'Leader, machine, an absolute joy' - Chris Gunter's journey to 100 Wales caps

Defender Chris Gunter has been an integral part of the close-knit spirit in the Wales camp

This article was originally published on 27 March, 2021.

Chris Gunter stands on the brink of history as the first footballer to win 100 caps for Wales men.

When the 31-year-old full-back takes the field against Mexico in Saturday's friendly in Cardiff, he will follow in the footsteps of Wales' women internationals Jess Fishlock, Sophie Ingle and Loren Dykes in reaching that century mark.

Newport-born Gunter started his club career with Cardiff City before moves to Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest and Reading. Now he is still going strong with Charlton Athletic.

But it is his longevity for the national team which has been staggering since his debut in May 2007, in a friendly against New Zealand.

He made a remarkable 63 consecutive appearances for Wales between February 2011 and September 2018, including featuring in every qualifier and finals match in Euro 2016.

For Wales fans his iconic status was cemented with his famous "chin up" gesture to the Red Wall supporters after the Euro 2016 group game defeat by England in Lens.

As he discovered when Wales travelled to play in the China Cup, he had also built himself a fan club well beyond the borders of his beloved home nation.

Now, having powered past former record holder Neville Southall through the nervous nineties, Gunter will carve himself an immovable place in the annals of Welsh football history as the first male centurion.

BBC Sport Wales has spoken to some of the managers and players who have been part of his journey as he blazed a trail to the magic 100 mark.

Gunter's junior coach recalls him making his mark with a goal from halfway, Brian Flynn picked him out early as "a leader", John Toshack praises him as a "tremendous pro", ex-team-mate Joe Ledley loves the man he labels "a machine", fellow centurion Fishlock hails his "phenomenal" achievement, while Chris Coleman says he is simply "an absolute joy".

The first manager

Chris Gunter (back row, second from right) made an early mark with Newport side Albion Rovers

Mark Rowland was the manager at amateur Newport side Albion Rovers and oversaw Gunter's early development.

"The first time I saw Chris play, he was six years of age in a mini-tournament at Shaftesbury Park. I remember it well. He stood out to me because whilst he was so young, he was the only boy who was equally comfortable using both his left and right foot. He also controlled the ball from a goal kick and scored from the halfway line!" Rowland said.

"A lot of credit goes to Chris's dad, Gerald, who spent hours and hours with him day after day at the Glebelands honing his passing, shooting and the technical aspects of his game. I'd see them walking past my house with a football and returning an hour or two later. This clearly paid dividends.

"When Chris came and played for me at Albion Rovers for a couple of seasons, before joining Cardiff City, he was a joy to coach and the thing that stood out was how coachable he was. He was quiet and unassuming but with an excellent attitude, dedication and willingness to become a better player.

"I've seen many gifted young players over the years from Newport fall by the wayside and not realise their full potential. But Chris had a very wise head on young shoulders and stayed away from the perils of city and teenage life and worked incredibly hard.

"He was always totally focused on becoming the best player he could and it's fantastic to see a local lad from the same humble beginnings as myself in the Riverside area of Newport have such a successful professional career."

Early international steps

Chris Gunter came through the Wales age-group system to reach the senior team

Former Wales international Flynn coached Gunter in Welsh age-group sides and helped promote him to the senior side, before managing him in the national team.

"It was probably in early 2005 when we held a training camp in Swansea and invited 30 of our under-17 players down. I had monitored the Victory Shield squads so I was obviously aware of him and a few other players," Flynn said.

"From the moment of being there with him, I knew he was one with huge potential and was a leader. I made him captain of the under-17s, which was a big accolade for him.

"After the initial period, the [senior] manager John Toshack would often say to me 'I need you to tell me as soon as possible who is next coming through'.

"There seemed to be players retiring every week and the defensive side of it looked a bit weak. He would ask who is the next defender coming along and my first choice was Chris Gunter.

"To reach 100 caps you need talent, consistency and honesty. Chris had those in abundance. To play so many consecutive games for Wales, shows ridiculous consistency and it proves managers could always trust him.

"I think you now have to put Chris in the category of the greatest Welsh defenders. Without a doubt for him to achieve 100 caps he must be on top of that list. You can also put him on the same list as John Charles, Ryan Giggs, Ian Rush and Neville Southall. He is on that top list of players as the greatest players to play for Wales.

"I am certain Chris will be there in the Euros and in the future I can see him stepping into management. I think he has the willingness to pass on his knowledge."

The Wales debut

John Toshack gave Chris Gunter his senior Wales debut

Toshack gave Chris Gunter his first senior cap in a friendly against New Zealand, at the Racecourse, Wrexham, on 26 May 2007.

Ryan Giggs captained the side - the penultimate game of his international career as he bowed out against the Czech Republic a week later.

Toshack said: "It was a time of change, out with the old, in with the new, I'm sure Ryan won't mind me putting it that way. Brian Flynn was doing an excellent job with the under-23s.

"Chris was one of a good group of young players - Wayne Hennessey, Gareth Bale were among others - we pushed through and maybe we pushed them through a little bit earlier than we would have liked. But I felt the team had grown old together.

"Chris can be very proud of what he has achieved. When you get to 100 caps it really is tremendous. You not only have to be a top player performing well but you also have to steer clear of injuries. Chris has always been a very fit lad.

"Maybe he plays in a position where people are not going to notice you too much, you are not always in the limelight.

