Glasgow Rangers of Scotland defender, Calvin Bassey is relishing the goal he got on his debut for The Gers, as he struck in their 2-1 win against Hamilton Academical during a pre-season friendly, but said it was basically because he actually played as a striker in his early days, megasportsarena.com reports.
Bassey went on to reveal that he was converted from being an attacker while at Leicester City, where he recalled how the dearth of left-backs once occasioned a need for him to fill in for the team, and his solid performance led to the coach insisting he should continue playing that role.
That switch continues paying off in his career, as he has become a goal-conscious left-back, who can easily link with attack in the search for victory and it again came to the fore during Friday’s game.
The sky now appears to be the beginning for Bassey, who was one of three summer signings by Rangers’ manager, Steven Gerrard, as the youngster, who was born to Nigerian parents in Italy, joined the squad along with Ianis Hagi and Jon McLaughlin.
He is now delighted with his ability to restore parity with a powerful header off an excellent ball in from Ryan Kent at minute 43, soon after Ronan Hughes put The Accies ahead, and the rookie, who grew up idolising Real Madrid’s Brazilian left-back, Marcelo admits he was deeply excited.
Although the 20-year-old Bassey now wears jersey three and comports himself pretty well as a defender, he affirmed that he started his career as a striker, sometimes as a left-winger, until he was converted to a permanent left-back by Leicester’s youth team coaches.
Bassey told the Scottish Sun: “I always played striker when I was younger and then moved to left wing. I started going further back because at Leicester there was a need for a left-back and sometimes you need to adapt to your environment.
“I’ve had to learn throughout my career defence-wise whether it’s heading or whatever. The modern full-back is different to what it was ten or 15 years ago; you need quality going forward. At the same time, you are a defender first and have to stop those crosses and get tight to your man and win headers.
“I watched Marcelo at Real when I was growing up but football has changed a lot in recent years. Alphonso Davies is someone who was a winger but now plays left-back and he has put in some stunning performances.”
