An Interview with Football Legend John Barnes

Dubrovnik attracts celebrities like a magnet, with every summer resembling a Hollywood red carpet. Over the years, I've had the privilege of meeting numerous A-listers, royalty, and even presidents. But as soon as I heard that one of my boyhood idols was coming I jumped at the chance to interview him, and what a treat it was. John Barnes MBE had an illustrious career, starting at Watford where he played under Graham Taylor, before moving to play over 300 times for Liverpool and finally at Newcastle.

He won countless titles, cups and personal honours. He pulled on the three lions shirt 79 times and is always remembered for his wonder goal against Brazil. He came to Dubrovnik to take part in the Campioni Soccer Academy at the Sun Gardens Dubrovnik. Campioni Soccer Academy features UEFA Licensed coaches who bring extensive experience in coaching children and are committed to sharing their expertise with the next generation. Campioni offers a professional football program for children of all abilities, aged 6 to 15, to participate in while on holiday. “It isn’t just about football, but about life. We show them team-spirit, togetherness and communication and supporting each other.,” explained Barnes.

I was going to wait to ask this question last, but I can’t wait. So, that goal against Brazil. What do you remember about that wonder goal?

Well, firstly it wasn’t the best goal I ever scored. It was great to play in the Maracanã, it was my first every match for England and of course my first ever goal for England, not bad for a 19-year-old. To be honest it is all a bit of a blur at my age now, but it was the first time that England had won at the iconic Maracanã so that’s special. Probably the best goal I ever scored was for Watford against Rotherham, but the goal against Brazil is probably my most famous goal.

So this is your second time in Dubrovnik. Have you had much time to explore the city?

Yes, the last time we were here we went into the Old City by boat to see where Game of Thrones was filmed, my wife and I are huge fans. And this year we have explored around the city a little more. I am pretty sure my wife has a new favourite restaurant, it is located in Zaton. We have also been to the Coral Beach Club and had a great time. The big advantage of staying here at Sun Gardens Dubrovnik is we have everything here, there are many restaurants, and we have the beach on our doorstep, the island across the water, it is a great base.

What were your first impressions when you saw the Old City for the first time?

Well, it looks just like it does in Game of Thrones. I have travelled before in this part of the world and know a little about the background. A lot of English people don’t really know the history of this region, they maybe think the most historic part of Europe is London. But when you go to Austria or Hungary or this southeast region you see just how old Europe is. I remember going to Belgrade to play for England against the former Yugoslavia and learned a lot then. I have been to the Adriatic coast a few times and I understand the history of Dalmatia. It is really a fascinating region.

Can you tell me more about this football camp and what the actual concept is?

Firstly, the most important thing is that the kids have fun. Here they are having fun but they are also learning. The training that we go through with the children who attend this camp is exactly the same as the training at professional clubs. And it isn’t just about football, but about life. We show them team-spirit, togetherness and communication and supporting each other. Of course we have children of differing abilities, so it is about teaching the kids who are maybe better to help and work with the kids who maybe aren’t yet at the same level. It isn’t really a football camp to produce professional footballers, it is a camp that gives an insight into how professional footballers train and work. The actual slogan of Campioni is “train like a pro.” We also show the importance of being a responsible member of a community. This isn’t an individual sport where you are only concerned about yourself, you need to work as a team. And, as we were telling the children today, it is important to make friendships and bonds at this camp.

If they are all at different levels how challenging is it to mix them all together and play as one team?

We have children here who could walk into a football club’s academy tomorrow, but on the other hand we also have children who can’t even kick a football. So this is where we hammer home the team mentality. Of course, when they all meet for the first time all the better players want to stay in one team together, but we don’t let them do that, we mix them up and then you soon see them encouraging the children who aren’t so good. It is a win/win situation.

What would be your advice to young players looking to make a career from football? I realise that the chances of actually turning pro are very slim, but do you have any tips?

First of all, you have to enjoy it. Secondly, you work hard, very hard. Think about the team and not yourself, your attitude and commit are vital. Ability and talent alone mean nothing. For the children aged 11 and under I would just give them advice on how to maximise their potential by training well and exercising. But not only do they have to work hard, they have to enjoy it. When the children get to 14 or so then you can see if they made the jump and have a chance to get into an academy. Practise, practice and more practise.

And how do you manage the expectations of children?

We don’t have to manage their expectations as we only have them here for a week, it is the parents who need to do that job. I don’t put any expectations on them, they aren’t coming for a week to become a professional footballer. I’ll say to them – you concentrate on what we are telling you to do – your passing, your controlling, your movement – and then you’ll see an improvement. We go through crossing, shooting, corners, etc. Some children would say “can’t we just play a game.” And then we explain that everything they are learning in training will help them play the game better. After a few days they get it. It is a process. Step by step.

How closely do you follow Croatian football and who is your favourite player?

Yes, I follow the national team. But on a league level it is really hard for Croatian clubs to compete. Once upon a time teams like Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split were playing and winning at the highest European level. That isn’t going to happen anymore. If you look at the best leagues in western Europe a huge amount of money has flooded into them, meaning a concentration of the best players. Before you had Malmo playing in the final of the then European Cup, you had Red Star Belgrade actually winning the European Cup, this is not going to happen now. Money now dominates football. But what you can do is develop the national team, as Croatia have been very successful in doing. You have lots of Croatian players who play in the top leagues all over Europe. And as far as my favourite player, well that’s easy Luka Modrić. I remember meeting him when he was young. He was small, he was always a good technical player, but because of his size he had to work hard to be the player he is. Modrić because of his attitude and his commitment is an example of what you can achieve if you put the work in. And children should look to emulate his work effort.

Imagine you could turn your life clock back, and you are now a twenty-year-old John Barnes. Which team would you like to play for today and under which manager would you love to work?

Liverpool, always Liverpool, I couldn’t play for anyone else. As far as managers, I would love to be trainer by Jürgen Guardiola, a mix of Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. Look both of them play fantastic football, they just play different styles. Klopp plays an intense and aggressive style whereas Pep prefers a controlled style. If you are an attacking player you probably want to play for Guardiola, they have the ball more and you don’t have to run up and down the pitch as much. But as far as a club it is always Liverpool, because of the fans, that is what football is all about. The fans the culture and the relationship between the club and the fans. Liverpool is one big family, the players, the staff, the fans and the manager, they are all one.

You played 79 times for England, in your opinion what do the England national team need to do to take that final step towards winning a trophy?

We tend to assume, because of the Premier League, that we have the best players in the world right now. But do we? Look at the players for France, Germany and Spain, these are all excellent players as well. The Premier League might be the biggest league in the world but the real strength in the league is the foreign players. All the top players as Man United, City, Arsenal and Chelsea aren’t English players. One bonus is that when we started to promote young English players, the likes of Foden, Saka and Palmer they all improved. You can’t really ask anymore from Gareth Southgate, we got to finals and semi-finals with him. We have to know that we have no right to win. England showed real fight and squad harmony in this Euros. There were many times when they were down and looking like going out, but they kept coming back, they showed their team spirit.

Who was the best manager you played under?

I played for some of the best managers, the likes of Bobby Robson, Terry Venables and Graham Taylor. The best club manager I played for was Graham Taylor, he took Watford from the fourth division to the top division and hardly spent any money on players, and the best international manager was Terry Venables.

What will be your final impressions of Dubrovnik?

I can’t wait to come back next year!

This interview was conducted by Mark Thomas, an Englishman in Dubrovnik, at the Sun Gardens Dubrovnik Sports Centre and was originally published on The Dubrovnik Times.