Colin Cooper Reflects on England Journey: Grateful Yet Realistic About His Caps

For many players, earning an England call-up and winning their first cap is the culmination of a childhood dream and the pinnacle of their career.

While some will see this as the start of their Three Lions journey and kick on to be regulars for their country, others will go down as a mere footnote in the England story.

For former Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough defender Colin Cooper, the two England caps he won in 1995 were a moment of pride, tinged with realism.

Colin Cooper on his England call-up

With two excellent seasons at Nottingham Forest under his belt by the end of the 1994/95 campaign, Cooper was given the nod by England boss Terry Venables, who was in charge of the Three Lions during a transitional period.

England had failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup and were preparing to host Euro 96, with Venables quick to try out a number of options as he looked to build a squad that was capable of making a run at the European title on home soil.

Cooper was called up for the Umbro Cup in June 1995, a four-team competition that acted as a dress rehearsal for the following summer’s major tournament. He won his first cap in a 3-3 draw against Sweden at Elland Road, with a second appearance following three days later in a 3-1 defeat to Brazil at Wembley.

These would be the only two times that the Durham-born centre-back donned an England shirt, as he failed to make the squad for Euro 96 the following summer. While he now admits it was disappointing to get so close, he understands the choice Venables made.

“Of course it was disappointing, but without diminishing myself in any shape or form, the lads picked ahead of me were better players,” he shares. “It’s as simple as that really. On the two occasions I was selected, a lot of the big hitters were missing. Lads like myself, John Scales and Warren Barton all got call-ups, but in the two games I played, England conceded six goals. So as much as I’d have loved to be involved a little more, I knew I wasn’t quite at the level of Tony Adams and Co. But I’ll always be grateful to Venables for involving me.”

England would go on to reach the semi-finals of Euro 96 thanks to a defence marshalled by Arsenal centre-back Tony Adams and future Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate.

Cooper did not dwell on the disappointment of missing out, with his career going on for another decade, including an eight-year stint back at his first club Middlesbrough, who spent £2.5 million to bring him back north from Forest in 1998.