Valencia assistant coach Phil Neville has claimed that the likes of Luis Suarez, Alexis Sanchez and Jamie Carragher possess the same “street footballer” mentality as Everton full-back Seamus Coleman.
The former Manchester United and Everton utility used each players football education as the main reason for the comparison.
“Those are street footballers. They’ve come up the hard way. I use the example at Everton of Seamus Coleman. He played for a team in Ireland, bought for £60,000, didn’t go through the academy system.”
Seamus Coleman missed Everton’s first three games of the season through injury following his participation at Euro 2016 with the Republic of Ireland, but has returned as the club sit second in the Premier League.
Neville recalls Coleman’s introduction to English football and the thirst for competition he possessed.
“I use the example at Everton of Seamus Coleman. He played for a team in Ireland, bought for £60,000, didn’t go through the academy system. ‘Scruffy tracksuit, not matching, no flashy trainers. Came in, he had hunger – he would run through that brick wall.
“And did he have the best ability at the start? No. But he had more determination. Now he’s probably one of the best full-backs in the Premier League. He had the hunger. And Suarez has it. Sanchez at Arsenal. John Terry and Jamie Carragher had it.”
Valencia face Alaves at home this Thursday evening, looking to move up from bottom of La Liga standings after a winless start to the new campaign.
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