Gokhan Inler is an articulate, pleasant, well-mannered man whose five spoken languages indicate his considerable intelligence. Trusted with the captain’s armband by Switzerland, for whom he has won 83 caps, he also commands great respect from within football’s fraternity.
Yet his views on English football and reasons for deciding against a move to Germany and other European destinations for Leicester City hint at a win-at-all-costs approach on the field.
“Here, they fight and the referees sometimes don’t whistle,” Inler said. “In Italy they whistle all the time, maybe I like that about here.”
Before a £3 million move to the east Midlands this week, Inler has enjoyed a successful career largely spent at Udinese and Napoli in Italy and been involved in two World Cups. But the 31-year-old is all too aware that English football may present further demands on him, physically and mentally, and enlisted the help of Patrizio Oliva, the 1980 Olympic light-welterweight boxing champion, to help to get him in the best shape possible.
“Patrizio’s a friend of mine,” he said. “He says to me, ‘When you manage to hit me, you will get a lot of money!’ We do a lot of sparring. I decided to have a go just for a change. I haven’t managed to hit him yet. I was surprised — he’s very fast.
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“Boxing is good for the body, not just fitness but mentally as well. The first time I had a go I put all my energy into it straightaway — like I was stupid. I had no control. He just looked at me and said, ‘Why do you box like that?’
“He said that I only had to turn my body and that would give me more power. He taught me to go inside the zone and not to give up. Every player would do well to think like a boxer. It’s a team game but that mentality of being one-on-one like in boxing can be taken on to the pitch to win each battle that you get in.
“It’s a team game so it’s different, but everyone can say individually, ‘I am stronger than you’.
“Boxing, if you let your opponent know you are scared, it’s KO. Boxing helps you mentally and with your physical and mental stability.”
Signing Inler is the latest coup for Leicester, who persuaded Esteban Cambiasso, the 35-year-old Argentina midfielder, to ply his trade at the King Power Stadium last term. Claudio Ranieri, the Leicester manager who Inler knew from his time in Italy, played a significant role in the signing.
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“He researched me and we spent a lot of time talking and everything he said was very positive,” Inler said. “There were a lot of telephone calls — but it maybe cost him more than me.”
The Leicester stats are telling as they go into the game at home to Tottenham Hotspur today. They have won nine out of their past 11 Barclays Premier League matches, including their opening two games this season under Ranieri with six goals along the way.
They are exciting times for a team who were so nearly relegated last term until being saved by a miraculous sequence of results at the end of the season.
“I have seen the team play and feel there is a big possibility for it to ‘grow up,’ Inler added.
“It wasn’t easy for me to decide. Maybe it would have been if there had been just one team in for me, but there were a lot of teams. It was important for me to check out. I think for a player to give his best, you have to be in a positive environment. I felt that here. The players give their best — they never stop running. There’s a real spirit.”
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West Ham United and Schalke were also interested in taking the central midfielder, but Inler said that his pets may have helped him to decide on central England instead of a big city.
“I love my dogs,” he said. “I have two Yorkshire terriers, Eesha and Keyah, and a German shepherd, Rago. I’m looking for a house with a nice, big garden.
“I grew up on a farm and so I love nature. That’s why Leicestershire will suit me. I want to live here. I have a passion for walking my dogs.”
Remarkable run in numbers
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Clubs, aside from Leicester, who have managed nine wins in a run of 11 top-flight games since 2002: Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool
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Leicester’s league position in April when the remarkable sequence began
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Top-flight games it took Leicester to record their previous nine wins before the present run of nine wins in 11 matches
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Percentage of their 24 goals in those nine wins to have come in the first half-hour of games