About this episode

Ollie Watkins shares his transformative journey from lower leagues to scoring a pivotal goal for England, discussing his experiences and insights on football and mentality.

This is Ollie Watkins reflecting on a journey that very few footballers ever experience - opening up on going from League Two and non-league football to scoring one of England’s biggest goals in recent history. Chilling with Rio in his Airbnb, Watkins reveals why he still thinks about those early days every time he walks out for Aston Villa in the Champions League. Despite becoming one of the Premier League’s most consistent forwards, Watkins remains hugely grounded throughout this conversation - discussing the impatience that drove him early in his career, the responsibility he felt during Steven Gerrard’s time at Aston Villa and why Unai Emery completely changed the standards and mentality within the squad. There’s fascinating insight into the mentality of elite strikers too, including why Erling Haaland’s role is “so difficult”, how studying Ruud van Nistelrooy helped develop his instincts inside the box and why Harry Kane’s leadership is more about standards than shouting. Watkins also explains the challenge of being used as an impact substitute for England and reveals the voice note he sent to friends before his huge semi-final goal after growing frustrated on the bench. The…

People in this episode

Host: Rio Ferdinand

Guest: Ollie Watkins

Topics covered

• career journey
• football
• Aston Villa
• Champions League
• mentality of strikers
• England national team
• Premier League

Keywords

• Ollie Watkins
• football career
• Aston Villa
• Champions League
• Premier League
• England
• mentality
• strikers
• Steven Gerrard
• Unai Emery

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast page.