Teddy here for his son

Former England international and Manchester United star Teddy Sheringham had a glittering career, but his son Charlie is barely making a scrap out of the game. A non-league player in England, Charlie is now in Bangladesh playing for Saif Sporting Club in the Bangladesh Premier League. The fact that his son failed to make it to the upper echelons of the game hardly discourages Teddy.

The former England international, now Atletico de Kolkata coach, flew from the City of Joy to Dhaka yesterday to watch his son play.

“I'm very proud of the way he's conducted himself and what he's done in his career,” Teddy said of his son while talking to reporters at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

“He's done well to get where he is and I'm very proud that he's come out to Bangladesh to try his luck out here because it's not easy to do that. A lot of people would have shied away from that but he's come out here and put his neck on the line and I hope it works out well,” the 51-year-old, who was here on a one-day visit on invitation from Saif SC, said.

Charlie scored twice in his first four appearances for Saif SC, but failed to get on the scoresheet yesterday as his side lost the match. Like his son, Teddy's start to his coaching stint across the border hasn't been fruitful thus far as Atletico de Kolkata are currently bottom of the ISL table. Nevertheless, Teddy said he's enjoying his job in India.

“I'm really enjoying it. Things haven't gone fantastic in the first four games of the ISL season. I'm enjoying coaching the Indian boys and the foreign boys and it's been a fantastic experience in Calcutta,” said Teddy.

In his heyday, Teddy was a prolific forward for club and country. He appeared 51 times for the Three Lions and scored 11 goals while scoring 98 goals in 236 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur. He also scored 31 goals in 104 appearances for the Red Devils, becoming a fan favourite after scoring the equaliser in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich.

“People always ask me about the 1999 Champions League final. That was 17-18 years ago, but I still get asked about that three times a day,” said Teddy, who is the tenth leading goal-scorer in the history of the English Premier League with 147 goals.

While English clubs are doing well in European football, the national team's performance has taken a nosedive since the days of Teddy and Co. The former striker feels too many foreign players are having a detrimental impact on the national team. “English football has been helped by all the foreigners that have come across, but I also think that we have it wrong. We have too many foreigners and I think that's hampered the national team.

“I think we need to cut that down so our young players can grow. I think we have it right with the youth teams, with the U-17s, U-19s, etc. We're doing quite well with them and that holds us in good stead in the future,” concluded Teddy.