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The Football Interview Season 1 Episode 18 br Best Bits
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00:00The questions they don't normally get asked as I try to find out more about the person behind the player.
00:05The first half will be on football, the second on their life away from the pitch.
00:09This isn't just any interview, this is the football interview.
00:18Makai, it's good to see your smiling face once again.
00:20Let's try and get to know you a little bit better.
00:22We'll start with the football. Why football?
00:25Football is happiness to me.
00:27So, from the moment I realised that it existed, you know, it was all I ever wanted to do.
00:33Was there ever any chance of it being anything else?
00:35Not in my head. Maybe in my parents or, you know, obviously they tried to, obviously made sure I had a plan B, which is, of course, sensible.
00:44But in my head, you know, it was only football.
00:46What is your first memory of playing the game?
00:48Playing in my back garden with my brother and my dad.
00:51It was 2v1 actually, it was me against them and they're both older than me.
00:56So you were always the one and they were always the two?
00:58Yeah, yeah, but I would never lose. I would not accept it.
01:02Even if I was losing, I would not accept it. I would cry, I would do anything.
01:06That tells me quite a lot about your mentality.
01:08And it started young.
01:12Do you get nervous in-game?
01:13No, never. During the game, no. Before the games, I could get nervous.
01:19During the game, I just think about the goal we have for the game. That is win the game.
01:27What we have to do. I remember every step that we've trained.
01:31I remember every step that my teammates have to do.
01:33I remember every position, what I have to do.
01:35Like when I go to the training session, I focus not just on what I have to do, but what's around me.
01:40Because it could change that I have to play in a different position.
01:44It could change that we change something and a teammate is not very aware of where he has to be
01:49or in which position he should stay.
01:52On set pieces, everything, I know exactly where everyone has to be.
01:55So the only nervous thing is that it's getting everything into my memory so I can remember in the game every step.
02:03Also when I'm on the ball, I know every movement that my teammates have to do.
02:07So to be aware of like I'm on the ball here, so what we trained is this.
02:12But obviously you have to think that in a split second.
02:15But it gets automatically because I have to think about that during the week until the game.
02:20So when you think so many times about something, your muscle memory works by itself.
02:27So I think that's the main thing.
02:30What's your earliest memory of playing football?
02:33Because we know you came over to England when you were one.
02:36And obviously you can't remember back then, I'm sure.
02:38But what are the first memories with the ball at your feet?
02:41Playing at the park with friends.
02:42I used to do that as often as possible.
02:45And then through that, my Sunday league team, Crow Wanderers.
02:48So the bright orange or yellow kit that we had stayed in my memory.
02:53So definitely those memories, which were great.
02:56And I still hold them dear to my heart.
02:59Talk to me about some of the names of players and people that you remember playing with back then.
03:03Because I'm sure you had little friends, people on your team that stand out.
03:06Yeah, Jaden, Marlon, Adam, James, Mackenzie.
03:13We actually had a really good team, to be honest.
03:15Has anyone else gone on to have a career like yourself?
03:19From that team?
03:20Yeah.
03:20I don't think so.
03:22I'm the fortunate one.
03:24But that's not because I was better than anyone else.
03:26That was...
03:27No, no, no, I'll be honest.
03:28I was...
03:29Marlon was so good midfielder.
03:31He was at Arsenal's academy.
03:33Adam was at Chelsea's academy with me.
03:35So why are you here today then?
03:36How did you get to this point and not them?
03:38God's grace.
03:39Talent?
03:40Hard work?
03:41Hard work, I guess.
03:43Yeah, I wouldn't say there's anything in particular.
03:45Everyone's life goes different ways for whatever reason.
03:48You know, they could be doing amazing things right now.
03:51You know, who knows if football would have taken them down a different path.
03:54So, you know, I'm just fortunate that I'm in this position today.
03:57With everything that's come through the women's game and everything you've been through,
04:02you're quite passionate about the future of the game.
04:04You're on, like, a PFA board and it feels like you give back quite a lot.
04:08Yeah, I mean, I tried to.
04:09I think I got to a certain point where I felt like in a position where my mum said it to me.
04:15She was like, when you say something, like, people listen.
04:18And I didn't, I don't think I realised that because I was that shy girl.
04:23Got into my 20s and my mum was like, no, like, they'll listen to you.
04:26You need to, like, you can speak up now.
04:29So I put myself forward for every single player board, knowing to women's football.
04:34I think my name's on it.
04:36I just want to, like, help people and why not?
04:38Probably too humble to admit it, but is there any one example of you having gone out of your way to do something to help someone?
04:44I mean, I remember, obviously, like, the, there's, like, deaf teams in football.
04:51Mm-hm.
04:51The GB deaf football team are going to the Deaf Olympics soon in November and they were struggling to raise money.
