I’ve always had a soft spot for Emile Heskey and seeing him after his career has only increased that feeling. Especially when the same questions still crop up about his career.
Namely: “Wait… England took him to a World Cup?”
And my favourite: “Was he even that good in the first place?”
Then somebody else usually laughs and says something along the lines of “he couldn’t score.” Which is nowhere near helped by the phrase ‘Even Heskey scored’ during his happier England years.
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The strange thing is Fabio Capello wasn’t looking for goals in the same way everyone else was at the time – he was looking for a player to commit to the cause and strike a balance for his side.
And few people were better placed to do that than Emile Heskey.
How Good was Emily Heskey for England?
In truth, he suffered from a similar thing to most ex-England strikers.
Daunting and relentless competition for place.
And, specifically with the case of Heskey, an almost global (though certainly national campaign) against his perceived lack of mobility on the football field, which I find incredibly harsh.
Altogether, Emile Heskey has 62 England caps – which is more than respectable – between 1999 and 2010 – the lion’s share of which came during his prime years in the Early 2000’s.
During which, he scored famously at the end of that England drubbing against Germany – though his career would end internationally in an infamous score-line in favour of their opponents, but we’ll gloss over that for now! And at club level, especially for Liverpool, his link-up play was undeniable.
Since then, Michael Owen has famously and outwardly come out in support of his old partner, and I personally think Owen may have struggled to reach those heights without the tireless, team-focused ‘dog work’ of his larger, more physical strike partner. And this is what England needed at that time, too.
What did Emile Heskey Bring to England?
Around the 2010 World Cup, Wayne Rooney was comfortably England’s biggest attacking threat.
He had just finished an incredible season at Manchester United and England wanted him involved in dangerous areas as often as possible. And therefore, it wouldn’t have made sense to either pair him with someone who was too similar or would battle him for those positions.
Heskey’s role was almost the opposite, and the best thing was, he personally never cared.
In a recent interview with the ‘All Out Football‘ YouTube channel, Heskey explicitly mentioned that he was happy to work for his team and to be remembered as someone who did that. And that endeared himself to someone as regimented and team-focused as the great Fabio Capello.
He wasn’t being picked because Capello expected him to score fifteen goals a season. He was being picked because he did a lot of the work that allowed other players to function.
Heskey could occupy centre-backs, hold the ball up and bring runners into play. He could take pressure off Rooney and create space around him rather than trying to become the main focal point.
Most managers absolutely love players like that. Fans sometimes don’t. Maybe when it comes to club football and letting nostalgia remember their impact, but not in pure, cold knockout football.
Especially for a nation as constantly (and perhaps delusionally) expectant as England.
That’s probably why Heskey divided opinion so much because supporters naturally look at strikers and think about goals. And maybe they felt there were better alternatives to him at the time.
Which England Strikers Went To The 2010 World Cup?
England’s striker options at the tournament included: Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and, of course, the aforementioned Emile Heskey.
When you actually look at those profiles together, the logic starts making more sense.
Defoe was a natural goalscorer who wanted to play on the shoulder of defenders. Peter Crouch gave England something completely different physically and Rooney was the obvious star.
Heskey became the player connecting things together. He wasn’t there to be Rooney. He was there to help Rooney. Much like how Crouch was often there to support Defoe – and nobody questioned that.
Which Strikers Missed Out On England’s 2010 World Cup Squad?
This is where things become interesting because people often remember who went, but forget who stayed home.
Players like Darren Bent had stronger goalscoring records around that period and many supporters felt he deserved a place. Bent had scored consistently in the Premier League and, on pure numbers, probably looked like a more obvious choice.
But I suppose the idea behind choosing one over the other is that while Bent gave you another goalscorer, Heskey supposedly gave you structure.
And perhaps there was that added element that perhaps with it likely being Emile Heskey’s last chance to impress for England, that he would be even more determined to leave a positive mark.
Was Fabio Capello Actually Right?
This is probably where opinions still split today.
England’s 2010 World Cup itself was disappointing, so it’s easy to look back and question almost every decision. Especially as it was marred by a very lacklustre few performances from the entire team where, unfortunately for his perception, Emile Heskey featured regularly.
He played the full 90 minutes in that infamous 1-1 draw v the USA as well as the lion’s share of the 0-0 snooze fest v Algeria. But like I just said, everybody was poor – it wasn’t just him.
Not to mention that stupid Jabulani ball which only this guy knew how to control properly! In fact, I might do a specific piece shortly on him in our Stories section. So keep your eyes peeled for that!
But ultimately my point is that, Emile Heskey wasn’t really being picked as an individual striker. He was being picked to make everyone around him better. And just because they weren’t good enough, it doesn’t mean that there wasn’t any logic in that decision, nor that his inclusion wasn’t justified.
Did you think Emile Heskey deserved to go to the World Cup with England in 2010?