Emile Heskey was famous for putting his teammates first, even when they were on course for a hiding.
The 62-time England international and member of the Premier League’s 100-goal club is a cult hero for his unselfish play and ability to help his strike partner play out of their skin.
Best remembered for his iconic link-up with Michael Owen for England and Liverpool, Heskey would regularly put his body on the line to distract a defender, chase down a loose ball, or set up one of his many goals and assists.
However, what most people won’t know is that he was happy to get involved in extracurricular activities too, if the moment called for it.
One such incident occurred in 2003 when Liverpool faced Celtic in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.
The first-leg match at Celtic Park ended 1-1, with Heskey cancelling out Henrik Larsson’s early opener.
Yet despite his heroics, Heskey’s work for the evening wasn’t done, as Danny Murphy recalled.
“Emile was a nice lad, quiet lad but a great lad, and we played Celtic away once and I accidentally fell out with Bobo Balde,” the talkSPORT host remembered.
“We went on a run and I accidentally bumped into him and thought I hit him but I didn’t. He started giving me loads so I gave him a bit back, as you do, which was a mistake.
“I just should have shut up because it’s not really me to get involved in that.”
Balde, a 6ft 5in man mountain and defensive hardman, took things personally, and Murphy only realised he was in trouble at the last moment.
He continued: “As we’re coming off I caught Bobo Balde in the corner of the tunnel with his top off but I didn’t assume it was for me, which it was.
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“As I got a bit closer he came flying towards me and Emile has jumped in and pinned him, stopped him, but Emile’s strength saved my life, never mind my day.
“He just told him to calm down. He’s got that side in him, I think his uncles were all doormen and he’s got that side to him.”
Despite Heskey taking the sting out of the game, Celtic would win the reverse leg at Anfield 2-0 and progress to the final of the UEFA Cup where they lost 3-2 to Jose Mourinho’s Porto.
Murphy and Heskey would instead go on to lift the League Cup that season, one of five trophies the pair teamed up to lift at Anfield.
Adding more on the Leicester-born frontman, who Murphy called one of the most underrated strikers he’s shared a football pitch with, he said: “The biggest compliment I can give to him is he always made everyone around him play better.
“He did so much hard work but his general game was so much better than people think. He could shoot with both feet, he was great in the air, his hold up play, but he was so unselfish. Also, when he played angry, he was not far off unplayable.”
All in all, Heskey was not a bad person to have on your side both on and off the pitch.
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