When Fulham take on Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday Middlesbrough ‘keeper Brad Jones will come face to face with his former mentor Mark Schwarzer.
Jones, who was Schwarzer’s understudy for 8-years during his fellow Australians time at Boro, is looking forward to catching up with the man that he regards as having a major influence on his career: ‘He was great to me the whole time he was here,’ Jones told BBC Tees. ‘I learned so much from him on and off the pitch and he’s been a major influence on me as a player.’
The 27-year-old, who has had his ups and downs for Boro this season, cites Schwarzer’s influence as a major one on his career and one that helped him get through the early years of his career in England having arrived as a teenager, adding: ‘I came over here that young that you don’t know what the big bad world is going to throw at you, and he was the person who I spoke to most about things.
‘He gave me so much knowledge about different things and I owe a lot to him for how he helped me.’
It is clear to see that Jones regards his fellow Australian international in high esteem and he still regards him as one of the best ‘keepers around, but everyone connected to Fulham will be hoping that Jones has much more to do than Schwarzer this Saturday, as if this proves the case then Fulham wont go far wrong.
The respect that Jones, and others, have for Schwarzer proves that the 36-year-old is still one of the top ‘keeper in Europe, so one that everyone at Craven Cottage must be glad is playing for Fulham.
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