Corinthian-Casuals vs Merstham Matchday Programme

Casuals and Corinthians Paulista have
ever played each other and there were
around 30,000 people in the crowd,
not to mention all the fans who greeted
you at the airport. Did you have any
idea what to expect before the plane
touched down?
I had no idea. First things first, it was the
best experience I’ve ever had in my life. I just
didn’t think it was going to be how it was. I
just thought we were going to go out there,
play two football matches, do sightseeing
and that would literally be it. Then, as soon as
we arrived, my whole mind changed, from the
moment we got off the plane and people were
cheering and clapping us. I was just thinking,
“Yeah, this is mad!” I did not expect that at all.
They had two youth teams at that point and
when they converted it into one, I had to go to
a specific college to stay at AFC Wimbledon. I
said, “I’m not going to do that,” and I ended up
going to Salisbury on a football scholarship. I
was there for a year, then I came back to London
and stepped up to men’s football. I went to
Kingstonian, and the manager sent me to
Corinthians – that’s how I first came here. He said
there were enough players at Kingstonian and
I should try out Corinthians, so I came here and
got in the side.
How long were you playing for Corinthian-
Casuals before you found out they had once
been the best football team in the world?
Haha! About three years probably! I didn’t know
the history when I first arrived at the club, but I
know now.
The 2015 trip to Brazil to play Corinthians in
Sao Paulo must have helped you to realise the
historical significance of this club. That was
the first time the first teams of Corinthian-
And that was just Brazilian Corinthians fans at
the airport when we arrived. At first, we were
confused as to whether they were there for us, or
were they there for someone else! Have they got
the wrong flight?! It was crazy. Then we went to
the stadium and there were 30,000 people there.
Did your legs go weak at that moment?
They actually didn’t. I just couldn’t wait to play. I
literally could not wait to play.
To only lose 3-0 to a team that had been world
club champions three years previously is not
bad at all for an amateur side. However, you
kept it at 0-0 for a long time.
We held on for so long. They started scoring well
into the second half, so we held on for the whole
of the first half and a bit of the second half. Then
they started scoring! It was a good game, to be
fair, and we could have scored at least two. At
least!
I know those golden years for the Corinthians
were over a century ago, but does it have an
impact on players when they discover the
club’s glorious past?
It does have an impact, and it has even more
"Staying up in the league below was an achievement, but
to then get promoted? No one thought that was going to
happen, with no budget."
30 - CORINTHIAN-CASUALS MATCHDAY PROGRAMME