6 September 2005
TheFA.com exclusive: Rio Ferdinand

In an exclusive interview with TheFA.com, Ferdinand looks towards future success with England.


Rio Ferdinand is looking to fulfill his boyhood dream and bring the World Cup back to England next summer.

In an exclusive interview with TheFA.com, The Manchester United defender recalls his eight-month suspension and says is now just looking to the future and enjoying every moment of playing football.

“I missed a lot of football in that time, important games,” he says. “I missed a tournament and I missed playing for Man United in an important season.

“It’s very disappointing and something that will never be forgotten.

“But you can’t harp on about things like that. I’m just trying to look forward and take every game as it comes. I’m enjoying every moment of it because I know what it’s like to not be able to play and the appreciation has got even higher then it was before.”

Ferdinand also says that missing so much action makes playing for England so much better. He’s determined to help the Three Lions achieve greatness in Germany, but also wants to focus on the job in hand without any distractions..

“It makes you hungry to be involved in every game, to be able to perform for England, to wear the shirt and no one can take that away from you.

“No one can ever question your desire to play for your country because that’s what you dream of when you are a kid, going out and playing for your country and representing the millions of people in your homeland,” said the 26-year-old.

“The ultimate dream is to win the World Cup, if you win that then you’ve achieved bundles in your career.

“You don’t want to get sidetracked and want to make sure you concentrate on the tasks that are immediately ahead of you, looking that far ahead of you sometimes can be a distraction.”

He adds: “It would be nice to go over there [Germany] and do well, so fingers crossed we qualify and bring back the trophy for the country.”

To watch the full interview with Rio Ferdinand, click on the links above.