Not surprisingly, given his impact on an epic evening in Mexico City, Anthony Gordon was a man in demand with the English media this week.
The swift-footed winger sat down on Wednesday with his country's travelling newspaper reporters to reflect on his experience so far at the and in a wide-ranging discussion spoke with candour about his frustration at playing just five minutes at UEFA EURO 2024, his disappointment at not having the England No11 shirt (the property of Marcus Rashford) and also his wish to grow as a person through reading books and learning languages.
“The reason I’ll always do well is because my mentality towards disappointment is very good,” he said. The 25-year-old has certainly displayed that trait to impressive effect so far in North America, notably in his response to being dropped for England’s third group fixture. First, he came off the bench against Congo DR to produce two assists for Harry Kane in . Then, back in the starting XI against Mexico for Sunday’s Round of 16 match, he won the penalty for Kane to score the crucial third goal in a .
Gordon’s obvious superpower on the pitch is his lightning speed but the mentality he spoke of this week may be an even greater asset. That is the view of performance coach Danny Donachie, a man who knows the native Liverpudlian well. They met at Everton, Gordon’s first club, when he was a youngster on the fringes of the first team and Donachie was the club’s head of medical. They have remained in contact and speak regularly – indeed a quote from Gordon on Donachie’s website says, “Simply put, Dan changed my life for the better in every way.” It is a powerful testimonial and Donachie is equally complimentary in return. “I think he's pretty relentless – that would be the right word,” he tells FIFA. “There's a book called ‘Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness’ by Tim Grover, who's the guy that worked with Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Anthony read it and he lives by those principles a lot. He's absolutely ruthless and relentless. For him, it's all about growth and trying to get better, which is quite unusual, really, for a player.” Unusual, he elaborates, because “a lot of the time you're just forced to fit in whereas I feel he's really open to doing whatever it takes to get to be the best he can be.” The trajectory of the winger, recently signed by Barcelona from Newcastle United, tells of a player who was not always on football’s fast track. He may have come through Everton’s youth ranks but, as a teenager, he was no Wayne Rooney. Gordon was a late developer physically. He was shy. Yet Donachie saw his strong mentality right away.
An example of his determination came during the pandemic in 2020 when, aged 19, he moved into a house with a personal trainer and spent three months following a rigorous fitness programme and special diet. His reward for that came when Carlo Ancelotti, Everton’s then manager, handed him his first Premier League start in the home derby against Liverpool. Even after that he endured a frustrating loan spell at Preston North End in England’s second tier, struggling to get into the team after a change of manager. Yet that just added fuel to the fire.
Thomas Tuchel, now his manager with England, saw his potential up close during Gordon’s breakthrough season in the Premier League, 2021/22, when he helped Everton earn a win over the German’s Chelsea team that was crucial to their fight against relegation. He tried, in vain, to sign him a couple of months later.
Donachie is not surprised any manager would want to work with him, given what he can bring to a team. “If you watch him in a game, with his level of energy and his enthusiasm, it's always at 100 per cent,” he says. “To be able to do that takes a great mentality and obviously he's got amazing physiology as well. He's very fast and he's got the capacity to run fast continuously, which a lot of players don't have, and that's a huge asset for any team.” Especially in an era when forwards are so often asked to lead the press at the top of the pitch – as Gordon did so well when winning the Player of the Tournament award following England’s triumph at the UEFA U21 EURO in 2023.
“I do think it's an ideal marriage of mentality and physical capacity,” adds Donachie of a player who scored 10 UEFA Champions League goals last season. “There aren’t many players who are as fast as he is that can maintain it so consistently. I've watched a lot of Newcastle's games and he set the tone, he set the energy for their team and I'm sure he'll do that for Barcelona as well.”
Donachie’s father, Willie, was a World Cup footballer with Scotland but he has travelled to North America to follow England and is speaking to FIFA from Miami, ahead of . He had the opportunity for a quick chat with Gordon after Sunday’s victory over Mexico and, as a final observation, highlights the way in which the winger, as a “wise soul”, was able to take that remarkable occasion in his stride. “He won't get too high and he won't get too low,” he affirms, which is surely advantageous with another white-knuckle ride just around the corner.
Sources: FIFA Official
