Far Away Fan

Kelly Keith is from Kampala, Uganda and is a passionate AS Roma fan.

Keith was a Manchester United fan because of his family. He started to watch Roma on television and liked the way they played. So he started to choose them as his team on FIFA. His passion for Roma has grown over the years as he continued to play the game. He went on to tell me about how the Italian fans and their passion are one of the many reasons he loves the team. 

While we talked about the rivalries with Lazio and Juventus,  he now considers Barcelona a rival as well after the Champions League game of 2018. We had to talk about that amazing game and his experience of watching it with a group of 120 people. 

From among his list of legends, he wishes he had the chance to see Francesco Totti. Danielle De Rossi, Eden Dzeko and El Shaarawy are on his list. Antonio Mirante is one of the  players he feels deserves more praise and Justin Kluivert is the young player he is hoping to see more of. 

He told me a story about how he was among  a few International fans to receive a T-shirt from the club, in fact he has a set of jerseys’ enough to celebrate a ‘Roma week’.

‘Omuroma’ is his nickname, he explained to me what it means in Bantu and how it came about.

Finally I ask him what it has meant to him to be a Roma fan.

NOTE: We ran into some connectivity issues while recording which is why the audio quality suffered a bit, but  it clears up halfway through. Thanks for listening.

We’d love to hear from you, get in touch with us on Twitter @FarAwayFanPod or on Instagram. 

Marius Helgå is from Oslo, Norway and is a supporter of Gimnàstic de Tarragona, Spain.

Marius is a union representative and plays the bass trombone in his spare time. In 2006, he was visiting Spain with a band and visited the city of Tarragona. He fell in love with the city and decided to start following the club. He runs the twitter handle @NasticNoruega. The team currently plays in the third division of Spain.  He is hoping they come back to the Segunda Division, where you can watch the games on YouTube.

His club legend is the Swedish player, Tobias Grahn, and a player he feels deserved a bit more praise from his time at the club is Manolo Reina, who now plays for Mallorca.

In Norway, he follows Tromsø IL. In 2015, he was holding a giant flag in some crazy weather, the camera picked up his struggle. The clip went viral and even today Marius gets recognised at games across Norway!

Tromsø is the northernmost professional club in the world. Marius told me

about a fascinating game from the 1997 Cup Winners Cup where Tromsø played Chelsea on a pitch that was completely covered in snow.

Marius is a groundhopper, and has visited 11 countries. The most exotic he says has been his visits to Romania with Football in Heaven. Check out his blog, http://bombaball.blogspot.com/ where he documents his groundhopping.

At the end of the show you will hear Marius on bass trombone playing a medley of football songs

We’d love to hear from you, get in touch with us on Twitter @FarAwayFanPod or on Instagram.

Adrian Ochoa is from Tijuana, Mexico and is a supporter of Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa. 

The World Cup 2010 in South Africa had a huge impact on Adrian, so much so that he was supporting South Africa in the opening game versus Mexico. 

He has a Twitter handle @KaizerChiefsMex where he tweets about the club is Spanish.

We spoke about the World Cup, the generosity of the South African fans and why watching international football makes him so happy. 

Khama Billiat is a player Adrian feels is underrated and could be the best player in Africa and Keletso Sifama is the young player he’s looking to see more of.

Adrian is studying International Relations and his dream is to someday live and work in South Africa.

He has a collection of jerseys from across the world (but not India, but we fixed that!) and hopes to be a part of FIFA someday. He told me a great story about watching the world cup in his school Auditorium.

I asked him what his journey as a Kaizer Chiefs’ fan has brought to him, he talked about the friendships he has formed by supporting the team.

We also talked about @multincha, who promotes supporter clubs from North and South America.

We’d love to hear from you, get in touch with us on Twitter @FarAwayFanPodor on Instagram. 

A mid season trailer, listen to fans from across the globe talk about their experiences. 

Martin Devlin is from Inverness, Scotland and is a supporter of Real Valladolid, Spain.

Marti first got to see the club when Real Valladolid came to visit his town for a pre-season friendly. He was struck by how approachable and down to earth, the players were. He started to research the club and interact with fans online and was welcomed with open arms, he started the site pucelaescocia.com for English speaking fans to be able to share his passion for the club.