05:00So I gave them £10,000 for the training kit and then I got them the nutrition and some extra, like, stuff.
05:09Why did you want to do that?
05:10Because I got that opportunity, so why shouldn't they have that just because, I don't know, they're not in, like, a mainstream limelight to be able to have the sponsors and afford to do it.
05:21What is something that people get wrong about you?
05:23That I'm, like, overly, overly driveling or arrogant or too focused or too, like...
05:30Do you think people think you're arrogant?
05:31I think it did maybe when I was younger, but I think, yeah, it's, like, it's kind of me being so focused and, like, obviously I've spoke about being autistic and feeling, like, you get to the solution quicker or you get, you problem solve quicker.
05:49I've always been really good at that and not very good at slowing down for other people to, like, get on the same page as me.
05:56And sometimes that comes across the wrong way of me just being, maybe it's a bit bullish, but it's just me, like, wanting to help.
06:02I'm like, I can give you the solution that's going to help you.
06:05Problem solver.
06:06Yeah, but I understand now that that's not always what people want.
06:09Yeah.
06:10Yeah, but I think that's maybe it's had me misunderstood a lot.
06:17So many amazing players at this club.
06:20Mohamed Salah is one of the star names, of course.
06:23What's it like playing in a team and kind of also competing with him too?
06:28Really good.
06:30Mo is a really cool guy, you know, he's been really cool with me, very open to talk to.
06:36It's really good to play with that kind of player.
06:39Obviously, I was watching him on TV, you know, when he was scoring a bunch of goals and stuff.
06:46But he's a really great athlete and competitor.
06:51So, you know, you can just improve yourself and learn from him.
06:57And, yeah, like, it's really good to share the pitch with him.
07:01And I hope we're going to score a lot of goals and bring a lot of wins to the team together.
07:09What's he like as a person, away from the pitch?
07:12He's very cool.
07:14Honestly, he's very cool.
07:16More cool than what I've seen on TV because sometimes they have straight face and stuff.
07:21So I was thinking maybe he's cool that someone who don't talk a lot.
07:25But it's really, really open, really like all the guys here.
07:30They're all good guys.
07:32They all talk.
07:33They're very open to help you.
07:36Honestly, they all helped me well to adapt to this team.
07:41So, yeah, it's very nice.
07:44Did you hear what Pep said about you recently, that you're one of the best he's ever trained?
07:48Well, yeah, I saw that and I'm happy that he feels that way because the players that he managed are not bad players.
07:55I think I'm the guy, the player with most games played under Pep.
07:58So, obviously, he has that special affection for me because it's been so long.
08:02He has an interesting relationship with his players.
08:05It always looks, as outsiders, when we see him on the pitch at the end, you might have won 4-0.
08:08And then he goes up and he's really intensely talking to you.
08:12Have you been on the end of any of those, kind of?
08:14Yeah, a lot of times.
08:15Sometimes I see that people think that he's complaining to us.
08:20But it's just the way he moves his arms a lot and being very, very passionate.
08:27But at the end, he's just talking about the small detail that he wants us to improve.
08:32Sometimes he's really frustrated as well, obviously.
08:34But most of the times, he uses a lot of his arms, so it looks more than it actually is.
08:39Very expressive.
08:40Yeah, very expressive.
08:41You mentioned there the word frustrating.
08:43Is that how you sum up parts of the last couple of years here at Manchester City?
08:47Because you went from the highs of all of that incredible success and then it's been kind of going into a new era and it hasn't been trophies every other week as it felt like it was at one point.
08:56Well, yeah, we're trying to bring that culture back.
08:59I would love to tell you that what we did in my first seven years is something normal, but it's not.
09:05Because in seven years, winning six Premier Leagues, winning a treble, winning a domestic quadruple, doing 100 points, breaking the record of goals.
09:15Obviously, I'm a bit biased, but I could argue that that generation was the best ever in English football.
09:19I think it was.
09:20I could argue that, or anyone could argue that.
09:23So that is not normal.
09:25So you cannot expect that to last forever.
09:28Obviously, if you look at the Champions League final, for example, from that team, seven or eight players already left.
09:35Very important players.
09:36You're talking about big names like Kevin De Bruyne, Gundogan, Akanji, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, Julian Alvarez, even Rodri that has been injured for most of the time.
09:47And there's a new generation coming that needs time to adapt.
09:50Because I've been through that process once and it went really well because when Vincent Kompany, Fernandinho, Agüero, David Silva, when they left, the change was made a bit slowly because we were winning.
10:01So it's easier when you're losing, it's more difficult to make that change and you put more pressure on the young guys.
10:07But I really think that this club can turn things around and go back.
