FANCY SEEING PELÉ, Cryuff and Maradona play in the flesh this season? Well they’ve all retired so that’s not going to happen, but you can have the next best thing if you go to see Farnborough FC.
The English Conference side unveiled their new squad this morning boasting some of world football’s finest names — sort of.
As part of a sponsorship deal with bookmaking giant Paddy Power to save the club from administration, Farnborough’s players and management changed their names by deed poll.
Goalkeeper Kevin Scriven has become Gordon Banks, Joshua Huggins is now Lothar Matthaus while the artist formerly known as Daniel Bennett — now Lionel Messi — will lead the attack.
And with the club needing a “Special One” to match its special line-up, manager Spencer Day has changed his name to José Mourinho.
Farnborough went into adminstration in April with reported debts of about £2 million before Paddy Power stepped in to become title sponsors in a deal which will also include kit branding and stadium sponsorship.
The bookmakers, who are famed for their clever advertising and marketing, insist that they are “fully behind ensuring the survival of Farnborough FC.”
“As with anything Paddy Power does there will undoubtedly be critics of this deal,” the company wrote in a blogpost today. “We’re a big company taking advantage of a vulnerable club, or some such.
“The truth is without this deal yet another club could have been going in to liquidation. Which is not what any true football fan wants. So basically if [you] criticise us at all then clearly you hate football and you probably spit on babies. Ehem…”
Farnborough begin their season in the English Conference South against Chelmsford City on Saturday.
Farnborough: Gordon Banks (Kevin Scriven), Roberto Carlos (Oliver Treacher), Lothar Matthaus (Joshua Huggins), Paolo Maldini (Adam Doyle), Alan Hansen (Alan Francis), Cafu (Paul Massaquoi), Bobby Moore (Nathan Koo-Boothe), Franz Beckenbauer (Thomas McGarry), George Best (Reece Jones), Paul Gascoigne (Stephen Laidler), David Beckham (Scott Donnelly), Zinedine Zidane (Merrick James-Lewis), Johann Cryuff (Tyrone Berry), Lionel Messi (Daniel Bennett), Gary Lineker (Reece Connolly), Diego Maradona (David Tarpey), Pelé (Elvis Hammond).
José Mourinho (manager, Spencer Day), Paddy Power (assistant manager, Leigh Dynan), Alex Ferguson (coach, Simon Gardener), Terry Venables (kit man, Roger Peirce)
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