Broadway To Brazil

Football is a sentimental culture. Where do you draw the line between heritage and progress? And when you represent a club that has chosen to set itself apart, with its own respected ethos, how do you move with the times and maintain your unique identity?

These are the questions that have faced custodians of the Corinthian-Casuals legacy from the 1880s through to the 2020s. 

So how have things changed over the course of those 14 decades? In our final episode, we set out to answer the overarching question behind this entire series: What does it mean to be a Corinthian?

To help explore this topic, Dominic and Jarek are joined by committee member John Forrest, and we hear from a wide range of club voices, past and present, including players, management, fans, and a range of the club's custodians over its distinguished history. 

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Written, produced and presented by Jarek Zaba and Dominic Bliss. 

Editing: Jarek Zaba;

Audio engineering: Brent Davies;

Title music: John Forrest;

Artwork: Matt Alabaster;

Website: Chris Kelly.

The footballing paths trodden by the Corinthian-Casuals side are long and varied. From as far afield as Australia and Belgium, and featuring clubs right at the very top of the English game, the players have often seen it all before they walk through the gates at King George’s Field.

But they all have one thing in common – they’ve all fallen in love with this famous old club hidden away off a slip road on the A3.

These are the stories of the men who make up the team today, told through four voices in the present day first team dressing room: Robert Paratore, Ben Cheklit, Danny Bracken and Kieron Cadogan. Dominic and Jarek are also joined by club volunteer Stuart Tree, who knows the first team well through his involvement as club photographer and programme editor. 

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Written, produced and presented by Jarek Zaba and Dominic Bliss. 

Editing: Jarek Zaba;

Audio engineering: Brent Davies;

Title music: John Forrest;

Artwork: Matt Alabaster;

Website: Chris Kelly.

The list of international teams that the Corinthian-Casuals have visited is long, weird and wonderful. But perhaps one of the most unusual ties in the club’s history features them as hosts rather than visitors. 

In 1991 a squad of the Soviet Union’s greatest former player came to Tolworth. As if this wasn’t weird enough, their home country was all but being dissolved at this precise moment. 

We've delved deep into this remarkable fixture, speaking to Steve Bangs, the first time manager at the time who played in the Veterans game; Gary Brigden, at the time the club's first time goalkeeper but a spectator for this tie; and Manuel Veth, a Soviet football historian who places this bizarre tour into context. 

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Written, produced and presented by Jarek Zaba and Dominic Bliss. 

Editing: Jarek Zaba;

Audio engineering: Brent Davies;

Title music: John Forrest;

Artwork: Matt Alabaster;

Website: Chris Kelly.

In 1898, the Corinthians broke their own code and agreed to compete for silverware for the first time. They did so in a showpiece game played between the best amateur and the best professional team in the country. The winner took the mountainous Sheriff of London Shield, an oak leviathan too big for any captain to lift in celebration.

But since the club were forced to sell the Shield in 1996, its whereabouts have been unknown to Corinthians and football historians alike. We set out to track it down, speaking to a Andy Gray, who competed in the last Sheriff of London Shield game in 1983; Brian Wakefield and David Harrison, two Corinthian-Casuals committee members who oversaw the sale of the Shield; and Massimo Ferragamo, the present day owner of the trophy. 

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Written, produced and presented by Jarek Zaba and Dominic Bliss. 

Editing: Jarek Zaba;

Audio engineering: Brent Davies;

Title music: John Forrest;

Artwork: Matt Alabaster;

Website: Chris Kelly.

Additional archive audio in this episode courtesy of Gillian Townsend. 

Socrates is one of the icons of Brazilian football. His effortless grace on the pitch, and his political activism off it, made him an unmistakable symbol for a generation of Brazilians. 

Lesser known is the 17 minutes he spent playing for the Corinthian-Casuals. Having just scored for the opposition, he swapped his number 8 shirt and took his place alongside his Spartan League teammates. 

This is the story of this iconic moment in 1988, when the Corinthians travelled to Brazil for the first time in 75 years for a showpiece friendly against their brothers in football, Corinthians Paulista. 

To help tell the tale, Jarek and Dominic are joined by the club's Community Liaison Officer, John Forrest. We also hear from biographer of Socrates, Andrew Downie; dedicated Corinthians Paulista fan, Dilva Bandeira; and the Casuals goalkeeper who was on the receiving end of some Socrates magic, John Metcalfe.  

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Written, produced and presented by Jarek Zaba and Dominic Bliss. 

Editing: Jarek Zaba;

Audio engineering: Brent Davies;

Title music: John Forrest;

Artwork: Matt Alabaster;

Website: Chris Kelly

140 years ago - after Scotland hammered England 6-1 to record what remains their record away win in football’s oldest international rivalry - the Scottish captain decided to move south of the border to help an English club side master the passing game.

