Richards made his official appearance against Arsenal on October 22nd, 2005/KLOC-0. I was going to replace him later. On February 12, 2006, he played against Charlton for the first time. Since then, he has been selected as the best young player of the club in most major competitions.
On July 25th, 2006, Manchester City rejected an offer of 5 million pounds from Tottenham Hotspur, an old Premier League club, and renewed Richards' contract for four years. At that time, Richards had become the target pursued by major clubs, among which Chelsea, a new force in the Premier League, was the most high-profile, with a bid as high as15 million, which was sky-high for defenders. In this regard, Manchester City coach Pias has publicly stated that Richards is the pillar of the club in the future and will only consider selling if he meets the sky-high price. At the same time, in the 2006-07 season, Manchester City asked Richards to change his jersey number from the original 45 to the traditional 2.
Richards made his first England first-team appearance in June 2006, 10, a friendly match against Holland. He has represented English football teams below 2 1 three times before.
In Manchester, on a gloomy afternoon in June, 5438+00, Richards is playing a game that anyone who has anything to do with his club will play these days: Who do we want in the next game? Cristiano Ronaldo or Ronaldinho, Kaka or Messi Villa or Torres? This is a long list of super-rich and super-stars. Richards blinked and took a few seconds to make a decision. "Henry," he finally announced, "he's cool."
Daydreaming may or may not be. Manchester City is so rich now that it won't shock the world. On the other hand, we can also talk about whether the young English players in the club deserve as much respect as they receive. As far as Richards is concerned, it should be ensured that mark hughes does not want to build a team full of foreign players. It is unimaginable in countries such as Brazil. A boy from Leeds, who was described by Sir Robson as "our best defender after bobby moore", played for the English national team on 18 and 144 days, but had no place in the team.
Richards himself is very polite, and he is not stingy with time. Although he doesn't like being interviewed, he is willing to talk. When talking about the future of the club, he was very excited and talked childishly about playing football with Robinho (the new star player of the club). "One of my teammates got the news before me," he recalled. "He called me and said,' We have signed Robinho. I said,' Yes, I love someone. . . I mean, he is the kind of player you can only choose for Manchester City by playing computer games. "
Robinho soon became his new teammate. "Everyone feels strange on their first day here," Richards said. "It took us a week to turn our heads and stop staring at him. But he's just a kid now. Since Real Madrid, we have been thinking,' What will he become? Become a superstar? By his own ass? But he's a great young man. He shook hands with everyone in the locker room, and his English was much better than we thought. "
Manchester City's newly discovered wealth is Robinho, who signed more than 30 million pounds for the first time. Assuming that no one in the sports world knows about this plan, even though Richards warned that "it won't happen overnight", it does rule the world. He believes that the team can win the Premier League title in three years. He pointed out, "Maybe we can go out in 1 month and get 10 superstars". However, the smile on Richards' face will disappear from time to time. His English career seems to have come to a standstill, almost drowned in the debate about Michael Owen. Capello hasn't played for a minute since he was appointed, and he admits that he was very depressed when he tried to find out the reason. "I played the game of 1 1 and was constantly promoted by the media. I think I have a good chance to keep my position. Then, I was hit by this, and I never knew why, but I still couldn't get back to the national team. I believe I will have my place in the national team. "
The last sentence should not be understood as arrogance. Richards just belongs to the super confident player who has his own fashion designer to trim his eyebrows. He was called arrogant; In reality, he happens to be full of self-confidence and strong self-awareness, and he also has the characteristics that are beneficial to any athlete. It can be traced back to his growing up in Chapeltown, a terrible area in Leeds, where Yorkshire rippers, poverty and crime are concentrated.
"It's hard to grow up here," Richards said. "There are a lot of drugs and shootings. But my father [Lincoln] is always by my side. I always play football and don't touch drugs and other bad things. I have seen everything and I know what happened, but I have never embarked on this road. "
Lincoln, a devout Tafall native, moved to Saint Kitts, England in 1960s. "I'm not always disciplined, and I'm not going to lie-I did a lot of things I shouldn't have done when I was young," Richards said. "My father knows what this area is like. He said to me,' You have a chance to do something good for yourself-don't do something stupid and screw it up.' I followed his advice, which is why I am here today. "
He came to Leeds United first, and they didn't realize his potential. Oldham Athletic accepted him and signed a student contract with him. Soon after, Manchester City heard his talent.
