Fernando Ricksen - Fighting Spirit: The Autobiography of Fernando Ricksen

First published in Great Britain in 2014 by

ARENA SPORT

An imprint of Birlinn Limited

West Newington House

10 Newington Road

Edinburgh

EH9 1QS

www.arenasportbooks.co.uk

Copyright Fernando Ricksen and Vincent de Vries, 2013 & 2014

Translation copyright Michiel Blijboom, 2014

Foreword copyright Barry Ferguson, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-909715-20-2

eBook ISBN: 978-0-85790-812-4

First published in the Netherlands in 2013 by Voetbal International B.V. as Vechtlust: Het Bizarre Leven van International Fernando Ricksen

The right of Fernando Ricksen and Vincent de Vries to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical or photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission of the publisher.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The publisher apologises for any errors or omissions and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the

British Library.

Designed and typeset by Polaris Publishing, Edinburgh

Printed by Clays, St Ives

Can you hear the drums, Fernando?

ABBA

To Veronika and everyone else who believed in me

And to Isabella, my future

Fernando,

People say youre a nutcase. People say youre completely out of your mind. People say youre a troublemaker, an unguided missile. People say you cant deal with other people. But after all our talks at your cosy home in Maaseik, I know better. Youre a lambkin, just as your former team mate Barry Ferguson always says. A fighter, never running away from his responsibility. A fighter who is willing to face even the biggest challenge.Thanks for being so open and honest. Youre an example to others.

Additional thanks to Ingrid, Annelot and Noortje. Without you, this book would have never seen the light of day.

I would also like to thank the following, in alphabetical order. You have all been a huge help in making this book what it is.

Pamela Aalbers

Michiel Blijboom

Peter Burns

Marieke Derksen

Linde Dreessen

Barry Ferguson

Esther Goergen

Bjorn Goorden

Andy Goram

Michiel Holsheimer

Gordon Irvine

Eddy van der Ley

Michael Mols

Victor Morgan

Carol Patton

Laetitia Powell

Anneke Ricksen

Pedro Ricksen

Bobby Singh

Goffe Struiksma

Eric Verhoeven

Veronika Veselova

Vincent de Vries, May 2014

IM NOT A MORNING person. Anyone who knows me, or who has had to put up with me over the years, will testify to that.

So its fair to say Fernando Ricksen was my worst nightmare.

Id be sitting there, at Murray Park, having a cup of tea and some breakfast, just minding my own business, taking it easy. The way I like it. And then the doors would burst open and in hed come. Always at 100mph. Fernando did everything at 100mph its just the way he is.

Anyway, Id roll my eyes and think to myself, Oh shit, here he comes bang goes my peace!

The truth is he didnt shut up. Ever. The guy was completely hyperactive and always had to be getting up to something or other. He couldnt sit still.

So, yes, I admit it, there was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I saw him bolt in through those doors with that big grin on his face, like a kid on a sugar rush. He was a total pain in the arse; but, deep down, I loved the guy for it.

So I cant begin to explain the sense of shock I felt when I received the first message about his TV appearance in Holland, during which he revealed he was unwell. My first reaction was to dismiss it; there must have been some kind of mistake. But as the texts kept coming, I realised it must be true. My old teammate had contracted motor neurone disease.

Now dont get me wrong, I knew right away it didnt sound good. But it was only when I went away and researched it online that I realised the full extent of what Fernando is going through and of what lies ahead for him. A disease they cannot cure? Its just too horrible for words.

No one deserves to suffer in that way. But Fernando of all people? Sometimes this world is too cruel, because you will never meet a more kind-hearted guy. He was no, still is a crazy guy, but one with a heart of gold. There was never a dull day with this Dutchman.

People made him out to be a lunatic because of all the stuff he got up to, but he wasnt anything of the sort. I remember him as a big kid who didnt have an off button and thats hardly unusual in this line of business. Paul Gascoigne was the same type of character and there have been plenty of others. But that didnt make him a bad guy and certainly not the kind of monster he was sometimes made out to be.

He was a beast, for sure especially on the pitch a hungry animal that needed to be fed on silverware. Thats why it was so good to have him in the team. Fernando may not be the worlds best footballer, but he was a born winner. A fighter. Thats why he was always so popular among Rangers fans. They love a guy who throws himself into the cause with utter commitment, doing everything he could to win. He loved the club and the club loved him.

So he might take some comfort now, in these challenging days, from knowing that the whole football world is behind him. And all of us are sending him our support.

Honestly, you could not meet a nicer guy than Fernando. And I dont say this because he says Im the best footballer he has ever played with which, looking at all of his former teammates, is an enormous honour for me.

It always made me laugh when I heard some of the nasty stuff people would say about him. These were the thoughts of absolute idiots who did not know the first thing about him as a human being. Yes, Fernandos image suffered because he was capable of doing some stupid things on and off the pitch. But arent we all? And, mind you, I am quite envious of some of those stupid things. I mean ... waking up next to Jordan, are you kidding me? Thats the stuff legends are made of. And Fernando, truly, is a legend.

He was a fiery guy on the park too and sometimes he got carried away there as well. But he wasnt out there trying to hurt or maim people; he was just one of those guys who got so wound up in a game that sometimes the heat of the moment got the better of him.

But that same enormous drive led to international honours with Holland, silverware for Rangers and Zenit Saint Petersburg and his induction into the Rangers Hall of Fame. Some people have said that his induction is because of his illness, but thats as callous as it is untrue. The man won prizes for the club and he was our captain. If you have done that, you belong in the Hall of Fame.

The way he lived his life, the way he played on the pitch, was always on the edge. He was whole-hearted in everything he did and I love the guy for that.