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Remember that beautifully magical night when Zlatan scored that monstrous bicycle kick goal from 40 yards out whilst playing against England? Well the defender who was marking him that night in Stickholm was Ryan Shawcross, he was making his debut with the National Team and his time came on the last fifteen minutes of that match with the score sheet still 1-0. Zlatan had already scored a single goal, but right after Shawcross entered the field he scored a hat-trick and that Puskas Award winning goal as the cherry on top.
After that day, Shawcross hasn't been able to shake off the stigma and Roy Hodgson hasn't called him up ever since. It's been a little over three years since that dreadful night for the defender. Speaking to the press at an interview, he explained how even his family mock him since that happened and how it has impacted him on a personal level. He believes it is unfair Hodgson hasn't called him up since to represent England.
“I’m the butt of the joke in my family, just because the 10 minutes I had in international football was ruined by one man. They are consistently saying that Zlatan ruined my career! I had a chance and I don’t think many other defenders have stopped him. I was given 10 minutes to show what I could do and probably didn’t provide a good enough performance. I was against one of the best strikers in the world who was on a hot streak at the time and these things happen."
“I’ve been playing well for the last three or four years and I don’t seem to be getting in so I can’t see it changing in the future unless the manager changes. It’s just the way football is, some managers like players that others don’t. At the moment it's either that he doesn’t think I’m up to it or the lads he’s picking are better than me. That’s fine.
“Is that unfair? Yes, but it’s a ruthless game. You do find that the lads who move to the bigger clubs get more recognition. They play in Europe and there’s a lot more prestige around them. But my performances on the pitch for Stoke have been good enough to get in the England team and so far the call hasn’t come.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
