Stuart Broad is cherishing the opportunity to pull on an England shirt again at Soccer Aid almost a year on from a fairy-tale finish to his cricket career.
Broad bowed out last summer in memorable fashion, clinching a Test victory over Ashes rivals Australia with his final delivery before retirement.
Now, after throwing himself into a life of fatherhood and television punditry, he is ready to rewind the clock for one night only, donning Three Lions once more after signing up as part of Harry Redknapp’s England XI at UNICEF’s annual charity football match.
Despite exiting elite sport on the crest of a wave, a feat all too few achieve, this ardent Nottingham Forest fan cannot hide his enthusiasm to head back into battle for his country at Stamford Bridge on June 9.
“To put on an England shirt again, even if it’s not a cricket one, will feel pretty cool,” he told the PA news agency.
“I’ve no doubt I’ll have that competitive spirit back. I don’t think it ever leaves you. I’m at peace with the way I finished at The Oval, if I tried to play another 100 games I’d never get that high again, and I achieved my goal of finishing on my own terms rather than being told by a coach or selector that time was up.
“I didn’t leave with any bitterness, just brilliant memories. But one of the things I’ve noticed from stepping away from the game is how little you realise about the pressure you’re really under.
“It can be quite addictive, that feeling of being under pressure to perform. Soccer Aid is all about raising money and awareness for UNICEF and what it does for children all over the world, but whenever you put a professional sportsperson on a field those competitive juices flow.”
The 37-year-old is ready to embrace that familiar feeling as he eyes up a place in Redknapp’s defensive line. Broad made a handsome career as a fast bowler but he plans to pit himself one on one with an opponent who really cornered the market when it comes to speed.
“I’ve been playing five-a-side on Monday nights, but it’s a little bit of a step up marking Usain Bolt,” he said.
“I saw Harry and he told me ‘I’ve heard Usain has a bit of pace’, so I’ll need to work on that high line. I’d probably class it as diving in at the deep end, playing at the Bridge in front of a full house, live on TV, with some of the world’s best talent.
“It’s not doing things by halves. I’m looking to present myself as a no-nonsense centre-back, win my aerial battles and if I get in trouble just kick it out. I might wear a Forest under-shirt to keep the passion up.”
While Broad does not feel any pangs of regret about his retirement he admits the start of England’s Test summer could be a challenge to his equilibrium. He has no immediate plans to fill the void by stepping into any formal coaching role but is enthusiastic about working with the next generation and sharing his experience.
“I’ve not massively missed the playing side yet but seeing the England lads walk out at Lord’s or the Test at Trent Bridge, that will probably be the time I go, ‘Wow, I don’t do this anymore’,” he said.
“If you go straight into (full-time) coaching, you’re almost travelling more than the players, but I want to stay part of the game. I’ve gathered a lot of knowledge over my time playing 167 Test matches and I want to share that with people. The exciting thing for me is talking to bowlers at the start of their journey…if they can take five per cent from me that grows them as bowlers, that’s great.
“Whether I do that by stepping back in at grassroots level with Nottinghamshire, or speaking to the England Under-19s, it’s just about getting the knowledge I gained from 20 years of playing out of my brain and into theirs.”
:: Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2024 takes place on 9th June at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, with tickets available at www.socceraid.org.uk/tickets
Returning fan favourite Alonso calls Liverpool 'one of Europe's best'
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso hailed his former club Liverpool as "one of Europe's best" as he prepares for his Anfield return.
Alonso, who spent five successful years at Anfield and helped Liverpool win the Champions League in 2005, returns to his former stomping ground when Leverkusen take on the Reds on Tuesday.
Arne Slot has won 12 of his first 14 matches in charge of Liverpool, including all three in the Champions League so far.
Leverkusen have only won one of their 11 away major European matches in England (D3 L7), and have lost their last two visits to Anfield, and Alonso is under no illusion as to the scale of the task that awaits the reigning Bundesliga champions.
"For us, it is a big challenge," he said.
"Liverpool at the moment are one of the best, if not the best, in Europe, they are showing that in the Premier League and Champions League, a good squad, great coach. We're looking forward to it. Let's see what happens.
"You can play 70 minutes great but in 20 minutes it [the game] is gone, so it is mentally and emotionally we need to be ready.
"In all areas, they are really strong, so the process works really well. [Slot] has done a fantastic job in three months."
Alonso played 210 times across all competitions for Liverpool between 2004 and 2009, scoring 18 goals and providing 20 assists.
After winning the Champions League with the Reds in 2005, he helped them reach the final in 2007, though they lost to Milan on that occasion.
However, the Spaniard does not think he will have too much time for a trip down memory lane.
