best i mean i mean you're in direct competition against it yeah yeah and he was just i remember like trying not to like overly look at him in the game because, you know, like you're literally admiring him.

1:28:57I just couldn't remember how big he was. It was so much bigger than I thought. But then, you know, like, how do you get the ball off him? Who knew Walmart business could help a thriving office motivate their employees? Pamela knew. She uses Walmart business to get the assortment of items her team needs at the prices she loves. As the office manager, it's my job to make sure my team stays on top of their game. I can get the basics like cleaning supplies and paper towels, but what they really care about, snacks. And she can get everything they need when they need it. Greg loves wheat crackers, Brenda Crave sour candy, and Max, oh boy, he needs

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1:29:42He was hard. I remember he like, because I was quite quick, so I remember I could normally surprise people, but so I remember he kind of like left it there he must have known and I was thinking can't leave it there like I'm gonna get it I'll get that and I didn't realise how big he was and I remember I was like he like dangled me in to go get it and then he just put his quad there and I just ran into his quad and then he did that pier wet away from me I remember as he was running away crouching I was like that was so cool now I've gotta chase him yeah yeah no but you know like so when you play guys like that oh like Skulls he was crazy You got to think like Paul Scholes was not tall.

1:30:23He is five. What is he? Five, seven. Um, but in his brain, he was so far ahead of everyone. And then Stevie G was just insane. He could literally do anything. Tackle, shoot, pass, had a heart of a lion. I mean, Waza, prime Waza was, was mad. It was like a video game. And then young Michael Owen was, I don't think people realize what, you know, force of nature Michael was. so it's hard like Bex I mean Bex had a sat nav in his foot he was just finding people wasn't he yeah outrageous I mean so Ronaldo I was with him in that first year when he won the Ballon d 'Or and we were in the gym I remember and that must be intimidating no he was cool but we were in the gym working out and we with Mike Clegg the strength coach he was cool and he was doing these mad sit-ups and I remember he had this little break from it and he went oh no I'm going to be the best player in the world this year that was in the September and we won the Premier League and Champions League and he won the Ballon d 'Or do you know so to see these guys like people see the finished product and everything that goes with it but actually these guys like they're so elite in not just ability but I think like I think about Prime Mo my clown or Waza I love you calling Mo by the way Mo I've not heard that before or Christian or Tevitt like all these guys they're all they're all amazing players but their mindset was what was quite Stevie was what's special Frank all of them

1:31:49Chris Stark: they're just what about Germany like when you were at Bayern like who was there one player that really really stood out everything about him you know oh no all of them they were all internationals from Germany from Brazil we didn't we didn't have one bad player I mean our two fullbacks were French internationals we had Brazilian strikers we had Germany we had we had we had we had everything when you play in a team like that you don't have players that don't aren't top so I just the cool thing was is you can see how everybody worked you know because everybody had a different system how they got ready for the weekend in there some guys were crazy professionals some weren't some would go out some would you know so as a young kid coming through and watching that um i was just kind of absorbing it all because literally i mean we'd have fights in training and you know fight it up in the dressing room so i think the one thing that i really learned was like every day was a competition and you had to you had to be up for it and if you weren't you got found out so i think we all when you play like at that level you get you get into good habits i think and i think that is such an important thing for any young athlete playing any sport you know just i know a lot of people aren't looking but put the work in because then when you get the chance for that big moment you guys you're ready to take it yeah um because i think when you do that you give yourself a lot of confidence to actually grab that chance oh listen it's our I can talk to you all day, right?

1:33:11Chris Stark: And listen, I do actually because when we were on TNT and all that, I like any quiet time, I just want to grill him because he's done things differently to me and had experiences. Although, you know, I played at a good level, like his experiences are different to mine and they're so, it's so interesting to hear you speak about them. But it's nice that you, that's a nice thing. Everyone has a different career, but the way Crouchy's done it and also like transitioned into the second part, he's enjoyed it so much. But I don't think I had the talent enough to be that fun with it like i had to be on it all times and i was i was like i had to be so focused so i really respect that you're able to like navigate it all quite loosely yeah do you mean yeah it's such a it's such a skill because i don't think people understand how cutthroat the top is and everybody is kind of a shark aren't they yeah at the top yeah not because they can play but because how competitive they are and you wouldn't ordinarily do the robot in a sea full of sharks which i remember that do you remember i do i'll never forget that and that's what i mean even that alone was just that's crouchy he was just you know what they're like you know people like sven kept telling me to do it because because it was such a pressure environment at that time you know some lanky striker dicking around kind of helped the did alleviate some of that pressure because I'm going to spend pulling me and saying like if you squad just keep fucking doing it it's taking the heat off you really is that true yeah it's weird he was like just people are loving it but I think because you were so you were so authentic it was it actually really if anybody else would have done it probably I don't think it would have been the same yeah but everybody knew you were you're just like one of the most naturally funny people and it's like and that's why that's why it works to have that in that environment when it's so brutal I've never thought about its purpose ever then just been a big celebration.

