He’s been called the Chuck Norris of football. He’s referred to as a lord and “The Powerhouse”. Likened to “a blunt instrument with which to bludgeon defenses”, Emile Heskey changed the way we viewed the forward position during his playing days.
Heskey burst onto the scene with Leicester City back in 1994, and he reached his pinnacle with Liverpool during the 2000-01 season after scoring 14 Premier League goals in 36 matches.
Hesky’s career would span 15 additional years, during which he only ever reached double digits in scoring on one occasion. He hung up his boots after the 2015-16 season, having scored 2 goals in 30 matches for Championship side Bolton Wanderers.
Many belittle his international return of seven goals in 62 appearances for England, but the 6’2’’ striker is better known for the work he put in for his striking partners.
“Forwards are judged on their goalscoring,” Heskey has said. “But I like to think I bring a lot more to the game and I do get pleasure from assisting.”
Toward the end of his career, it was noted that he was still a better defender than Cristiano Ronaldo and was better at heading than Lionel Messi.
He was an icon of the English game. Don’t believe me? You don’t have to take my word for it.
Emile Heskey retired from international football 6 years ago today. My broken heart has never quite fully mended.
— Game of Throw-ins (@GameofThrowIns) July 15, 2016
Unpopular fact :
Emile Heskey has more premier league goals than Didier Drogba— ㅤ (@GuardiolaFlair) July 12, 2016
OMGGGGGGGGG. Emile Heskey
— Ram (@machiramc) July 10, 2016
Has he never heard of Emile Heskey? https://t.co/pkxufmOZau
— Marcher Lord (@MarcherLord1) July 10, 2016
The 38-year-old target man has now landed in the States, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have rightly given him the honor of throwing the first pitch before an ol’ ballgame at Dodger Stadium.
Yes, it's a baseball. Photo: @MailSport | Twitter
The easy joke would be to say he missed the catcher’s mitt. The correct interpretation is that Heskey set Dodger’s pitcher (and Liverpool fan) Brandon McCarthy on his way towards three scoreless innings of pitching. He’s selfless like that.
Follow me on Twitter: @ConmanFleming
