By Richard Laverty
26 Apr 2011 13:29:00
Robbie Savage, Derby County (Getty Images)
Related Links
Teams
Players
Robbie Savage is preparing for the final ever home game of his career this weekend when Derby County take on Bristol City at Pride Park.
Savage has always been a controversial figure in football but he is ready to show his softer side on Saturday and is prepared to go out in tears.
The Welshman told reporters: “I’m sure there will be tears. I think I will leave the pitch sobbing but I’m not bothered what people will think. People reckon that I’m a hard guy but they don’t know me. I can get very emotional and it will be one of the most emotional days of my life.”
The occasion will be particularly emotional due to the attendance of his father, who at one point attended all Robbie’s matches, home and away, until he was struck down with Pick’s disease in 2002. This will be the first game Savage’s father has attended since his illness.
Despite it not being Savage’s last career game, the last game in front of his supporters will be extra special, and he had no idea about his father’s attendance until his mother called him last week.
Savage continued: “She phoned in tears to tell me my father wanted to go to the game. For him to make the effort to see me play means so much.
“He’s always been there for me. When I was young, he worked all day in a factory, then he missed tea so he could come out to pick me up from football, getting home at 10pm. He’d do that day in, day out.
“He came to every single one of my games – he was the one person I could always rely on, no matter what,” he went on to add.
Savage started his career with the Manchester United youth team before making his way to Crewe, Leicester, Birmingham, Blackburn and finally Derby, as well as appearing for his national side 39 times.
Continued here:
Robbie Savage: People think I am a hard guy but when I retire I will leave the pitch in tears