| Player Profile |
Life in the shadows
Sunday Herald 17/10/1999
Michael Grant
Marc Rieper's big toe makes him bored and frustrated, but Michael Grant feels some optimism rising
THE interest Marc Rieper once had in estate agency has not persuaded him to begin investigating retirement homes. Any suggestion of being pensioned off remains an anathema to the Celtic defender, however reasonable it is to hypothesise that the injury which has kept him out for a year may soon bring a premature end to his entire career.
It was 12 months ago today that Rieper walked off Dunfermline's East End Park at the end of a 2-2 draw early in Celtic's defence of the championship. He has not played for the first team since and is no closer to a return. "If only it wasn't the big toe," he said at Parkhead last week. "The other ones you can more or less just chop off."
Rieper's patient but so far unrewarding programme of recovery last week included a day trip to his home town of Aarhus in Denmark to see the specialist who has his trust despite having never before treated a professional sportsman with a similar injury. The appointment offered no diagnosis or deadline, but continued a seemingly interminable process of hesitant, uncertain recuperation.
Two operations to the injured toe on his right foot have left Rieper able to walk and run normally, but he must withdraw from training sessions when they involve either physical contact with other players or kicking a ball. Because of the low blood circulation in a toe, an injury there takes longer to heal. Toe injuries nudged Gary Lineker and Paul McStay into retirement, and recently cost John Collins almost a year of his career.
Rieper trained as an estate agent as a young man in Denmark and has considered going into business when his playing days are over. One gap in the market has crossed his mind. "There's no doubt that football boots are not good footwear," he said. "A football shoe is probably as bad as it gets. Footballers are probably as much at fault as anyone in that respect because we probably want them as simple and thin as possible whereas running shoes protect the foot. Football shoes probably do the complete opposite."
Having played through France 98 with the injury which eventually became so painful surgery was required, including a man-marking role against Ronaldo in the quarter-finals, Rieper has played at the summit of world football. Slipping down the grades holds no appeal to the 31-year-old should injury rob him of the chance to return at the top level with Celtic. Nor has he given serious consideration to coaching despite levels of intelligence and experience which suggest he would be suitable.
Rieper was an authoritative, cultured commander of the Celtic defence in Wim Jansen's championship-winning side. Signed for £1.75m from West Ham, whom he had joined from Ebbe Skovdahl's Brondby, he was an influential figure on the park and within the club. He was said to be prominent among those arguing the players' case during Celtic's bonus row.
Even in an unknown country, becoming a prime mover at the club came naturally to a player who made 61 international appearances for Denmark including a record 38 in consecutive fixtures from 1992 to '96. "That's never going to be beaten now because of the number of games and the injuries there are," he said. "I probably missed 10 games in the 10 to 12 years that I played at the top level. I'm very pleased about that, but in hindsight maybe you could say that I am paying the price for it."
Bo Johansson, the current national coach, has told Rieper a place remains open to him should they defeat Turkey and make it through the play-off to Euro 2000. Yet, the coach's encouragement is tinged with realism. In Denmark, as well as Glasgow's East End, there is concern for the player and wherever he goes he is treated sympathetically by anxious supporters who fear the worst.
Rieper chooses his words carefully but his demeanour makes it impossible to escape the impression that he has come to terms with all eventualities. A man measuring 6ft 4in has been rendered worthless to a coach, John Barnes, who has yet to see him play because of a problem with one of the smallest joints in the body. He is not prepared to undergo a third operation but the physical pain has been largely replaced by exasperation. "I feel like an expert on toe injuries now, or definitely an expert on answering questions about them. When you have had 5,000 questions very much the same it gets a little bit boring.
"From the start the injury improved really well and quickly, but now it is progressing a lot slower than I want. The longer it takes, the more frustrating it gets for everyone. In the best scenario it is still going to take a month at least, maybe two. I just have to be patient and hope that's the case.
"If I just had to go to work nine to five in an office there wouldn't be a problem but obviously it's different for me because I have to kick and be kicked. I have always said that the most important thing was that I got back to a normal way of living again and if I can get a few more years as a player then that would be a tremendous bonus. I'm hopeful but on the other hand I've not been promised anything by anyone. Time will tell, that's probably as good an answer as I can give anyone."
Since he last played, Celtic have lost a coach and their hold on the championship. Barnes has shown compassion and interest in the player's recovery but Rieper does not expect any favours ahead of players such as Olivier Tebily, who arrived during the close season and offers athleticism if not Rieper's composure.
"If and when I get fit I have to prove myself and probably go to the back of the queue, which is fair because the guys who have been playing here have been doing really well. I have reached an age where I can appreciate, even though its players I am competing with, that they have might have had a good game. Maybe when you are 20 or so you might hope that they would have a stinker, or break a leg."
Rieper now appears incapable of such maliciousness and, in any case, it would be pointless. Even a succession of shattered limbs among Celtic's defenders would do nothing to take him closer to the first team. "I come more or less as a supporter now,'' he admitted.
"I go to every game possible and still enjoy it but you have to try to distance yourself a little bit from the whole scenario or you would go crazy. I am not happy, but I am at least happy that this didn't happen when I was 25. I've had a lot of good experiences already.
"Put it this way, if this was to be the end nothing could take away what I've already experienced."