Arsenal: It’s About the Fans – Sophie Nicolaou

Today’s guest is Sophie Nicolaou host of the wildly popular show World Football Daily. Sophie has been in entertainment and broadcast media for the majority of her career operating on both sides of the mic and camera. She worked at 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures in London and Los Angeles spearheading PR and Communications campaigns for some of film and TV’s most revered franchises. For six years, she presented her own sports and pop culture radio show on London Greek Radio 102.3FM reaching a nightly audience of 30,000 listeners. In 1999, Sophie was the subject of an ITV documentary based on successful broadcasters within the U.K’s ethnic media. She has been pod casting about world football since 2008 and has been co-hosting World Football Daily since May 2011. In 2008, Sophie also launched her football blog British Soccer Diva which is a social platform for fellow football fans to rant and rave about the game as though they were sitting in a pub with their mates on a soggy or sunny Saturday afternoon!  “Football, soccer, call it what you want. The voice of a fan, for every soccer fan.”

Why I am an Arsenal Fan

by Sophie Nicolau

In the infancy of my football fandom at the tender age of 7, I started falling in love with a talented chap named Kenny Dalglish. Witnessing my growing devotion to the great #7 and Liverpool, my cousins held an intervention which saw me being piled into a car by several dodgy looking Greek fellas and taken to Highbury. Standing outside the stadium on a non-game day, they preceded to explain the history of Arsenal FC. As we journeyed back home, my cousins promised I would understand the meaning of this intervention on Saturday afternoon. I waited impatiently for 3 days until Saturday afternoon arrived. Once I was inside Highbury, I felt like I had been bitten by a magical football God.

When I saw Liam Brady play, I realized I had been falling in love with the right number shirt, but with the entirely wrong player. Dalglish became a distant memory. From Alan Sunderland, to David O’ Leary and Pat Rice, the then Arsenal team won me over in ways I could never have imagined. The pitch looked beautiful even during that era. The intimacy of Highbury created an atmosphere like I’d never experienced before and one of my first thoughts was that I could actually go there every weekend. My football life was never the same again and when I was old enough, I saved up and paid for my own season ticket. I adored Vieira, Petite, Overmars, Adams and well…everyone who has played for Arsenal. Henry and Dennis were just so special. It was a privilege to see them play in the flesh too. The experience is ingrained in my soul forever. Ooh to, ooh to, ooh to be a Gooner!

Favourite player = Thierry Henry & Dennis Bergkamp
Favourite moment = The Invincibles Year
Favourite goal = Henry had plenty. Bergkamp’s goals at Leicester and Newcastle absolute legendary. But my favourite is not as glamarous, but oh so significant. Overmars goal at Old Trafford in 1-0 win

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