Source: Telegraph
Didier Zokora has no regrets after Arsenal snub
Continuing the theme last month, he spurned the advances of Real Madrid where his old manager, Juande Ramos, seemed keen. [LNB]Two big calls. Two pivotal moments in Zokora's career, which, at the moment, involves scrapping for points at the wrong end of the table. [LNB]Arsenal, it's true, might not be in the rudest of health just now, while the Bernabeu has seen better days. Nevertheless, the situation at both clubs ranks a bit higher than hovering one point above the relegation zone. [LNB]Zokora, however, bears no regrets, perfectly happy with his lot as his team prepare to host Arsenal on Sunday for what is sure to be another spicy north London derby. [LNB]"Yes, when I signed for Spurs, Arsenal also wanted me", he confirmed this week. "I spoke with Arsene Wenger after the World Cup but I preferred to come to Spurs because it gave me a good option for my life. I am very happy."[LNB]Happy enough, it seems, to also reject a move to Spain. [LNB]"Everybody knows Real Madrid wanted me but I signed a new contract for this club and if they want me, I stay. The club needs me, my life is here. Real are one of the best clubs in the world so that is good for me, no? That means I am not a bad player!" [LNB]Not a bad character either, the sort his manager, Harry Redknapp, doesn't want to lose at a time when the team looks short of steel. Asked to explain Tottenham's travails, the Ivory Coast international goes back to last August. [LNB]"We started very badly – that's the problem. And we missed a lot of friends in the first month but now these players have come back."[LNB]He refers, in part, to Jermain Defoe and Pascal Chimbonda, both of whom have returned to their old club. Yet Zokora saves most of his praise for Robbie Keane whose dressing room presence after departing to Liverpool was sorely missed. [LNB]"The team needs a leader and, for me, Robbie is the best leader for the squad," Zokora says. "Ledley [King] was captain, but he doesn't play every game. Robbie gives the team power. When he talks it is good for the team. 'Come on Didier!' It's fantastic."[LNB]Though Zokora's enthusiasm shines through every word, there was actually a time when he wanted to quit football altogether. It is 10 years now since his younger brother, Armand, drowned on an Ivory Coast beach. Even so, the pain of that fateful day cannot be disguised. [LNB]"My life changed in only one minute", he says, voice cracking with emotion. "I wanted to stop football and I didn't go to training for maybe three or four months."[LNB]Present on the beach that day, Kolo Toure was one who talked Zokora around, helped persuade him that football shouldn't be discarded. When the two meet beforehand on Sunday, there will be much more than friendship in their embrace. [LNB]"Kolo is a brother to me, just like Emmanuel Eboue and Salomon Kalou. We grew up together and they said, 'Play football. It's your passion. It's your life'. Now I am very happy because I think when I play well my brother is happy."[LNB]Goodness knows what Zokora will do, then, should he score in the derby. With no goals in 123 Spurs appearances, the 28-year-old's celebrations, given the occasion, would be quite something. Yet as a holding midfielder, his orders don't help. [LNB]"All my managers here have told me the same. First Martin Jol, then Ramos and now Harry. They say, 'Didi, stay back, don't go forward'. It is difficult for me because I want to score for Spurs, even if it is just one goal." [LNB]I point out that many of my interviewees have notched a goal in their next game. [LNB]"If that happens I will tell the media afterwards that it was down to you," he laughs. "I might even get 'Thank You Alan' written on a T-shirt."[LNB]Hold on. I'm not sure that would go down too well in the red half of north London – one of their own helping the enemy. Best all round, probably, if he doesn't even shoot. [LNB]Didier Zokora was speaking during a visit to a school in Tottenham, where he assisted Tottenham Hotspur Foundation coaches in delivering a South African themed education programme, part of the club's support for SOS Children's Villages World Orphan Week. Spurs will officially kick off World Orphan Week (WOW) at the north London derby on Sunday. [LNB]Tottenham need to look both ways[LNB]Fans are pilloried for parochialism, for not seeing further than the gates of their own club, but try telling Burnley that Tottenham have no generosity of spirit. [LNB]Turf Moor has been "inundated'' with emails from Spurs supporters, expressing admiration for Owen Coyle's enterprising team who nearly put them out of the Carling Cup: "I am a life-long Spurs fan but felt you were robbed;'' "Your team outshone us.'' [LNB]Others, including one Mark Blanchflower, praised Burnley's "dignity'', "courage'', "determination'', "passion'', and "strength of character''. [LNB]A Tottenham diehard urged Burnley to "come and join us'' in the Premier League. Spurs better focus on staying up first.[LNB]By Henry Winter [LNB][LNB][LNB]