"But he eventually took over from Mark Delaney who himself was a top professional, played a lot of games in that position for the national side. You look at those two over the years, the performances they have given, its tremendous.

"With Chris, he was always quick and always fit... he never let you down. He was always there, he always turned up, always trained well and is a credit to the profession. I would like to say 'well done'."

The fellow pro

Joe Ledley played alongside Chris Gunter for club and country

Wales midfielder Ledley saw Gunter emerge at Cardiff City as a youngster and played alongside him for Wales, culminating in being part of the squad which reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016 in France.

"I saw him first in Cardiff when he came through as a youth-team player and you could see his development then, not just as a player but as a person. He was dedicated to the sport. He loved every minute of it," Ledley said.

"My Wales roomie, Wayne Hennessey, has also gone on to get a lot of caps but with Gunts, I barely remember him missing games. He was was consistent in his performances week in, week out, at club level and international level.

"When called upon he was just never injured. He is just a machine.

"His body keeps going. He works hard in training, hard on the pitch. That for me is just a remarkable achievement in itself. I know his family well - they are very proud of what he has achieved.

"Avoiding injuries is not luck, that is down to his dedication in sport and his professionalism. If you go training and go on a bender and drink or smoke or anything like that you are going to get caught out, you are going to get injured.

"Gunts isn't that sort of person. Yes, we all like a drink, don't get me wrong. But there is a time and a place and it proves how dedicated he is to football and he loves Wales.

"He was one of the main characters in the team and the squad and had that respect of every player. We all looked up to him. Picking you up when you have been knocked down goes a long way, not just on the pitch but off it as well.

"The 'chin up' gesture... just showed the respect to the fans and the togetherness. He was a fan himself and still is a fan. He used to go to the Cardiff games and the Wales games. He is dedicated to football.

"To reach 100 caps, is bonkers really. You get it with the England players and the Brazil players, only because they qualify for major competitions every two years.

"The first time we qualified [since 1958] was Euro 2016, so we went on to earn a lot more caps than we expected for a small nation like us. But to get 100 caps you have to basically meet up nearly every game, every campaign. That is what he has done, it's an unbelievable achievement.

"I love him, he's a great guy and I don't see why he shouldn't go to the Euros this summer. He probably won't be playing as much as we would like but there's more off the pitch. Without him it could be totally different."

From one centurion to another

Jess Fishlock was the first Wales player to reach 100 caps

Wales international Fishlock is a football trailblazer and on 5 April, 2017 became the first Welsh player to earn 100 caps for the national team.

"I think it is huge and for Chris personally in the last few years it is something he will have been thinking about and working towards with Wales," she said.

"I always say the longevity of a career to make it to 100 caps on the international stage is phenomenal. He is going to have one of the best feelings ever because for me it was the best feeling of my whole career.

"Players like Gareth Bale are one in a million... but for the majority of the squad, it is players like Chris Gunter that make you what you are. They are the players who turn up every day, do their jobs, give you seven, eight out of 10 no matter what. They are reliable, committed and they are the people you need to be successful.

"He reminds me a lot of Loren Dykes. They epitomise what you need to be as a professional athlete to be able to succeed.

"For those who play the game it is no surprise people like Chris have such long-standing careers. And getting to 100 caps, as the first male to do it, is going to be pretty special for him.

"I always say that if we [Wales] had gone to major tournaments, I would be sitting on over 200 caps right now. So that makes it even more of an achievement for people from a small country.

"It was by far the best thing in my career. No-one can ever take it away from you. Every time you put on your Welsh jersey it feels like the first time and you hold it so close in case it's the last."

The Euro 2016 adventure

Chris Gunter salutes the 'Red Wall' of Wales fans during Euro 2016

During his reign as Wales manager, Coleman awarded Gunter 50 of his prized caps. Coleman guided Wales to their historic Euro 2016 semi-final place before they bowed out to eventual winners Portugal. Gunter did not miss a minute of the qualifiers or the finals in France.

Coleman said: "I remember in 2012 sitting down with that group of players - Chris Gunter, Joe Allen, Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale - when they were being labelled the golden generation. I remember saying two things to them.

"I said, 'you are not the golden generation because you haven't done anything yet... when everybody is calling you the generation you have not earned that yet'. Well, they went on to earn it!

"And I threw the gauntlet down and said, 'who is going to be the first Welshman to play 100 times for Wales?' because we have never had anybody. It used to rile me a bit because you used to see the Croatians, the Serbians, the Bulgarians or the Romanians - a lot of their players have 100 caps and over.

"I asked them, 'does it mean more to them than to us?'. If you are good enough you should be in every camp and you should never miss a game, because once you finish playing football it is done.

"You only realise how lucky you are when you are finished, how blessed you are to be playing football and playing for your country - it does not get better than that.

"Chris has been lucky because he is a great athlete, but I am delighted he will be the first because he deserves it. When I got the job, I did not know him personally but saw him from afar. When I started to work with him, I found he was an absolute joy.

"When you are winning and everything is going great, everybody is friendly and everybody wants to be in your corner. When you are losing and things are not going well you see the true person.

"At the start of my reign with Wales, Chris never ever wavered. He was the same right the way through the six years I was there.

"In that first 18 months when it was really tough, he never missed a camp, never missed a training session, never missed a game. His input on the game plan or formation or what I wanted in training was tremendous.

"He is just a really good person, completely unaffected by the job he does, and you cannot say that about everybody.

"When it's tough you find out about people. If anyone deserves 100 caps it's Chris Gunter."