An interview with Michael Duberry, by Callum McFadden for WFi.
You have just published your debut book, Raise Your Game, which draws on lessons from elite sportspeople, their mindset, and what makes them successful. Has that always fascinated you? And when you were playing, did you try to take lessons from other athletes or teammates?
“Good question. I’ve always been a sports fan, and I think I’ve always been a student of learning. The book really came from finishing my career and then realising there’s so much more to learn than just kicking a ball, first touch, top corner, left foot, right foot.
“It’s about mentality, mindset, and understanding the fundamentals that separate elite sportspeople from the rest. What makes someone consistently perform in the Premier League, while someone else only reaches League Two? That’s where the fascination came from.
”A lot of it came from observing people I played with, reflecting on my own journey, and seeing how some players sustain top-level performance for years. I’d also spend time around athletes from other sports, have conversations with them, and realise there are far more similarities than you’d expect.
“The book grew out of a keynote talk I deliver now as a speaker and coach. It combines my experiences, the coaching side of me, and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. Raise Your Game is really both a keynote and a coaching reference. It gives readers practical coaching points too, what to actually do with the information, because that’s essential.”
In terms of your own story, it’s really inspiring when you think about breaking through the system at Chelsea, getting into the first team at a young age, and then achieving the success you did there. What are your main memories of coming through the system and breaking into the first team?
“The Chelsea people see today and the Chelsea I joined were very different. I always say I was there at the start of the “new age” of Chelsea. The club had success before, of course, but I think the Glenn Hoddle period changed everything.
“Without Glenn Hoddle, Ruud Gullit doesn’t come. Without Ruud Gullit, you don’t get the influx of players like Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli.
“As a young kid arriving at Harlington, all I wanted was to do well. First, I wanted my YTS, what would now be called an apprenticeship or scholarship. Then I wanted my pro contract. Then I wanted to get into the first team.
“At the time, Paul Elliott was club captain, then Frank Sinclair, and I just wanted to break through under Glenn Hoddle. It was always small checkpoints and goals for myself.
“Then, once I got into the team, the ambition became staying there. Chelsea was growing rapidly. There was constant change, and suddenly Ruud Gullit became manager and all these top internationals arrived. My mentality became: “I want to be part of this. I don’t want to be the weak link. I want to shine.”
“Winning European success for the club for the first time in 20 years, helping win the Super Cup, and having my name alongside winners at Chelsea was huge for a boy who came through the ranks.”
You’ve mentioned Glenn Hoddle a few times. What was he like as a coach? A lot of people I’ve spoken to say he was incredibly inspiring on the training ground and had a way of educating players to raise their game.
“He was very meticulous. When I look back now, one thing all elite people have in common is attention to detail, and Glenn was exactly like that.
“You wanted to perform for him because he was Glenn Hoddle. He had this aura about him, almost like David Beckham before David Beckham. He brought a different mentality to the club, influenced by what he’d learned in France under Arsène Wenger: nutrition, preparation, warm-ups, all of it.
“The old-school approach had been: ‘Go out, knock a few balls around, and you’re ready.’ Glenn changed that completely. Proper warm-ups, structured preparation, tactical detail, everything became more professional and deliberate.
“He raised standards. Because he was Glenn Hoddle, you had to raise your game, excuse the pun. Everyone wanted to impress him.”
Another fascinating figure you mentioned is Ruud Gullit. What was he like when he first arrived as a player, and how did things change when he became manager?
“Looking back now, it was surreal for me. A few years earlier, I’d been watching him win the European Championship with Holland and dominate for AC Milan, the dreadlocks, the charisma, this iconic Black footballer I admired growing up.
“Then suddenly he’s my teammate.
“As a teammate, he was unbelievable. Very demanding, but unbelievable. Then, when he became manager, things changed. I was only 21 at the time. Before that, we’d joke around and have conversations, but once he became manager, there was more distance.
“He became more demanding, less warm, and he didn’t always explain his decisions. At the time, that was hard to deal with. I remember thinking, ‘Where’s my teammate gone?’
“But he wanted the club to rise. He’d won the FA Cup, brought in top players, and his mentality came from AC Milan. Over there, if you were dropped, you didn’t ask why because it was considered self-explanatory. English football culture at the time was different. You’d ask the manager why you weren’t playing, and he’d explain what you needed to improve.
“So it was an adjustment for me. But as I got older, I understood it more. I realised what he was trying to do and the pressures that came with transitioning from player to manager.”
Gianfranco Zola obviously played a huge role in Chelsea’s success, especially in the Cup Winners’ Cup final against Stuttgart. You played in that game and kept a clean sheet. How important was Zola in transforming Chelsea and raising standards?
“He was absolutely integral, both on and off the pitch.
“At first, not everyone welcomed the influx of foreign players. Let’s be honest about that. Some players felt threatened. People would say, ‘Why do we need Gianfranco Zola when we’ve got John Spencer?’
“Then Gianfranco arrives, trains, plays, and you realise: ‘Okay, this is a different level.’
“What stood out wasn’t just his talent. It was his professionalism. Everyone else would go inside after training, but he’d still be out there practising free-kicks, passing, and control. You’d think, ‘If he’s still working, why am I going in?’
“That changed the mentality around the club. The standards rose naturally.
“The same applied to Gianluca Vialli and Gus Poyet. They integrated into the culture instead of forming isolated groups. They embraced Chelsea while still raising standards and improving the environment.”
What are your main memories of winning the Cup Winners’ Cup and then the Super Cup against Real Madrid?
