An interview with Joe Ledley, by Callum McFadden for WFi.
You came through the youth system at Cardiff City, then went on to play for the first team over 200 times. How proud are you of coming through the system at the club that you supported?
“I am delighted because it was an obsession of mine to make it to the first team and to be able to do it was just an amazing achievement really.
“Being born in Cardiff, I would go down to watch Cardiff play every week and seeing first-team players that you admired made you want to be there one day.
“Then, all of a sudden, I develop within the YTS scheme and start training with the first team at a young age before making my debut at the age of 17.
“That journey was special and one of those pinch-yourself moments when you realise that you are very lucky because only a few players out of my age group went on to become a professional footballer so, I know that I got very lucky.”
You reached the FA Cup Final in 2008 – although it did not go the way that you wanted – what was it like playing for the club in an FA Cup Final?
“It was incredible because I used to watch the FA Cup final every year with my family as a kid.
“The journey to the final was a fairytale for me as I was able to play and score the winner in the semi-final to send us to Wembley for the final.
“It was also our first FA Cup final at Cardiff since 1927 so it was a remarkable honour.
“Then from there, to go on and play in an FA Cup Final and share the occasion with your teammates, family and your friends, that’s what it’s about.
“Everyone at the club was together and, of course, the result didn’t go our way in the end, but we were up against a very good Portsmouth team with players such as Lassana Diarra who went on to play for Real Madrid.
“Maybe on a different day, it could have gone our way, but it didn’t. And, you know, no one can take that away from us from what we achieved. You know, we were finalists and, you know, obviously, you know, we had to make sure that we had a good game. And, you know, it’s a fantastic achievement for a team in the Championship to go that far.”
The game was also one of the first FA Cup finals at the new Wembley. Just what was it like playing there?
“I loved it and, believe it or not, Wembley has actually been quite a lucky ground for me personally. Obviously, I’ve had a few defeats, there but I have also experienced a few victories and scored a few goals there as well.
“I always enjoyed every moment of playing at Wembley because it also had a fantastic pitch, and it is such a great stadium. The atmosphere is superb, so I consider myself fortunate to have played there and made memories there too.”
A few years after you came through at Cardiff, Aaron Ramsey also made it to the first team. Then, when you were in the first team, experienced players such as Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink, Robbie Fowler and Trevor Sinclair came into the team. What was it like playing with a talented young player like Aaron and also playing with experienced pros who had been there and done it?
“As a player who was establishing myself as a first-team regular at that time, it was fantastic to plan and train with the likes of Trevor, Robbie and Jimmy because you could see their quality right away and it was also surreal in the sense that these are people that I grew up watching, on Match of the Day.
“It was a nice feeling to share a dressing room with them after all that they achieved in their career and having them training with you week in, week out and playing in your team was fantastic for me.
“In terms of Aaron, he made an incredible impact on Cardiff as a young kid. I’m about three years older than him so I was a bit more established in the team by the time he broke in but when he came on to the first team scene, you could see that he held such potential and that he would have such a big career ahead of him, which he did.
“He was an unbelievable footballer, but we were part of a talented bunch of footballers in that Cardiff squad and it was the quality within the group as a whole that got us to the FA Cup final.”
Celtic made their move to sign you in 2010 when Neil Lennon was in his first spell as manager at Celtic Park. What was it about a move to Celtic that tempted you at that time?
“I thought that I had achieved all that I could realistically achieve at Cardiff, and it was also a case of the club treating me like an academy player even when I became an established first-team player with the type of contract that I was offered to stay.
“I was the captain of the team, and I loved Cardiff, but I was also hungry to go and win trophies and have the opportunity to compete in European competition which Celtic could offer me.
“I want to go and play against the best players in the world and with Celtic in the Champions League, there was no higher level for me to test myself at.
“Then after speaking to Neil Lennon, my mind was made up straight away. He sold the club to me and the minute I walked through the doors at Celtic Park, I looked at my family and thought, wow, this is where I want to be playing.