"Unfortunately, there is no time for tourism – maybe a little run or walk," he said.
"I know the city very well, I love it, but tomorrow I will focus on the game and only the game.
"It feels great to be back here after a few years. It's always special. You notice the development of the club; the new stand looks amazing.
"It is a big game against Liverpool, it cannot get much better than that."
The omens are not great for Leverkusen, though.
Liverpool have lost one of their last 21 European meetings with German opponents (W14 D6), albeit that one defeat came against Leverkusen in 2002.
“We want everyone involved”- Chung hoping for massive support for Reggae Boyz in Nations League Quarterfinal against USA
General Secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation, Dennis Chung, is hoping that Jamaicans come out in their numbers to support the Reggae Boyz during both legs of their CONCACAF Nations League Quarter-final at the National Stadium in Kingston on Thursday, November 14 and Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday, November 18.
The Reggae Boyz will be looking for revenge over their American counterparts after suffering defeat to them at the semi-final stage of last season’s Nations League 1-3 in extra time. The USA went on to win the whole thing with a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the final while the Reggae Boyz beat Panama 1-0 to claim third place.
If the Boyz are to get over the hump this time around, Chung understands that a massive part of it will be the energy they receive from the thousands of Jamaican fans in attendance.
“We are at the quarterfinal stage. We want to ensure that we are there in our numbers supporting the Boyz because we have to make it past the mighty USA which, after we finish with them, they won’t be so mighty,” Chung said in press conference on Monday.
As such, three support groups for Jamaican football-Reggae Boyz Supporters Club, Reggae Football Fans Club and Reggae Boyz Community, are all making it possible for fans from all over the diaspora to have an opportunity to cheer on the Reggae Boyz live and in person.
“We want to welcome this partnership because this is a way for us now to reach our fanbase. We want to ensure that everyone is involved. At the last two games we had over 17,000 people in attendance and that, for us, is very important. It’s not just about playing football. It’s about getting everybody involved,” Chung said on Monday.
Errol Walters and Louis Grant, members of the Reggae Football Fans Club, were also on hand on Monday and gave an overview of this initiative.
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to be serving our country in this way. What we’re trying to do is create an opportunity for fans in the diaspora that we use our collective bargaining power to negotiate to go to the games,” Walters said.
“There are times when I’m in London and want to go to a game and I have no one to travel with so it was always my dream to create a database to say listen, who’s going to the game from where,” Walters added.
Grant explained that this idea came about because of the desire of members of the diaspora to be a driving force behind the support of the team on their journey to the World Cup in 2026.
“This was birthed out a desire to be the proverbial 12th man for our football teams and more so for the second iteration of the historic trip to the World Cup. We, as members of the diaspora here in the United States, think it’s only right that we play our part in drumming up support as far as leveraging air travel, accommodation, and support,”
“For example, we’ve been in touch with US Soccer with regards to the game in St. Louis. We’ve gotten a section that we can have all or most of our supporters concentrated to create that ‘Office’ vibe,”
“In my experience, we’ve gone to games in my area and you’d see our supporters and our flag sparsely across the various stadiums and we are of the opinion that if we were more concentrated in one section, it bodes well or it is a better look and feel for our team,” he added.
Fulham 2-1 Brentford: Wilson's late brace seals comeback win
Harry Wilson scored twice in stoppage time as Fulham came back to beat Brentford 2-1 in an enthralling West London derby.
Wilson was the hero from Fulham's bench on Monday, as Marco Silva's team – who were on the wrong end of a late comeback against Everton last time out in the Premier League – salvaged a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Fulham will feel it was a win they earned from a match they dominated from the off, with the Bees having taken the lead against the run of play through Vitaly Janelt's stunning 24th-minute strike.
But the Fulham pressure finally told when Wilson rose high to flick in his first in the 92nd minute, and – after Bernd Leno made a superb stop to thwart Brentford at the other end – the former Liverpool midfielder nodded in again to send Craven Cottage into raptures.
Fulham's win takes them up into ninth, while Brentford drop to 12th after suffering a fifth league loss of the season.
Data Debrief: Super-sub Wilson to the rescue
Fulham will feel they deserved to come away from that match with three points, having had 26 shots, 12 of which were on target, in an incredibly dominant display.
They also had 46 touches in the opposition box compared to Brentford's nine, but they could not make those count, at least until Wilson's late intervention as he finally broke through Brentford's stubborn defence.
The Welshman scored with both of his shots on target, having three attempts overall, with his goals coming from a combined 0.19 expected goals.
The Bees looked sure to get a first away win, and first clean sheet, of the Premier League season until their late lapse in concentration, and they have now dropped 14 points from winning positions in the competition this season, more than any other team.
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