Source: Northern_Echo
Coloccini: I'm made for England
HE might have been born in South America and spent nearly a decade playing his football in mainland Europe, but Fabricio Coloccini now feels like a defender made for England.[LNB] After a dreadfully slow start to life on Tyneside after a £10m move from Deportivo La Coruna in the summer of 2008, Coloccini has been one of Newcastle United's most consistent performers in the last 18 months.[LNB] When Alan Pardew picks his team for the Premier League, the Argentine is effectively an automatic pick - just as he was during Chris Hughton's time in charge.[LNB] His high standards on the pitch have been a far cry from the relegation year, when he struggled to come to terms with life in the North-East and adjust to the pace of the top-flight.[LNB] Now, after spending nine solid months controlling things in the Championship, he has regularly turned in the sort of display in the Premier League that made him a highly-regarded centre-back in Italy and Spain.[LNB] "I don't know if I would say I am a better player now, but I am certainly[LNB] much more experienced in the Premier League and that makes a difference," he said. "The football is different over here and some players need six months or a year to be able to adapt to it.[LNB] "After being here for a while, I feel as though I am much better suited to English football now, I certainly feel more comfortable.[LNB] "I feel like an English defender now. I am starting to think like an English player much more. English defenders have to be different to defenders in La Liga.[LNB] "In La Liga, you can pretty much go where you want because, if you lose the ball, the other team will attack slowly and you will have time to get back in your position. In English football, the play switches from one end of the field to the other very quickly."[LNB] While Coloccini's main focus is making sure Newcastle stay in the Premier League ahead of a home date with third from bottom Wolves on Saturday, he also had hopes of figuring in next year's London Olympics.[LNB] During his time with AC Milan, he helped Argentina to the first of two gold medals in Athens in 2004, while he was overlooked for the success in Beijing during his time at Deportivo.[LNB] He will be 30 in January but had hoped to be included as one of three exceptions to the Under-23s rule that could have seen him represent his country at St James' Park - one of the host venues for the football tournament.[LNB] But Argentina's failure to reach the final of the South American Under-20s Cup - seen as the qualifying event for the Games - means it will be Brazil and Uruguay taking part.[LNB] "I have played at an Olympic Games before and the experience was brilliant," he said. "I know the Olympics are coming to England next year, there are matches here at St James' Park. It would have been a dream to be able to play for Argentina here in Newcastle."[LNB] Coloccini has not figured for the Argentina squad since he was named among the substitutes in the World Cup qualifier with Brazil in September 2009. He has got over his international frustrations, though, and Newcastle is his only main concern.[LNB] "Before last year's World Cup, I was concentrating on my international career a lot because I wanted to go to the World Cup finals," he said. "Now, I am more relaxed about the whole thing. My focus is on Newcastle and the team here. I have not forgotten about Argentina, but it is not where my focus is at the moment."[LNB] Newcastle's young striker Ryan Donaldson, meanwhile, has not given up hope of staying on Tyneside after returning from a loan stint at Hartlepool.[LNB] Donaldson failed to score in his 12 outings for Pools and has returned to the Magpies. He said: "We'll see what happens. I'm not going to worry about it. This club has always been my first priority."[LNB]