I asked Martin how the fan base view the new owner, the Brazillian legend Ronaldo and the long term project that he has undertaken. He spoke to me about Real Valladolid club legend, Víctor Fernández

Enes Ünal is a player he feels deserves a bit for praise for his time at the club. Miguel de la Fuente is a young player he is looking to see more of.

He has a brilliant story about a suitcase from his first trip to Valladolid and another one about his garden shed that you must hear. We spoke about the aspects of being a Far Away Fan, the common threads that bring us all together. 

Marti shared with me stories about his father, a Real Madrid fan (who sadly passed away a few days after we recorded this episode) and his experience watching Real Madrid. He told me a story that will bring a tear to your eye, about what he calls one of the best moments of his life. The passion for football runs in this family, Martin's young son is a Spurs fan. We discussed his growing passion for football and the club. (He makes a very special cameo in this episode)

We spoke at length about the friendships he’s developed through his passion for the club. He shared with me stories about his friend Carlos and the role they now play in each other’s lives.

Martin is working on something really special that could get a child to be able to watch a match in the stadium and get a complete matchday experience.

I asked him about his journey as a Real Valladolid fan. He told me it has been a humbling experience and a phenomenal journey. He views it as his responsibility to share the kindness that he has been shown by the people and fans and by sharing his passion for the club through all that he is doing on his website.  

We’d love to hear from you, get in touch with us on Twitter @FarAwayFanPod or on Instagram. 

In this episode I speak to Angelica, a University Professor who teaches Film Analysis and Journalism in Mexico. 

Angelica read in an interview Robert Smith of The Cure, talking about being a QPR supporter. Not knowing anything about the club at the time, she asked her father about it. "That's Alan McDonald's team," he said. With that she started to research the club and its history and began to follow them. Never thinking that she could ever watch them. 

She discovered the QPR Podcast - Open all R's, which was the first time she felt very much a part of the QPR Family. Not able to watch the games, but following the club via the podcast. 

She immersed herself in the history of the club and developed a deep passion for the club. Visiting London in 2017 to watch them play.

Initially disappointed when the team went down to the Championship, Angelica is now happy with how competitive the league is.

Her earliest memory of football is being placed in front of the TV by her mum to watch the 1986 World Cup and told me how crazy she has been about football ever since.

Alan Mcdonald and Stan Bowles are her club legends.

She talked to me about players Jamie Mackie, who missed out on being called a legend and how Josh Scowen, deserved a bit more praise for his time at the club. We also talked about the young players at the club, Ilias chair and Eberechi Eze.

The QPR ground was always known as Loftus Road. In 2019 it was renamed The Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium. A foundation started to honor former QPR youth player Kiyan Prince, who lost his life while intervening to prevent the bullying of another boy.

We discussed the renaming, the role the club has played in the community, and their support to the victims of Grenfell Tower fire.

She got to experience first hand how QPR appreciate their fans, when she was invited to spend the day at the training ground. She told me all about that day and the cherished friendships she has with the QPR family.

We discuss her collection of over 50 scarves, a funny story with James Walsh of Starsailor and her connection to Northern Ireland and her dream of wanting to live there one day.

Angelica shares the heartwarming story of her journey as a QPR fan, having been able to find a community to belong to, being able to share her interests with a far away family and developing the most rewarding friendship.

Visit FarAwayFan.com to know more.

We’d love to hear from you, get in touch with us on Twitter @FarAwayFanPod or on Instagram. 

His journey started in the most unique way. He's been a Tottenham Hotspur fan from the age of six.

Jamie heard Mauricio Pochettino (then Spurs manager) in an interview say that he was ready for his first North London Derby since he had played and scored in the Clásico Rosarino for Newell’s Old Boys. That piqued Jamie’s interest. He researched the club and the derby, ultimately leading him to follow the club for close to 5 years now.

He started the twitter handle @Newells_en and NewellsCarajo.com for updates on the club in English.

Jamie took me through the history of the club. How they came to be called the Lepers and their rivalry with Rosario Central. He went on goes on to explain to me the campaign of the ‘Returning Hero’ in Argentine football. Messi got his start at Newell's, and has always said he will return to play for them someday.

He discussed a few names that he's looking forward to seeing in the years to come and the joy of getting to watch future stars in action when you watch Argentine football. 

Lisandro Martínez, now at Ajax, is the player Jamie feels deserves a bit more praise and time at Newell's.

