Owen Hargreaves was a staple in the England set-up throughout the mid-2010s, winning 42 caps and playing in three major tournaments for the Three Lions.
But his pathway to the England team did not follow the typical route, as he became the first player to have played for the Three Lions without having previously lived in the country.
Hargreaves was born and raised in Canada to a Welsh mother and English father, meaning he had the choice of three international sides and after being initially capped three times by Wales under-19s, he switched to England, playing for their under-21s side in 2000, by which time he had been at Bayern Munich for three years.
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How Hargreaves made his international decision
But despite this plethora of options, Hargreaves – who FourFourTwo ranked at no.25 in a list of the best England midfielders of all time – admits that opting to play for England was actually an easy choice.
“My family moved to Canada for my dad’s work just before I was born,” Hargreaves tells FourFourTwo. “I actually became the only person in the history of my family, including my older brothers, not to be born in England or Wales – so I was even an outcast in my own family! [*Laughs*]
“In Canada, we were a traditional British home: Sunday roasts, shepherd’s pie, cups of tea. My dad is a massive football supporter and taught us all to play, so when it came to choosing which nation to represent, it was always going to be England, as I wanted to make my dad proud of me.
“I did play youth football for Wales as I was very honoured to be asked. Germany also tried to get me to switch after I moved to Bayern. I told them I was flattered but not interested. It was always England for me.”
Hargreaves’ decision to put himself forward for the England team was initially criticised in some quarters, including by one major figure of the era.
“Looking back now, the whole saga was so lazy,” he continues. “I was seen as this Canadian kid who was living in Germany, and people made a big deal over my accent. Of course, it wasn’t a crisp English accent – I hadn’t ever lived in England. The whole England squad was invited to 10 Downing Street to meet Tony Blair; it was a real honour for us to meet the Prime Minister.
“While we were chatting with him, his wife, Cherie, came over to me and said, “Oh, you’re the Canadian player, aren’t you? Why do you play for England?” I was like, ‘I’m sorry, what?’ It was really odd and it kind of hurt. Nobody ever bothered to look into my background and realise what it meant to me to pull on that shirt with the Three Lions, and the pride that my dad and my family felt in seeing me wear it. It meant everything to me.
“I got a lot of stick from journalists questioning if I really cared as much as the other players. I remember getting quite annoyed with one reporter who came to do an interview. I said, “I’ve just won a Double, I’m a Champions League winner – come and watch me play for England and tell me I’m not giving it everything.” But this idea that I was less English took hold and people held it against me. I just had to deal with that.”
Owen Hargreaves was speaking to FourFourTwo on behalf of TNT Sports*