He was one of the best players of his era. His impact on the game has been likened by some football historians to Pele. He was also the first black international footballer, and in 1882 he joined the Corinthians.

This is the remarkable story of Andrew Watson, told through the voices of three experts who have researched his life and football career extensively. Llew Walker is author of the biography A Straggling Life, Andrew Watson; Ged O’Brien is a historian of Scottish football and the influence of ’Scotch Professors’ like Watson; and Malik Al Nasir is a descendant of Andrew Watson who has researched his family extensively. 

Dominic and Jarek then bring the story of race, football and the Corinthians up to date by talking to two more modern day players: Tony Finnigan of the Corinthian-Casuals side of the 1980s; and Kieron Cadogan of the present day squad. 

Written, produced and presented by Jarek Zaba and Dominic Bliss. 

Editing: Jarek Zaba;

Audio engineering: Brent Davies;

Title music: John Forrest;

Artwork: Matt Alabaster;

Website: Chris Kelly

For three years in the early 1980s, Billy Smith transformed the fortunes of Corinthian-Casuals. 

When he took over as manager, the team had finished bottom of the league for three straight seasons. By the end of his time at the club, they had reached the first round proper of the FA Cup for only the second time in their history, with future stars like Alan Pardew, Andy Gray and Tony Finnigan among their ranks.

This is the story of how they did it, with Jarek and Dominic once again joined by sports writer and non league specialist Tony Banks. 

The story of Billy's Heroes is told through the voices of Pardew, Gray and Finnigan, who each reflect on how Corinthian-Casuals played a huge role in their rise to the professional ranks. They look back on the successful no nonsense approach of Billy Smith, explain how they balanced football with work commitments as box packers and glaziers, and relive the moment the Casuals took on Bristol City in the FA Cup First Round. 

Written, produced and presented by Jarek Zaba and Dominic Bliss. 

Editing: Jarek Zaba

Audio engineering: Brent Davies

Title music: John Forrest

Artwork: Matt Alabaster

Website: Chris Kelly

Since the first season of Broadway to Brazil, the Corinthian-Casuals have continued punching above their weight. Surviving in the Isthmian Premier League, the club went on to win silverware in Budapest in 2019 at the Egri Erbstein Tournament. 

But like everyone else at this level, they have been left frustrated by lockdowns and league cancellations over the last year and a half. Yet the club still serves as a beacon to its local community, and was even able to squeeze a bit of FA Cup drama into 'The Season That Wasn’t'.

Recorded on the eve of the 2021/22 season, the opening episode of Series 2 of Broadway to Brazil sees Dom and Jarek joined by seasoned sports writer Tony Banks. They reflect on last year's Covid-effected campaign, which was ultimately cut short by lockdown but also featured a great deal of excitement crammed into a breathless couple of months. 

We hear from Club Secretary, Hanna Newton, who discusses how the club played an important community role in the challenging early months of the pandemic; captain Danny Bracken, who provides a player perspective of living without football; club volunteer Lucy Symons, who talks about her path to becoming the PA announcer at the Casuals; and FA Cup hero Ben Cheklit, whose wondergoal against Dulwich Hamlet marked the most iconic moment of the Casuals’ aborted 2020/21 campaign. 

Written, produced and presented by Jarek Zaba and Dominic Bliss. 

Editing: Jarek Zaba

Audio engineering: Brent Davies

Title music: John Forrest

Artwork: Matt Alabaster

Website: Chris Kelly

Broadway to Brazil is back for a second series and we couldn’t be more excited. 

After delving into the history of Corinthian-Casuals and covering their promotion campaign in Series 1, Jarek Zaba and Dominic Bliss return for more incredible stories of this unique non league club. 

With original plans to cover the 2020/21 season scuppered by Covid, attention was turned to some of the lesser told – but no less fascinating – Corinthian stories. We’ve spoken to FA Cup heroes from the 1980s, such as Alan Pardew, explored the fascinating story of the first black international footballer, Andrew Watson, and relived the iconic moment when Brazil legend Socrates put on the chocolate and pink shirt of the Casuals. 

The second series of Broadway to Brazil is being released every Tuesday from 7 September. Find it on all podcast apps or at www.broadwaytobrazil.com.

In June 2019 the Corinthian-Casuals were given a special opportunity to travel to Hungary to participate in the inaugural Egri Erbstein Tournament and compete for the new Corinthian Cup. Broadway to Budapest travelled with the club for a bonus episode, telling the story of the tournament’s origins with one of football’s forgotten pioneers, and covering the action as James Bracken aims to win his first ever Corinthian-Casuals trophy.