Sharing his hopes: Rio Ferdinand talks to Sportsmail's Des KellyUpright, lean and rake-thin in a light grey summer suit, Rio Ferdinand strides into the room shaking hands and chuckling as he greets friends and wellwishers.
For a supposedly wounded, unfit crock who could jeopardise England's World Cup hopes, he appears to be uncommonly sprightly.
There are no discernible twinges of discomfort, no instinctive clutches at his troublesome back. In fact, the only hint of anything medical about his entrance is his footwear, which is so antiseptically white it must have been lifted from its box by carefully scrubbed hands just moments before he walked through the door
In short, England's captain looks a picture of pristine and robust good health.
The fact that this is considered a revelation means one thing - the World Cup finals are almost upon us, where each day brings news of broken metatarsals and snapped ligaments that have wrecked Fabio Capello's ambitions, only for the diagnosis to be downgraded to bumps and bruises after an appropriate period of wild panic.
Ferdinand has featured in most of these casualty bulletins, with some back-page headlines even predicting he will miss the tournament in South Africa because of his persistent back troubles.
Manchester United's elegant central defender has started just 12 league games this season and has rarely been up to the task of completing successive matches, so the pessimism about his prospects is understandable and rumours abound.
Ferdinand, however, is utterly resolute in his dismissal of the ‘Captain Crock’ label.
‘Listen, I’m fit,’ he says. ‘It has never even crossed my mind that injury would put me out of the tournament. My back troubles happened before Christmas, so I knew the time scale.
'There’s been a lot of frustration for me at my club and it’s been a disappointing season all round. But if there is any silver lining to be found, it’s that I’ll be fresh and full of energy at the World Cup.’
While this discussion does not constitute the most rigorous fitness test a player has ever endured, it’s the best examination I can do in an Italian restaurant that isn’t equipped with a quiet X-ray table for two in the corner. And Ferdinand passes every examination when it comes to the interrogation process.
Case for the defence: Ferdinand is determined to help England to World Cup gloryWould he try to edge himself into the squad, even if he was carrying a back injury? ‘No, I’d never put myself in a position where I was wearing an England shirt if I was less than physically ready,’ he insists.
‘This is the World Cup finals. You can’t play at the same level if you are carrying trouble around like that. I wouldn’t be doing myself or my country justice if I tried.'
So why am I reading that the Football Association have sent their doctor Ian Beasley specifically to examine you?
'I don't know where some of this information comes from,' he says, looking puzzled. 'I've not spoken to anyone from the FA medical staff in person. They talk directly to the physios and doctors at the club - and they do that for everyone in the England squad, not just me. Besides, our medical team at United would have no hesitation in saying I'll be OK for the World Cup.
'I've not played a lot this season, and I realise there'll be attention on that, but I'm fine. I woke up last weekend to stories saying I wouldn't be able to play against Stoke - even though I'd trained for 10 days without any issues.
'I played in a testimonial at West Ham, I trained the day after that. I trained on the Saturday before United's last game and went out and put in 90 minutes against Stoke wi thout any problems. There was no reaction. Nothing.
'But some things get written anyway and you end up having to laugh at it if you can.'
Ferdinand: Aiming for World Cup glorySo what exactly has been wrong? When I quizzed one top football figure last week, he pointed to a vague area near the kidneys and muttered "back trouble - very hard to fix".
Ferdinand was more specific: 'In layman's terms, the ligaments in my back were loose and needed to be tightened up. It was affecting my stability. And when the procedure was complete, I had to wait for the area around them to heal.
'Before, my mobility was probably 50 per cent less than it should have been. Rather than keeping playing on, I had to take a step back and do all my rehabilitation. That's all done now and I feel good.'
But news that Capello has lured the Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher out of self-imposed international exile is being viewed as more evidence against Ferdinand's state of readiness.
Add that John Terry has also taken a knock this week and the defensive bedrock of England's trophy challenge is being viewed as suspect and fragile.
