Harte 'baffled' as Kerr continues to ignore value of his left foot
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independe...issue_id=11590
IAN HARTE was ten days into pre-season training with Leeds when the call came. It was his agent. How did he fancy a move to Spain?
It wasn't Barcelona, Madrid, Deportivo or Valencia. It wasn't even Bilbao, Sevilla or Betis. It was Levante UD, the second team in the city of Valencia and they'd just returned to La Liga after more than four decades outside the top flight.
So he came to Spain, liked what he saw, signed a four-year deal and while his former friends at Leeds are suffering the onset of winter in gloomy East Yorkshire, we're sitting in a hotel lobby while the warm Mediterranean sun shines outside.
But it hasn't all been sweetness and light for Harte as his Ireland career, or what's left of it, remains under a cloud.
He acknowledges the quality of recent performances - Paris in particular - and singles out Israel as the dark horse in the group. The problem is that he hasn't been selected for the last three squads.
Does it hurt?
"What do you think?
"It's disappointing because I played in recent games. Against Australia I was on the bench, came on, created the two goals and we won 2-1. I scored in the Croatia game, so I think that when I've been in I've done well. But all of a sudden I've been forced out with no explanation."
It's the lack of communication from Brian Kerr that's most frustrating for him. In the summer he had to have a series of injections for a foot injury that he'd carried since the World Cup in Japan and Korea. It meant he missed the friendly games in England and Holland, but without it he'd have faced an operation and six to eight weeks out of the game, so he expected some understanding from the Ireland boss.
"I spoke to Brian to ask why I wasn't in the squad and he said the players who came on the trip in the summer did well and that was it. There were other players who didn't travel who are in the squad now, so I asked why was there one rule for me and one for the others, but he just said 'it's my decision'.
"I understand when players have come in and done well, that's part of football," added Harte, "but what I don't understand is that there are eight defenders in the squad and not one of them is left-footed. I could have stayed at Leeds and possibly been in his radar more, but I thought moving to Spain would improve me. I'm playing week in, week out in the top Spanish league against some of the best players in the world and there are two right-footed players (John O'Shea and Alan Maybury) battling for the left back position."
"I'm baffled," he says.
There's never been any falling out with Kerr. He describes his relationship with the boss as "fine", but he seems resigned to being left in the cold for the immediate future. "I know the reality before the squad even comes out now. I'm just disappointed."
But it's been a good start for Harte at Levante. His debut couldn't have gone better, scoring his side's first La Liga goal in 41 years as they drew 1-1 away to Real Sociedad. Since then results have been excellent.
"When I came to look around, I liked the ambition of the club. The owner spent a lot of money bringing certain players into the squad and he's very ambitious. He's looking for us to finish in the top six."
It's a tough league but he's convinced the quality in the team will firmly establish them in the top flight.
"When you look at some of the players in training, technically they're unbelievable. The top 10 is certainly in reach. We've got to be pleased with what we've done so far, but it's a long season and there's no point starting well and then fading."
He's also impressed with the style of football they play and, with former German international Bernd Schuster at the helm, they have an experienced and wily manager who knows La Liga well from his eight years as a player for Barcelona.
"He loves the ball on the floor. In England you're running full out for 90 minutes but here it's slower, more patient, passing the ball across the defence and taking your chances when they come."
Ian Harte's next chance at international level - if it ever arrives - will certainly influence the level of satisfaction he derives from what remains of his footballing career.
Andrew Mangan
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