Author: martin

Welcome to our Big Interview Icons series where we shine a light on a legend whose name has lit up some of the conversations I’ve had with my guests over the years. This episode focuses on David Beckham.

When player-assistant at Preston, David Moyes initially didn’t think the young Beckham was strong enough to take on a loan deal from Manchester United. But he was soon filled with admiration for the midfielder’s sheer will to succeed.

Sven-Göran Eriksson speaks about the charismatic presence of Beckham when he steps into a room. When he was the Leicester City boss, the Swede asked the superstar to finish his career in the East Midlands – but Victoria soon put the kybosh on that idea!

When describing the 1999 Champions League final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich, Jamie Carragher argues that Becks’ display that famous night – and his abilities in general – are underrated.

Lastly, former president of Real Madrid, Ramon Calderon, gushes with praise for Becks. During his last season in Spain, instead of sulking and biding his time until his move to LA Galaxy, he gave everything for Real, who won the title by a whisker.

Here’s another chance to hear my Big Interview with James Milner from season four.

You’ll hear about James witnessing great European nights at Leeds from his perspective as a ball boy, and playing in great European nights with Liverpool. Plus, there’s super stuff about the Anfield midfield maestro’s fantastic charitable foundation.

When I spoke with James, his pain from the 2018 Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid was still palpable, but he vowed to channel it so that he could put things right. Little did he know then that he wouldn’t have long to wait.

In part two of my engrossing chat with Jan Age Fjortoft we hear about how the Norwegian lost three Austrian Cup finals when playing for Rapid Vienna. There’s great stuff about scoring during the last minute of the 1998-99 season to keep Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. And we speak about Norway’s attacking geniuses Martin Odegaard and especially Erling Haaland, potentially the best striker in the world.

You might remember Jan Age Fjortoft from the 1990s as a formidable striker for the likes of Swindon, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United, but nowadays this erudite man grabs the likes of Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp for post-match television interviews.

The Norwegian gives us fascinating insights into the art of interviewing, telling us how he draws players and coaches away from the tired cliches into revealing their vulnerabilities, their true self.

Also in part one: Doing battle with Roy Keane.

In part two of my fascinating conversation with Mark Hateley, we hear how his success with Portsmouth and England led to a transfer to the mighty AC Milan. Coach Nils Liedholm was an incredible influence as Mark improved and scored a famous winner in the first victory over Inter in six years – after which he was a hit with the Ultras forevermore.

Graeme Souness signed Mark for Rangers where after a slow start a glittering era awaited, especially once he had bulked up and formed his irresistible partnership with the prolific Ally McCoist.