Written for Gadsbysengland.com
Feet planted in a power stance, the ghost of an imperious expression written across his face, a pair of gothic wings sprouting from his back – on the cover of August‘s GQ magazine, Raheem Sterling looks likes the Angel Gabriel reimagined by Ozzy Osbourne. With any other footballer, such undisguised attempts to foster a sense of iconography might seem a touch laboured. With England’s newest poster boy however, the hullaballoo is entirely justified.
The football Writers’ Association player of the year, an indispensable cog in the Manchester City machine and, most significantly, an uncompromising crusader for racial justice, both on the frontlines of the terraces and in the ideological battleground of the media, Sterling’s assent to superstardom has been stratospheric. In the modern era, Gascoigne and Beckham are arguably the two players who’ve had as much off-the-pitch influence. Both were giants; charismatic in different ways and lions when donning the England shirt. Sterling’s presence is different, though. There is something palpably unique about his position in the hearts and minds of right-minded England fans – the feeling that he’s someone who stands for something; not just a likeable figure, but a noble one too.
When Sterling was at Liverpool, an Anfield season ticket holder and neighbour of mine told me in no uncertain terms that he was “a brilliant footballer but a scumbag”. The same neighbour now freely admits he, like millions of others, was hoodwinked by a press which espouses cloak-and-dagger racism. Therein lies Sterling’s societal impact and, indeed, his footballing significance, both to an England side which features a number of black senior players and to the younger generation of sportsmen rising through the ranks.
Of course, it goes without saying that Sterling’s influence is imponderably more far reaching than a single dressing room, or even the dressing rooms of a dozen or so up-and-coming young English footballers. This footballing impact is an immeasurably happy by-product of his righteous struggle, however. In terms of the squad harmony of a national side which has historically been, not quite divided, but weakened by cliquishness, the Man City wide man’s powerful voice can only be a good thing in uniting them under a common goal.
It’s easy to see why Southgate sees him as a leader. In the absence of Harry Kane, these characteristics, along with the 22-carat football he’d produced all season, prompted the England manager to hand Sterling the captain’s armband in their Nations League defeat to the Netherlands. While this is a chance he unquestionably deserved, it perhaps might be best to spare Sterling the added pressure of being Kane’s backup. The Tottenham forward’s ankle is looking increasingly fragile – he missed 17 games due to injury in 2019 – and the prospect of one of these setbacks coinciding with an international tournament is by no means inconceivable.
Whether Sterling could cope with the pressure is not in question – anyone who can withstand the relentless dogpiling he’s been subjected to surely has the mental fortitude to manage the weight of the armband. No, the question is rather whether its fair to ask him to manage that kind of sporting expectation too. We can only hope it’s an issue Southgate won’t have to address.
Sterling isn’t the first England icon to appear on the front cover of a magazine; in an era of celebrity footballers, he certainly won’t be the last. The reasons for his particular cultural appeal, however, are special. There’s little praise to bestow upon Sterling that hasn’t been offered up a million times already, but for someone as important as him and for a cause as important as his, it’s worth reminding ourselves as often as we can.
Adam Williams - Portfolio 