In 1984, John Fashanu, a black Englishman of Nigerian descent, signed with the British club: Millwall FC; an openly racist club at that time. The semi-official chant the supporters sing from the crowd is: ‘We are Millwall, No One Likes Us, No One Likes Us, We Don’t Care, We are Millwall, From the Den’. (The Den is the name of their home ground)

The supporters hated him, they abused him, they threw bananas at him, they threatened his life if he dare stay. Somehow, as time progressed - they came to adore him. Impossibly, he became the most beloved player at the club. His passion, his skill and of course his goals just won them over, kind of like the Soviet crowd conversion in Rocky IV.

In fact, they revered him so much that when he left the club, the ‘ultra’ supporters – a notorious group known as the F Troupe – were so distraught, that they took out a hit on his life, and he had to go into hiding.

And this is just chapter 4 for John – It was such a good time to chat with him - Give us a listen to hear it all.

soccerPod - Ep: 20

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