Dominic Stevenson - Get Your Head in the Game

This edition first published in the UK and USA in 2020 by

Watkins, an imprint of Watkins Media Limited

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Design and typography copyright Watkins Media Limited 2020

Text copyright Author Dominic Stevenson 2020

Dominic Stevenson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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ISBN: 978-1-78678-435-3 (Paperback or Hardback)

ISBN: 978-1-78678-452-0 (eBook)

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CONTENTS

Dedicated to my mum and dad, and to all the parents and carers who enable their children to have football as part of their lives. Also, to my grandad and my uncle Drabbs, two men who love football and who have always shown great love for others.

FOREWORD

By Roger Milla

When I think of football, I immediately remember my childhood. Those first steps in that sport that gave me so much. Football wasnt only an escape for me, but also a real passion. For a long time as a child, it was the only thing that made me happy. We only needed a ball, and everyone could have fun. Little by little, I became skilled in the sport, and I learned to deeply appreciate it. I sincerely love everything related to football, which is why I enthusiastically agreed to write this preface for my friend Dominic Stevensons book.

I think its very commendable to bring back to life these special moments that gave us such joy, not just to us footballers, but also to fans of the beautiful game. I want to therefore thank my friend, as when writing this, I remembered the World Cup of 1994 which was one of those special moments for me.

Football isnt just a physical activity, its a unifying force that moves and brings together every social class. Its a cultural phenomenon. Every footballer expresses their culture through the game, forged from how they first encountered and experienced it as children. This is why there are so many ways to celebrate a happy event on the field.

Many things have changed since my early days. When I played as a child in Cameroun, becoming a professional footballer wasnt one of my goals. To be honest, Im not sure what was. I played for the fun of it, for the love of the game. Today, there are so many factors that enter the equation, in particular the financial aspect. Commercialisation has taken on a huge role in football, and whilst it is necessary for its development, its also reducing the role of what each culture brings to the sport. Today, to become a footballer, you must meet certain standards, certain conditions. Its a shame. Its rare to find those who want to become footballers for the pure love of it. However, I am pleased to report that you can still find this passion amongst the very best players in the game.

The impact of football on people cannot be denied. It can help bring social peace. One just has to look back at the co-hosting of the 2002 World Cup between South Korea and Japan to remember that this sport has a huge role in society. Two countries in conflict on the political stage were able to put aside their differences FOR FOOTBALL. Its indescribable.

If theres one place where you can find people from different social classes, from different places, cultures, or political ideals, it is a football stadium. We forget everything that separates us for football.

It allows people to dream and believe in a better world.

Thanks to football, so many countries have made efforts to create decent sport infrastructures to help young people insert themselves in society.

Its important to highlight that football doesnt just depend on physical and tactical aspects, but also mental ones. In fact, its one of the most determining factors if you want to have a chance to not only become a footballer, but also have a successful career. Bad mental health will sooner or later have consequences on your game and your development on the field. I remember our World Cup in 1990, no one expected us to beat Diego Maradonas Argentina. What people dont know is that we were prepared mentally as well as physically for it. In our heads we were capable of it before even the competition started in Yugoslavia. Our preparation had been excellent.

There is a lot of pressure and emotions in football. You must be prepared to cope with it. Determination and the will to do well are things that help support good mental health. So many players were promised a beautiful future, but couldnt convert their talent into reality as they psychologically crumbled under the pressure, the glamorous lifestyle, etc. Being strong mentally isnt just useful in sport but in everyday life. It helps a lot.

INTRODUCTION: IT STARTED ON A WEDNESDAY

If you could have remembered it, youd never have gone again. Thats what my dad said.

It was 20 September 1989, and I had just turned four.

I suspect, though I cant confirm it, that the night was crisp, the skies clear, and that magic hung in the air. It would have wafted alongside the smells of beef and onion pies, Bovril and stale urinals into the noses of the crowd.

Me, my dad and 9,235 other football devotees had made the trip to Hillsborough to see what was the most anticipated League Cup second-round, first-leg game of the decade: Sheffield Wednesday versus Aldershot FC.

Carlton Palmer adorned the front of the programme, and the stage was set for the heroes. I cheered on, wearing my shirt, scarf, hat and pin badges, ready for them to take to the turf and battle like gladiators. (The game finished 00 and has been described as one of the worst games of football ever played, but I didnt know that at the time.)

The team that day featured top internationals such as Nigel Worthington and David Hirst, the future Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare, but most notably Dalian Atkinson. Atkinson was loved by fans and is part of the folklore of Sheffield Wednesday. Thats how I know, despite being so young when I first saw him play, that he had a bit of everything: the goals, the flair and a contagious party spirit that got the terraces dancing. He was also a rare character, an Englishman who played abroad in fact, he played for 10 clubs in 6 different countries around the world during his 16-year career.

His first move abroad came nine months after I saw him at Hillsborough; he left Sheffield Wednesday to sign for Real Sociedad, where he was not only one of the first non-Basque players to sign for a club entrenched with local heritage but also their first ever black player.

He signed for the Spanish club, who nicknamed him El Txipiron (the squid), a mere fifteen years after the fascist regime of General Franco had fallen, and only three years after the dissolving of Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberacin.

Atkinson must have been aware that he was walking into a region and a country charged by proud traditions and a desire for freedom from oppression, and I suspect this suited the boy from Telford. His disregard for authority, his maverick attitude toward the game, and his life outside of it, made him an ideal candidate to put a spark into the Basque club.