“He was moving like he was Ronaldinho”
Wilfried Zaha has revealed the truth behind why he and Ravel Morrison were involved in a bit of argy-bargy during an England U21 match way back in 2013.
England’s under-21 side was filled to the brim with talent back then, with Zaha and Morrison just two of a long list of recognisable names in the XI: James Ward-Prowse, Raheem Sterling, Michael Keane, Luke Shaw, Nathaniel Chalobah and Jack Butland all started that night against Lithuania and have since gone on to make appearances for the senior team.
But it was Morrison, who has no senior caps to his name, who stole the show. For all his talent, the former Manchester United prospect has not fulfilled his potential, for many and varied reasons we won’t go into right now. But his confrontation with Zaha that night was a glimpse into the mentality issues that prevented him from reaching the heights he should have in the game.
Speaking to Total Media’s #OnTheJudy podcast, Zaha revealed that Morrison was showboating too much on the night, only passing the ball if he absolutely had to.
“He was just getting me mad,” the Crystal Palace forward explained.
Ravel Morrison in action against Sheffield United in the FA Youth Cup. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)“He was moving like he was Ronaldinho and the rest of us are just no-one.
“He’s getting the ball and just doing tricks the only time he passes it is if he really needs to. And we’re just stood there with our hands on our hips whilst he’s going past six Lithuanian players.
“It was just like, ‘What are you doing?’“
Zaha continued: “It was that easy. The team that we had, we had so [many good] players. And it’s like, we can all do that, we can all hog the ball and go past all of them and do whatever.
“But we’re trying to give a professional… Play properly.
“But he was just on his own thing and I just had enough.
“I was like, ‘What are you doing? We can all do what you’re doing right now, pass the ball bro.’
“And out of the blue he’s just pushed me. I’m like, ‘Are you dumb?’
“So I pushed him back or whatever, and it was just, you know, nonsense on the pitch, and when you go inside, a man’s silent.”
Zaha then suggested he was ready to continue this battle in the changing room, but Morrison had nothing to say.
“You’re trying to push man outside, like you’re on whatever, and when we go inside you’re just in your corner on your own thing,” he said.
“So I was like, ‘What the hell?’ It got me really mad because the rest of the team are playing normally, but he’s just doing tricks and whatever and then you push me out of the blue?
“Keep that energy when we go indoors.
“It’s not like I’m trying to beef people or whatever but it’s just like, ‘What are you on?'”
You can watch the full exchange here, at 31:30 onwards.
Zaha now plays for his native Ivory Coast at international duty after going four years without a senior England call-up, while Morrison now represents Jamaica.
