If only all footballers were like Darren Fletcher

Photo Source: Gordon Flood

Although an ardent Liverpool fan, my support for the Scotland national football side has instilled me with a tremendous amount of respect for Darren Fletcher. He is to me the embodiment of what a modern footballer should be.

Fletcher is a very British midfielder, for which he makes no apologies – his football is not based on intricate passing or flamboyant technique, but on the solid midfield play which binds a team together. His darting runs on the ball through defences can be devastating, and his hold-up play in the midfield gives time for him to be a key playmaker in any squad. Scotland have been able to build a team around him, and have built one of the stronger midfields in European football on the back of his efforts.

But it is not just his ability on the field which should be respected, it is his qualities off the pitch which make Fletcher one the best in modern football. He is always shown that he is there to get on with the job, with none of the silliness much of the game now involves. Indeed it is much to his credit that when he was unfairly sent off in the 2009 Champions League semi-final, meaning he would miss the set-piece showndown with Barcelona, he did not protest loudly, he simply walked down to the tunnel looking disappointed.

But Fletcher is someone used to dealing with adversity. He is the man who did not complain when in 2006 his captain Roy Keane said of him: “I can't understand why people in Scotland rave about Darren Fletcher,” he simply played one of the games of his career against Chelsea, scoring the winning goal to end the London club’s 40 game unbeaten streak in the Premier League.

He is also someone who plays for the love of playing, with loyalty to the club that he learnt his trade with since the age of 11. He is very rare in the modern game that you never see him throwing himself to the ground to win a cheap penalty or free kick; he stands up and plays football. His loyalty to Manchester United must also be admired, unlike some of his more glamorous team-mates, he has never attempted to hold the club to ransom for more money or a move away. In an era when the one-club footballer is drifting away, Fletcher is a reminder that there is still loyalty in the game.

He has also shown his loyalty to his country, in an age where Scotland friendlies will often see call-offs in the double figures, Chick Young of the BBC rightly points out: “he wouldn't dodge a friendly if it were against Tierra del Fuego at three o'clock on a Saturday morning on a cow patch at the bottom of the world.” His commitment to Scotland as our captain stands him out from other players such as Stephen Fletcher, Kris Boyd and James McFadden who have let personal gripes get in the way of representing their country.

Fletcher has never seen himself ‘above’ representing his country and has always worn the shirt with pride. Indeed what is telling is that last month he played 63 minutes against Cyprus away in a low-rated friendly in what was possibly agonising pain from his condition. That is the measure of the man’s commitment to his country.

As a Scotland fan, I have seen the best of Darren Fletcher and the fact that he has been struck down with this dreadful illness shows the unfairness of life. He is a true gent and is an example to young footballers coming through as the very best they can be, rather than the very worst who tend to hog the headlines. Footballers would be a lot more attractive breed if more were like Fletcher than like Rooney, Tevez and Fabregas.

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