Maddison says, “That kind of look on it was one of the factors in why I wanted to go,” as he gets ready with England for the Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine on Saturday in Poland and the friendly against Scotland on Tuesday in Glasgow. “I could only picture myself as a Tottenham player. Please don’t ask me since I’m not even sure what I mean by it. But I could only picture myself on that team, wearing that uniform, and being in that stadium. For me, it simply suited beautifully. They’ve had that kind of player ever since.
“Gaza was my dad’s favorite player when I was a kid. A midfielder who aspires to be a personality, be innovative, and amuse the crowd. Recently, Christian Eriksen in more recent years but since him they probably haven’t had that type of player. I’m not putting myself on the same level but I’m in that category.”
Spurs are in second position with 10 points because to Maddison’s stellar start, which includes two goals and two assists in four Premier League games. Following Harry Kane’s transfer to Bayern Munich, he did not hesitate to assume the No. 10 shirt, and in the eyes of the supporters, it was love at first sight as it was always going to be.
With only three caps to his name so far, Maddison hopes to kickstart his England career against Scotland and Ukraine. Despite having only three caps, Maddison is incredibly confident, albeit this is more of a mental condition than a temporary boost.
Maddison, who is only 26 years old, cannot recall Paul Gascoigne. However, Maddison’s graphic designer father, Gary, would create amusing video montages that prominently highlighted the maestro. Maddison would watch them over and over again. Gary has also posted videos of his son’s football career to his YouTube account, gazmaddy.
“Before you become a professional, you are a fan of the game, and I loved players who had personality, who had a little bit of cheekiness about them,” recalls Maddison. “Gazza was the ideal illustration.
“Take something foolish, for instance. I can still see a video of him sticking his tongue out, playing about with the camera, and becoming all googly-eyed as the national anthem is playing. I adore that so much. I enjoy interacting with fans because of this. I’m not sure whether you saw the video of me interacting with Bournemouth supporters.
Maddison is alluding to the incident from the weekend before last when he was at the Vitality Stadium and went to take a corner and was accosted with the words, “Southgate’s right, you’re fucking shite.”Maddison places the ball outside the quadrant on purpose to agitate the players before smiling broadly and returning it.
It’s just simple things like that that I want to do that keeps me hungry,” Maddison says. “I like the theatre element of almost being the villain. That’s how I enjoyed watching football and that’s how I enjoy playing it.
“I’m not trying to put on a show; that’s simply who I am. My family and I eat a roast supper together. You see, I like to be the leader.
Maddison claims that he is completely in sync with Ange Postecoglou, the new Spurs boss, who wants him to play boldly and freely as a left-sided No. 8, pressing hard and always looking ahead. It had sounded like melody to him.
Regarding his connection with Gareth Southgate, who has utilized him off the left wing, the widely accepted story is different. Since forever, Madison has heard it. He made his England debut in 2019, and up to his selection for the 2022 World Cup team, he was essentially left out in the cold. when, frustratingly, he was unable to play because of a knee injury.
People have informed Maddison that Southgate ignored him for so long because he didn’t like him. Maybe it was due in part to Maddison’s extroverted personality and his love of going out on the town. But Maddison, like Southgate, keeps fighting back against the misconceptions.
As we were leaving the World Cup, Gareth paid me a huge praise, Maddison recalls. He acknowledged that my injuries and absence from the game had been difficult, but he praised the way I had conducted myself around the group. That has stayed with me.
Has Gareth ever been upset with me? To be honest, I never ever gave that any thought. At one time, I wasn’t performing well enough. Gareth is a really loyal man who trusts his players, and there is nothing wrong with that; you just have to work hard to get back in after that. If you know what I mean, there are times when it is harder for burglars to enter than it is for them to leave.
“Hey, it’s crucial that you maintain a social life as well. At eight o’clock in the evening, I’m not going to stay in bed. I’m a friendly man. I enjoy going out. You require that stimulus and a healthy balance in your life. We are all professional athletes. If you don’t look after yourself, you get found out pretty quickly.”
Now for Ukraine and to join forces with Kane, as Maddison had intended to do at Spurs, though he wasn’t as “naive,” as he puts it, to believe that the striker would not sign with Bayern. There was even speculation that Maddison and Spurs knew that Kane would give up the No. 10 as he played all of the preseason in the No. 71 jersey.
“I was definitely not waiting for the No. 10 shirt,” claims Maddison. I didn’t want it to be free since only one thing would follow. When the time came, because there were ins and outs and the club needed to sell shirts, the new signings were assigned preseason numbers.
I didn’t want Harry to leave, but when he did, the No. 10 became available, and the club asked me, I naturally wanted to wear it. I have my favorite number tattooed on my body. Never was I going to say no.
“I was aware that Harry might decide to go, but everything wasn’t hopeless. With the new manager and players joining the team, there was such a positive energy that I didn’t have any hangover from the previous managers. Prior to Postecoglou, football had a reputation for being more demeaning and defensive, but I didn’t experience any aftereffects from it. Everybody had a clean slate. It has been excellent from the time I entered until now.
