“Jack is mad about football” said Chris Lunch, “he’s definitely up for something with The Ball. His football team are expecting you.” He certainly is mad about football, and very well versed in it. Last minute change of plan: coach ill and freezing cold outside- training had been cancelled. Instead, we were off to Carcassonne, 12 year old Jack on board, directing the way into the historic old town and philosophising about football.
Jack with Andrew in CarcassonneAn Irish mother, and an English father, living in the South West of France with with his Portuguese stepdad, he’s deeply religious: “Manchester United is my religion” he said at breakfast. He watches a lot of football with Paulo, an FC Porto fan who idolises one touch football and the beautiful game. Paulo has Portuguese cable tv — no problem for multi-lingual Jack to understand and anyway, football is a universal language. Jack wears a t-shirt emblazoned with the words: This is an authentic Christiano Ronaldo signature. It is. Paulo organised that.
But who is he going to support at the World Cup? France is out of the question after Thierry Henry’s handball nearly brought his mother to tears. Mother Una: “That was disgusting”, Henry will never be forgiven in Ireland. Jack likes Spain and Brazil but he’s probably going with England, mum is not exactly over the moon about that one either.
Written by The Ball on Monday, February 15th, 2010
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