Joe Hart retired from football as a multiple-trophy winner in May, but his qualities extended beyond those of a gloveman and a desire for silverware
In his new media column for the Euros, Joe Hart displays the air of an accessible down-to-earth guy, no longer bound by the day-to-day tunnel vision of goalkeeping drills.
“I am going to listen to everyone around me, make the most of their experience and take in as much as possible - I am open-minded, open-eyed and looking forward to everything the next few weeks might bring.”
It also says something about the man himself, extolling that almost puppy-dog enthusiasm to learn outside his box at the age of 37.
Hart has never been one easy to pigeonhole. He was loud at the back. Well, goalkeepers have to be. He was once accused of smiling too much which doesn’t suit the tribal agenda. His trade is a serious art but the 75-cap international was a winner. He won big too.
Hart craves success but he works best within a community that is wired to the bigger picture rather than just the game itself. The former Shrewsbury Town teenager was not just a screamer. He needed the buzz of a unit and unity that was reciprocated, something he found in his dotage. “It’s not words, it’s not examples, it’s a feeling,” he said in an emotional club interview before waving goodbye to Celtic Park.
That feeling of belonging was always part of his DNA. There was a passion, a raw energy that swirled deep inside. On occasion, it affected his performance. Before England’s first game against Wales in Euro 2016, their number one was chewing furiously in the Lens tunnel and bellowing to get the beast of nerves away into the French air.
“I've got a lot of energy, a lot of passion. It could have been too much,” he mused after the tournament.
The one thing about goalkeepers is that they don’t get to run it off. The lack of physical exertion is difficult for characters who can’t turn the volume down internally. Jordan Pickford is another who needs to shout out to get it out. Like his predecessor, Pickford worked with a sports psychologist when things got tough for him.
For Hart, there was a realisation that change was coming after dealing with the supermarket jokes from the Iceland debacle as Roy Hodgson’s men crashed out eight years ago. Being shown the door by Pep Guardiola’s desire for total football was a very public demotion. Regular Joe became the fall guy in the New Empire at the Etihad and suddenly his (football) identity was shredded.
All the usual tropes distract from how good Hart was – it seems odd to use the past tense - as a goalkeeper. Some of his best moments were in the global limelight offered by the Champions League when City were still getting up to speed in the competition. After a fantastic brace of performances against Barcelona in 2015, Lionel Messi described him as “a phenomenon.”
His back catalogue is often viewed more harshly through the prism of the national team. Hart was a major reason why City won two titles before Pep’s visionary methods were employed, claiming four Golden Gloves over five seasons between 2010 and 2015.
Hart handled the subsequent furore of his Manchester exit with a quiet dignity that would surprise his fiercest critics. This was the beginning of a turnaround it seemed. Bitterness, even if felt, would not get in the way of redemption and a new start.
This approach to throwing himself into new experiences was always a strength. He was greeted like a long-lost Italian son in a season loan to Torino during 2016 as hundreds of supporters flocked to embrace their new signing. Some of the fanbase even rewired a Madness song with the lyrics: “Our Hart, in the middle of our box.” He immediately showed a knowledge of Torino's history and a grasp of the language that went down very well.
"I'm a kid who loves football - well, I'm not a kid any more, I'm a slightly grown man, but I love football. “I’d be watching it as a huge England fan if I wasn't involved,” he once said before things unravelled career-wise.
When the Italian job finished, Hart became a traveller from club to club over an unsettling four years. There was Burnley, West Ham and Tottenham, all high-profile teams but chances were limited. His tone had changed. “I'm not a kid any more, I can't just pack my stuff like a 19, 17-year-old and go on loan. I am a 30-year-old man with stuff I need to organise. I like stability.”
Even though he never played a Premier League match for Spurs, Hart still had the buzz of a man who loved the banter and the squad bonding. This was a skill set desperately needed off the pitch when Covid was affecting the sociability of everything connected with the beautiful game. His cricket talent got a good airing against Harry Kane too. When England were playing Sweden at the 2018 World Cup, Hart was batting for his hometown club.
Hart wasn’t afraid of admitting that it was a low point in his footballing career, but framed it as a challenge rather than a crisis. It takes a keeper’s courage to absorb the hits and get beyond difficult moments. Being part of the chat for Football, Prince William And Our Mental Health was an open admission that life had asked him difficult questions.
“All I want is to be a big part of a club. That's all that burns through me” he said in an interview with the Guardian. Hart got his wish when Celtic came along in the cuddly form of Ange Postecoglou in 2021. It was exactly what was needed, a spark that made him feel alive.
"I have played in different teams that have been successful. Identity in football has always been there, but in terms of having a real way of playing, this is the first time I have been part of a team with a real way of playing,” Hart enthused. The domestic treble in 2023 was a testament to the spirit of success that runs through his veins. Celtic loved him and he loved them back.
When Brendan Rodgers rejoined the Hoops last June, it was to prove the veteran’s final dance at the top of the tree. The footsteps led to a third title in a row and had the former Liverpool boss giving him an outstanding football ‘eulogy’ when it was capped off with a Scottish Cup final win over Rangers.
“His enthusiasm, his love of the game, his leadership and everything about the man is top class. And what a way for him to finish. He's a double winner at a club that'll idolise him now for the rest of his life.”
That is the core of Hart’s heart; enthusiasm and the willingness to open up coupled with an ability to see things that go beyond a goalkeeper’s view. Aren’t they supposed to see everything? He has always had that self-deprecating nature too which is a bit more thoughtful than caricatures would have you believe.
When goalkeepers or modern celebrities go on a journey, that phrase can be mocked as much as an error that goes viral. It wouldn’t be stretching reality to suggest that Hart has been on a major path of self-discovery too. Whatever the hurt and the highs, he can reflect on a stellar career and still be that kid who cheered on the Three Lions in Germany.
