OH: My Journey
Telegraph: Owen Hargreaves walks down the corridor of the Christie cancer hospital in Manchester, reads the signs to chemotherapy chambers and bereavement suites and painful memories come rushing back.
On the day Hargreaves made his England debut, Aug 15, 2001, cancer claimed his grandfather, a fanatical England supporter deprived of the chance to see his grandson pull on the Three Lions.
Joined by two likeable young colleagues, Tom Heaton and Danny Simpson, the Manchester United midfielder moves from ward to ward, dispensing tea, library books and banter. Paul, the orderly accompanying the United trio, is a Liverpool fan, so the repartee is lively. Everyone quickly concludes that Heaton, a promising goalkeeper, handles the ball better than he does a teapot.
This a strange journey through these wards, this juxtaposition of healthy young men in the prime of their lives alongside people fighting the enemy poisoning their bodies. “When you come into an environment like this you realise how trivial your injuries are,” observes Hargreaves, who hopes a slight thigh problem will ease so that he can play against Chelsea tomorrow.
A couple slip past, the man clutching his X-ray file in one hand and his girlfriend’s hand in the other. They know the Christie will do all they can to help them. Now United are doing all they can to help this world-renowned hospital.
When the teapot is empty, and the library trolley devoid of books, Hargreaves finds a quiet corner to talk. About why England must change tactics. About the disgrace of Moscow’s plastic pitch. About why life in the United dressing room is better than at Bayern Munich. About Sir Alex Ferguson’s motivational brilliance.
But first about cancer. “Cancer can touch anyone. Kids. Anyone. That’s the scary thing. Everyone has a family member in their life who has been affected in some way. I went in there to see the patients the same way as seeing my grandad: trying to keep their spirits up, put a smile on their faces.”
So Hargreaves willingly turned up at the Christie on Monday, as United launched a fund-raising campaign for the hospital in a week when all elite clubs are intensifying their community work as part of the Premier League’s Creating Chances scheme. “I remember my grandad in hospital,” Hargreaves recalls of his early years in Canada. “I remember walking into the hospital. Although it was a long time ago, today had the same vibe, the same smells.
“My granddad passed away the day of my first England game. There was so much hype at the time on television around me because Bayern Munich had just won the Champions League, and it was my first England game, I was the new ’saviour’ on the left side of midfield, although I had never played there before. So I turned off the television.
“It was a good thing I did because somehow the news had got out and television were saying my grandfather had passed away. He was massive into football. He would have enjoyed seeing my first England game – Holland at White Hart Lane.”
Henry Hargreaves had moved to Canada to live with his son Colin and daughter-in-law after they emigrated. “Dad’s mum passed away when he was quite young – 15. He was really close to her so he wanted to get away from England because he had bad memories. My dad was in the steel industry. He could choose where he wanted to go: Australia, USA, or Canada. He chose Canada.”
Colin’s footballing passion, inherited from Henry, followed him over. “Dad still plays. He is a skills man! Cruyff turns, step-overs. He’s 52 and goes to Over-50s tournaments. There was one in Scotland and he got player of the tournament. My friends that I played with as a kid are now playing in lower leagues, and they still play against my dad. They say he’s still better than everyone else.”
Back in Calgary, a ritual developed in the Hargreaves household. “Because of the time difference to Canada, English football games came on at seven or eight in the morning. My grandad would sit downstairs in his robe and watch the games. He’d be critical, very opinionated about the football.”
The Hargreaves family were soon viewing Bundesliga matches, following Owen’s accelerating career. Yet having been raised on stories of English football, whether Henry enthusing about his beloved Bolton or Colin reminiscing about his youth-team days at Bolton and Wigan Athletic, Owen was determined to join the Premier League party.
“I remember looking at Manchester United from a distance. I knew it was a massive club but it’s even bigger than I anticipated. The biggest thing about the club is the history and the success. Look at the players who have been here, not only the players I know like Roy Keane but Bryan Robson, Bobby Charlton, George Best. To be part of that is a dream for any player from any country.
