Jordan Pickford: From Non-League Novice to World Cup Hero in Six Years

England’s Jordan Pickford saves a penalty during his team’s round of 16 victory against Colombia in the World Cup. (AFP)
England’s Jordan Pickford saves a penalty during his team’s round of 16 victory against Colombia in the World Cup. (AFP)
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Jordan Pickford: From Non-League Novice to World Cup Hero in Six Years

England’s Jordan Pickford saves a penalty during his team’s round of 16 victory against Colombia in the World Cup. (AFP)
England’s Jordan Pickford saves a penalty during his team’s round of 16 victory against Colombia in the World Cup. (AFP)

Jordan Pickford is not a man for false modesty and most certainly does not do self-deprecation. If his apparently supreme confidence seems slightly at odds with assorted accounts of the England and Everton goalkeeper as a quiet, almost shy, teenager it may stem partly from loan stints in the tough-as-teak non-league habitats of Darlington and Alfreton.

It did not take Pickford long to work out that self-assurance would constitute an essential element in his armory as he ventured out from Sunderland’s academy and strove to survive in a new, rough-around-the-edges “men’s world”. As the 24-year-old puts it: “I learned quite a lot from getting battered by fully grown blokes.”

Wayne Bradley, Alfreton’s chairman, retains happy memories of Pickford’s five clean sheets in 12 appearances during a loan spent covering for the injured Phil Barnes in 2013. Bradley was quickly struck by the contrast between the well-behaved teenager he met off the pitch and the formidable penalty area controller performing on it. “Jordan was a good lad,” he says. “He kept himself to himself and was a little shy. But when he crossed that white line it was all so different. He was so focused and so commanding. He was a class act.”

Alfreton, then in the Conference, represented the second stage of a loan tour which began at Darlington and would steadily transport Pickford up the League pyramid as he variously stopped off at Burton, Carlisle, Bradford and Preston.

After entering Sunderland’s youth system aged eight he progressed smoothly through the Wearside ranks until, in January 2012, he was judged ready for a taste of life at “Darlo”, where he started 17 games for what was then a seriously struggling Conference side.

Craig Liddle, Darlington’s manager, was operating under an acute threat of liquidation and a transfer ban but succeeded in obtaining special dispensation to recruit an emergency goalkeeper.

Options were limited but Liddle, now in charge of Middlesbrough’s academy, had a hunch he was making an inspired signing. “Darlington were under a transfer embargo, so we were only able to sign under-19s,” he recalls. “Without the embargo, I’d probably have gone for a more experienced keeper but I’d coached Jordan when I’d helped with Sunderland’s under-12s and, even at such a young age, it was clear he was a really special talent.

“Jordan was 17 when he came to Darlington and you worry about throwing a young kid like that in. But he fitted in well straightaway. He made his debut in front of about 7,000 people against Fleetwood. We lost 1-0 but, after about 10 minutes, Jordan piled through a crowd of players to catch a corner. I thought: ‘You’ll do for me.’”

Not that it was an easy posting. With Darlington in administration and seemingly super-glued to the relegation zone, Pickford conceded 11 goals in his first five games. “Jordan made mistakes but you expect that,” says Liddle. “The most impressive thing was the way in which he didn’t let the odd mistake bother him. In addition he wasn’t afraid to give lads almost twice his age an earful if he thought they were doing something wrong. He’d be yelling at the defenders playing in front of him; he certainly wasn’t frightened of them.”

Which is not to say his undeniable touch of arrogance was, or is, unhealthy. Pickford’s old friends at Sunderland speak of a character who, as if at the flick of a switch, morphs from ferociously competitive, sometimes downright moody goalkeeper to immensely likable, feet-on-the-ground north-easterner complete with a well-honed sense of humor.

“Jordan was always really, impressively, confident but, above all else, he was also a lovely, down-to-earth lad and he’s still the same character today,” says Liddle. “He hasn’t changed a bit.”

