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Darius Vassell: The Road to Persia, Book Review4 / 5 starsOF England’s Golden Generation that spectacularly crashed out of Euro 2004, Darius Vassell is one of the names that probably doesn’t immediately spring to mind.
By JOE SHORT
It was the squad of David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Steven Gerrard. The squad that had a young Wayne Rooney carrying the hope of a nation. The squad that spectacularly failed to live up to expectation.
Yet Vassell bore the brunt of that Euro 2004 exit to Portugal heavier than most. It was he who missed the final penalty in the shoot-out with Portugal, he who suffered a backlash for the botched effort.
While the country’s top stars went back to their clubs and got on with winning domestic and European titles, Vassell's career took its decisive turn.
As England prepared to head home from their hotel in Lisbon, Vassell was all for stealing away and spending a few weeks lying low in Portugal. Michael Owen had already offered him the use of his villa.
But a candid discussion with then-England captain David Beckham in his hotel room convinced Vassell to stick with the team, to show a united front. It was the first time he had been properly thrown into the national limelight, the first time he’d let the fans down.
And in his book The Road to Persia, Vassell is wonderfully open and thoughtful about his misgivings during and after that tournament in 2004 — and the twists and turns of his career since.
Vassell grew up an avid Aston Villa fan. All he wanted to do was play for Villa. England never really crossed his mind. The Birmingham lad grew up a fast, hungry striker who sulked when shouted at and revelled in the glory of goals.
We read plenty of autobiographies of sports men and women passionate about their trade. About winning. About medals. But Vassell’s sole passion in the formative years of his career was an avid love for his club. Playing for Aston Villa was his drive.
That drive, sadly, is dying from the game. Vassell was allowed to live his dream, playing alongside idol Dion Dublin and banging them in on a regular basis at the Holte End. Remember, Vassell’s record of 47 outings for not losing when scoring in a league game was only recently broken.
The dreamers, it feels, are disappearing in football. Fewer and fewer kids support their local clubs — opting instead to follow the soap opera on Sky Sports and Match of the Day. Kids are more likely to form an attachment to their chosen FIFA or Football Manager team than the club down the road.
And that is why Vassell’s account of his days growing up at Villa are so compelling. He is concise and level minded about his playing days; the fans he entertained, the friends he made, the managers he worked tirelessly to convince.
This was Villa in the early 2000s. They were the perpetual UEFA Cup team that always had the potential to go a step further but never did. Indeed, a series of different managers at the club eventually led to Vassell’s exit. It had to happen — you can’t convince everyone you’re the right man, especially in that crucial striker’s role. The frustrating thing is it came after that Euros exit.
Vassell admits that he would have liked to have scored more in his playing career. Maybe he wasn’t a prolific Thierry Henry or Ruud van Nistelrooy. But he was effective and worked hard to follow the manager’s instructions. You get the sense, when reading The Road to Persia, that Vassell maybe sacrificed personal achievement for the success of the team. He never kicked off, he wasn’t a physical fighter. But he was a worker.
At the crux of his career, when he was told to push on, to become a better player, Euro 2004 happened. Vassell replaced Rooney in the quarter-final against Portugal after England’s young messiah broke his metatarsal. Vassell didn’t even want to take a penalty in the shoot-out and was called upon when it went to sudden death.
We all remember those awful two minutes. Goalkeeper Ricardo whipping his gloves off, saving Vassell’s meek spot kick off a sandy penalty spot and then burying home the winner himself. It was galling for England fans but imagine what it was like for the player in the middle of the centre-circle; the quiet one in the side.
Vassell admits he never dreamed of playing for England and he barely got a kick for the Three Lions again. Indeed, he was fairly swiftly sold by Aston Villa too, with Manchester City coming calling 12 months later.
But he is not bitter about this. In fact, Vassell has found solace looking back at a commendable top-flight career to which The Road to Persia does justice.
This is a book about realising dreams and then growing past them. He knew he'd left his boyhood self behind when scoring twice against Villa in a Manchester City shirt on his first game back in front of the Holte End. He was booed that day.
Later in his career Vassell experienced the highs and lows of football in a foreign country and enjoyed a twilight stint at Leicester, helping the Foxes lay the groundwork for their eventual Premier League success.
The Road to Persia is exactly what a footballer’s autobiography should be. A retrospective, thoughtful and open account of a career. Not a bitter rant. And a heartwarming tale at that.
The Road to Persia, by Darius Vassell, Inama Group, £15
