Kieran Trippier is humble Bury lad who had better World Cup than Lionel Messi
Kieran Trippier talks about how overcoming obstacles and growing older has helped him become one of the leaders in Gareth Southgate's England team ahead of Wales clash in Qatar
Kieran Trippier joined an illustrious list of just three Englishmen to score in a World Cup semi-final when he found the net against Croatia in Russia. Bobby Charlton and Gary Lineker are the other two.
He created more chances than the likes of Neymar, Lionel Messi, Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne at the same tournament in 2018.
While he also has an assist in a European Championship final. Then there is the La Liga title in his collection, a Champions League final appearance and now he’s one of the key players in Newcastle’s transformation under their Saudi mega money owners.
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Right backs are never usually the poster boys but in recent years the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold have certainly made them more of a talking point.
Yet Trippier is a player who stays out of the spotlight and seems quite happy to do so. So when it was put to him that he may be an unglamorous player, the response was typical of the Bury man.
“That’s for you guys to decide, not me,” he said. “I’ve had so many obstacles throughout my career, I wouldn’t change anything. I just go about my business.”
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Trippier has overcome those obstacles which have come along his journey which has seen him take in time at Manchester City, Barnsley, Burnley, Tottenham and Atletico Madrid before arriving at St James’ Park just less than a year ago.
“I had to leave City because I didn’t play there but there is no shame in dropping down a league and playing in the Championship,” he said. “I played there for five years, building myself up. Then, when I first went to Spurs, I didn’t play and had to be patient. It’s about obstacles and how you deal with them. I’ve overcome a lot.”
At the 2018 World Cup he was 27. Hardly a young gun but not one of the oldest in the team. Now he’s a veteran of two tournaments, has played abroad and won a major trophy.
The full-back will earn his 40th England cap tonight at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Doha. He regularly skippers the Magpies now and was handed the Three Lions captain’s armband when Harry Kane went off against Iran. Now he is an elder statesman with the likes of young stars Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka in the squad.
“I’ve always been one of those types of players who is vocal on the pitch,” said Trippier, who captained England against tonight’s opponents Wales in 2020. “And as I get older, I feel like I’ve got the responsibility as an older player to help the younger players as well.
“It’s always an honour to be captain but if I have the armband or not, it’s always an honour for club and country, I try to lead by example.”
England need to respond against the Welsh after a disappointing performance in a dour draw with USA doused some of the hope which had been building around Gareth Southgate’s side.
“I don’t think we were upset - we know we could have done better in that final third but you’ve got to give a lot of credit to the United States as well,” he added. “Of course, we need to be more clinical, we need to get more chances, but we can’t score six goals every game.”
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