Matt Jarvis was called up to England squad after Fabio Capello watched him score this stunning goal for Wolves
Matt Jarvis has spoken to RadioTimes.com about the famous Wolves goal that caught the eye of Fabio Capello and earned him an England cap.
Matt Jarvis has spoken about his England call-up in 2011 after Fabio Capello watched him score a wonder goal in a local derby.
The former Wolves favourite was speaking as a live guest on RadioTimes.com's Football Times podcast about the current England setup, his own experience in the national team squad, and his rollercoaster career as a flying Premier League winger.
Jarvis enjoyed five terrific seasons with Wolves before injuries hampered the remainder of his career with West Ham and Norwich.
The 34-year-old – who still plays for local side Woking FC – spoke with a smile about one of his first chats with then-England manager Capello and the moment of magic that earned him a place in the squad.
He said: "It was a fantastic experience for me – Capello was the manager.
"Basically when I got there he was like, 'Are you pleased to be here?' I was like, 'Of course, absolutely delighted!' and he said the goal I scored against Villa – it was a volley 1-0 in a local derby – he said, 'That goal got you in.'
"He said, 'You were close, I didn't quite know but that goal got you in the England squad.' That'll do nicely – amazing!
"I also remember warming up during the game, it was the second half and I'm out running up and down the touchline looking back like, 'Come on' waiting for the wave to come back.
"I just remember turning around and getting that. That was it, I sprinted down the line back to the bench, shirt off, shirt on, 'I'm ready, this is going to be absolutely amazing' and, yeah, I remember walking onto the pitching just going ,'I've done it, no-one can take that away from me. I've played for my country'.
"Then you go into football mode and carry on, but that moment of walking on, I've lived my dream, amazing."
Wolves players have rarely featured in England squads in recent times.
The last player to play for the Midlands side and England prior to Jarvis was legendary striker Steve Bull, and the only player since Jarvis is new boy Conor Coady.
The current Wolves captain is highly regarded by those at Molineux and his reputation is steadily growing among neutrals.
Jarvis spoke about his own first experience in the England squad ahead of his debut – a 1-1 draw in a friendly against Ghana at Wembley in 2011.
He said: "It was absolutely amazing. I remember doing an interview saying it was like the first day at school.
"I obviously played against all of them, I knew them just to play against, I didn't really know any of them personally.
"When I got there everyone had been in the squad so many times before, they're all chatting away and I walk in like, 'Hi...' and where do you go and sit on the bus?
"Everyone's got their own seat, because everyone's used to it!
"But they were fantastic with me, got me straight into the team as such and straight into playing table tennis or whatever it was at the training ground to pass the time."
Jarvis went on to discuss Coady and more during the special episode of the Football Times podcast.
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Authors
Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.
