It is the story of the understudy, the No2, the nearly man, the guy who has to be patient, putting on a brave face and trying to balance any disappointments with the knowledge that the player keeping him out of the team is a footballer of uncommon ability.
It can be a frustrating business at times, as Leighton Baines is willing to admit. In another era Baines might have had legitimate aspirations of playing 50 or 60 times for England. As it is, he has been restricted to nine caps.
What a great player he is, the best left back in the world is in the same team as him, he would have got many caps otherwise