There has been a tragic turning point. When Richards devoted himself to becoming a professional player, Cha Pelton had another talented young player. Nelson Daniel grew up in a nearby street. He and Richards have the same dream of becoming a professional football player. Then, he staggered his friends and lost the qualification. When Richards made his debut in Manchester City, Nelson hanged himself in prison on drug charges. "We are good friends. We grew up together and played football together," Richards said. "This is a terrible waste of life-a companion who has always accompanied me. I still remember how depressed I was when I learned the news. I guess he had no choice but to end his life. This shows what happens when you are not focused. "
There are other evil things. 12 years old, when playing for Leeds boys' team, the ball always makes strange noises when it approaches Richards. "After a few seconds, I realized that they were booing me," he said. "Not only children, but also their parents. Mom and dad joined in around the stadium. "
Richards served as a "kick-out" ambassador for eight years, although he didn't want to be seen as a racist or a political activist. Croatian racially discriminated against British emil Hesky in a match held in Zagreb, and he was shocked by the fine imposed by FIFA 14920. "I think this is unacceptable," he said. "In this era, the money is only enough to buy pigeon feed. I am realistic, and I know that my point of view will not change anything. However, if a group of racists shout racial slogans, I think the authorities should ban them and end all this. "
Does he agree with the Football Association that the friendly match between England and Spain should not be held in the Bernabeu, where ashley cole and Phillips were booed in 2004? "I won't agree with this decision because it makes them (racists) look like they have won. The Football Association's starting point is good, because they obviously don't want our players to hear those noises again. But in order to beat each other. We should go to Madrid and play normally. If there are racist acts, the Spanish authorities should ban them. "
The game is in February 1 1. I hope Richards can persuade Capello to return to his old job in the England national team. Time is on his side-it is worth noting that when he joined the team, he was still young and had enough potential to tap. "This is really strange," he said. "I don't have my own house. I live in stockport with Carl Moore (now in Millwall). When I got a call saying that I had been called into the national team, I thought a friend at school was joking with me. But when I got the first hat, I wanted the second and third, and I want it now. " Richards' time will surely come again.
Plan 1000 things in the next10 day.
Young, dark and successful, it is easy to understand why Kick It Out thinks Richards is the kind of player they want to promote their sport. The organization's 2008 Action Week began on Thursday, and eye-catching activities will be held nationwide at the weekend.
"Mika is one of our most eye-catching ambassadors and one of our youngest players," Danny Lynch, spokesman of Kick It Out, said at the annual lunch of the community activity One Game. "The support of athletes is absolutely important for the continued success of our sport."
In the next 10 days, there will be more than 1000 incidents, and 92 clubs in the four major leagues in England will implement their own anti-racism plans. In addition to racial prejudice and anti-Semitism, topics will also include homosexuality, the lack of professional players in Asia and the difficulty for disabled fans to watch the game.
"This is an opportunity to compete at all levels to highlight our work," said Lord Herman Owsley, the kick-out chairman. "It's time to celebrate the diversity brought by football."
Paul ince made history this season and became the first black coach born in England in the Premier League. He also joined Richards' movement. "I am honored to participate in this week's activities," said Blackburn's manager. "Kicking out has become the backbone of the British league against racism."
Other ambassadors include Park Ji-sung (Manchester United), Anelka (Chelsea), ledley king (Tottenham) and Freddy Eastwood (Coventry).
Richards played in Manchester City for two seasons. "I have never experienced any form of racial discrimination in the Premier League, but I know it has happened in some places abroad and will not disappear overnight," he said.
"As a black man, I know what it's like to be a receiver. I heard the booing, which was really hurtful and frustrating. Players should not be judged by their skin color. Everyone should be equal, and kicking out hopes to solve this problem. "
2065438+September, 2004 1 day, Fiorentina, a powerful Serie A team, officially announced that it had reached an agreement with Manchester City, the Premier League champion, on the transfer of Richards, and the English flying wing joined Viola on loan for one season. According to the official statement of Florence, Richards has arrived at the club and received a medical examination.
Richards made 245 appearances for Manchester City and scored 9 goals. He is the hero of Blue Moon winning the Premier League title in 20112 season. However, since the 20 12/ 13 season, Richards has only played 10 times due to injury, and even missed 206,544 times. Due to the abundant talents in Manchester City's right-back position and Richards' low competitive state, the English flying wing can only rent Florence to participate in more games to recover.