You would usually find the unsung hero of a team in defensive midfield, or maybe at full-back. They are the players who are a crucial part of that side’s success but are out of the spotlight, the water carriers. They are not normally the centre-forward, the traditional glory boys of football whose dirty work is usually done by others.
For Hal Robson-Kanu, the man who has made the lone striking role for Wales his own, that does not quite apply. The success of the team, who need only a point from their final two qualifiers – against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Andorra – to seal a place in next summer’s European Championship, could easily be put down to them having the most expensive player in the world, handily backed up by one of the better midfielders in the Premier League. However, while Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey take the headlines, players like Robson-Kanu are in many ways the embodiment of the Wales team.
This is a collection of players who, a couple of high-profile exceptions aside, are playing beyond their theoretical capabilities, and certainly above their reputations. And so it is with Robson-Kanu, who on the face of it might seem like a strange choice to lead the line for his national side given that he scored just one league goal for Reading last season, and has not found the net for Wales since October last year.
However, the recent 1-0 win in Cyprus was a good example of why Robson-Kanu is so valuable. Bale scored the winner with a magnificent battering header, but Robson-Kanu was man of the match. His running was tireless and unselfish, but it was how he made those runs, plus his neat flicks and smart use of the ball, that made him such an effective lone striker.
“I think you have to play a role in your team,” says Robson-Kanu. “It’s about work-rate and a lot of people might not see the set-up work that players do. Sometimes all the focus is obviously on Bale being the world’s most expensive player, but it’s an honour to play with players like that. You’d prefer to be playing with them than against them. It’s about linking the play, and about occupying defenders, and that’s what I’m good at.”
One of the keys to Wales’ success seems to be the club-like mentality fostered by the head coach, Chris Coleman, and his staff.
“They’ve knitted the group together really well,” Robson-Kanu says. “There’s a fantastic bond between the whole group now and everyone is willing to fight for each other and die for each other, and put everything on the line for getting results for our country. I think, in the past, getting called up and going to squads was a bit of a chore, but now it’s an absolute honour … everyone has been playing with each other for a long time now so we have that sort of club mentality and club feel.”
From an outside perspective, it’s always tempting to think of team spirit as a bit of myth, merely a symbol of success; it’s easy to believe you nurture spirit by winning games, rather than winning games because of the bond within the camp. However, Robson-Kanu thinks otherwise.
“I think if you’re winning games you will naturally have a good team spirit,” he says, “but the key to having good team spirit is when you face adversity, or when its not going your way you have to dig deep. In the Belgium game at home [Wales won 1-0] we were under immense pressure, and it was the team spirit that got us over the line. It was almost a nation’s spirit in the last 10 minutes, when the whole stadium began to sing the national anthem. We felt that.”
What’s even more unusual about Robson-Kanu’s role as a central striker with Wales is that it is not the one he plays every week for Reading. With players like Nick Blackman and Orlando Sa this season, plus last term Yakubu Ayegbeni and Pavel Pogrebnyak to compete with at club level, Robson-Kanu is often asked to perform a variety of roles, but with Wales he has a consistent job.
“With Reading there’s a lot more positional rotation, so sometimes I’ll be up front and sometimes I’ll play on the left and sometimes I’ll play on the right, and the gaffer [Steve Clarke] utilises me in that way. I think all the top players are flexible enough to be able to play in a number of positions and having that flexibility adds another string to your bow … but I know that my best position is as a striker and I know that’s where I’m most effective.”
It is almost as if Robson-Kanu has two careers running in parallel; at Reading he is usually in Clarke’s first-choice XI but is a pseudo-utility man, and last season he spent much of the time trying to stave off the vague threat of relegation. Yet with the national side he is a fixed part of it, a team that is on the verge of an achievement, about to achieve something that no Wales side have since 1958.
“International football is very different because a lot of teams sit in and you have to break them down, whereas in club football, teams can be a lot more open,” he says, noting that this has become more pronounced as Wales have won more games.
“They’re definitely not as willing to go head-to-head with us any more. Israel away is a prime example where they sort of sat in for the whole game and it was difficult to break them down. I think it’s just that respect that team will give us now, especially having beaten top teams like Belgium.”
You hesitate to use the phrase cult hero, but the Welsh fans seem to recognise what a big role Robson-Kanu plays. He even has his very own song, his name sung to the tune of Salt n’ Pepa’s Push It, to show for it. The song was started by the Barry Horns, a brass band who attend Wales games and, it seems, are very much appreciated by the players.
“For that song to be sung the way it was, at home and every game, is absolutely unbelievable,” says Robson-Kanu. “I mean, there was talk about it being like a cult. All the players were aware of it and have spoken about the band because it creates a great atmosphere, and in particular the last few games they have really showed their support. When we were against Israel at home I think they sang my name for almost 10 minutes straight.”
Robson-Kanu’s contract is up next summer and as Reading have not offered him a new one yet, it is possible that he will leave the club he has been with since he was 15.
As shop windows go, Euro 2016 will take some beating.
