18-82 Q&A - Dier: 'I stood at the side of the road with these turtles...'

Today we bring you the return of our 18-82 Q&A feature. Using the year of the Club’s formation as inspiration, we ask our players to choose 18 lifestyle questions from a pool of 82. In the hotseat today is Eric Dier...

1 - What is your most-used group on WhatsApp?

Eric: “A family group.”

2 - What do you remember about your Spurs debut?

Eric: “It was an incredible day. I remember my mum being very nervous before the game. My favourite thing from that day is a photo of me celebrating right in front of the Tottenham fans. I like that picture.”

3 - What is your favourite sandwich?

Eric: “My mum makes a fantastic chicken sandwich with tomato, avocado and mayonnaise.”

4 - What is the best advice you’ve been given?

Eric: “I was always told ‘if you take care of the football, everything else will take care of itself’. I like that one.”

5 - What reminds you of home?

Eric: “I have a painting in my kitchen that I got in Portugal, it’s very Portuguese and every time I look at it, it reminds me of my time there.”

6 - When are you at your happiest?

Eric: “In the summer, I go to the house where I grew up in Portugal and all my family are there, my dogs. We go to the beach every morning - it’s difficult to beat that.”

7 - What are you always asked in interviews?

Eric: “What is my favourite position.”

8 - If you could go back in time, where would you go?

Eric: “There are so many. Going on the moon with Neil Armstrong. I’ll go with that, I’d just nudge Neil out of the way and get off in front of him and therefore be the first man on the moon!”

9 - Who has been the biggest influence on your career?

Eric: “My father.”

10 - When was the last time you cried?

Eric: “I cried watching the film ‘Life Itself’. I bawled my eyes out and my brother caught me! He took the mickey out of me. I get emotional watching films, what can I say?”

11 - Describe your worst-ever hairstyle...

Eric: “Most people would say the curtains but I would go with the time when my brother cut my hair and shaved it into a Mohawk. It wasn’t a David Beckham-style Mohawk. I’m embarrassed to say I wasn’t that young, maybe 17 or 18!”

12 - What was your initiation song at Spurs?

Eric: “It’s a Brazilian song ‘Ai Se Eu Te Pego’ – there was a dance with it as well.”

13 - Who would you like to sing a duet with?

Eric: “Any era? It would be Eminem, but I would be so nervous I wouldn’t be able to speak!”

14 - Do you have a guilty pleasure?

Eric: “Popcorn – anywhere, anytime, bring me popcorn!”

15 - What has been your most memorable journey?

Eric: “We’ve done a few road trips as a family from Portugal to England and they were always very stressful, arguments, there were a lot of us and the dogs. I remember once, we ran out of petrol - my dad is terrible for that, he’s always doing it! We had two turtles and I was stood on the side of the road with these turtles in their water while we waited for help!”

16 - Did you ever appear in a school play?

Eric: “Yes, in ‘Rats’. I played a rat! I wasn’t talented, they shoved me right at the back!”

17 - Which emoji do you use the most?

Eric: “That’s a tough one. Let’s have a look and be honest about it (looks at phone) – it’s the laughing face. I don’t like using it though. I feel if you are using WhatsApp then you have to use a laughing face because if you don’t, maybe it’s not funny. I feel like it’s an easy way to justify saying something. I guess what I’m saying is emojis are not a good thing for your vocabulary!”

18 - What qualities do you like in a team-mate?

Eric: “Ambitious, competitive, unselfish.”