In a recent interview, Tottenham forward Ter talked about the origin of his tough character, how to deal with the abuse after missing a penalty kick, and the football philosophy he learned from Kobe Bryant.
Was your perseverance tempered by your upbringing in Sasser?
I was born in the slum of Sasser, so my mentality is very, very strong. Every situation I've faced so far has helped me get better and become a better person and player. If you want to be a great player and a great person, your mentality needs to be great and strong. I am no longer going to Sasser. But when I was there, the mentality there was don’t let anyone beat you. Whether you're playing football or fighting in the streets, it's the same everywhere. Just don’t let anyone keep your head down. That's why I think like this. I won't let anyone keep my head down. If I don't succeed, I'll come back.
Is it difficult to grow there?
I would say half and half. It’s difficult because you’re always challenging yourself. If you go this way, people won't like you. You go the other way and people like you. But this may not be the right path. So you don't really know where you're going. That’s why my family is always behind me, because if you don’t have the support of your family, it’s going to be very, very difficult.
After missing a penalty in the European Super Cup, you suffered racist abuse. How does that affect you?
I'm not totally shocked, but these mean comments can still hurt you. The same thing happened on social media after a game at Bayern. That's why, today, I just try to protect myself - don't read, don't listen, just focus on what I'm doing. Every day is work, work, work. I think social media companies need to do more because social media is so open. So if I want to be a bad person, I just create an account under another name and say a lot of bad things. It is so easy to be disrespectful to so many people. So, yeah, please try to protect us, protect the kids, protect everyone, because no one should have to go through this.
Did that experience make you hesitate to take penalty kicks for France U21?
Yes. But what I was thinking was: "I'll try again next time. I'll try again, I'll try again." So that's what I did. Of course, there's pressure, but it's always about confidence. In my head, I was thinking, "I don't want to miss another free throw." So, I shot and I scored.
You seem to have a philosophy of not being afraid of making mistakes, even mentioning Kobe.
I will take penalties again, and if we go to the Super Bowl next year, I will take penalties again. No fear. I love Kobe, I always read about the things he did and he always tried, tried, tried. You need to try to succeed. You're going to succeed by making mistakes, so I'm okay with making mistakes. If I don't score, that's okay with me because I'll come back and score next time.
What was your first reaction when you learned that you were not selected for the Champions League squad?
To be honest, I was very, very angry for a few weeks. But I was like, "Use this and prove to him that you should be on the roster." The bad things help me get better more than the good things. So I face a lot of bad things, but I can handle it. I'm not in the squad right now, but I'll do everything I can to get in the squad in January. This is a new challenge for me and I like challenges.
You also seem to understand the coach’s decision.
I am a fair person, and on the day of the (Super Bowl) final I was not in good condition and I did not play well enough. If I were a head coach and saw a player wasn't good enough, I would probably do the same thing. So in my mind, I thought "That's fair because we have a lot of good players. It doesn't matter."
After scoring against Leeds United, Coach Frank pushed you towards the fans, what did that moment mean to you?
After the Leeds game he pushed me towards the fans and that was pretty emotional for me. Because he showed me, "I didn't put you in the squad, but you're still here, I still believe in you, I still support you." Not because "you didn't do this or I don't like you."
Your former teammate Kane also seems to have given you a lot of help.
Kane helped me a lot. Four days ago, he sent me a voice message and we talked about how we can get better, about shooting, positioning in the box. He told me, "Whenever you want to call me, just call me. We'll talk about it and try to find the best way to train for you." It was great because he would take the time to talk to me and explain to me how I could get better.
For me, he is the best striker in the world and now he has scored 21 goals in 13 games. It’s only October! He told me, "Whenever you want, call me or text me and we'll talk. If you want to talk football, or if you don't want to talk football, if you want to talk life, I'm always here." He's a very nice guy.