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Man without a position McManaman unsure where he will play on national team
Posted: Thursday May 25, 2000 02:25 PM
LONDON (AP) -- Steve McManaman's brilliant all round performance in Real Madrid's Champions Cup triumph over Valencia has not only guaranteed him a place in England's Euro 2000 squad but probably put him straight into the starting lineup. The problem is, where? The 28-year-old former Liverpool player appeared to have lost his England place, partly because he had not performed well enough on his previous appearances ad also because he had moved to Spain and out of the regular sight of coach Kevin Keegan. But he has become one of the mainstays of Madrid's eighth triumph in Europe's premier soccer competition, and his goalscoring performance in the final, as well as tackling back in his own area and being involved in most of his team's moves, impressed Keegan. "Steve McManaman was tremendous," Keegan said. "And, if he wasn't the man-of-the-match, then I don't know who was -- and there were a lot of great performances from Real Madrid players. "We are absolutely delighted for him. We are looking forward to seeing him join up with the squad and bringing the extra confidence with him that he will have gained from such a great result and performance." But McManaman's reemergence as an attacking midfielder has actually created something of a dilemma for Keegan. When he was a Liverpool player, McManaman lined up for England in a wide role, which he had begun to dislike and his 26 appearances yielded only two goals. At Madrid, he's a roaming forward who pops up anywhere and everywhere and his volleyed goal against Valencia was from a central position just outside the penalty area. Keegan already has to decide the best role for Manchester United's David Beckham, who has been successful as a wide midfielder but prefers to play in the middle. And the England coach is also keen to find starting places in midfield for United's Paul Scholes, who plays behind the front two, and Chelsea's attacking midfielder Dennis Wise. There's simply no room for all four. Diplomatically, McManaman says he's just glad to be back on the squad and Keegan took the pressure off the Madrid star by pulling him out of the England lineup against Brazil simply because he had played on the previous Wednesday. "There's no problem, as long as I play (at the Euros) it will be fantastic," McManaman said. "I know the England lads were watching and I'm looking forward to meeting them. "I'm playing in a different position so I try and look at more things defensively now and try and tackle more, which I've never done in the past. "It might be my best position in this (Madrid) team because of the way we ply and the personnel we have," McManaman said. "I always said my aim was to come to Spain and learn different things and hopefully I'm doing that.
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