“In our dressing room there are players from around the world and everyone gets on. That’s down to players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville being so humble and just being good guys. I’ve never seen such a good atmosphere as I have here, even with the players who can’t speak English. Anderson and Nani can barely speak any English and they are in on every joke. I don’t know how they do it!
“There’s always music playing before games. In Germany that is unheard of. It’s very relaxed here. The atmosphere is great and the staff contribute to that.”
Particularly that great galvanising force from Govan. “He’s been fabulous,” Hargreaves says of Ferguson. “One of the first times I saw him he just came over to me, put his arm around me and asked me how I was doing. I don’t think I’ve ever had a manager in my life who has done that even when I was a kid.
“He’s achieved so much and had so much success but he’s still a great people person. He knows exactly what to say at any given moment. No wonder any player who comes to Manchester United never wants to leave. The attention to detail here is fantastic. It’s bigger than Bayern, better organised. I was ready for a change. I got stuck in a routine in Munich.
“I talk to Roque Santa Cruz at Blackburn, and he says it’s the best thing he’s ever done [leaving Bayern for England]. He’s from Paraguay but he’s so happy now he would like to finish his career here. He’s been overwhelmed by the amount of support Blackburn give him, the trust they have shown in him and the support the fans give him. It’s the same for me here.”
The England international with the fading Canadian accent feels he has come home, simply stopping off in Baveria on the way. “There were sell-outs for every game in Munich but football is more exciting here. The referees contribute to making the game more exciting here. In Germany the referees blow for any contact. Here the football is more physical and played at an incredibly fast pace. You always have to be on your toes. Alert.”
Hargreaves knows he still has to prove himself to a new audience. “Everything I’ve done in the past doesn’t count. It’s how I’m performing now. I want to get into a position where people enjoy watching me play. But the most important thing to me is that my manager trusts me, team-mates trust me. Everything else is gravy.
“The League is going to be exciting. It looks like Liverpool are ready to make that next step. Arsenal had a big win at Spurs. Teams like Blackburn, Everton, West Ham and Newcastle can take points off the top teams. I think the top four will still be the top four, but the teams behind will make it difficult.”
The heat is on with England as well. Injury forced a frustrated Hargreaves out of the recent Euro 2008 qualifying wins over Israel and Russia but he watched with interest. “Emile Heskey and Gareth Barry stepped in and played extremely well. We did a very good job, two clean sheets, but we need to look at the bigger picture. When we are playing Brazil, Argentina, the really top teams, are we going to be successful with that same team, same formation?”
England need more tactical sophistication, more bodies in midfield if they are to swim with the international sharks, according to Hargreaves. “Most of the successful teams in the [2006] World Cup played with one up and had more in midfield.”
All leading sides have an anchor man, a defensive shield like Hargreaves. “People expect me to play in the big games, because they are more difficult, and teams attack. I am tactically disciplined. I’d love to bomb on, get forward and have shots, but that is not my job. I can dribble round people and shoot but because there are people around me who do that better, then my job is to hold.”
Hargreaves should return for next month’s resumption of Euro 2008 hostilities. “Russia away will be extremely difficult. The [artificial] pitch in Moscow does worry players. When you look at injuries in football, it is not healthy to play as much as we do and those surfaces don’t contribute to our health.
“I don’t think anyone would want to play on those pitches. I can’t imagine Russia are thrilled either. I’m sure the people who made those decisions are not football players. But we’ll just have to deal with it.
“Aaron Lennon has just come back. There’s Becks. Frank Lampard is one of the best midfielders in the world. Wayne Rooney has to come back and I can’t imagine any England team without Wayne Rooney. The expectation is high with England because there are not only 11 great players. There are 25.” With Hargreaves very high on the list. His grandfather would be proud.
