459 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
459 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sport
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football
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teams
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england
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8408400
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-----
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# We will make sure we win, says John Mensah ahead of Ghana's 'special' game
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against England at Wembley
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## Tuesday night, Wembley: the captain of his national team leads his players
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out on to the pitch under the floodlights. It is an historic occasion and,
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with his family in the stands and friends he has known since his teens in the
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team, an emotional one.
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![We will make sure we win, says John Mensah ahead of Ghana's 'special' game
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against England at Wembley][1]
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National pride: John Mensah tries to block a shot from Diego Forlan at last
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summer's World Cup Photo: AFP
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[![Duncan White][2]][3]
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By [Duncan White][4] 11:00PM GMT 26 Mar 2011
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[Follow Duncan White on Twitter][5]
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[Comments][6]
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No, not John Terry's first return to Wembley since his reinstatement but John
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Mensah leading his nation into their first game against England since
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independence.
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"I have not played at Wembley before," Mensah said. "I have a really good
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feeling about being captain for a historic game like this. I have lead this
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team at an African Cup of Nations and at the World Cup but this is special for
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me, for the players, for the people of Ghana."
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This game has been hugely anticipated in Accra and across the country. It is
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54 years since Ghana, then the Gold Coast, gained independence from Great
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Britain, becoming the first sub-Saharan country to do so. Bearing in mind
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Wembley used to be called the Empire Stadium, and its importance to Ghana is
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easy to grasp. It makes the tawdry internal politics of the England camp look
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rather small.
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"We have been speaking about this game for some time," Mensah said. "We know
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we have a big game ahead of us, but not just a big game. This is the first
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time we will play each other and because Ghana got its independence from
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England this is a historical match. It will not be easy. We respect England.
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But we will make sure we get the victory.
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"What happens if we win? Accra will turn upside down! No, all of Ghana will
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turn upside down! When we were at the World Cup we would speak to our
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relatives and they would tell us stories of what was happening back home. When
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we won games, people went crazy with joy. People were dying. I'm serious.
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Every time we won, a lot of people would die. Many of them would be overcome
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with joy and do crazy things, drive all over the road.
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## Related Articles
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* [England player ratings][7]
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26 Mar 2011
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* [Bellamy can provide spiky response after Bale blow][8]
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25 Mar 2011
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* [Hungary 0 Holland 4][9]
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25 Mar 2011
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* [Terry 'delighted' to have the armband back][10]
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25 Mar 2011
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* [McKinlay remembers Scotland v Brazil][11]
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25 Mar 2011
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* [Captaincy the reward for Ramsey's comeback][12]
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25 Mar 2011
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"You can say that this is one of the reasons we lost against Uruguay. When we
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played in that game it was like we were not meant to win. Maybe God did not
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want more blood to be spilled because of a football match."
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It is somehow hard to imagine any of England's players seeking to uncover a
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divine plan in World Cup elimination. For many of Ghana's players, though,
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Luis Suarez's infamous hand-ball, and the subsequent defeat on penalties, is a
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source of pride rather than bitterness.
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"That game in particular, when you see how the chances happened, that game was
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not for Ghana. If you see the chances we have, Suarez bringing the ball from
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the line, it was not meant to be. At the time we felt we could make it, we
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struggled, we fought but what God wants us to be is what we be. We must give
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thanks to God and next time we will have learned from our mistakes."
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Mensah's faith shapes his life. Since his childhood he has attended church and
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he is now a member of the congregation at the Methodist church in Ponteland,
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the village in which he lives on the outskirts of Newcastle. He has even
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brought over his Ghanaian pastor, John Bright Quashie, to come and deliver a
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sermon.
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"People got very excited by the way he preaches," he laughs. "When I was a
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kid, my mum used to take me to church. She would bring lots of gifts. We would
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go to the market and buy and prepare cassavas and yams, put them in a basket
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and I would carry it on my head to church. We would ask my mum why we should
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give this nice food to church when we also needed something to eat. We did not
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understand it.
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"That was the blessing my mum gave to me. When I grew up a bit I found a
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pastor and he became something like a godfather. He taught me a lot of things
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about God, true God."
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Outside thick fog is hugging Sunderland's training ground. This might feel an
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incongruous place for it, but Sunderland has become one of the key enclaves of
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Ghanaian football. Mensah is on a second season-long loan deal with an option
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to make the move permanent in the summer. Asamoah Gyan, the hero of the World
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Cup, was signed for a club record £13 million in the summer. Sulley Muntari
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joined on loan from Internazionale in January. The Black Cats are changing
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into the Black Stars.
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"It makes me happy to have them here with me," Mensah said. "I have known
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Sulley for a long time. In 2001 we went to Argentina together for the Fifa
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Under-20 World Cup. He was the heart of the team. There is one game I always
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remember, against Brazil. It was 1-1 and went into extra-time but then it was
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still the golden-goal rule so next to score went through. So we had a corner.
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Sulley crossed the ball and I headed it in. After that goal I collapsed and
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can't really remember much. Sulley was a very, very good player. Michael
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Essien was part of that team and so was John Paintsil."
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They lost in the final to a Javier Saviola-inspired Argentina but that was the
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first indication that this generation of Ghanaians were going to be special.
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Last year that group of players began to blend with those that won the same
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tournament in 2009 and have established themselves as the No 1 team in Africa.
