From being detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure seven years ago to shaking the hand of HRH The Duke of Cambridge at Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup Final, few stories can rival Troy Deeney’s in terms of redemption.
“There’s been plenty of highs and lows, that’s for sure,” he says.
“It will make a great series one day. It’s been an emotional roller coaster and I’m now just enjoying the ride.”
The way he hammered in the most nerveless of penalties in that epic semi-final win over Wolverhampton Wanderers only to be sent off just 13 minutes into his very next game, against Arsenal, was kind of his career, and possibly even his life, in microcosm.
There's never a dull moment with Deeney around. He’s long since learnt how to take the rough with the smooth.
“What’s done is done,” he said. “I’ve spoken to death about going to jail. It’ll always be with me, always be a part of me and I’ll never run from it. I’ll never shirk the fact it happened.
“But I’d rather look at the positive and to be captaining a side in an FA Cup Final seven years later is a big, big achievement. It’s huge for me.”
Deeney is relentless in his work ethic, a goal setter who reaches for the stars, but did he even think, in one or two of his darker moments, that this sort of day was possible for a lad from Chelmsley Wood in Birmingham?
“You do aim big,” he said. “You’ve got to aim for these things. I know it’s crazy that someone from Chelmsley is meeting royalty, but it shows what’s possible.
“I want to keep going and make sure I’m here more and more. There's a lot of players better than me, but there aren't many who want it more than me.”
He’ll always be Troy to his cherished family and friends in the Midlands. There are nearly 70 of them coming down for the Final, including his children Myles and Amelia.
“It’s huge to have my kids here,” he said.
“It’s a massive day for the family. There are loads of people coming from Chelmsley Town, including my ex-manager there, the secretary and a few of the lads.”
It’s a sign, if one were needed, that Deeney hasn’t forgotten where he came from or who got him to the position where he is, leading a team out in one of the most-watched games in world football.
“Every now and then you have that moment where a wave of emotion hits you,” he said. “I had a moment with my mum [after the semi-final win over Wolves] which was special. That moment meant everything to me.”
He expects to be charged by emotion before kick-off on Saturday too.
He’ll no doubt think of his grandparents and mentors, John and Margaret, and remember Paul, the man he called his father who died of cancer in 2012, and his friend Scotty who took his own life recently.
“My nan and grandad got me into football,” he said. “They are the ones who get me going. I’ll be fine and then there will be a 30-second period where I can’t control my emotions and I’ll end up crying like a big baby.
“I’m not ashamed of that. There will be a massive point when I’m walking out when I’ll be thinking of them all. If the sun is shining, I know that will be him [Paul] looking down.”
