He holds the record for the fastest hat-trick in the history of English Premier league, a treble in an astonishing four minutes and 23 seconds, and Robbie Fowler is in India to strike a chord with the people of an ever-emerging market.
His former team liverpool being one of the most followed clubs in India — by his own estimatation “an amazing 93 million” — gives the marketers that edge. So Monday was his first trip to India and the occasion was the announcement of a sponsor — a smart mobile handset brand XOlO — for the club in India and neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Sri lanka and Nepal, for the next three seasons.
And, the legendary striker who has a total of 183 goals in 236 appearances for liverpool was happy to answer the questions from the media, the obvious one was will his former club be able to win the EPl this time because they haven’t since 1990. “I would not be bold to suggest that liverpool will win the title but they can finish in the top four and book a spot in the Champions league. We are not playing the Champions league and are already out of the Carling Cup so the strain of games is less on us. One game a week isn’t bad,” Fowler said during the event on Monday.
And, for that he considers luis Suarez the key. In fact he believes Suarez is the best forward of the EPl right now. “I think Suarez is the best current player of the EPl. But it’s not only him, it’s the team. He wouldn’t be able to do it individually without the team backing him,” he added.
He also said that Suarez formed a potent force with Daniel Sturridge, making for a very strong attack. “Daniel joined us last year in January and played a lot of the games without Suarez but scored a lot of goals. Then, Suarez played a large number of times on his own and scored goals. And, when they’ve played in a partnership, they’ve done well and scored goals. It looks ominous for the defenders when you’re playing a team who look to play well upfront, awake in the channels and both players can score goals. I probably would rate them (the best strike force in the EPl),” he made of his side which is placed fourth right now with 39 points from 20 games, six less than leaders Arsenal.
While this former English striker, he had 26 appearances for his national team and scored seven goals, believes that England might not be a force to reckon with in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, it is Spain, Brazil and Argentina that he rates as the top ones.
“Spain have been in very good form for 5-7 years now and Brazil won the Confederations Cup. Then, we have Argentina, I believe they will do well. Those for me are the top teams. England have got a tough group but I believe they will qualify for the next round. Who knows what we can achieve,” he added.
While the world waited with baited breath for the return of lionel Messi after his hamstring injury, Fowler seems to be belonging to the Cristiano Ronaldo fan club and that makes the Portuguese his favourite for the Ballon d’Or (FIFA Player of the Year) trophy, above Messi and Franck Ribery. The award is scheduled to be announced on the 13th of January. “I have a soft corner for Cristiano. I think he deserves it as he has been fantastic throughout the year. I want Messi to do well for Argentina this year. I think he’ll have a good World Cup.”
Fowler’s career at liverpool started at the academy ranks after which he became a part of the junior team and slowly came up the ranks to be called ‘God’ by the supporters. For Indian football to grow, he sees academies as the way ahead.
“The scope of Indian football is massive. You need talent to become a footballer. We are opening an academy in Pune this year and such academies will help the game to grow in the country. The game has grown considerably and we have a huge fan base here. Football may never replace cricket but who knows what’s in-store for the future,” the hopeful striker pointed out.
The talk of the Indian Soccer league seems to be an ongoing one and we may not know of anything concrete from the organisers but, though a little sceptical, Fowler wants to play.
“I thought it (Indian Soccer league) was going to happen last year. This year my name has been put forward again as player, manager or coach. By the time it comes around I’ll probably be a manager. I would certainly be interested, I was interested last year. last year, I was bought by a franchise but I haven’t seen anything materialise. I was really looking forward to it. Football in this country can grow. If this helps the game then so be it. I’ll be interested because I love the game,” that was the forward signing off.