Anthony Gordon may have only been in Spain for a couple of months but he has already become a full convert to the world of paella and tiki-taka.
Perhaps we should not be surprised that a man who rocked up to his presentation speaking fluent Spanish is already a fan, but Gordon is very much enjoying his time on the continent.
Aside from assisting so many goals that the locals have taken to calling him Antonio Gordono, the former Newcastle winger has also it seems been indoctrinated into the La Masia tiki-taka way of thinking.
He returned to English shores as part of Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures and spoke like a uni student who had been on a gap year to Bali and was now telling you that working a 9-5 job to pay rent was “so not the right way to live man.”
Asked about semi-final, Gordon said the prospect of England ever holding onto the ball was just not possible.
“Culturally it’s not just that tournament or that game where we couldn’t control a game,” he said.
“As a nation we don’t have that strength like the Spanish, where we control games like they do. It’s not in us.”
To be fair, it is quite the juxtaposition to go from sharing a dressing room with Dan Burn to Lamine Yamal.
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“I’m not sure it’s something that can be taught. Playing in Spain I can speak with an educated view on the way they keep the ball.”
Enlightened Gordon has dealt a crushing blow to the brains behind the English FA who have spent the last 16 years doing exactly that.
It may also be worth pointing out that Gordon played for Everton and Newcastle rather than say Arsenal or Manchester City who have a lot of English players who can keep hold of a ball for more than 30 seconds without feeling a sudden urge to boot it up field to the big man.
But what can be done Gordon? The last umpteen international tournaments have been won by teams who can keep hold of the ball. What are we to do?
“It’s much different than I’ve ever experienced in this country, so I’m not sure we can ever get that. We can definitely get better – or maybe go the other way and really play to our strengths, which is play physical, play direct football and on the counterattack.”
Ah fair enough then. Four-four-f**king-two and get it in the mixer.
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