Danny Welbeck scored his first FA Cup goal when he was 18 and his most recent one, last month, when he was 34.
The first came in only his fourth Manchester United match, in Southampton in January 2009. It was a header of a garden after a rebound.
While we look at it on old images of mobile phones, I suggest that I could have scored.
“Yes, but would you have been in that position?” he asks. It is a reasonable point.
“Look at that,” says Welbeck. “It's not even in HD. But I remember it. John O'Shea header stored and there I am. What a fantastic memory. '
United came to the semi -final that year to lose to Everton at Wembley on penalties. Welbeck played but none.
“That would have been the decision of the Gaffer,” he laughs rather sheepishly.
However, the FA Cup association of Welbeck is largely positive.
He remembers that he was on his parents in Droylsden, Manchester, how his team Newcastle sweeping aside on his way to the Treble in 1999. Welbeck was eight and already in United's books.
He will never forget to win the competition with Arsenal in 2015, when he did not play in the final, and again in 2017, when he did.
And now we are here. In Brighton talk about hope and possibilities prior to a quarter -final draw with Nottingham Forest this afternoon.
It is a FA Cup that is alive this season with possibility. Only Manchester City remains of the traditional modern large hitters. Welbeck is excited and it is partly because of him that Brighton is here. It was his goal – an agile chip about the goalkeeper – who won a blistering draw at Newcastle a few weeks ago.
“I have great memories,” Welbeck nods. 'All these brilliant moments and experiences are something that you are to penetrate as a small child.
“The goal at Newcastle felt great. The first touch was not perfect, but then a good finish. Not bad, right? '
Welbeck smiles the smile of a football player who feels completely at ease who he is and what he did. Home will always be the north and he still has the best Manchester -accent in football.
But despite the injuries and setbacks and struggles, this is not yet done for Welbeck, far from. He runs his eye on the team that was confronted with Southampton 16 years ago – van der Sar, Neville, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea; Nani, Anderson, Carrick, Giggs; Berbatov, Welbeck – and reflects on early learned lessons.
“You have the best kind of upbringing in that area,” says Welbeck.
'To see how those players work, how they are like people, how they deal with everyone, push each other to be the best they can be, such an incredible learning curve.
“It is ingrained in me, you know. Always want more. '
Welbeck spoke earlier this season on a Brighton Club podcast and noticed how the training during his years in the game has not changed any more recognition. Tactics and technical work are now king.
However, some things have not changed.
“The importance of culture,” he explains. “We have a good one here. But it can quickly become very negative and you can get into trouble. '
The big test of Brighton this season only arrived seven games ago and it was against today's opponents. The Fabian Hurzeler team lost 7-0 to Forest on the city. A season seemed to be in balance and the mental images were not good for Welbeck.
“There was a result for United to Man City in Old Trafford, where we were smashed,” he says.
The famous 6-1 of 2011?
“Yes, I didn't want to say the score out loud,” he smiles. “I felt similar emotions that day. But I always remember what the manager said. “Remember this feeling … how much it hurts … and use it”.
'If Sir Alex Ferguson says you are listening. So when it happened in the forest, that was my message to the young boys here. Hold this feeling and never forget it. '
After that dismantling of 2011 by their neighbors, United won their next five games and Hurzeler's Brighton responded in the same way. In fact, they have won their next six.
“It is so easy on the back of a result, as you let yourself float and it is the honor to the boys we have held together,” Welbeck adds.
'We had this terrible result, but I knew that if we live with it, it would not help us. We had to find a balance, try to find a positive and then continue.
“It was a humiliating mentality that we took over and that helped us. Maybe we needed it.
'We had moments this season when we had good results and there is a lot of talk about which function we could possibly reach.
'But for us it is really important to only concentrate on the next game and that really became clear after Forest. I know the negative impact it has had in the past where we have thought too far ahead.
'We have an incredible experience here and some incredible talent among the younger players. When we mix that together and find it really strong balance, it is a really strong side. '
It would be wrong to say that Welbeck's career passed. There have been too many breaks and punctuations for that.
Injury has been an enemy and both knees need work. But these have turned out to be commas. Never a full stop.
“There has been 100 percent some tears for the road,” Welbeck nods.
