The popular theory is that England’s Golden Generation missed out on silverware because of tribal loyalties and who sat where at dinner. Michael Owen remembers it differently. The problem was not the seating plan in the dining room, but the shape of the team on the pitch – and his conviction that Glenn Hoddle would have found solutions where Sven-Goran Eriksson could not.
‘It’s funny, because I feel like the last six months, this topic of us players not liking each other has raised its ugly head,’ says Owen, who will be Daily Mail Sport’s exclusive World Cup columnist this summer. ‘I nearly fell off my stool when I heard Rio Ferdinand say he never got on with Steven Gerrard.
‘I can’t wait to see Rio or Stevie and ask, “Is this real?”. I question my own bloody mind. It’s like, “Oh my God, did I have my head up my a***?”. Now, it’s true to say there was a Manchester United table at meals – no question about it. But did I dislike any of those people? Absolutely not! Come on, let’s be honest about why we didn’t win anything.’
Over the next five weeks in North America, Thomas Tuchel’s England will become the latest generation chasing a second star on the jersey. They can learn plenty from the shortcomings of a collection of players still considered this country’s finest since 1966. That is why we are revisiting Owen’s three World Cups between 1998 and 2006, in which England never got beyond a quarter-final. The biggest regret for the striker, who was the boy wonder at France ’98 and Ballon d’Or winner three years later, is Hoddle’s controversial dismissal in 1999.
‘Glenn Hoddle has the most underused, under-appreciated football brain this country has possibly ever had. I am convinced that if he was the manager of that team – the ‘Golden Generation’ – it would have been a marriage made in heaven. He was just incredible.
‘Against the very, very best, we hardly got a kick (under Eriksson). In the Brazil game (2-1 defeat in 2002), we played against 10 men for the last half hour and still didn’t get a kick. Not even a chance. It was the most flat effort I’ve ever seen, considering it was a World Cup quarter-final. We just weren’t smart enough.
England legend Michael Owen is Daily Mail Sport’s new columnist ahead of the World Cup
Owen played at three World Cups for England and scored in 2002 quarter-final defeat by Brazil
‘And again, some people will say it’s nothing to do with formations, it’s just about players. I really don’t get that. I’ve been on the pitch so many times where you just think, “Oh my word, how do we beat them? They’re set up so well you can’t even see a pass”.
‘Even my goal to put us 1-0 up was just a hopeful chip forward and a mistake that I jumped on. My goal against Portugal in the Euro 2004 quarter-final was a long ball by David James that was flicked on by their own player. Let’s get it right – we played long ball! Not because we wanted to, but because we were so outnumbered in midfield with a rigid 4-4-2. Everyone said Gerrard and Lampard couldn’t play together. It didn’t matter. All we did, every time we played good teams, honestly, was launch it to Heskey.’
Owen pauses for a little perspective.
‘We were very strong, but we also got knocked out by the winners. Brazil’s wing-backs were Cafu and Roberto Carlos – ours were Danny Mills and Ashley Cole. Their front three was Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, and Ronaldo – we had Owen and Heskey! Do you know what I mean? I’m laughing at myself saying this. We were so blasé to think we deserved to win, but I do believe we would have had a better chance with Hoddle.’
OK, what would he have done differently?
‘It seems so simple looking back – but play the 3-5-2 that Hoddle did in 1998. We had unbelievable centre-halves all through that era – John Terry, Sol Campbell, Rio, Gareth Southgate, Jonathan Woodgate, Jamie Carragher, Ledley King. Put Gary Neville on the right, Ashley Cole the left and bring Becks in the middle. Keep the ball, control games. It sounds easy now, yet we made bloody hard work of it.’
For all his admiration of Hoddle, Owen says he got life in camp badly wrong. It is why he welcomes Tuchel’s more relaxed approach to family visits and allowing players to occasionally escape the bubble.
‘You almost feel guilty saying, “Oh, it was miserable and boring back in the day,” because it’s everyone’s dream to play for their country. But at France ’98, it was so miserable. We didn’t have mobile phones and Glenn wasn’t keen on us playing golf. We weren’t allowed to see our families. You’d see them 200 metres away at the top of the stand, and that was it. There were no newspapers, and no one was watching television. I love Glenn, but he was too big on discipline.
