Cobham.
I'll turn on the radio or listen to music. I like U2 and Coldplay, but James
Blunt's single You're Beautiful has really stuck in my head of late. Being
in the middle of a season, the sessions aren't too heavy. There are days
when it's harder to motivate yourself — you're tired or have things on your
mind, but on the whole I enjoy it. I'm a bit of fitness fanatic, anyway. I
got that from my father. He played for West Ham.
I wanted to be a footballer for as long as I can remember. It was all I
thought about. But right from the start, Dad drummed it into me that as well
as practice you had to be fit. So from quite a young age I'd go off with him
on his two- or three-mile runs around Romford, Essex, where we lived. It
paid off. By 13, I was good enough to train with two or three different
professional clubs after school. I was a day pupil at a private school in
Brentwood and I was determined to do well there too. I got nine O-levels,
including two As and an A-star, and my teachers wanted me to go on and do
A-levels. But if I was going to make a real go of the football, I knew I
couldn't. Sometimes I think that if I hadn't made it as a footballer, I'd
quite like to have been a lawyer.
Training lasts about an hour and a half, then it's in the shower and lunch.
I eat at the grounds, where they do things like pastas, salads, meat,
chicken and fish. There's not much I don't like when it comes to food, and
there aren't too many rules about what we should and shouldn't eat. But
obviously, for extra energy, I tend to load up with more carbs a couple of
days before a game. After lunch I try to keep my days clear, so I can head
back home to Elen and the baby. But I do a bit of charity work and I'm
currently involved in the Tesco Sport for Schools & Clubs scheme, which is
aimed at inspiring kids to take up a sport.
Luna's still only two months old, but I've already bought her first Chelsea
outfit. I even got her a shirt with No 8 on the back — the full works. When
I got it I didn't show Elen, I just rushed upstairs and put it on Luna. When
I came down and Elen saw her, she said: "She's not going out of the house
dressed like that!" I love singing nursery rhymes to Luna. The only thing
is, I can't remember most of the words, so I have to make them up.
In the afternoon, Mum often pops round for a cup of tea. Her and Dad have
bought a place in London, which is great, and also means they're at all the
games. I'm very close to Mum — a real mummy's boy, to be honest. We're very
similar. Quite sensitive, quite shy. Whereas Dad's been the big influence on
my career, Mum's been the one who shaped me as a person: you know, how to
treat people, manners, that kind of thing. These days she juggles a lot of
her time between me and my two older sisters, as they've also got little
girls.
I'll usually take Daphne out for a walk or a run. Or sometimes I'll go out
shopping. Occasionally I'll have a blast. The other day I bought a couple of
lovely Yves Saint Laurent suits in Sloane Street, and this belt is from
Dolce & Gabbana. I'm not really into buying the latest gadgets, but I do
appreciate something like a good watch. The one I'm wearing is an Audemars
Piguet — a limited-edition Montoya. Sometimes we'll all drive out to a
country village, maybe go looking for antiques — I love old furniture. We've
only been in our house about six months, so we're still looking for things.
One of my favourite pieces is a study table from eastern Europe.
Elen and I go out for a meal a couple of times a week, but we eat in the
rest of the time. I've got a thing for M&S's chicken in breadcrumbs at the
minute. So it'll be something like that with jacket potato and salad. Elen
mainly does the cooking, but occasionally I'll throw a few bits together —
maybe a pasta with tomato, chilli and garlic. Normally it comes out okay —
not always. Then we might relax in front of the telly. I love things like
The Sopranos and I confess to getting addicted to things like Big Brother
and The X Factor. But if it's something like Question Time, I just end up
shouting at the box.
Before bed I'll let the dog out, do the lights, the alarm and then I might
read for a while. I recently finished The Da Vinci Code, and Roy Keane's
autobiography, which was a great insight into the footballer. Sometimes,
when I think about all those dreams I had as a kid and where I am now, I
have to pinch myself. The hard work, the determination, the sacrifices —
they all paid off. Life right now couldn't be sweeter."