“Before the Cup Winners’ Cup final, I had Bell’s palsy. I genuinely didn’t know if I’d be able to play. I couldn’t properly talk, couldn’t shut one eye, and my face was partially paralysed.
“I had to physically hold my face to speak.
“So when I look back at winning that final and keeping a clean sheet through all that, it means a lot. People talk about playing through ankle injuries. I was out there, barely able to talk properly. I joke now that I looked like the Black version of Sloth from The Goonies because my face was so distorted.
“The Super Cup memory is special too. We’d just signed Marcel Desailly after he won the World Cup, and Frank Leboeuf was already there. I remember thinking, “How am I going to break up two World Cup winners?”
“Before the game, Gianluca Vialli called me over after training and said Marcel was going to play midfield and I’d start alongside Frank. That confidence meant everything to me.
“Then suddenly you’re walking out against Real Madrid, Raúl, Roberto Carlos, Morientes, and thinking: “I’m not letting anyone down.”
“We kept another clean sheet and won the Super Cup. At the end, all the internationals were swapping shirts and greeting each other. Me and Jody Morris threw our shirts into the pile, hoping for swaps, and they just came back untouched. That’s a funny memory from it all.
“But the biggest thing was Vialli showing trust in me, and me repaying that trust.”
One thing that intrigued people in Scotland was you joining St Johnstone in 2009 alongside Jody Morris. Given your career, there was no ego about you. You seemed to embrace the challenge completely. What are your memories of your time in Perth?
“When Jody mentioned speaking to Derek McInnes about me coming up, I thought: ‘Why not?’ I’d just left Wycombe and wanted a fresh challenge. The chance to play in Scotland, against Rangers and Celtic, appealed to me.
“I’d never been to Perth before, but I loved it. The place was welcoming.
“But I made one thing clear to myself: nobody was going to make a name off my name.
“I wasn’t going up there to coast on reputation. If anyone got anything from me, they were going to earn it. I’d seen players come up from England thinking Scottish football would be easy, and they got exposed badly.
“My mentality was simple: ‘I’m not washed up. I’ve still got plenty to offer.’
“When top strikers came to St Johnstone, I wanted them to leave empty-handed. Whether it was Rangers, Celtic, Motherwell, whoever, they weren’t coming to our place and dominating.”
What was Derek McInnes like to work under?
“I got on really well with Derek. We were close in age, so there was mutual respect. He didn’t try to micromanage me, and I made sure I repaid that trust through my professionalism.
“I think the only time he really shouted at me was after I got sent off against Dundee United.
“But overall, I thought he and Tony Docherty managed things really well. Their preparation was excellent. I always felt Derek was a very good manager, and I’m glad to see him doing well.”
Leeds United was another huge chapter in your career. It started excitingly but became very difficult because of the financial collapse. What was that experience like?
“At the start, it was incredibly competitive. We had a strong squad and felt one step away from building something special.
“But behind the scenes, financially, the club was gambling, and when it went wrong, everything collapsed. Players were sold, the remaining players took the blame, and the media labelled us greedy.
“Personally, it was difficult because I was already dealing with a court case at the time, and being a London boy who’d played for Chelsea, I underestimated the Leeds-Chelsea rivalry from the 1970s.
“When results collapsed, all of that resurfaced. Suddenly it was: “London boy, Chelsea background, part of the team that went down.”
“Leeds is an intense football city. You go to a restaurant, the park, the town centre, everywhere is full of Leeds fans. Nobody was really abusive face-to-face, but you always felt it.
”Going from Champions League football to relegation was tough mentally. But I’m pleased to see the club back in a strong position now.”
You also represented England up to under-21 level. How proud were you to wear that shirt, and do you regret never getting a full cap?
“I’m very proud of it. I don’t really have regrets, maybe just a slight niggle that I never got that one senior cap.
“There was definitely a period where I thought I had a chance. But when you look at the competition at centre-half for England during that era, it was unbelievable.
“You had Gary Pallister, Tony Adams, Gareth Southgate, then Sol Campbell coming through, followed by John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher, Jonathan Woodgate, and Ledley King. It was stacked.
“Back then, the pathway into the England team was different, too. You usually needed two strong seasons before you were seriously considered.
“I’ve won three major honours, including a European trophy, so of course it would’ve been nice to top that off with a senior England cap. But it doesn’t haunt me.
“Steve Bruce captained Manchester United and never got a full England cap. So when you look at it that way, I can live with it.”
Finally, Michael, going back to Raise Your Game, was there ever a serious desire to go into management, or were you always more drawn toward speaking, coaching, and writing?
“When I was in Scotland, I started thinking about what came next. I began writing for a major newspaper up there and realised I enjoyed journalism and expressing myself through words.
“I liked the idea of being respected for what I said, not just being an ex-footballer giving opinions on television.
“Then I discovered motivational speaking and coaching, and that really connected with me.
“Football coaching itself never truly appealed to me because, after years of travelling around the country, I wanted my time back. I wanted control over my own schedule instead of spending another 15 or 20 years in the same cycle.
”I still flirt with the idea of coaching now and then, especially when I speak to young players. But what I really enjoy isn’t tactics or sessions on the grass. It’s helping people mentally. Helping them with mindset, confidence, and perspective.
“That’s the part I love.
“The next big goal for me, though, is delivering a powerful TED Talk. That’s the next target in my post-football career, becoming a TED speaker.
“That’s what I’m aiming for next.”