'If you believed some of the stuff, we've gone from having an array of centre halves who are among the best there is, to having people who aren't fit, out of form and who shouldn't even be going - well, it's just not true,' he says.
'We're talking about players who, a matter of months ago, were dead certainties to get into any team in the world, let alone the England side. And they still are.
That's what a World Cup brings, it hypes up opinions, it puts individuals under the microscope and sometimes issues get blown out of proportion.
'A few players, like Wayne Rooney for instance, are carrying niggling injuries now, but they will be all right because they have time to recover.'
So what about gatecrashers like Carragher? Surely there must be a ripple of resentment in the England camp that an individual who opted out of the arduous qualifying campaign is going to roll up at the big summer party?
'If he's there to do a job, then I'm happy,' says Ferdinand. 'As long as we win I don't care. You can stick Father Christmas at the back alongside me at the last minute if it works. We want the right people at the right time for the trophy. End of story.'
I very much doubt that, but it's time to move on. Choking might be a risk since the veal escalope and pasta have arrived, but I suggest meeting up with the Chelsea contingent so soon after surrendering the title might be an unappetising prospect, particularly as Terry had said he was going to make the United players 'suffer'
Way back when: Ferdinand on his England debut against Cameroon in 1997'Yeah, well, it is bloody painful,' he said. 'The moments when you lose stay in the mind longer than when you win. But there isn't that kind of mickey-taking between the players. I'm a seriously terrible loser. If a player started bragging, I'd take that badly.
'When fans say stuff there are times when you have to count to 10 and remind yourself you're in the public eye, otherwise you'd be tempted to go ballistic.
'But in the changing room the lads respect that you care and they know it's a touchy subject. When Terry missed the penalty and we won the Champions League in Moscow (in 2008), it was barely mentioned. In fact, JT broke the ice by offering his congratulations.
'We'll do the same when we meet up in the England camp. We'll say "Well done" through gritted teeth - and then it's on to the World Cup.'
And what a prospect that is. Ferdinand could be the only Englishman to lift football's Holy Grail since Bobby Moore collected the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1966. As an occasional film producer himself, surely he has run that feelgood movie in his head?
'The titles come up - but I don't let it get to the first scene,' he admits. 'The thought that it's bad luck stops me dead. I've always had a default setting that stops me becoming too involved.
'When England played Brazil in 2002 I forgot that. Someone was shouting my name and pointing up to where my Mum, Dad, brother and friends were sitting. I looked and got teary. I started to get overemotional and I didn't really concentrate on the game enough. It actually cost me some of my focus and I didn't play as well as I should have.
'From that day, I've sworn to never get too wrapped up in possible scenarios. You just concentrate on playing and then deal with the outcome later. I switch straight off.'
Agony: Ferdinand after England's World Cup defeat against Brazil in 2002That approach will suit England manager Capello, a man not known for his outbursts of sentiment or emotion. While he sacked Terry as captain, Ferdinand discovered he had inherited the armband when watching the television.
So what sort of relationship does the new skipper have with his England boss and how does the Italian compare to Sir Alex Ferguson?
'Capello doesn't get too close, which is good in my view,' says Ferdinand. 'It's not healthy when the players become comfortable around the manager. Sir Alex has a laugh, but he knows when to stop.
'And I don't think any of us truly knows Ferguson or what he really thinks about certain things. He keeps the gap between him and us. Capello has got that element right as well.
''There's no special favours for anyone. Everyone is treated the same. There is no "I" or "me", there is "us" and "we". Capello is really strong on that.'
Of course, Capello has done his best to ruin that perception with a horribly misjudged commercial deal to rate players via a website, subsequently blocked by the FA. When I invite Ferdinand to give his views on the issue as the story emerges after our lunch, he cannily decides to keep his counsel until he knows more of the facts.
But this is the start. This is the time when World Cup madness truly begins to kick in. As England captain, he will be asked if England will win the World Cup?
