Speaking softly but carrying a big kick

Spurs' Fredi Kanoute tells Michael Walker how his beliefs help him deal with the controversy that seems to follow him.

For a man who speaks rarely and, when he does, says what he has to say ever so softly, Fredi Kanoute attracts clamour. In the last six weeks alone Kanoute has been loudly labelled "unforgivable" by his new manager at Tottenham Hotspur, Martin Jol; he has enjoyed a high-profile link to Barcelona and revelled in the noisy affection of those Tottenham fans who see him as the pivotal player in an unbeaten run reaching back to December 1st.

Go back a little further and there was the club dispute over Kanoute's Mali connection, before that his role at West Ham in arguably the most talented side ever relegated. It all amounts to raucous and regular recognition. More will follow should Kanoute today help Spurs defeat Chelsea in a league game for the first time in 14 years.

Listen to Kanoute, though, and you could get the impression he was a silent bystander in these events. Part of this is attributable to his understated manner. Part of it is experience: at 27, Kanoute has seen enough of football's downside not to gush about glory; he is stimulated by Tottenham's potential, for example, but also described their present state as "fragile". And part of it, Kanoute said, is due to his Muslim faith. Separating him from professional football, this enables Kanoute to view the industry with detachment.

"In football it is easy to think you are the centre of the world," Kanoute said. "My religion helps me keep my feet on the ground. Being a Muslim is a way to feel about life - and football. I see the whole picture. I believe in this religion strongly. It gives me a lot of balance in my life. From that point I am a happy person."

Kanoute said the last book he read was the Koran (before that one on the civil war in Sierra Leone) and he had not suddenly digressed on to religion. He employed it while attempting to explain December 1st and his inexplicable hand-ball that gifted Liverpool a penalty in a League Cup quarter-final at White Hart Lane. Tottenham eventually lost in a penalty shoot-out - Kanoute failing from the spot - and it was after this that Jol said Kanoute's actions were unforgivable. The term's novelty when set against the ubiquitous "unbelievable" makes it a contender for quotation of the season; its severity led some to speculate about Kanoute's Spurs future.

"After the Liverpool game I can't kill myself on stuff like this because I have something I believe really strongly," said Kanoute. "That's why this is not the worst moment of my life or anything. But I was asking myself why I did it. It was a bad reflex and maybe it was still in my mind when I took the penalty. Sometimes you don't have a lot of control over yourself. I went home and talked to my wife and kids, but not about football. Sometimes it's stupid how we react about football. It's part of our lives and it get can get on our nerves but it's not the end of the world. At home I can switch off almost completely because I haven't got Sky TV, so I don't watch games, games, games. It makes me hungry for the ball when I come in. And I'm saving money."

The ability to laugh at an incident that could have spiralled was aided by Jol's mood the next day. His rage had subsided and he sought out Kanoute. When people ask what Jol has done to turn Spurs around, Kanoute gives an example of his management.

"I think he felt bad about saying this because he came to me the day after and said: 'Okay, I've said it and they've written something bigger than I said. Of course I forgive you.' I had not even read the papers, so I didn't know what he said. But he came to me. It was clever by him. Even if it was a mistake, he knew that, if he didn't come to me and I found out from a paper or TV, I might go to him and say 'Why you say this?' Maybe we would have had a big argument for nothing. So it was good. I accepted his forgiveness. It was fair."

Had Jacques Santini still been manager it might have been different. When Kanoute joined West Ham from Lyon - five years ago in March - Santini was Lyon's sporting director. The assumption grew that Santini did not rate Kanoute. "Our relationship was okay," Kanoute countered. "It was more that he could not adapt here. We could see that in training a little bit. He wanted to be the real boss. He said he could not do his job 100 per cent here."

But back to hand-ball. Jol's forgiveness aside, Kanoute was dropped for Spurs' next game against Blackburn. He might have been left out against Manchester City, too, casting more doubt on his future. But Jermain Defoe was suspended, Kanoute played and scored a beautiful winner. Liverpool, it seemed had been forgotten, though in time Kanoute may view it as a personal landmark at Tottenham.

"If they had not wanted me after that, then I would have known it immediately and we could have found a solution. But, if they had done this, it would have been ridiculous."

But good footballers are also prey. Around this time Barcelona rumours began and Barca did admit their interest. Kanoute got out of his car at Spurs' Chigwell training ground one day to have a member of staff say excitedly: 'So you're going to play with Ronaldinho'. "But the negotiations did not go far enough. There was some interest from them, it's true, but I was on a list of players they like. I was flattered, it's a club I like personally, but I'm not in a position where I want to go badly.

"You have to think about it, it's too big not to, but until there is an agreement between two clubs it's not a story."

But Spurs and Kanoute could be today. Kanoute scored twice at Stamford Bridge last season and while he agreed that Chelsea have moved on, so have Spurs.

"I don't think they are much better than us. They are a good team, very strong defensively, and I think (Jose) Mourinho gives his players a lot of ambition. But I think we can do something, especially at home.

"We are playing well, improving. A few new players, a new manager as well - there is a new dynamic. I think there is much more motivation, even in training. A lot of things seem to have changed and everybody wants to be part of this revolution.

"Tottenham are in the process of changing and we are capable of doing great things in the future. If not this year, then in the coming years. Next season people are going to look at us differently."

Kanoute should know about change: six weeks ago Tottenham were looking at him very differently. ...