The Kasabian frontman on doing Muzzy Izzet’s head in and lobbing David Seaman
What was the first game that you ever attended?
My dad took me along to Leicester vs Liverpool at Filbert Street in 1986. Back then you could get close to the players – he took me close to the tunnel, and I shook Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish’s hands. Meeting Rush was a big deal, as my family is Italian and he was going there to play for Juventus, which was very rare back then. We lost and I was only five, but I knew then that the team in blue had hooked me, and I was in it for life.
Do you have a matchday routine?
If it’s a big game, I’ll probably meet a few pals I’ve been going to matches with for 25 or 30 years, but I just like to get into the ground early and soak everything up.
Who was your childhood hero and did you ever meet them?
The Martin O’Neill era and that team from 1995 to 2000 is ingrained in my heart – players like Steve Walsh, Muzzy Izzet, Matty Elliott, Emile Heskey and Simon Grayson. Muzzy was my favourite player, I just loved his story – not wanted at Chelsea, and people doubting him because of his slight frame. He came to Leicester and just set it on fire. He’s become a good friend, which blows my mind – I’m sure I do his head in, because I’m always asking for stories about that team. Away from Leicester, I’d say Roberto Baggio was my big hero.
What’s been your finest moment as a player?
A goal during Soccer Aid [left] at Old Trafford in 2012. You have forks in the road of your life, and I often wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t picked up a guitar when I was 15, if I’d worked harder at trying to become a footballer. That day, I got to live that dream – sitting around Roy Keane, Jaap Stam, Edwin van der Sar and Clarence Seedorf while they were chatting about the Champions League.
Just that was amazing. I was 31 and I could still play a bit – I had a Vodka Red Bull before I went out to play that day, as I do before all my gigs. Freddie Ljungberg played a lovely ball through, I had Martin Keown chasing me and I didn’t think I had the pace, so I spotted David Seaman off his line and went for the chip. If I did it a million times, I doubt it would have looped over him as perfectly as it did! Against a proper keeper, too – not a celebrity keeper like Jamie Theakston. I went in at halftime with my shoulders back thinking I was the man – Roy Keane just looked at me and said, “That was a f**king cross, wasn’t it?”
How has watching football changed for you since you were a kid?
When Kasabian really took off, my life went a little crazy at time