The three-month sojourn with Alfreton proved every bit as formative as those Darlington days. Indeed the no-nonsense reputation of the Midland club’s manager, Nicky Law, represented part of the reason Martin O’Neill, Sunderland’s manager, proved amenable to their request to borrow Pickford.

“Sunderland sent me Jordan because they knew he’d be tested,” said Law, Burnley’s head of youth recruitment. “They knew that with me young players didn’t have their bellies tickled, that they’d be told the truth.

“Jordan was different, though. He was raw but you could tell he ‘had it’. Not only special ability but the right mental attitude. A lot of youngsters are mentally frail. They think it’s all about wearing the right boots. But Jordan had a great attitude. Nothing fazed him.”

Alfreton were so impressed they attempted to buy him from Sunderland. “We tried to sign him when his loan ended but we didn’t quite make it happen,” says Bradley. “You can only wonder what might have been if we’d managed to get a deal done.

“To think he’s gone from Alfreton to playing in the World Cup as England’s No. 1 inside five years is incredible. It’s a credit to him but also to our club. We’re proud to have played a part in his progress.

“We never thought we’d see the day when a former Alfreton player would walk out as England’s first choice. We’re delighted for Jordan. We wish him all the luck in the world.”

The Guardian Sport



‘I’m Not Flirting with Any Team’: Marseille Coach De Zerbi Denies Exit Talks amid Tensions

 Marseille's Italian head coach Roberto De Zerbi reacts during the French L1 football match between Stade de Reims and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at Stade Auguste-Delaune in Reims, northern France on March 29, 2025. (AFP)
Marseille's Italian head coach Roberto De Zerbi reacts during the French L1 football match between Stade de Reims and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at Stade Auguste-Delaune in Reims, northern France on March 29, 2025. (AFP)
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‘I’m Not Flirting with Any Team’: Marseille Coach De Zerbi Denies Exit Talks amid Tensions

 Marseille's Italian head coach Roberto De Zerbi reacts during the French L1 football match between Stade de Reims and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at Stade Auguste-Delaune in Reims, northern France on March 29, 2025. (AFP)
Marseille's Italian head coach Roberto De Zerbi reacts during the French L1 football match between Stade de Reims and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at Stade Auguste-Delaune in Reims, northern France on March 29, 2025. (AFP)

Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi says he wants to stay on at the French league club and insisted Friday that he has not been contacted by other clubs despite reports of a player mutiny and interest from AC Milan.

Speaking during a conference Friday, De Zerbi said he is "not flirting with any team."

"At the moment I have no desire to leave," De Zerbi said. "My intention is to stay here for many years. Since it takes two to make a marriage, we still need to see a lot of things, and how we finish in the league".

Marseille has developed an attractive and effective style of play under De Zerbi but has been going through a bad patch of results, losing four of its past five matches. The team, however, remains in third place in the French league standings, in a position to qualify for next season's Champions League ahead of Sunday's match against Toulouse.

According to L'Equipe, De Zerbi has been facing criticism from his players, who are questioning his authoritative methods. The sports daily reported that De Zerbi was so angry with his team after a loss at Reims that he refused to run a training session this week, leaving it to his staff, and that the club's director of football had to intervene to diffuse the dispute as many players felt humiliated.

"I know when it’s time to hug my players and when it’s time to be a little stronger," De Zerbi said. "I’m not afraid, I’m ready to do anything for my job. That’s what I want to pass on to the team. I don’t want everyone’s approval, but everything has to be done at 100%."

Meanwhile, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that De Zerbi is now the favorite to take over at Milan, with Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte also considered for the job.

Since American owner Frank McCourt bought Marseille in 2016, the former powerhouse of French soccer has failed to find any form of stability, with a succession of coaches and crises that sometimes turned violent.

The club has changed coach 30 times since the beginning of the century, the highest total of any top-flight team in France in that period. The 1993 Champions League winner missed out on European qualification after finishing eighth in the French league last season.

Marseille dominated domestic soccer in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It is the only French team to win the Champions League but hasn’t won the domestic league since 2010.