“That’s no joke, that is the truth, I just fell in love straight away and Celtic Park was a remarkable place to play football and I’m so glad I made the move to Celtic when I did because it was the right decision.”
At Celtic, you won three league titles and played and scored in the Scottish Cup final victory over Hibernian. Overall, your time in Glasgow was trophy-laden time domestically, how pleasing is it when you’re at a club like Celtic where the pressure is relentless for the team to deliver such trophies?
“There is no better feeling than winning silverware and that’s the reason why I went to Celtic because when you look back on your career, you want to remember the trophies that you won and the medals that you have earned.
“It is something that I can talk to my kids and about and hopefully in the future down the line, potential grandkids as well.
“I have to say that playing in the Champions League, Europa League and the games against Rangers and the play in the Champions League was surreal. There was no better feeling, and no one can ever take that away from me as well.
“Overall, it all planned out well in the end as I won two league titles and three domestic cups. I loved every single minute of my time at Celtic, the fans were fantastic to me, and my family and we had a fantastic bond.”
While at Celtic, you played in some historic European games in the Champions League including a win over Barcelona while reaching the last 16 of the competition. What were those European games like and how did Neil Lennon handle them?
“It was incredible, the atmosphere at Celtic Park for a European night was just electric and once that Champions League song came on, you could just feel the passion and energy from the fans straight away.
“You can hear it the noise when you are in the tunnel for the build-up too.
“In terms of the Barcelona game, Neil Lennon was straight to the point in keeping us humble and fully prepared for such an occasion in the Champions League. He said, ‘Look at this ball because you’re not going to see too much more of it.’
“By saying that he relaxed us and motivated the group to be prepared for a tough battle.
“His team talk as simple as that and it was amazing that we were able to go on and win against a team with the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi but we also had strong players who knew that we were going to be running a lot more that night and that it was about being the best player that you could on the pitch.
“Thankfully, it all came together, and we achieved a remarkable result that will never be forgotten.”
Even though you left Celtic in 2014, Celtic fans still speak very fondly about you and have great memories from your time at the club. You played and scored against Kilmarnock in your last game for the club towards the end of the January window of 2014. Can you talk me through the nature of your departure from Celtic on transfer deadline day?
“Looking back, it all came as a shock. I didn’t expect there to be as much in interest for me really.
“There was no talk from my agent, there wasn’t really much even in the press as well. I think I saw one article about me and Sammy (Georgios Samaras) potentially leaving due to interest from the Premier League, but I was just concentrating so much to try and better my last season.
“I always set out each season to try and score more goals and provide more assists to do all that I could to help the team.
“I think we were unbeaten at the time when I left as well, so in the lead-up to my departure, I was fully focused and concentrating on maintaining that record.
“Then, deadline day came and in the morning of it, I was told that the opportunity to go to Palace was there for me
“Sure, it was fantastic to see that people are interested in you and appreciate how well you’re doing in Celtic.
“Playing in the Premier League is the highest of all European leagues and that was the only reason why I went.
“I felt that playing at that level would be the icing on the cake for my career as I wanted to be able to look back on playing in the Premier League, Champions League and Europa League while also managing to get to Euros with Wales as well.
“Despite wanting to play in the Premier League, looking back moving at that time is probably the biggest regret of my career. I probably should have stayed, won more games, tried to set even better records than what I did when I was at Celtic
“On the day of leaving, I’ve never seen anything like it at my house as Garry Parker, Fraser Foster came over then I was with Lenny for ages really not knowing what to do, whether to get on the plane and go to Palace or not. I was honestly torn
“All three of them were fantastic with me, they said, it is completely down to you, we’re never going to stop you, obviously we want you to stay but you have a new opportunity to consider.
“After that, I had a hard think about it and, made my decision to go because I was 26 at the time, only getting older and if I don’t move then, I probably wouldn’t ever have played in the Premier League.”