entire Belgium team comes from the Belgian league. Many players go to for the exposure, it’s a good springboard to progress.”
Let’s talk about England and your first start for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Tottenham Hotspur. Do you remember that game against Tottenham?
“I will never forget that game against Tottenham. Like you said I did really well. We won 1-0. I didn’t score, but I was man of the match. I was on loan at the time and straight after the final whistle, Mick McCarthy, the manager, called me into his office and told me they were going to exercise the option to buy me. He told me, ‘Don’t worry about that, just keep playing the way you have.’ That assurance was good for my confidence.” Tottenham was special because it’s Gareth Bale… Defoe… to be honest, at the time, I did not know who Gareth Bale was (laughs)!
I wanted to ask you about two players, actually. The first is Nenad Milijas. In an interview he was asked about what he disliked most in the world. His first answer was ‘war’; the second was ‘milk’. How intriguing is he?
Oh (laughs), did you meet him?
No, never.
I really like him. He’s a really good player to be honest. It’s a shame he didn’t have a better time in England. He has a great left foot.
In Serbia, he was highly esteemed….
left foot.
In Serbia, he was highly esteemed….
Yeah, he was the captain! I really rate him and he’s obviously a funny guy as well (laughs).
The second person is Steve Sidwell. He broke your leg in a tackle at Aston Villa. The next time you played against him was at Fulham. I remember he went in on you again, and you had some words for him. Do you remember what you said? Can you repeat it in this interview?
No, because I never forget the time I spent in rehab and come back. So I start against Fulham, I think he was transferred during the window from Aston Villa. He tried to pull me, or tackle me, or something. I was mad because I saw the same thing happening again. So I told him, ‘This time, if you do it again, I will smash you.’ I was angry, but these things happen in football. You never know, it’s not an exact science.
During that time at Wolves, you moved around a lot. McCarthy used you on the right, and in central midfield. For your debut with the Algerian national team, Rabah Saadane, played you at fullback. Today against Columbus Crew, you were playing on the left flank. It’s good to be versatile, but do you think that sometimes it can be a bit of a disadvantage? You don’t get enough time to perfect a position.
No, I think it’s not good to be versatile