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With Stephen Appiah having played little football in the last two years
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because of injury and a contract dispute with Fenerbahce, Mensah has emerged,
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at 28, as the team's leader. Like many of his team-mates he broke into
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professional football in Italy. He is from the gold-mining town of Obuasi and
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his path from there to European football was sudden.
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"It is an amazing story. There was an academy in Obuasi and by the grace of
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God the coach took me from 1,000 players to join it. He was Italian and would
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take us to Italy for matches. He then left for Accra to found a new academy
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and four months later I got a knock on the door of my family home. It was my
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old captain from Obuasi and he told me the coach had sent him to collect me.
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The next day I was in Accra.
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"One month later we had a tournament in Italy. In the first game I played I
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got a contract from Bologna. Milan and Borussia Dortmund also wanted me but my
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coach said Bologna was a good club, not too big, good to develop.
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"They arranged my visa and soon I was training with the team. I was 17, in a
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new country. I learned to speak Italian but it was difficult because I kept
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moving to different clubs on loan."
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After a short spell in Switzerland, Mensah moved between Genoa, Chievo, Modena
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and Cremonese before, in 2006, playing in Ghana's first World Cup and moving
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to Rennes where his reputation soared. Both Reading and Portsmouth tried to
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sign him before Lyon bought him for €8.4 million (£7.38 million). Throughout
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his transfers and injuries he has always found a haven with the national side.
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"The atmosphere in our camp is amazing. We all sing together, African music,
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songs from our childhood in Ghana. It is a way to bring us close, getting the
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tension out. It makes us feel strong.
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"When you join Ghana, you are not an individual, we play as a team. That is
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what has made us better than previous teams. Nobody is alone, everybody is
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together. You play first for the nation, then the team, then yourself. Our
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heroes are moving into the past - Abedi Pele, Tony Yeboah, Sammy Kuffour, Tony
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Baffoe - and we are taking their place.
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They made Ghana proud, so I thank God we can follow them."
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[X][13] Share & bookmark
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sure-we-win-says-John-Mensah-ahead-of-Ghanas-special-game-against-England-at-
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Wembley.html
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Telegraph
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## [England][18]
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* ### [Sport »][19]
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* ### [Football »][20]
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* ### [Premier League »][21]
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* ### [Sunderland »][22]
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* ### [Football News »][23]
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In sport
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[![Fabio Capello will not call Rio Ferdinand about captaincy before
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announcement of England squad to face Switzerland][24] ][25]
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### [Capello silent on captaincy][25]
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[![Footballers who have turned down England][26] ][27]
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### [Not thinking of England][27]
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[![England's World Cup 2018 bid team have now lost the moral high ground
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too][28] ][29]
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### [England bid team have lost moral high ground, too][29]
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[![Cardiff provides the perfect breeding ground for Fabio Capello's quiet
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revolution - ashley young][30] ][31]
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### [Capello's quiet revolution][31]
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Share:
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* [ ][13]
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* [ ][15]
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* [ ][16]
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* [Tweet][17]
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* FOOTBALL IMAGES
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Latest England team images from World Cup 2010.
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Advertisement
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[1]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01857/john-
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[2]:
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[6]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/8408400/We-
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will-make-sure-we-win-says-John-Mensah-ahead-of-Ghanas-special-game-against-
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England-at-Wembley.html#disqus_thread
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[7]: /sport/football/teams/england/8408986/England-player-ratings.html
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[8]: /sport/football/teams/wales/8407766/Wales-v-England-Craig-Bellamy-can-
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[10]: /8407730/Terry-delighted-to-have-the-armband-back.html
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Cup-1998-meeting.html
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[12]: /sport/football/teams/wales/8407582/Wales-v-England-Aaron-Ramseys-
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inspiring-comeback-from-horror-injury-marked-him-out-for-captains-role.html
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[20]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/
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[21]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-
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league/
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[22]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/sunderland/
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[23]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/news/
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[24]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01894/fabio-
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capello_1894274g.jpg
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[25]: /sport/football/teams/england/8510049/Fabio-Capello-will-not-call-
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Rio-Ferdinand-about-captaincy-before-England-squad-announcement.html
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[26]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01892/chris_sutton_1892895g.jpg
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[27]: /sport/football/picturegalleries/8507113/Footballers-who-have-turned-
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down-England-in-pictures.html
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[28]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01891/blatter_1891424g.jpg
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[29]: /sport/football/teams/england/8503745/Englands-World-Cup-2018-bid-
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team-have-now-lost-the-moral-high-ground-too.html
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[30]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01858/young_1858170g.jpg
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[31]: /sport/football/teams/england/8409713/Cardiff-provides-perfect-
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breeding-ground-for-Fabio-Capellos-quiet-revolution-after-Englands-defeat-of-
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Wales.html
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[32]: http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/imp.gif?client=ca-
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telegraph_uk_420x200&event=noscript
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[33]: http://disqus.com/?ref_noscript=telegraphuk
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[34]: http://disqus.com
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[35]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-
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league/8229445/Barclays-Premier-League-video-highlights.html
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[36]: #configurableTab_8257595
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[37]: #configurableTab_8120678
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[38]: #configurableTab_8255335
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[39]: http://jobs.telegraph.co.uk/?utm_source=TMG&utm_medium=CS&utm_campaig
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n=jobslink
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