“It's not easy, you know? You can be at a great moment and then you are suddenly out for six months and your specialist says things about your career opportunities that you may not want to hear.
'So, yes, once the operation is done, you let your emotions out and then it's time.
'A small cry and then:' Good, okay. What can I do now to put myself in the best position to come back? “That's what I have always done. '
The Welbeck that is here today is lean and strong and full of latent strength. He has his best season through Premier League goals in 11 years and is optimistic.
“The love for playing drives me,” he says. 'I am only 34 and I know that is just a number. I feel fit and healthy. I have the desire to make and improve lost time. '
Welbeck signed a one -year contract when he arrived in Waterford in October 2020 from Watford. Another deal of 12 months followed a year later. Followed by two more, but this time in a two -year term. His current deal runs until the summer of 2026 and he actually played more games for Brighton than he has for another club.
I first ask him if he has surprised himself and secondly where he found the mental force to continue.
“I wouldn't say surprised, but no, I probably didn't expect to be here five years later,” he thinks. 'Mental strength is … Well, I have read a few books that have helped, but you also have to have that inner strength to be as good as possible.
'After an injury to my left knee, I remember that I was thinking there:' What can I really do to continue? '
'I worked out that I could look at analyzing games. Like really looking and seeing what I can do in different situations.
'Maybe some comes from my parents and I have two older brothers. As a child I fought from a young age – not literally fighting – but fighting for approval and to ensure that I was heard.
'And you do that until the road stops, right? And it is important to enjoy it. A smile is never promised. '
Welbeck was in the united dressing room between Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo. Now it is his turn and the young players help to navigate things such as the dangers lurking on social media platforms.
“It is very difficult for players not to be dragged along,” says Welbeck. 'You have to distinguish between social media and real life and the reality of what is happening here on the training field.
'Football is a hard transplant and yes, the boys talk in the dressing room. I try to tell them that there can be players in that room who do not receive so much attention or praise from social media, but what they have actually done to help us win a game is huge. '
If Welbeck likes to be as a role model, he still has his own.
“James Milner is the oldest and the standards he sets every day are great,” he reveals. 'What he does in and around the place is unreal. It's great for young players to see.
'You can't be late. What he does every day before and after training. What he eats. How he does his rehabilitation.
'Look how many trophies he has won and he still has the determination to go faster than every US. If you are a young boy, he will run you until the end. I look up at him and he inspires me. It is a privilege to be in the same club. '
While he poses for photos, Welbeck tells about the game of the England of the previous night and wonders why Reece James does not celebrate his goal. “I would have it,” he grins.
English manager Thomas Tuchel says that he spoke with players on the edge of selection, but Welbeck – who won the last of his 42 caps in 2018 – says: 'No, I had no form of contact.
'I left with the family and had a nice break, rested and walked up and ready to go for the last push of the season. That is the most important thing for me. Focus on what I can control. '
Recently his old teammate Wayne Rooney suggested that United should sign him again, but Welbeck – a father of two young girls – is not about to fall into that head.
“For someone like Wazza to say that something so nice is,” he says. 'But it's football and there will always be a lot of talking if I do it right, just because it was my club.
“The truth is that I love it here. I still have my old friends from school and they come to Brighton with their families and now our children play together.
'It is important to have that narrow circle of friends, honest people.
'With football players it is easy to have many' yes men 'around you, people who are going to suck and say:' you are doing great ', even if you may not be.
'You need reality and real people in your life. My family is great and I have that network of real honest and modest friends and that is super important.
'And yes, they always take the p ***. About everything real! But it all goes back in the same way. '
The Amex will expect on Saturday. Brighton was recently near a FA Cup final twice and lost the semi-final against United on Strenalties two years ago and to City 1-0 in 2019. Since the landscape of English football changes might be a big final, a big final would be the most natural next step in Brighton's development.
As the landscape of English football changes, a grand finale would perhaps be the most natural next step of the development of Brighton.
This club never won a big trophy and once went to one cup final, in 1983 when Gordon Smith had to score.
In fact on Saturday, can revenge smell in the air? A 7-0 is still a 7-0.
“It's really good to be able to play again seeing what happened,” Welbeck nods.
'Revenge? You can say revenge, but we can't put too much emphasis on that.
'The most important thing is to go through this competition and continue.
“Let's just leave it at that …”
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