Since I first came onto the RBSC website, I've been frequently asked about Ricardo Fuller - and understandably so. Not just the small matter of how he is playing every week, but what life is like for him in general here in Scotland.
Well it seemed obvious that the best person to ask was Ricardo himself. So I did.
Infamous for his reluctance to give interviews, Fuller has kindly agreed to give me access to his life, to try and let you understand what it's like for him living as a professional footballer in a foreign land.
I hope to keep in touch with him on a regular basis and he can tell you himself how he's doing.
It's over 4 months now since Ricardo arrived in Edinburgh as an unknown quantity.
Here's what he had to say about his stay so far. . . .
I've been at Hearts since mid October but of course I was in England before that, so it's about three years since I lived in Jamaica with my mum. We stayed in St.Catherine near the beach, and I still miss my friends and the summers we would have together. There used to be around 20 of us, and we would play Nintendo or Playstation, or cycle down to Hellshire Beach to play football in the sand. I've only been back for a few days at a time since then but I still look forward to going there.
Ricardo shows off his SPL player of the month trophy. (Picture courtesy of Heart of Midlothian FC Magazine) |
My girlfriend works for an airline and she lives in Miami, so a lot of my time here is spent on my own. I don't mind that too much. I know I'm not here for a holiday, I have a job to do and I just want to play football.
When I first arrived I lived in a hotel in Edinburgh with Alan Maybury, another Hearts player. I couldn't understand a word anybody said, and Alan is Irish. But now the language isn't a problem and I understand it all. The boys at the club give me expressions to practice like saying "awright baby doll" - but they're just trying to wind me up!!
During my initial few days here I went for a walk along Princes Street. It's the main tourist street in the city and lies in the shadow of the castle. It reminds me of Halfway Tree Road in St. Andrew. I love to mingle with the people and enjoy just walking about, although nowadays I get recognised and stopped quite a lot. I like Princes Street, there's lots of good clothes shops there and the architecture is very nice. The pace of life seems slower in this city than in London, but I'm loving the lifestyle.
Anyway, the first time I walked along I went for about a mile. I was starting to wonder if I'd come to the right place as I didn't see one single black person. It concerned me a little. However, I shouldn't have worried. As I stopped looking so hard, I saw one or two black people and I've since found a good hiphop club where they play plenty reggae music and I feel comfortable there. Not once have I had a racist comment aimed at me, either on or off the pitch. Even the Hibs fans have been good to me and they are our greatest rivals. Although they tell me how much they hate Hearts they respect me as a player.
Now I'm living in a flat that is owned by the club, and it's smooth, but if I stay here I'm looking forward to getting my own place. I've even recently found a Jamaican restaurant so I go there quite a lot. It's not exactly home cooking but it's the closest I can get.
I've made a lot of friends amongst the other players and there are five of us that regularly go out - Alan Maybury, Scott Severin, Andy Webster, Kevin McKenna and myself.
Everyone here drinks pints and there is a big drinking culture in Scotland, although not many of my team mates consume much and I don't drink at all.
Alan, Seve and myself go to nightclubs, but we just go to listen to the music and watch the world go by. Sometimes we go bowling, to the cinema, play snooker or pool, or go to the gym in the afternoons. I train even when I'm on a rest day and go running around the hill at the back of the flat.
It wasn't so pretty at first because I didn't know any of my players and they didn't know me. It took about three games to get to know everyone, but now it's bearing fruit and I love the club and everything that goes with it. If I had to leave Scotland now, and could only take one thing with me, I'd take Hearts. The whole set up is great, the players, the organisation, the facilities and the fans. I'm so grateful to the club for giving me a chance, I'll always remember that. I have a lot to thank John Harvey for. He's the head scout and he convinced Craig Levein to give me an opportunity when nobody else would. After a life threatening injury, I'm just happy to be playing and although I'm not yet back to where I was pre-op, I'm definitely improving. This chance has given me aggression, confidence and an eye for goal again. I really want to stay at Hearts and I hope the clubs can work something out. Eventually I want to play against the best players in the world, whether that's in Spain, Italy, England or wherever. But for now I want to be a hero at Hearts (you already are Ricardo!).
Sometimes I sense when I'm going to score in a game but I keep it to myself. Even if I don't score the most important thing is that the team wins. There are very few Jamaican players who have played in Europe so should Hearts qualify and I'm still here, that would be a wonderful experience.
I love this club, and the fans have been amazing. They send me letters and cards, and I get requests from all over the place asking for photographs and autographs. It's such an honour that the supporters have gone out and bought Jamaican flags. It honours not only me but my whole country, and when they sing my name it boots me up and gives me extra strength to win. The club also fly the Jamaican flag above Tynecastle.
Football is such a tradition in Scotland, I don't think I could go back to playing in Jamaica. Although things have improved slightly, much more needs to be done. The system here is way ahead of our country, on a totally different level when it comes to coaching, structure, technology and facilities.
The JFF need to put a proper youth system in place and build proper stadiums. The pitches just now aren't good enough and there's not enough of them.
Organisation regarding player wages needs to be more structured. If it wasn't for Renee Simoes we wouldn't even have got as far as we have now. He did a great job and endorsed the players with companies like McDonalds and KFC. For the first time, football became a real job and we have a lot to thank him for.
Carl Brown - I respect him. He's the coach and if he tells me to jump, I say how high. I'm not going to judge him. I just want to do my job, play football and serve God. Its all I've wanted since I was 4 and played barefoot in the street.
As for other Jamaican players coming to Scotland I'd encourage them to make the move. I'd say to them if you get the chance, grab it.
If there is one Jamaican player I'd like to have alongside me at Hearts it would be Christopher Nicholas. We've been friends since we were little kids and he lived just up the road from me. I know what we can do together and we won three tournaments one year. He attracts defenders too so it gives me a better chance of scoring. I'd welcome Kemo with open arms.
The only obstacles I've had since I came here have been with injuries to my knees and ankle. At the moment I might not be fit to play against Dundee United this weekend as my right knee is sore after taking so many knocks against Motherwell. If I don't play on Saturday I'm desperate to play in the derby against Hibs the following week (to be televised live on Sky).
I wouldn't say I've reached my highest point here yet. Winning the Player of the Month award in December was great, knowing that I'd been considered as the best player in the country at that time. I'm still not 100% and can't turn or show the speed I had three years ago, but it's getting there and I know what it will take to work towards my dream. I want to be like Diego Maradonna, he was such a blessed and fantastic player.
I sometimes do functions for the club, such as attending supporters dances. I enjoy them and have done a lot more than my contract states I need to do. I also do hospital visits and have been twice to the Edinburgh's Sick Children's Hospital. It's nice that I can make someone feel better. Things like that make you look at life differently, and appreciate that it could be yourself lying there. After all, you never know what's going to happen to you in the future. . . .
Email comments or future questions for Ricardo to : Lulu@reggaeboyzsc.com
