Eric Dier’s 20 on 2020 - a special Q&A

Like all of us, Eric Dier won’t forget 2020 in a hurry.

After a tough 2019, where he struggled to nail down a place in the team as he fought against illness and injury, he’s changed position, become a key figure in central defence and earned an England recall after 18 months out of the national squad. He signed a new deal in July, has started 14 of our 15 matches in the Premier League so far this term, captained the team, reached 250 appearances for the Club and is getting back to the consistent level that so impressed following his arrival at Spurs back in 2014.

Eric, who will turn 27 in January, also made the most of lockdown, telling us: “I came out of lockdown with a new perspective on a lot of things.”

In his own words, here is Eric’s 2020, and his hope for 2021 - all in 20 questions as he spoke to us after training on New Year’s Eve.

2020

Eric: "2020. In one word, COVID. A lot of challenges in many ways for everyone. The challenges we’ve faced have been very difficult, so it’s crazy to think about the challenges that people have faced over this period, it’s difficult to even comprehend a lot of it."

Lockdown in March

Eric: "I was very naïve. I thought, ‘this will only be a couple of weeks’, we all were. We were due to have a game two days later!"

Finding myself

Eric: "I spoke about this recently. I was listening to Dave Chappelle (US comedian) on Joe Rogan’s (US comedian, MMA commentator) podcast, he said something interesting, that during lockdown, everyone had to sit down with their choices for the first time. What he meant was... when you are living day to day, doing your job, going there, doing this, you are constant, never really sitting down in your house, within your relationship, so you sit down and confront those things like you’ve never done before. Hopefully, that will be something positive and that people have reflected in the right way and changed what they realise they needed to. I definitely did that. I came out of lockdown with a new perspective on a lot of things.”

Time

Eric: "Lockdown gave me the time to really strip back everything. Over time, you get bogged down with lots of things. Lockdown gave me the chance to take the things I felt were important and leave the parts I felt weren’t. That was very important for me."

Green fingers

Eric: "I built a garden in lockdown, and I've carried on working on it since. I’ve spent more time just 'doing things'. That sounds silly, but, for me, building and working in the garden was like a form of meditation. Going deeper here... I think Gandhi once said that the best form of meditation is to do something and, for me, that was being out in the garden. It’s difficult to be fully self-sufficient, but I'd like to try. I’d like to experience that."

Training

Eric: "The Club did a fantastic job getting equipment to us, keeping us fit, maintaining that interaction. The manager was calling us, messaging us, we did the Zoom sessions every day, and that was really good. For me personally, it was so nice to have a block of training. I treated it like a pre-season. It really made a difference."

Back together again

Eric: "These are the good things to come out of lockdown, when we did get back together and trained together again, the excitement and the happiness to be back doing what we all love, all back together, you want to keep hold of that feeling for as long as possible."

We are family

Eric: "It’s crazy, people like Dele and Harry Kane, everything I’ve been through in football, I’ve been with them, and I say those two because of England as well. Every moment I’ve had, Harry’s been there, and vice-versa. That’s cool, having those experiences. Together, our focus is to win a trophy for this Club and our determination to do so has never been higher."

Project restart

Eric: "It was great to be back out there, great to play after so long, and a great game to come back to against United. We all enjoyed that."

Last nine, last season

Eric: "Those nine games set the foundations for this season and we’ve been building since then, building something that I believe is really exciting."

New role

Eric: "People make a lot of it when you change position, and some are very negative. For instance, if you make a mistake, the slightest thing, it’s, ‘that’s because he’s a midfielder’. For me, it’s been important putting that to rest, I have very clear objectives I want to achieve in this position, and I’m working hard to do that. The positive thing is that I know I can do better."

England

Eric: "That was a real goal of mine, to get back into the England set up. For the 14 months or so I was out (June, 2019 to September, 2020) those international breaks were so hard. It hurts a lot. International breaks without going away were difficult for me having experienced it for so long. To be back in that set up meant a lot to me."

Hugo

Eric: "When a team isn’t doing so well, the goalkeeper usually stands out well, and Hugo certainly rose to the challenge at the start of the year. He’s been unreal."

Pierre

Eric: "He’s been a fantastic addition on and off the pitch. Off the pitch, I like people who set the standard by the way they act. Pierre is very professional, looks after himself very well, works very hard every day. The more players like that, the better."

Harry and Sonny

Eric: "The dynamic duo! It’s something I’ve spoken to Harry about quite a bit, and I think the manager deserves a lot of credit for how their relationship has blossomed. He’s demanded different things from both of them, and that has made that relationship click. Obviously, when you have two players of that quality and, on top of that, you get them to do things that express those qualities in the best way, you get what we’re seeing at the moment."

New Year’s Eve

Eric: "I’ll be with my brothers, Patrick and Eddie - they live with me - we’ll light the fire in the garden, they’ll probably have a few drinks and I’ll have a mint tea with honey!"

Leeds

Eric: "I can’t wait for this one. I’m really excited to play them. The way they play is great, they’ve been a breath of fresh air. Marcelo Bielsa is a manager who has a lot of influence in football, including here, I guess, through Mauricio Pochettino."

League Cup semi-final

Eric: "Yes, it's really exciting. I remember the semi-final in 2015 against Sheffield United, the second leg at their place in the snow. Great memories. I’m really looking forward to that, a huge game against a great team in Brentford. We want to be playing these games. It’s where we want to be, challenging."

My best of 2020

Eric: "I’m reading my favourite book for a second time. It’s called Shantaram. It’s about an Australian guy who escapes prison and gets all the way to India, where he embeds himself in life in a slum, and becomes a figure in Bombay. It’s an incredible book, based on a true story, written by Gregory David Roberts. I think reading is so good for you, it takes your mind away from everything. My favourite podcast is still The Joe Rogan Experience. Jan Vertonghen recommended a TV series Operation Odessa on Netflix, that was incredible. Undoing was my TV show of the year and for apps, it’s got to be Spotlas, of course!"

Hopes for 2021

Eric: "To stay healthy, to keep enjoying my football and to continue feeling how we all felt on the first day back from lockdown and, my biggest hope, that we can all beat this virus and return to some normality. I can’t wait to see a full stadium again, that will be fantastic. It will be great to have the fans back."