10:12I don't know to the standards that were because that's not easy.
10:17It's the reality.
10:18But hopefully, hopefully.
10:21You said about your parents having such a big, big impact.
10:24Your mum as well?
10:25Mum, because she would just encourage me to just do whatever I wanted.
10:29And she just supported us to go and do it.
10:32And if I'd say to her, Mum, I want to go and work for the UN.
10:36Oh, you go and do that, love, if you want to.
10:38Oh, Mum, I want to be a football man.
10:39If you want to do that, you go and do this.
10:41It was almost like I was given permission to explore and experiment.
10:47And being a mum now, like I really, I really appreciate my mum in a million ways.
10:53She was such a big part of my life then, but I think she's an even bigger part of my life now, since my dad has passed.
11:02And definitely at this stage of life, like I really, I really feel like I really need my mum in a different way.
11:09And that's why, for me, they're my biggest, they're my biggest heroes.
11:14And she probably needs you as well.
11:15You know what, she helps me so much, especially with the menopause.
11:18Especially with, like, things like if I'm having anxiety or things that I know will be really, like, I'm struggling with.
11:26And she'll say, just get the paper bag out, take a breath, you know, calm your mind.
11:34And it feels different when your mum says it, doesn't it?
11:36Do you know what, I never suffered with anxiety until I had the menopause.
11:39Wow, so it all comes back to that.
11:41100%.
11:42And what I've learnt is that when you lose oestrogen in your body, especially when you had a sudden menopause,
11:50like, I didn't have a gradual menopause, I had a sudden menopause.
11:53I had an emergency surgery.
11:56And when you lose both your ovaries, oestrogen is not just a lubricant in your body for your joints, but also for your brain.
12:06And what starts to happen is your brain starts going, hello, oestrogen, where are you?
12:13And it can't find it.
12:15And then you have a decrease in something like dopamine and serotonin.
12:20So your body struggles and has a lot of inability to be able to do it naturally.
12:26So your anxiety levels go up.
12:29And that, for me, is exacerbated when I had Harry, but it intensified once I had the sudden menopause.
12:36What would you say people get wrong about you the most?
12:41No secret, I didn't even take GCSEs, didn't sit any.
12:46People assume because of that that I'm not educated, which I think is really wrong.
12:55And I've made a conscious effort, actually, when I was at Everton and joined Manchester United to educate myself on a lot of different things.
13:04What sort of things?
13:05On black history, on religion, and the reason I've done that was I wanted to be able to have, to hold conversations with my teammates, who maybe are from different backgrounds.
13:19And, obviously, over the last few years, it's come out more about people should educate themselves more.
13:27And that's something that I've done really to help me with my teammates and help understand how they've been brought up, what life they've been brought up on.
13:36So, yeah, I think that's probably something which people don't really understand.
13:43Talk me through a typical day in your childhood, then.
13:45Who was at home?
13:46Being at home, I just remember, obviously, waking up, we'd have breakfast.
13:51My mum would normally have gone to work.
13:53My dad was always around.
13:55And if he had to go to work, it was just me and my brother, but they'd always leave us breakfast and hot cross bun.
14:01I love hot cross bun.
14:02Sausage, like a sausage cut up.
14:04Frankfurt, do you know Frankfurt?
14:05Yeah, yeah.
14:06Yeah, and some ketchup.
14:07I had my breakfast this morning.
14:09A sausage roll and a hot cross bun together?
14:10A sausage roll.
14:11You put a sausage and a hot cross bun together.
14:12You cut the hot cross bun, you cut the sausage up, put it in the hot cross bun.
14:17Then put ketchup, then close the hot cross bun.
14:19I've got so many questions about that.
14:21I'm not sure about that.
14:22Unreal.
14:23Credit to my dad.
14:24My mum.
14:24I don't know whose idea it was.
14:25One of them.
14:26You don't still have that now, do you?
14:27No.
14:29Not the most nutritious.
14:30Not anymore.
14:30If you could only achieve one more thing in your career, what would it be?
14:36Not lifting a trophy for Man United, that's one of the things that I will, as a manager.
14:42I was going to say, you've forgotten a few.
14:44As a manager, that's something that doesn't play on my mind, but that's something that
14:50I would have liked to achieve.
14:52Hopefully we can do well in the World Cup with Norway, but then maybe to be the next one.
15:00Who knows?
15:01You've always set targets.
15:03The next Norway manager.
15:04The next Norway manager.
15:06My friend Stolle is there now.
15:07We're playing really well.
15:08We're going to the World Cup.
15:10I do really, really like managing.
15:12It's a great, great job being the manager of young men, ambitious young men that want
15:22to achieve something together.
15:24Oli, thank you for your time and the best of luck with whatever comes next.
15:28Pleasure.
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