Far Away Fan Far Away Fan

David is from England. and a fan of FC Zenit, Russia.

David’s interest in Russian football with a play by mail league, where he played as Torpedo Moscow. An early adopter of Twitter, how Zenit interacted with their fans on Twitter, and his early memory if of Hulk scoring a mind-blowing free-kick.

He’s half English and half Mauritian, he talked to me about his inspiration to start the Twitter handle @FC Zenit Mauritius to promote the club on the island. 

He’s got an interesting bunch of teams that he follows. He’s a former West Ham fan, who now supports Leyton Orient, with a soft spot for Sunderland.

We went on to discuss club rivals, Spartak Moscow, and his pick for club legend Arshavin.

David discussed the Russian Football watching community from across the world that follows the club religiously.

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Kokorin is a player he feels deserves a bit more praise for his time at the club. And Andrei Mostovoy is a young player he’s looking to see more of.

I asked him what made him pick Leyton Orient after being disillusioned with West Ham.

David’s also got a podcast called The Retro Wet Shaving Podcast with the @dyspraxicshaver 

We went on to discuss Dyspraxia, a coordination disorder that David was diagnosed with last year, because of which he can is unable to drive. 

He talked to me about his collecting of Kit and programs, once of which is from the 1970’s when Zenit played his hometown team of Southend United. 

Do listen to Dave's wonderful response when I ask him what following the club has brought to his life. 

Pedro is from Detroit, USA and a fan of Santos FC, Brazil.

In 2006, Pedro had broken his foot. While stuck indoors he discovered the club through a sports encyclopedia his grandfather owned and also watched the World Cup that year, being half Italian, it all seemed to come together to set him down his footballing journey.

He started his Twitter handle @SantosFC_Ingles, in part inspired by the Canary and Blue podcast.

We discuss Santos’ rivals, and how each of them can be different for each supporter.
Pele is Pedro’s pick for club legend. We talk about Pele’s global reach and the cultural phenomenon of Pele.

We go on to discuss the popularity of the Brazilian league and the wealth of young talent.
And how they have interesting homecomings later on in their careers having moved quite early on in their youth to play in Europe or Asia.

Pedro talks me through his cherished collection of kits, one of which is his framed Neymar Barcelona kit.

Pedro has studied at Wuhan University. He talked to me about his experience there and his interest in the football culture in that part of the world. One he asked me to check out was the Hong Kong Premier league.

He’s been taking pictures in the various cities he has visited with the Santos FC kit and has an interesting story attached to it.

We talked about our shared love for podcasts and how he hopes to have one on Santos soon.

Do listen to Pedro's wonderful response when I ask him what following the club has brought to his life.

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

Samantha and Shawn are from Canada and are fans of FC St Pauli.

Shawn had seen a page in a sports catalog about a team he had never heard of. He was a Liverpool supporter at the time but the skull and crossbones motif made a distinct impression. Years later when he didn’t feel the connection to Liverpool anymore, he recalled the motif, looked up the club on the internet, and read about FC St Pauli and the culture and politics of the club. He started to discuss the club with his fiance Samantha, a Manchester United fan who was disillusioned by the appointment of Jose Mourinho, and they have been on this amazing journey and shared passion for FC St Pauli ever since.
They have a podcast called Fell In Love With A Girl: An FC St. Pauli Podcast 7000km Removed

We spoke about their trip to the stadium in Hamburg with their friend Nick Davidson who has written a book called about the club called Pirates, Punks & Politics.

They talked me through the fantastic culture and fan driven ethos of the club, which you can see in the projects such as Viva Con Agua, the clean water project started by a now retired player and supported by the club. The Levi’s Music School which uses Levi’s corporate suite at the club during non-match days to provide free music lesson to kids in the district. 

They shared with me a wonderful and crazy story about a pair of goalkeeper’s gloves signed by Philipp Heerwagen that you have to hear! 

We went on to discuss how entertaining Bundesliga’s second division can be with it constantly shuffling week after week,  

Listen to their wonderful and heartwarming response when I ask them what following the club has brought to their lives. 

Alex Zulfikar is from Malang City, Indonesia and is a fan of Leeds United Football Club, England.

Morgan Day is from Oklahoma,USA and is a fan of Glentoran FC in Northern Ireland. 

Morgan told me she doesn't really follow sports, but that that only makes this story even more unique. Morgan’s journey began on April 23rd 2020 when a Glentoran fan inadvertently tagged Morgan wishing her a ‘Happy Morgan Day’. 

A bit about Morgan Day, on April 23rd 2005, Chris Morgan scored a last-gasp winner for the Glens and a title decider against arch rivals Linfield. It has since been celebrated every year by the East Belfast club.

Morgan being the sport that she is, tweeted back a message of support which set the ball rolling. The tweet was picked up by the club and in Morgan’s words it just blew up. The fans welcomed her and called her ‘The Queen of East Belfast’. She spoke to me about that special day. 

A special part of which was meeting Alan White, a local Glentoran fan who now lives in Oklahoma, who then offered to meet her to hand her a scarf, kit and a book about the club. 

She went on to tell me about this unique relationship she now has with the club, and how her local club Energy FC got involved too. 

Morgan has been adopted by the Glentoran FC family with open arms, she went on to give a “ Queen’s speech’ at Christmas! and some day soon hopes to make it to the Oval to catch a game. 

Long live her reign! #MorganDay

Alberto Doblaré is from Zaragoza, Spain and is a fan of FC Union Berlin, Germany

Alberto has lived in Berlin for a few years. One day a colleague told him they should check out a game of this club in the second division. The experience was something he had was looking for in the city.

He moved back to Zaragoza and promised himself to start a Twitter account in Spanish, dedicated to the team if they came to the First Division. His handle is @fcunion_es, he doesn’t just discuss football but also the history and context around it. He puts up some amazing threads and has fantastic interactions with people around the world. 




He has been a lifelong Zaragosa and Barcelona Fan, but in the last few years, he felt his passion change. Union Berlin helped him reconnect with football. 

He is part of a Union Berlin podcast in Spanish, with a fellow fan Julio originally from Brazil and now lives in Amsterdam. They talk about Berlin and about fan-owned clubs.




He gave me a bit of the history of Union Berlin, and how they were rebels of the system in East Germany, what the club now represents and more importantly why the fans are so protective and proud of the club and its achievements. 

Their historical rivals are Dynamo Berlin but today it would be RB Leipzig, both for very different reasons.

Malick Sonogo is a young player Alberto is hoping to see more of. We discuss the expectations for a club like Union Berlin in the Bundesliga. 

Alberto told me about his favourite matchday experiences, one in particular with Irish fans at the Euro cup is extremely heartwarming. He likes to collect football scarves, he calls them a diary, each associated with a particular memory or person. 

He spoke to me about his family and how he finds it funny that his parents are now watching Union Berlin. And a very romantic story of why Berlin is so important to him.



I finally ask him what being a Union Berlin fan has brought to his life and what it means to him

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