‘We all knew we had to eat rice, boiled potatoes, pasta and boiled chicken. But you weren’t even allowed a bit of bolognese or tomato sauce. Every meal was the same. There was a big banner above the restaurant saying, “Chew to Win”. The idea was that the more you chew and digest your food, the less energy it takes for your blood to break it down. Our French doctor was giving us all these nutrients, and we were popping pills and taking creatine. We were tuned to the max. That was all well and good, but there was no let-up.
‘What England will do in Kansas is what you need. An odd night out to let your hair down. You aren’t getting drunk, but you’re seeing something different.’
Owen has signed with Daily Mail Sport for this summer’s World Cup in the United States
Owen believes England would’ve fared better if Glenn Hoddle wasn’t sacked in 1999 – but has conceded that their 1998 World Cup camp under him was ‘miserable’
Owen experienced the other extreme amid the circus of Baden-Baden at Germany ’06, when England’s WAGs generated more headlines than the players.
‘It was very different to France ’98! The mad thing is, when it was available, I wasn’t even that bothered. I didn’t once go down into the village – I think I was still brainwashed! But I’d said to my wife, “Don’t you dare be pictured dancing on tables”. It honestly would have put me off my game. Thankfully, she was sensible. I’d told her to avoid the wild crowd.’
Avoid the Carraghers, you mean?
‘Exactly!’
That tournament would be Owen’s last. In the first minute of the final group game, his knee buckled and his ACL ruptured.
‘To have it taken away from you in an instant, that is hard to take. Just bang. No warning. Your life turned upside down. I was out for nearly a year.’
Eight years earlier, as an 18-year-old, Owen scored the goal against Argentina in the last 16 that he recognises changed his life. But here is something, he has never willingly watched it back. That is not because England lost on penalties after a 2-2 draw, either.
‘I’ve never watched any game that I played in. The only time I’ve ever seen my Argentina goal is when it is forced upon me. I don’t even know if my kids have seen it.’
Why?
‘To quote Roy Keane: it was just my job! Of course, I’m fiercely proud of what I achieved. That goal showed how a World Cup amplifies everything. You score against Bournemouth on a Saturday and it’s great, but a goal like that at a World Cup, it changes your life. I went from being a national star to international.
‘As for the goal, it was just what I did. I had no other thought but to run at those defenders. No fear of what might not happen. I knew what I could do. Once I was in a position to shoot, for me, that clipped finish wasn’t hard – it’s why I wasn’t letting Paul Scholes take it off me!
‘Of all the moments in my career – the Ballon d’Or, the 2001 FA Cup final – it is still Argentina that stands out. Wherever I travel in the world, people say, “I remember exactly where I was when you scored that goal”. It was a moment that transcended the globe.’
Owen made a name for himself on the international stage with that goal vs Argentina in 1998
England’s WAGs dominated the headlines during the 2006 World Cup campaign in Germany
With that, though, comes pressure. England Expects, after all. Owen scored a penalty in the shootout against Argentina, but that did not come as easy as his goal.
‘When you play for your club, it’s fun. If you miss a chance, you can go out and score a hat-trick a few days later. But there is no question about it – when you go to a World Cup, you know that one slip can live with you for four years. That carries a weight where you can’t help but think about it. It can define you for good or bad.
‘I’ve taken penalties all through my life, and I’ve been nervous. But I’ve never felt what I did when walking towards that spot for England, with the most negative thoughts. I had just scored a great goal, I was on top of the world. And I’m still thinking, “Oh s***, if I miss this, I’m going to be in a pizza advertisement with a paper bag over my head”. That’s not normally me. Playing for England just does something different to you.’
That is not what the likes of World Cup rookies such as Elliot Anderson, Nico O’Reilly and Marc Guehi might want to hear, but Owen also believes it can be used as motivation.
‘I was still able to say to myself, “This is my game and my sport. I’ve practiced all my life. I would love it if 10 billion people tuned in to watch, not just 500 million. I know I can do something special here”.
‘Put me on a golf tee and I don’t want a single person watching me. I’d prefer three billion people watching me play football over three people watching me play golf. So in that way, I don’t really believe in the pressure blocking you. What an opportunity these players have now. Embrace it. I wish it was me again. Go and show the world what you can do.’
For Owen, the memories still flicker and the regrets still linger, but his message to the generation who now follow in his stud marks is clear – a World Cup rewards players brave enough, and managers smart enough, to seize their moment.
Which England star has 7 GCSEs? Who has lost half of his finger? Test your knowledge of Thomas Tuchel’s squad with our exclusive quiz HERE.
