Football Thread Spin-Off: First Football Heroes

One from your team and one from football in general please.
Adrian Littlejohn from Argyle, remember him and Carlo Corazzin banging them in during the promotion season in 95/96 and he was dead nice when I met him. Eric Cantona from the wider, superior world; like watching a fucking different species when he was on form and at his most confident/arrogant playing-wise.

Dion Dublin from football and then Dion Dublin from his other ventures.

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Faustino Asprilla for me. Must’ve watched the Newcastle 96/97 and 97/98 Season Reviews VHS a thousand times each as a kid and he was just wonderful to watch even when he was hopeless. Bagged tons in the UEFA Cup, scored a hat trick against Barcelona in the CL and was generally rubbish in the league but who cares. Also met him on my first ever trip to St James Park (alongside Alessandro Pistone). He was injured hobbling out the stadium when we were doing a tour and I gave him a big hug. Unfortunately, my mum got really nervous and starting shaking so the only photograph of the meeting is more or less a blur.

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Darlington fan eh?

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David Ginola was the first player for Spurs I was really, really into. Like he was the one I’d be commentating as in the garden as I scored and dribbled etc.

My brother’s was Teddy Sheringham and he cried loads when he went to Man United.

I reckon original Ronaldo was the player I was most blown away by when watching internationals and during the hype of world cups etc.

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Emilie Heskey obvs

I remember being completely obsessed with Kanchelskis for a while.

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Yeah definitely this. Him and Batistuta.

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Cantona

Are you old enough to remember the kung-fu kick Jordo? Listened to that game on the radio in bed and remember being oddly in awe when I saw the pictures and just knowing that the fella must have been a cunt. Just added to the mystique.

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Besides the obvious Shearer and Speed, Solano and Robert for me. Love the way Solano used to twat it with the outside of his boot, always used to try (and fail) to do it as a kid.

Only player to be further west than Bristol.

Have strongly considered getting an old Batistuta Fiorentina shirt for ages

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No way I could get away with that colour but just had a look and they’re only about £30.

Ian Wright at Palace.

Who was the fella at Palace in the 90s, winger, dreadlocks, quite small?

I was at that Barcelona game. It was magic. One of the best nights of my life . We absolutely destroyed them for 60 minutes and then nearly threw it away in classic Newcastle style. Tino was unplayable along with Gillespie. Magic!

I’dve went for Beardsley as my pick but unfortunately he’s a racist bell-end. Very sad.

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John Salako was a winger but he didn’t really have dreadlocks.
Richard Shaw was a full back and had dreadlocks.

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Salako that was it, always used to like him.

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I was at that game. The bloke actually supported Fulham by all accounts, he lived around the corner from my cousin.

Cantona still shouldn’t have reacted like that though, he could easily have hit someone else (and he had a history of stamping on players),. It also indirectly lead to the death of a Palace fan the next time Palace played United. The scariest game I’ve ever been to.

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