5/10 Most difficult opponent

That’s a tough one but I would go for Tugay based on a game against Blackburn when I first broke into the team at West Ham. We were away from home and, to be honest, I was so young and had a bit of a chip on my shoulder — I thought I was better than I was. I saw his name on the team-sheet, looked at his greying hair when we ran out and that fooled me. For the next 45 minutes, though, he taught me a lesson in how to play and I got substituted at half-time! He was a few steps ahead of me all the time. I am so glad that happened to me because I learned more from that experience than in any win or good performance. I have played against top players — Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard — but that 45 minutes against Tugay still stands out as the toughest of the lot.

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