He spoke to me about his trip to Rosario, the matchday experience, Maradona and being blamed for bringing the luck of the Irish to Newell’s.

We discussed former coach Marcelo Bielsa, now hailed as a hero at Leeds United, for bringing them back to the Premier League and how thousands of Leeds fans are now being introduced to Newell's because of him. Much like Jamie was through Pochettino.

I got a chance to discuss with Jamie the common traits and personalities of Bielsa, Messi and Pochettino.

And finally I asked Jamie what this journey has meant to him, he considers himself blessed to have made all these friendships and lucky to call himself a ‘Leper’ now. And would like to someday get the chance to thank Pochettino for introducing him to the club.

Andrey Kazu is from Jakarta, Indonesia and supports Fiorentina in Italy. 

He’s been following the club since 96. He spoke to me about his journey as a Fiorentina fan. 

We discussed the influence and loyalty of Gabriel Batistuta. The rivalry with Juventus and how he picked a name for his son.

In 2016, Andrey visited Florence. The stadium was closed but the kindness of the staff gave him an experience of a lifetime.

He’s a member of Viola Club Indonesia. We discussed the fantastic job they have done as well as the passion for football in Indonesia.

I asked him what this journey has taught him. He told me it was patience. 

Something I realized he has a lot of, when he told me the story of how he waited for 5 hours outside the training ground just to be able to see the players. 

He also gave me some advice on why I shouldn't get a tattoo :)

Thank you to Viola Club Indonesia for their help and support. 

William Dalton is from London and has been a supporter of San Lorenzo for 7 years.

He discovered the club while looking to spend some time in South America to learn Spanish, after his trip where he just immersed himself into the club and the culture, he started the twitter handle @SanLorenzoEng on his return to London.

His club legend is local boy Leandro Romagnoli, William talked about why being a local boy means so much in Argentina. We discussed why loyalty from players means so much as football fans.

San Lorenzo are well known for their songs. William shared a few with me and spoke about the creativity that goes into the chants and songs created by a group called  'Escuela de tablones' (School of the Terraces). 

We talked about how big the Club World Cup is in South America. Where fans will take out loans, in some cases selling their cars or even quitting their jobs just to be able to travel to the games.

One of the reasons Will was so drawn to the club is because much like his local club Charlton Athletic, San Lorenzo too lost their ground in the 70s. While Charlton eventually got their club back through a unique political campaign, San Lorenzo is at the moment in the midst of trying to get back to their old stadium.

Part of which was a great campaign where San Lorenzo fans could buy a symbolic meter square of the ground where the stadium once stood. 

 

Will told me fantastic stories about finding a fellow San Lorenzo fan on the streets of London, the incredible generosity of the San Lorenzo fans and his little collection of gifts and mementos from them.

He says that his journey with San Lorenzo has impacted his life in a big way. It helped him learn Spanish. In what he calls the best weekend of his life, he saw them win and met Lili, who would go on to be his wife. He says following San Lorenzo has been the best decision he has ever made.

We’d love to hear from you about your journey with a football club, get in touch with us on Twitter @FarAwayFanPod or on Instagram.

This episode features Sivan John, football writer, blogger, and part-owner of @TheBolaBolaShow.

The lone Huddersfield fan from Malaysia, Sivan’s journey with the club started with a trip to reconnect with family living in Huddersfield.

He spoke to me about the matchday experience and why sharing it was his Uncle was so special.

He talked about club legend Andy Booth and more recently, Aaron Mooy for his impact during his stint at the club. Laurent Depoitre is one player he feels the club possibly didn't get the best out of.

Chris Willock and Emile Smith Rowe, both Arsenal Academy players and currently on loan from Benfica and Arsenal respectively, are the players Sivan is looking to see more of in the coming season.

He also explained to me the impact he saw with the appointment of the Cowley Brothers as managers of Huddersfield, even Marco Bielsa has praised them for the amazing job they have done.

Sivan's got a signed Aaron Mooy jersey, which took a bit of a trip to get to him. He’s also got a jersey signed by Hernan Crespo, again a great story you have to hear.

I also asked him what this journey of being a Far Away Fan from Malaysia has meant to him.

We’d love to hear from you about your journey with a football club, get in touch with us on Twitter @FarAwayFanPod or on Instagram.