THE QUESTIONS

“Michael Jackson walked into the dressing room – Ijust remember looking down and thinking, ‘Jesus Christ, his feet are massive...’”

Interview James Andrew

Chris Coleman could easily have dined out for the rest of his days on his success managing Wales. Having led his country to a first tournament in 58 years, the Swansea native then went several better by taking them all the way to the semi-finals, beating a much-fancied Belgium en route.

But that isn’t Coleman’s way. “I don’t live in the success I’ve had, because that’s a moment – it’s gone,” he tells FourFourTwo. “You’ve got to look at today and what’s coming tomorrow, because that’s the only way you can survive, especially in this industry.”

In January, his latest job took him to Greece’s Atromitos, a club dubbed ‘the Millwall of Athens’. After two and a half years out of management, it was a risk due to the club’s precarious position, battling relegation to the second tier. Eight points adrift of their nearest rival at the start of February, Atromitos recovered under Coleman to secure safety with weeks to spare.

When it’s put to the Welshman that his most recent achievement will have largely gone unnoticed back home, he doesn’t seem too worried. “Probably, yeah, but I quite like that,” he says. “I’m very proud of the job we’ve done.”

Coleman the manager, like Coleman the player, never shirks a challenge. That includes FFT readers’ questions…

As a teenager, you left Manchester City of the Second Division and joined Swansea City in the Fourth. Was that a tough decision?

Michael Evans, Barry

I remember coming back from Man City with all sorts of different emotions. I didn’t think I was going to make it as a professional footballer and I thought the level was too high. Luckily, I had my dad by my side. He never, ever pushed me, but he gave me guidance. He went to speak with [Swansea boss] Terry Yorath, who agreed to let me join in with training. Man City didn’t want me to go, so they agreed with Swansea that if I made it into the first team and was later sold to another club, then City would get a third of the fee.

Terry was really tough, but fair, and he was the best thing that happened to me. I started out at left-back – Iwas 6ft 3in and about 13 stone, but I could run. I played just under 200 games for Swansea between the ages of 16 and 21, winning one promotion. Those years in the lower leagues shaped me. It was bloody tough, really tough, but it meant that when I moved on, I didn’t find things quite so difficult.

You’ve had the nickname ‘Cookie’ for most of your career – when did that start? Is it true you have a tattoo of a cookie on your backside?

Mark Bevan, Swansea

[Laughs] No, no, I don’t have a tattoo! I was probably 10 or 11 when I was given the nickname. I was quite a big boy who liked my food – Istill do, especially chocolate – so I was given the nickname ‘Cookie Monster’. When I got to Crystal Palace, it just stuck.

Steve Coppell signed you for Crystal Palace – did you feel ready to move to London then? Did you find it weird wearing the No.10 shirt?

Becci Chaplow, Croydon

Oh, I was ready. As a kid, all I wanted to do was play for Swansea and Wales, so to run out at the old Vetch was a dream come true because my friends and I used to stand on the North Bank. To run out in front of them as a player – it never got better than that, for me. But I was ready to move on.

I actually gravitated towards being a centre-back at Palace, because of my size, but I also played up front for a bit. We sold Ian Wright to Arsenal and I found myself wearing No.10. If I had half a brain, I would’ve gone to see Steve and told him I wasn’t doing it, because you can’t follow Ian Wright. He was one of the best I played with and a cult figure at Palace – he just ruined every defender he came across, and was a much better player than people give him credit for. It wasn’t right that I got his shirt, because we were two completely different players. But I ended up scoring a few goals and we muddled through.