Calling Ian Rush a footballing legend might actually be an understatement. Despite retiring over a decade ago, the St Asaph native remains both Liverpool FC's all-time leading goalscorer (346 goals in all competitions) and record goalscorer for the Wales national team (28 goals). We caught up with Rush during a visit to Shanghai to promote Liverpool FC's new Chinese-language website, announced at a press conference Tuesday.
That's Online: How optimistic are you about Wales’ chances in Euro 2016 after another disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign?
Ian Rush: Yeah, disappointing. But [Wales manager] Chris Coleman has got two years now to try and turn it around. There are 24 teams qualifying for the Euros, so that gives us a good chance. The hardest thing is that we’re seeded third or fourth now, which is disappointing, we’d rather be seeded higher. It all comes down to the luck of the draw in the end. Obviously it’s going to be difficult, but we’ve got great potential, if we get a bit of luck with the draw, hopefully we can sneak through.
That's: Do you have high hopes for Coleman moving forward?
IR: I think you’ve got to. The players are there and he’s looking to improve [the squad], but it’s no good just having great individuals, which has been the case in the past, if you don’t gel as a team.
That's: In their write-up of the World Cup qualifiers, the BBC commented that what Wales need is a “new Ian Rush” to score goals.
IR: Wales have got [Gareth] Bale and [Aaron] Ramsey, they’re great individual players. But they're looking for an out-and-out goal scorer, you can’t rely on Ramsey and Bale every time. There are good hard workers [in the squad], but you need someone to get you that goal at the right time. I think against the so-called ‘lesser teams’ where we’re expected to win, we’re not winning, and I think something has to change in that area.
That's: Is Gareth Bale at risk of becoming another Ryan Giggs, a world class player stuck in a mediocre side?
IR: That could happen, but at the end of the day we have to work to try and change that. He’s an extremely talented player, and being at [Real] Madrid will make him even better. I think for Wales it’s great that he’s gone there to play for a while because the experience he’ll have even in the first year will improve how he plays for Wales.
That's: Do you think he can raise the squad's quality?
IR: I think he can do on the day, I think his European experience – after a year in Madrid – I think he’ll be able to do that. International football is like European football, you need to be playing in a certain way. I think playing in the Champions League has helped Ramsey as well. The more European experience they can get, the better they’ll be for the country.
That's: How did playing for Juventus change you as a player?
IR: It changed me tactically, I think you’re a bit more aware when you’re playing. When I went to Juventus I came back a better player for my country, because obviously you learn an awareness of European football. I think English football is 100 miles per hour every time and European football is more slow, slow, quick, quick, so it’s knowing when to do that. I think you learn that when you’re playing abroad, when you’re playing in Europe. Playing in Europe for Liverpool helped me as well.
That's: Do you think that the rest of the Wales squad suffers somewhat because they lack that exposure to European football?
IR: Without a doubt. The experience of playing in Europe does help any player. Some of the [Wales squad] maybe lack that European experience, and that changes how they approach playing for the country.
That's: Was Bale worth his price tag?
IR: Well, they paid it. You can’t put that on the players, the clubs agree the fee and that’s what it is. For me last season, the two best players in the English Premier League were Bale and [Luis] Suarez. They were the best two players without a doubt.
That's: Speaking of Liverpool, why do you think the team has largely struggled to recreate its past successes in the league, even with some success in cup competitions or in Europe for a time, they still don’t do as well in the league?
IR: I think what’s happened with Liverpool is that we’re playing as individuals and not as a team. To be successful you need to play well as a team. I think some players come to Liverpool not realising how big the club is. The club is massive, and their expectations are that when you play for Liverpool you’re looking to play five out of six good games. Players have come playing three out of six good games, but the standards that were set – by Bill Shankley, by [Bob] Paisley – it’s a Liverpool standard and some people can’t cope with that because they realise they have to play well every single week.
That's: How have things changed since the change in ownership?
