Curtis Jones On Joining adidas, Being A Scouser At LFC, And Why He Wears 17

As a scouser, Curtis Jones knows what it means to play for Liverpool football club better than most; it’s been ingrained in him from an early age. That combination of passion and pride is now something that not only motivates the midfielder, it propels him on to perform at his peak week in, week out as he strives for his ultimate aim: greatness on the pitch and legendary status at the club.

But there’s more to this local lad. As well as seeking that success in a professional sense he also sees the bigger picture and wants to give back to the community from which he came. With those two targets in mind, he now has the backing of adidas, having recently signed with the brand. We caught up with the midfielder to talk about what it’s like being a scouser in the Liverpool squad, playing Champions League games and why he chose to switch to the number 17.

Going from the academy to in amongst it with the first team, it’s a mad transition. How did you cope with that and how’ve the last few years been for you?

It's been good. It's been fast. But I'm a confident lad, so I wasn't really fazed by it. I went in there and I knew I had a big job on my hands and I still do, so I just work hard and try to enjoy the journey.

What was it like actually going through the academy and coming into the first team? Obviously, in the first team you've got players from all round the world and then you, a Scouse lad, comes through. What is that like and how did people react to it?

It was a mix, there were ups and downs, but on a personal level it was a dream. I'm a Scouser, as you said, a local lad, so the dream’s always to play for your local club, and I went in there and I've done well. So I just hope that it continues. Of course there’ll be bumps in the road but it's part of the game.  So, I'm ready for all the challenges.

It's such a small percentage of people that have gone on to do what you are doing and it's an amazing thing to achieve. What do you think you've got in your head space that separated you from others?

I wouldn’t even say that I'm at the top of my game yet. I know I'm still young, but I don’t think of myself as a youngster anymore. I've had a handful of games now, I’ve played in the Champions League, the Premier League, I've played in all the cup games, so I feel like I'm experienced as well.  But staying on the path, I just know the goals that I want and the goals that I set and I know what the gaffer and his staff are after.

I study everyday, I work hard, I go home and look over my game and see how I can do better and ultimately improve.

So kind of like ruthless, determined, but sort of appreciate the journey at the same time?

Yeah, I appreciate the journey, I have to, because I know that being at the top’s going to be a hard at times as well. I'm a young lad and I’ve come into a team that is one of the best, if not the best team in the world, and the players are the same – they're seen as the best in the world. So I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy ride, I wouldn’t just come in and star in all the games and play in all the games. It was always going to take hard work, and that’s what I've done and that’s where I'm at up to now.

Through all those challenges, what have been the biggest lessons or biggest moments for you in a developmental sense?

I'd just say all the games and times that I’ve found difficult. I've always been a player that’s always played up in age groups, so any age that I've played I've always had it where after a few months I've been able to settle at the level and then become one of the best in the team. Then I've jumped up again and I've played that age group and then I've been the best one, then I've jumped up to the first team, where the level is international elite quality and so it will take a little bit more time. There's been games where I've found when it's really bad and I've had to understand that it's part of the game and that’s something that I've got to learn; that it's not always going to be the case that I’m the main man and I can play my normal style and I can go and score two whenever I want. There’s always going to be a time when it's a little bit difficult, it's not going your way and the opposition are dominating and stuff. So learning from those difficult experiences, that’s probably been the main one.

Jumped up, jumped into the Champions League, jumped into the Premier League, it's not a bad thing to say out loud. Does it feel normal now?

I wouldn’t say it feels normal but I am used to it now. In the first game that I had, I was going out there and I was like ‘OHHH…I'm in the Champions League’, and you could hear the music and stuff, now it's more about just going out there and getting the job done and coming away with three points and at the end of it then hopefully you're lifting the trophy as a team.

You must have mates that ask what it’s like  when you hear that music in a Champions League game?

Yeah of course. I’m  a lad from a working class background, where our whole thing growing up was about football and playing football. So growing up it was always about who’s the best and having games where you're calling it the Champions League or you're seeing a goal from a player that you’ve just seen in a Champions League game and going into school and you're trying to create the same goal and you're calling out the name of the player.  So now, being a player that’s played in the Champions League and actually scored in the Champions League, it's a dream come true and everybody around me is really proud.

So who was that player that you would've shouted?

Whoever scored the best goal in that week. If I'm honest I used to love watching all the players of the time like Gerrard, Ronaldo, Messi of course, seeing them all, so whoever scored the best goal, that’s the one that I was trying to be.

To have kids probably doing that, kids wearing your shirt, kids pretending to be you in the playground, in terms of how far you've come, what do things like that mean to you emotionally?

