Des walker where is he now

At 38, he was almost twice my age back then, and although it only seems like yesterday, over a decade has now passed since he retired.

Retirement is a difficult subject for many footballers — regardless of their achievements — and for Des that has proved to be the case. In truth, it is a question that Des Walker has still not answered. Most of his contemporaries have forged careers in coaching, management or the media, and those were avenues open to Des when he retired.

So why has one of the best defenders England has produced been driving a lorry for the past six years? Although he has endured a difficult relationship with football since retiring, his days behind the wheel are now numbered. And he is now taking his first tentative steps towards a return to the game. When I ring Des out of the blue to ask if I can interview him, he invites me to his house the following evening — an example of the generosity he regularly showed when offering advice and words of wisdom to young players such as myself all those years ago.

When I meet him — as it turns out he is staying with a friend until his house move is complete — he is the same animated and engaging character who speaks with an infectious passion about football, just as I, or anyone who knew him in his playing days would remember.

His young children are running around full of energy, and perhaps because of them, in one sense the intervening years have been kind: he still looks as lean and fit as he did when he was gliding across the City Ground turf. In another sense however, the years that have passed have been a challenge, with the hole that football left something he has struggled to replace, even to this day.

For every footballer that was their love and their dream. But the anxiety around his future hovered menacingly in the background, and slowly but surely, he began to withdraw from the world around him. But when I retired my way of dealing with it was just to stay away from it. Enquiry form [email protected].

Request a callback Speak to a member of the Motivational Speakers Team about booking the perfect speaker. Would you like to receive newsletters from The Motivational Speakers Agency? Would you like to receive newsletters? Yes No The Motivational Speakers Agency would like to keep you updated by occasionally sending you newsletters that include information about exclusive free events, showcases and entertainment at venues such as The Gherkin, O2 Arena and Wembley.

And, fan or not, everyone warmed to a funny-faced lad from Gateshead called Paul Gascoigne. There was, though, another top-class performer on display all those moons ago. Des Walker has had an intriguing career: signed at 17 by Brian Clough for Nottingham Forest, 'finished' 10 years later - after conceding a penalty to Marc Overmars while playing for England against Holland at Wembley - still going strong a decade later in Despite 18 months out and a spell in non-league football, Walker, now 37, is back at the City Ground captaining a side who look set to contest the Premiership play-offs.

Ignore the two goalkeeping Daves, who are still operating at Brighton and Arsenal respectively, and the last player still standing, following Gascoigne's sad exit from China, is the defender 'you'll never beat'. If you consider one of his former managers' take on him, this seems even more improbable. He was a cantankerous bugger.

To think that he is still playing now is testament to him. He is a magnificent survivor. Which is not surprising when you consider that in 20 years at the top, this is only his second interview. Walker is late. But, after five months and finally agreeing to talk only after being cornered in the Forest car park, it hardly matters.

True to his elusive nature, when the wiry defender does appear, his opening line is unexpected: 'Just a word of warning, I don't want any Martin Bashir-type interview techniques. As well as the laugh, you notice the twinkle in his eye, although like any sportsman who has been a long time at the top there are glimpses of hurt pride and regret.

At his peak, Walker was class. Yet at 27 he disappeared - faded from the England scene and, to a large extent, the game's consciousness. In the time it took Overmars to ghost past him in , his position as England's premier defender vanished.

And that was more or less it as far as England were concerned. He featured in just six more internationals. From his first appearance under Sir Bobby Robson against Norway in to his last against San Marino in under Graham Taylor, the lad from Hackney missed only two internationals. Then, a touch surprisingly, he was never granted a recall.

After a long absence away from football, Walker eventually took his UEFA coaching badges and joined Championship side Derby County in in his current role as an academy coach. The football gene is clearly strong in his family as he has two sons currently playing professionally, Tyler who plays for Coventry City and Lewis who is on the books at Queens Park Rangers.