IR: I think things have changed for the better. Fenway Group are in it for the long run. You can see what they’ve done with the Boston Red Sox and they’re saying they see a similar path [for Liverpool], the supporters are the same, they’re very passionate and everything, they see this as a long process and they’ll spend the money to do that. It takes time, getting the right manager in, but they’ve seemed to have done that with Brendan. He’s had a year now, he knows the expectations. I think they’ve changed it for the good.
That's: The Boston Red Sox just won the world series, is there a chance that Liverpool might regain their own historical success?
IR: These things breed confidence. When you look at Liverpool Ladies, they won the league. They’re connected to the club for the first time now, and they’re bringing a winning mentality. Liverpool have had a good start to the season. Boston Red Sox winning, Liverpool Ladies winning, it would be nice to see Liverpool win now. I think realistically we’re still looking for a top four finish: European football is vital for the club.
That's: Do you see that happening this year?
IR: We’ve got a realistic chance. They’ve had a good start. We’ve got some really tough games coming up – Everton, Chelsea, Man City all away from home – so I think come January if we’re in the top four, and if Brendan buys one or two good players, then we’ve got a realistic chance.
That's: It helps that Suarez is performing so well at the moment?
IR: Last season, as I said, him and Bale were the best players by a long way. The expectation this year is very high [for Suarez], going out you know he’s going to score, he’s absolutely unbelievable at the moment. It just shows his commitment. People criticised him when he said he wanted to leave, but Luis Suarez is a street fighter – I think Wayne Rooney is the same – even if they were playing in Sunday league, they want to win. It doesn’t matter if they’re playing in front of 100 people or 100,000, you can see the fight in them, they want to win.
That's: Is this Liverpool’s last chance to keep [Suarez], if they don't finish top four is he on the way out?
IR: He’s looking for Champion’s League football, and hopefully he’ll get that with Liverpool. He would be a big loss if we did lose him, but if we can get back into Champion’s League football, that’s what he wants, and hopefully Liverpool can give him that.
That's: You’ve got the moustache again, but I hear you’re not super keen on it?
IR: I shaved it off in 2000, but they persuaded me, Liverpool persuaded me to grow it back. When I first came out to the far east, everyone was asking "where’s your moustache gone?", it’s weird. So I agreed to do it, but I can’t wait to get it off really, end of the month I’m getting it shaved off on LFC TV so that’s gonna be something. It’s strange really, I had it for all those years and to grow it back again is a little bit weird. Everyone thinks I’m dying it! So I just tell them I’m dying my hair grey.
That's: Do you follow Chinese football at all?
IR: I know Guangzhou [Evergrande] just won the Asia Champion’s League, and they could play Bayern Munich if they win a couple of games [in the FIFA Club World Cup], that would be a big boost if they could do that. Bayern Munich are most probably the best team in the world at the moment, so that would be a massive experience for [Guangzhou] if they can get as far as that. When you play a top team, even if you don’t win, it helps you know where to set your sites.
That's: What kind of fan base does Liverpool have in China?
IR: It was great when we went to Guangzhou [in 2011], and we want to come back again because it’s no good going and leaving, you need to craft a legacy. Obviously with the new website, LFC TV and everything, that’s what we’re looking to do. Especially for kids, kids like to be brought up with winning teams, and you risk losing a generation if you're not winning, so what we’ve got to do.
You can only live on the history of the club for so long, [in recent years] we haven’t been as successful on the pitch as we’d like to be, we can’t just keep living on the past, we’ve got to look to the future. We need to win trophies for the supporters, win the league again, that’s the aim. In the meantime you’ve got to keep on believing, we are a family club and families stick together, but you can only do that for so long. What we need now is to get it right on the pitch and hopefully with the new owners and the manager and the players we have now, we can do that.
Want more football? Read our exclusive interview with World Cup (and now Asia Champions League) winning coach Marcello Lippi.
Interview edited for length and clarity. James Griffiths is both Welsh and a Liverpool FC supporter.
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