Hargreaves returns home to Germany determined to make lasting impression

Bayern's holding midfielder has marked many of the world's top players. Sam Wallace talks to an Englishman abroad

If Mark Hughes had been more persuasive in that phone call five years ago, Owen Hargreaves would have had this summer off. He could have watched the World Cup from his beautiful home in the Munich suburb of Grunwald, he could have visited his model girlfriend Janelle who studies in Florence. Or he could have done whatever else it is Welsh internationals do when there is a major tournament on.

Instead, this son of an English father and Welsh mother who was raised in Canada and given his football education in Germany took the tough route. He chose to play for England and now, at his second World Cup, could be forgiven for wondering whether it was worth the hassle.

There were jeers when Hargreaves, 25, came on against Hungary, a dreadful response to a player who could walk down most high streets in England unrecognised but has a seriously impressive collection of medals. One European Cup, four Bundesliga titles, three German Cups and a World Club Championship is a tally that stands comparison with any in the England camp.

Not that Hargreaves is complaining. He is a thoughtful soul for whom the Premiership footballers' slang sounds odd in his transatlantic accent and he bears no grudges. When Hargreaves' father, Colin, changed jobs he moved the family to Calgary and was about to dispatch his son for a trial at Liverpool when Bayern Munich intervened. As he was born in Bolton, the reception for Hargreaves at Old Trafford will have been hard for Colin to take.

"I think that's [the jeers] inevitable, in the sense of me playing in Munich," Hargreaves said. "My background is very different from all the other players. I knew that was eventually going to happen. A couple of years ago we were playing Champions' League regularly against English teams, we drew Manchester United a lot back then. Year in, year out the fans and the press saw me.

"When I left Canada for Bayern, people said, 'You'll never make it. You'll be back in a year.' I stopped going to school because I said, 'I'm going to do this.' They said, 'You've got no chance.' My teachers, friends and other people were very sceptical. "It was the same at Bayern, they said, 'He's got no chance.' I've always had people who are sceptical and I like to think I've proven them wrong."

Hargreaves has always been open about his desire to move to the Premiership although he said that Arsenal, in 2001, and Tottenham, more recently, have been the only firm enquiries - the first was blocked by Bayern, the second he turned down himself. His wages have been a major stumbling point and, as he says, "After winning the Double two years in a row, it would be difficult to leave just to go to any club in England".

Injured for much of this season - he had a groin operation - Hargreaves is a player schooled at the highest level. In the holding midfield role, in which he was deployed against Hungary, Hargreaves has been through the card in terms of marking the world's élite - Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Pavel Nedved and Rafael van der Vaart. Certainly more than Michael Carrick, who has never even played in the Champions' League. Although Hargreaves is perceived as playing in front of the back four - Bayern's Claude Makelele - he in fact does the defensive duties as one of two central midfielders, alongside Michael Ballack, who joins Chelsea this summer, or occasionally at full-back. When Sven Goran Eriksson came to watch him last month against Stuttgart, Hargreaves' midfield partner was Roque Santa Cruz, the Paraguayan striker hoping to be fit for Saturday's Group B match.

Eriksson has told his coaches that if England play Brazil, Hargreaves is the man to take care of Ronaldinho. "It's tough to say, 'Deal with him', and I've played against everyone in the Champions' League," Hargreaves said. "Zidane has been the best. I think that with my athletic ability people can't really get past me - because of my pace. Obviously Ronaldinho is the man of the moment. In football you have to challenge yourself against the best.

"Every player adds their own dimension and mine is probably my athletic ability. I've played against a lot of big players and in those games I've been successful. That's possibly why people see me in that role. Defensively that's what I do best - win tackles, lay the ball off. I've played against Figo, Zidane, Van der Vaart. It's great to play against a key player. To play against Ronaldinho would be a great opportunity. That's a strength that I bring to our team.

"He [Eriksson] watched me against Juventus when I man-marked Nedved, we won and played well. Afterwards, he was surprised that I'd played as a man-marker. He asked me what my role was. I'm not sure he's a big fan of man-marking. To keep an eye on someone is difficult now in international football, just to set up one against one."

The Champions' League, the Bayern contract and his second World Cup finals is not a bad return for a man who first played for a club whose name, the Calgary Foothills, hints at the mediocrity of football in that part of North America. He was spotted by Thomas Niendorf, a scout from the former East Germany, who had links to Bayern. One of Hargreaves' two older brothers, Dan, was offered an apprenticeship by Bolton but had to quit with a knee ligament injury.

Hargreaves himself took his chance gloriously. He joined Bayern in July 1997 and broke into the first team in August 2000, playing in the semi-final and final of the 2001 Champions' League as a callow 19-year-old who performed impressively. Bayern beat Real Madrid and then Valencia 5-4 on penalties in the final at the San Siro. As a German-trained Englishman, Hargreaves proved a mean marksman from the spot in training last week. "I was 19 and the penalty shoot-out went on for ages - there was just me and Carsten Jancker left to take one," Hargreaves said. "He was 26 and I thought I should be respectful so I said, 'You can go next'. He looked at me and said, 'Forget it'."

After that match, Arsène Wenger made an enquiry but was told by Bayern that they did not want to part with their new asset. Then, in 2004, when Eriksson could not seem to leave his house without meeting up with a representative of Chelsea, it was understood that the Swede would make Hargreaves one of his first signings. But, five years on, Hargreaves is still in Germany.

Since our last interview two years earlier, it seems Hargreaves has changed and is more comfortable with life at Bayern. Nevertheless, the World Cup will be crucial in reminding English clubs of his potential and he offers an insight into the German psyche that seems to be so well-suited to major tournaments.

"Last time I played against Germany was in Munich [2001, England won 5-1] and that cost me my starting place with Bayern for a couple of weeks," Hargreaves said. "They got over it. They must have because I heard some of the lads saying, '[Oliver] Kahn and Ballack fancy their chances against you'. I am not sure if they're being honest. They are confident but not many teams, when they look at our squad, would like to play us."

Hargreaves has done "50 interviews" for the German media on the possibility of the host country playing England in the second round, which will happen if one nation finishes first and the other second in their group. Let's hope he did a better job of listing his favourite aspects of life in Germany, which last week he described as "brilliant for things like the airports and the roads". Then a pause. "They are famous for their organisation," he added.

The Germans, he said, are worried about the standard of their squad. The irony is that they would cherish the chance to pick Hargreaves, as would Wales. But, despite being born in Calgary, the man is English and England would do well to start appreciating him more.

Man to man Hargreaves' midfield duels

* Pavel Nedved (33, Juventus)

The Czech Republic midfielder, who has now been coaxed out of retirement by his country, scored the winner against Bayern Munich in the Champions' League in October 2004. He was marked by Hargreaves in the return leg in November that year and, although Juventus won 1-0 again, was kept more subdued.

* Luis Figo (33, Internazionale)

Hargreaves famously came into the Bayern team for the second leg of the 2001 Champions' League semi-final against Real Madrid. Leading 1-0 from the first leg they won 2-1 at home.

* Zinedine Zidane (34, Real Madrid)

Hargreaves has faced him four times in the Champions' League, in 2002 and 2004. Lost two, drawn one, won one is the Englishman's record.

* Roy Keane (34, Celtic)

Hargreaves faced him playing against Manchester United in the Champions' League second group stages in 2001-2002. Both games ended in a draw.

* Rafael van der Vaart (23, Hamburg)

The Dutch playmaker is a regular opponent for Hargreaves in the Bundesliga.