He has three possible answers. Say 'yes' and he is accused of arrogance and the remark will be thrown back if England do not lift the trophy. Say 'no' and he is wrecking morale. Try 'We can win the World Cup' and it is going to appear in most places as 'We will' regardless.
Bearing all this in mind, what's the captain's prediction for South Africa? 'I said "We can win it" in Germany and then again in Japan and we f****** well haven't done it either time, so I'm not going down that road again,' he laughs.
Flat out: Ferdinand (floored) is consoled by Martin Keown after England's capitulation against Brazil in Shizuoka'But we have excellent players. England just haven't been able to pull it all together. Whether that's down to the managers not getting the best out of the team, or the players themselves not being able to become more than individuals, I don't know. But we can't let it happen again.'
History beckons and Ferdinand is aware of its significance. When I ask him to recall his first World Cup memory, he starts reciting chunks of the commentary that accompanied Diego Maradona's wonder goal against England in 1986.
'I was lying on our horrific multi-coloured sofa,' he says. 'There were 18 people around at the house in Peckham. I don't remember the handball goal at all, funnily enough. We just went out the back on to the green by Leyton Square adventure playground and all pretended we could dribble like Maradona.'
Now 31, this will be Ferdinand's fourth World Cup finals. In France in 1998, he was an understudy. By Japan he was establishing his reputation on the world stage with smooth, confident performances. In Germany 2006 he was experienced enough to form strong opinions about how a successful camp should not be run.
'In Germany our hotels were more central than Japan and we could see the squares packed with people partying and drinking beer. Japan was a lot more businesslike, because we were away from all that. I hope it's the same in South Africa.
Greats of the game: Ferdinand is managed by both England boss Fabio Capello and Manchester United's legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson'No distractions, no wives, no girlfriends. We're not allowed time with family or friends before club games. We relax among each other and that's how it needs to be at the World Cup. It's almost like a boxer's training camp.
'I want to lock myself away, not think about how much it must mean to everyone. You have to create an environment that seems normal. In the back of your mind you know it's going completely crazy in England, but you try to forget that.'
For a man who seeks to spurn distractions during tournaments, he has plenty to occupy his mind at home. We are eating in his lavishly appointed Manchester restaurant, Rosso, he has his own fashion range and a quarterly style magazine called #5 and, before our meeting, he signed a contract to become an ambassador for the Jaguar Academy of Sport and help their search for new British talent.
His new XJ is on order in return. Life is clearly good, but Ferdinand retains a friendly ordinariness that makes him very likeable company. Although he has had his scrapes in the past, a missed drug test chief among them, he is an infinitely more mature character these days.
'I still trust people,' he says. 'I've had a few tricky moments in my time, but I'm about as open as you can be as a footballer now. I'll sign stuff and do photos for people. But I won't do glossy magazines like Hello! and OK!
Flaring up: Ferdinand faced fireworks in the Dnepro Arena in Ukraine - but he refuses to court the glossy magazines'I didn't sell my wedding or the honeymoon. It's just not me. I got offered a lot of money (in the background, there is a yelp of pain from his agent Jamie Moralee as he recalls the lost percentage) but you have a wedding for your family and your friends, not for anyone else.
'Besides, it's not very cool, is it? Some of the other lads do it - and I'm not judging anyone else - it's just not me.'
As we leave, he poses and signs for anyone who asks and is remarkably patient with every request. He says: 'I know what it's like to be knocked back by a footballer when you ask them to sign something. It happened to me. This player said he'd give me his autograph and then just walked away and got on the bus. He left me standing there.
'Years later, when I got in the England squad I went straight up to him and reminded him of that day. That kind of thing sticks with you as a kid - and I try not to do the same to others if I can.'
Imagine how many people would want the autograph of England's World Cup-winning captain? Ferdinand would love to find out.
Rio Ferdinand is an ambassador for the Jaguar Academy Of Sport. The academy
recognises, celebrates and inspires the best of British sporting talent and provides resources and support for the next generation of stars.
source:dailymail