It means everything, especially if it's Scousers as well of course. The club means a lot but Scousers, the people, the city, mean so much to me, because I’m one of them . I'm a Scouser myself and we know what it means to play at the club and how hard it is for kids like us, who come from similar backgrounds, to progress and succeed in football at this level. I'm the same as the average kid, where it's been hard and it's tough, so it means a lot to me.

When you talk about being a working class kid, knowing those environments that kids are trying to strive through, did that play a part in you signing for adidas at all in terms of what you can do together?

adidas is a massive brand with a huge following. The partnership with adidas will provide a platform for me to help shine a light on issues personal to me and it will provide opportunities to try and help kids from more disadvantaged backgrounds. I definitely want to have the opportunity to go back to my community and help where I can. The ones who need it more, that’s who I want to help. As a person from a working class background and an inner city environment, I hope I can bean example of the fact there's so much talent out there, that you might not see because they  might not have the facilities to go and showcase that talent. So with the position that I'm in now, not only can adidas help me support some of the more disadvantaged communities, I'm also fortunate that my journey and story might help to uncover the next local star coming through.

What have the brand said to you and what's caught your imagination in terms of what you can do together?

The way in which adidas market their brand and work with their athletes and stars seems different. adidas has promised to work with me and help me with charity activities – they will basically back me in terms of what I want to do. The team around me knows how big it is for me to give back and we’re working towards setting up a charity to help disadvantaged kids and communities. So, the fact that they’ve said that they’ll go with what I want to do, and help me promote community projects, raise awareness of inner city issues and provide equipment in communities that need it, that just means a lot to me.

Have you already got dreams in terms of what you'd like to impact and who you’d like to help?

I want to help anybody I can, but especially the ones who need it most. I would love to be able to help and inspire a young kid to become a professional footballer.  Then it doesn’t just help the kid, it helps the families and stuff too. So, for example, if I can provide kit and equipment in communities, then their families are not the ones that are having to spend their last penny on kit, football cones or goals, and if that helps a little bit then that will mean a lot to me.

How does it feel to have the backing of a brand like adidas and is that a bit of a milestone for you?

Yeah, of course.  It's amazing. You just say adidas and you immediately think about sports. But now it's showed me that there’s more to the brand than just clothes and athletes and stuff and actually that the people that are involved in the brand have a really good heart. Backing a kid like me, who wants to do everything he can to give back and help out, it means a lot.

You're particularly engaged in fashion – does joining adidas open up opportunities to meet like-minded creative people, and have you ever thought about potentially designing things yourselves or going down that route?

Yeah, I like to get creative and that includes with clothes. I’ve always been big on clothes and shoes.  But, right now, it's more about putting on a boot and impressing in the boot and scoring goals and assisting – helping out the team of course, but in the longer run then of course there might be a time, after I've done well in my career, and I take the next step, I can maybe look into the fashion side. But, at the minute, I just want to focus on football…and hopefully I can have my own adidas boot one day!

Obviously being able to spend an evening with Stormzy is a nice connection that the brand can give as well.  Do you like how it can cut through different cultures?

Yeah, a hundred percent.  As well as fashion I love music, I don’t just have one style, you know, I've got loads. So obviously in the UK, Stormzy’s a legend, and the first time that we ever met I thought what a great guy he is as well. Again, it shows that the brand is going further and further. 

The word legend’s been used a lot on this shoot, do you wanna be a legend?

Of course I want to be a legend. I know what it takes, of course, it's not as easy as just having your name out there as a young kid who’s known for a goal here and a goal there. It's about a consistent success I'd say. Whether that’s trophies or turning games around and being a star man or the goals and assists, it all counts towards it.

For your family to have a member of their family playing for Liverpool, living in the football world, is it kind of surreal for them?

Yeah, of course. I mean, we're all reds and we've all been reds since young, so now to have one of their own to sit there and watch, it's not always perfect but they're always proud.

You wear number 17 – Steven Gerrard, Steve McManaman – how does it feel to carry on that legacy, does that feel special to you?

It does, but there’s more to that though. Of course they're Scousers and they’ve had unbelievable careers and they're both legends but, with me, it's to do with growing up. It's the number of the door that I was at as a kid when I was growing up, so, that’s like the whole of my roots and my family, you know what I mean. It's the beginning, it's me.

To have that on my back, it’s just always there with me. So, if I'm say holding the cup or I've scored a goal and then 17 is on my back, then it means something more to me…my family, my background and my journey are associated to that number. That’s the thing that I like to keep with me.

You mentioned it earlier but what's that rush of blood like when you score in a Champions League match?

Do you know what, it's all mad. I was actually chilled because of the state of the game. They were on top and we also knew that if we won or drew the game then we’d go through. So I obviously then scored a goal, it was only one-nil at the time so not like the game was fully done. So I was excited, but at the same time I was switched on, I had to remember there was still time in the game, that they could still score two goals. Then it would be down to the next game. So I was excited, but it was mixed as well. 