1:35:07Chris Stark: Well, no, but yeah, bizarrely, it did alleviate some pressure because rather than talking about, you know, the games as much, there was a pull-outs of a fucking robot. Where did you get the robot from? It was Bex's party, wasn't it? You know, that's where it all started. Bizarrely, my mate used to do it and I just nicked it off him. Has he not got the copyright? Mate, he must be fuming. He must kill you. Mate. No, do you know what? we used to all do it I remember it was a dance competition was it Butlins PGL yeah and we had a dance competition and and we were all doing this robot yeah and they were better than me they ended up winning they ended up winning a kind of a little bottle of panda and I didn't win so I panda pops yeah so I just nicked one pretend I had one so basically I'm completely imitation you were ahead of your time with the with the celebrations weren't you because now all the young kids like you know everyone's doing my son's team at 10 everyone's like you know doing the call Palmer one and the Ailing Harlem one you were you were ahead of your time everyone needs to sell I mate listen mate if you don't mind I'm going to get some quick fires I don't normally do this but go on I'm just I think you're the type of character that we need on the quick fires girl okay how quick quick because you're a man of the world that's why favourite city Munich seriously yeah top place isn't it top quality like everything like you can win stuff you can you know literally on a day off you could drive to five countries yeah do you can't can't can't fail we want to do an Oktoberfest yeah we've actually talked to you I talked to you about this I told you Brian asked me to do it but I'll see if we can maybe we can tie them up together that's what I mean there you go so an Oktoberfest with Owen Hargreaves guys you've never been to Oktoberfest I'll tell you what you haven't been to Crouchfest do I have to wear do I have to wear a leather hose in that Crouchfest ideally ideally please okay Champions League night or World Cup night only got to the quarterfinals of the World Cup twice I would probably say but like Champions League night is just I had two of them they were it's been good to you they were good yeah okay favourite stadium good call I always thought Benabella had something special do you know when you come out and you like just went up remember yeah and they were pretty good teams anyway so you know it was a hard it was a hard game I used to love the Benabella yeah favourite goal that you scored?

1:37:35Probably a free kick against Arsenal for United. Yeah, I remember that. That was good. But I scored the first goal of the Allianz Arena from left back. That was decent smash at top bins, so. They'll always have that as well. Yeah, yeah.

1:37:48Chris Stark: Who was better in training, Ronaldo or Rooney? What a great question. I'm sure Cristiano would disagree, but I don't know. Waza was just, you know what Waza was like. He was insane, wasn't he? Pete Waza, but Cristiano was just once he's kind of was was more functional with it and not doing the tricks the tricks then he became like crazy young player we gotta remember like Cristiano's like 6 '2 you know 6 '1 and different physical profile to Wazza but Prime Wazza was like this Brazilian English hybrid wasn't he yeah he was crazy that's a nice way of looking at it okay Messi or Ronaldo I mean hate that question everyone asks that do you know what's hard about it because you know Ronaldo well yeah you know what he was my teammate and I got to see him train every day so I can't not pick him out of respect for your teammates but again they're different aren't they Messi is just like a pure genius isn't he absolute genius but Cristiano there's no wrong or right answer to this nah do you know we did we did something recently which blew your mind and we were having a conversation about imagining footballers in different kits.

1:39:03Yeah. If you were to pick one other kit that you never ended up wore, have you ever thought about one? That I wanted to wear? Yeah, give us one that would just blow our minds.

1:39:13Chris Stark: Do you know what? This is the type of situation, right? Someone sent in loads of pictures of players in kits, right? Thierryan in England shirt. Yeah. With one. We had Shearer in a Man United shirt. Shearer in a Man United shirt. That was a good one. if it was one for you like it'd blow people's mind I mean there's so many in there I mean I think gone are the days where the Stevie G stay at one team aren't they yeah I mean there was that time when he where he was like Chelsea was close wasn't it and that's hard to even thinking about that now Stevie in blue you can't picture it it's a good one so like obviously my boss probably quite torn really but then staying home you know what a leg Stevie is you know one man one man career I love that so yeah I couldn't I couldn't picture Stevie Stevie in the Chelsea shirt listen anyway oh thanks so much for coming on mate I really appreciate it and listen we could talk to you all day because it's so interesting your career's been amazing and you're obviously doing great stuff now who would have thought we'd go back to 97 I know 97 it's a while ago now that is a while ago we sound old don't we we had some I had some night in Portrush there in a milk cup made me the man I am today.

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