adminRAHEEM Sterling has appeared to defend himself after being criticised for asking to be rested for England’s Euro 2016 qualifying victory over Estonia. He tweeted “excuse me for being human”, but a number of former players have offered differing opinions on the Liverpool winger.
The 19-year-old was left on the bench for England’s 1-0 win in Tallinn following a conversation with Hodgson, who has since praised Sterling for being honest about his tiredness. He came on as a second-half substitute to win the free-kick that was converted by Wayne Rooney.
Rio Ferdinand was chief among the former internationals to defend Sterling via Twitter, suggesting that English players are often too proud to admit fatigue, “unlike our foreign friends”, citing Carlos Tevez as an example. “Fair play to him. English players are normally too proud to do that unlike our foreign friends,” Ferdinand tweeted.
“For instance, Tevez would come in some days and sit on the massage bed while the team trained (saying) ‘I’m tired’,” Ferdinand tweeted.
“With more rest at the right times throughout seasons, Rooney would have gone into tournaments for England fresher. Same could be said of Gerrard, Lampard, JT, A Cole myself – all too proud to sit out of training or a match with the bigger picture in mind.”
Sterling, who has already featured 14 times for club and country this season and has started on 12 occasions, made 44 appearances last term, including three times during England’s ill-fated World Cup campaign in Brazil. He has spent 1,105 minutes on the pitch this season, the third highest within the the England squad with Chelsea’s Gary Cahill leading the way. The BBC presenter Gary Lineker defended his decision to rest. —The Guardian
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