What’s it like after the game then?

Oh yeah, that’s when you're excited.

Can you actually go to sleep?

Oh yeah, I always go to sleep. Sleep better in fact!

I thought you’d be sort of like just like replaying everything in the game, just like the adrenaline must be still going…

No, because the games just keep coming round so quick that you don’t really have time to sit and think about one thing. Okay, I've scored in the game, now it's on to the next game, and I want to win that game. I want to be the best I can be then, I want to go and start again, you know what I mean? So it's not only about the success. I mean, you only have it for a small amount of time, because then the next day it's recovery, you're sleeping and you're back up there again and preparing for the next game. 

Time’s moving quick so you don’t have much time to sit there and think about what you've just done.  It's about going again and bringing the confidence and the dream on to the next team.

You’ve spoken about the local level, but what about on the international scene? You’ve tasted success with England at every level so far, is the senior setup next?

Hundred percent. Again as I said, it takes time. It's a step by step process, so I don’t really look at a global side yet in terms of because I'm not in the England squad yet. So, it's down to me first to do well at club level and then hopefully the call up will come.

It would be a dream to have gone through all the stages that you have on an England level to then walk into a dressing room and see your name on the back of a senior shirt…

Absolutely. I mean I've been part of it now since I was, what, 15. Being in tournaments and scoring goals. Again, I've had player of the tournament and stuff, so yeah I mean the goal is obviously of course to get into the senior team, but I know how much it takes as well. So, club first.

On that club level, obviously you're in amongst like such a diverse squad, so many different cultures. Does it feel good to introduce them to what it means to play for Liverpool? Do you also see that as a bit of your role?

Yeah of course. I think in terms of because I'm a Scouser as well, that people abroad might just see us as a football club that have done well. Or they might know about the Beatles and can sing along to a few of their tunes, but, if you actually know Scousers and how much there's a togetherness then you see it more as like a family. 

So, for me, being a Scouser, it’s inside me. It’s like, if a new kid is to come in then you try and show them that there's more to just the play, there’s also the feel, the family vibe type of thing as well. We show that a player’s loved and if he doesn’t have a good game then the fans are still backing him and then if he does have a good game then you're basically the man at the time. There is so much support. 

It's about taking it all in and just feeling the family side of it and not feeling like you’ve got so much pressure and eyes on you and stuff.  So, that’s what I try and do.

Do you feel like you're alongside people that go beyond colleagues or players, you’ve got brothers and family in the squad?  Who are you most close to?

I couldn’t really say one person. So many of them are involved with different things, so the likes of Hendo, Milly and the other senior players, they were involved when I first broke in, but now everyone helps each other out. I was very young and, looking back, I was immature in certain ways and they just guided me and helped me mature into a man. Then, of course, there's people like Trent, who I’ve been through the academy with, and he’s a Scouser, so he knows what it's like to come all the way through. You feel a little bit unnerved and he settled me down.

It’s obviously a big year – every year’s a big year– but what do you want to achieve this year? What goes through your head?

I've got so many goals and I dream big. But a personal one is that I think it's about time now that I go out there and show the real me. I've always been the kid that’s liked to play with flare and score goals and be the star man. I came into a team where it's the best team in the world and I've had a bit of an up and down time. I've been in and out of the squad, I had to change my style of play a bit, of course, to show that I've matured as well and I’m not just a kid anymore. I think that the balance is there now, and the trust is there so I think it's only down to me now to go out there and go back to my old ways and bring out the flare again and score more and assist more - and if I'm doing that then hopefully that will keep me in the team and the manager will have me in important games.

What does someone of your generation, new players, what do you look for in a brand in terms of what it must be doing and what it's putting out there? Assume you're not going to join just any brand, are you?

No. And, it's the reason why I've chosen adidas. When I was in the academy, I always tried different boots but, now, I think it's the time that it's bigger than just a boot. We spoke about the charity work and then I spoke about the people that they’ve got onboard working at adidas, as well as the likes of Stormzy - for me, it shows that adidas have a clear plan with their athletes and stars and there is a whole lot more to adidas with the likes of the lifestyle, music and fashion. It's more about a togetherness and giving back and trying to show that the brand is more than just sport, it's about a culture as well.

Because as a person that’s way more to you than just being a footballer but there's loads of layers isn't there?

Exactly, yeah. It’s important to me that people, and especially younger people, get to see the real me. I would hope they could see how I conduct myself and that I can be a positive influence and a role model. Just look at Stormzy for example; he is a superstar but genuinely one of the nicest and most humble people I have met, that’s the type of ambassador that this brand attracts and wants to work with and I’m delighted to be able to be a part of that myself going forwards.

Curtis Jones wears the adidas X Speedportal .1, which you can pick up at prodirectsoccer.com