Ollie Clasper asks the legendary football commentator about England’s World Cup chances, defining Wayne Rooney, and whether he ever finds a way to stop the voice in his head

For those who follow the beautiful game, the man affectionately known throughout the world as Motty needs little introduction. Having started his career as a newspaper writer, he quickly moved into broadcasting and has since commentated in 49 countries for the BBC, has worked on every World Cup since West Germany in 1974, and has (almost literally, it seems) “seen every ball kicked.” His role during next month’s tournament in South Africa may be less traditional (in the BBC’s Cape Town studio working with Gary Lineker’s team) but his love for the game remains unerring.

Wearing a rather dashing grey suit, with a glass of red wine in hand, and framed by the lush turf of the Happy Valley racecourse, John Motson comes across as a perfect combination of your favourite uncle and a living reincarnation of every football memory that has ever occurred in the history of the universe.

You have a hugely recognisable voice due to the length of your career, but also because of its tone and resonance. Was that something that came naturally, or something that you worked hard on to cultivate?
I think I had a bit of an advantage as my father was a Methodist minister. I heard him preaching from the pulpit nearly every week of my life, so I knew a little bit about projecting my voice. The rest of it – and I don’t want to sound blasé about it – but it came very naturally. I don’t feel I had to work to hard at the actual business of speaking, the hard work was the research on what I am doing.

As two Englishmen chatting only weeks before the World Cup starts, I can’t help but ask how you think Capello’s men will fare when the tournament kicks off.
I would say England will win their group. They’ll beat the USA and Algeria – they may not even have to beat Slovenia. I think they will play either Serbia or Ghana in the second round, and I think they can beat either of those. That may well give them a quarterfinal against France, which is a team in uproar at the moment. I think England would beat France on a good day, and that, if I’ve piloted this thing correctly, will give England a semifinal in Cape Town against Brazil. Now, I’m not going to sit here and say we’re going to win the World Cup, but I think if we got to a semi then people would say “Yes, Capello has taken us further than Eriksson took us.” I think with a good following wind and luck on the fitness front then Capello can take us to the semis at least.

How easy do you find it to separate your patriotism and your professionalism?
I think the majority of listeners would forgive you for being patriotic. They would think it strange if you weren’t. But there is an issue when [on the BBC] you call the England team ‘us or we,’ which leaves any Welsh, Scots or Irish deeply unhappy. But as an Englishman I’m not going to defend myself if I get excited over an English goal.

When you go to games as a fan do you commentate in your head?
That’s a very good question. But no, I don’t. But what I do do, and I do go to a lot of games when I'm not working, more than any other commentator I dare say. [Laughs] He says proudly. What I do do is I study the team, as I've probably gone to that game as I'll be commentating on them the next time I'm working. It's homework.

One of your more unsettling moments in your career must have been the day you commentated on the Hillsborough disaster. Was that the moment you realised that life was bigger than football?
Yes, and it also made me grateful that I had a news reporter’s background, as at 3.06pm that afternoon I ceased being a commentator and became a news reporter. Everything that’s been said about it has been said, and I don’t know if I can shed any new light on it. It was a harrowing experience having to try and describe what was going on without knowing quite the extent of it. If there was any reservation I had about the way I handled it was that I wasn’t in the position to tell people how serious it was. Although in the end the pictures told their own story.

Finally, I’m going to give you three names, and I would like you to give me one word in reply.

Fabio Capello
[Long silence] Presence.

Wayne Rooney
Well, I could say loads of words that mean brilliant, outstanding, fantastic. But what I want to say is the best player of his generation. However you say that in one word.

Sublime?
That’s it.

John Motson
Ageing. [Laughs, loudly]