Jermain Defoe: “If you are dedicated and believe in yourself, you can achieve anything”
Fri 25 March 2022, 16:30|
Tottenham Hotspur
For the first time in 23 years, Jermain Defoe woke up this morning and wasn’t a professional footballer.
How would that feel to someone who had dedicated his life to his craft? “It's mad, but it’s life,” ‘JD’ told us last night in what he was sure would be his last interview of a ‘crazy day’ after announcing his retirement on Thursday. “I’ll always be footballer. It’s in my blood. That will never change.”
A professional at West Ham at 16, we’d already seen what Jermain was capable of both at Upton Park (41 goals in 105 games) and on loan at Bournemouth (19 in 31, including scoring in 10 games on the trot) when we snapped him up aged 21 in February, 2004. But for a year out at Portsmouth (January, 2008-2009) he lit the Lane up for the next 10 years, scoring 143 goals in 363 appearances in all competitions.
Indeed, when he left us for a new venture in the MLS and Toronto in 2014, he was fifth in our all-time goalscoring list, and our all-time record goalscorer in Europe, with 23. A certain Harry Kane, 20 when JD departed and ready to make his breakthrough, now holds that European record on 44, and his rise up the Club charts to second on 243 has shifted Jermain down to sixth.
England skipper and on target in the last of Jermain’s 57 caps against Scotland in June, 2017, Harry was one of many former team-mates, managers and fans around the world to leave messages for Jermain on social media following the announcement of his retirement - our posts have 35,000 likes on Twitter alone – underlining the admiration for him from all quarters.
“Harry, Modric, Berba, Keano, all those players, so many players who I respect, and there they are, saying such nice things about me,” he said. “It’s amazing. To get all that recognition and love not just from fans but your peers, all those players I played with, that’s even more special.
“My phone has gone crazy, but it’s such a good feeling, messages coming in from all different clubs, fans, many I’ve not even played for their teams! It’s been amazing, and people don’t just want to talk about the obvious stuff like the football, the goals, but stuff off the pitch. That’s nice as well.
“I think about all the hard work... the pre-seasons! Injuries and rehabs, all the sacrifices you have to make when you’re a kid, where you want to do all the things that all other youngsters do, but you can’t, because you have a dream, a vision. It’s all worth it.”
So, how to sum up 10 years and 143 goals? “I’ve so many memories from my time at Spurs, so many moments I’ll always remember, starting from my debut goal,” he reflected.
“It happened all so quickly, from signing on deadline day, then within a few days I’m playing, and I scored on my debut against Shaka Hislop, a goalkeeper who I’d trained with for years as a kid at West Ham. That meant a lot, because when you score on your debut for a club like Tottenham, that says, ‘okay, I’ve arrived now, I’m, good enough to be there’. Memories like that, they are there for life.
“I always talk about that Wigan game, scoring five goals in the 9-1 (November, 2009). That was so special, scoring five goals not just in a game, but in a half! It was 1-1 at half-time! It’s crazy when you look back at it. One thing for sure, it shows the quality of the players in the squad at the time.”
After Toronto, Jermain played for Sunderland, Bournemouth, Rangers, where he lifted the SPL title and finally back to Sunderland. His career stats read a staggering 305 goals in 762 appearances, plus 20 goals in 57 caps for England, including a special strike against Slovenia at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. Let’s not forget that his charitable work off the pitch was recognised with an OBE in 2018.
“The biggest take away for me is that if you are dedicated and believe in yourself, you can achieve anything,” he added. “I always tell people that my life could have been a lot different. I’ve seen a lot of people with talent, with a gift, but don’t really use it to the best of their ability.
“I dedicated my life to football, didn’t cut any corners, did it the hard way, always wanted to learn, always did extra and always wanted to improve, season after season, to be the best I could be. That hard work pays off. If you are willing to do things others are not willing to do, you will always do well.
“I was lucky enough to be able to play at the top level for 20-plus years, and it will actually be refreshing now to have a kick around with my mates! No pressure! They’ve all been on the phone already asking me to play for their teams. You know what - I’d play those games like I’d play for England at Wembley! I’d still want to score goals. Nothing changes!”
Look out Hackney Marshes, you may well soon have a goalscoring whirlwind coming your way...
