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Date: February, 2008
Brian Sweeney is a professional photographer who has captured classic images of football stadia, grounds
and pitches from around the world. His work has been displayed in exhibitions and galleries around the globe
as well featuring in many of the game's top publications, such as FourFourTwo.
MD: Before we start Brian, do you know what
your Brazilian name is ?
BS: Sweenaldo of course.
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| 1. Team supported, and why ?
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2 teams - Glasgow Celtic, cos my Dad did and that wis final. And the mighty FH of Hafnarfjorour. They were the
first team I went to see in Iceland, all mates supported them, I saw them win the 1st division then the
Premiership during my stay there. I've followed them ever since.
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| 2. First football memory ?
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Drawing a European Cup competition game on corrugated cardboard consisting of all the teams whose names I
thought were magic. As far as I can remember there was a set of goals made out of straws, a cup made of
tinfoil and a marble inside it. I then wrote 54 teams on the back of a large cardboard box, made rectangular
perforations round them and then using a potato gun I decided the draw - the ones i shot out of the cardboard
box would play each other, the scores would be decided by shutting my eyes and dipping into a bag of
dominoes. The winners would be precariously placed back in the holes and the cardboard box ready for the
next round......My dad thought I was weird too, I was 7.
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| 3. Most memorable match ?
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I think every match is as memorable on its own merits, me and my son went to see a Clyde match recently,
its memorable cos it was sh*te and f*cking freezing and the guy next to us was farting constantly.
We weighed up the situation on leaving.
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| 4. Favourite goal ?
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Frank McGarvey's header against Dundee Utd in the Scottish Cup centenary final, it was like special effects,
the man was made of spacerubber, I didnt know wether to laugh or cheer when it hit the back of the net.
I still dont believe it's possible, absolutely no grace or technique whatsoever, just rubberness, pure 80's
rubberness.
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| 5. Favourite ground ?
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Guy's Meadow, home of Cumbernauld United, the first professional team Kenny Dalglish played for.
It's got terracing and a bar with umbrellas and a heater, so you can smoke, drink, watch football and keep
warm, then go inside the bar and watch good football on the tele. My Papa took me there when i was 5 to
see Celtic play Hibernian in the Pat Stanton Memorial Cup. He also sent me to put his line on every
Saturday - every bookie in Cumbernauld knew me before i was 6. Interestingly, I've never gambled.
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| 6. Favourite figure in football ?
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The guy who used to sell macaroon and tablet out of a carboard box with string around his neck on the
terracing at Parkhead in the 80s. When I was first going to the games, we used to all go to Gate 8 in the
Jungle and he used to stumble around (he could cos he was stinking and the crowd would part) shouting
"'ere the tablet an macaroon" which translated into Glasweigan sounds to others like
"hairy tablet and macaroon". He stank, he had a beard, and he swore constantly. He had a cardboard box
full of sweet stuff and he didn't have a clue or give a f*ck were he was. Genius.
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| 7. And your least favourite ?
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Nick Hornby - dick! Gordon Smith - smug fool. There's a list that's endless.
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| 8. Shoot, Match, or World Soccer ?
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Shoot and World Soccer, although Shoot more, simply because of You are the Ref.
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| 9. Any decent footballing anecdotes from your travels ?
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Apart from nearly dying in a blizzard in an Icelandic fjord, and being chased round Eastern Europe by an angry
man with a shotgun, seeing a German hitchhiker we'd picked up strip off his clothes and play on the swings
while we went to shoot a ground in the south of Iceland, being given directions by Mike Scott out of
The Waterboys to Forres Mechanics Stadium, having the wheel stolen off my car while shooting in a field in
Paisley in the mist (the car was 20yds away!), having to wait until 2am to do a shoot because there was too
much light..................naw none really!
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| 10. Many of your classic photos are of pretty basic grounds to say the least,
do you think terracing should be brought back in Britain ?
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Like most of the European stadiums I think benches are a good comprimise, people are too ready to make
scapegoats and are just as likely to get hurt in a surge by sh*t plastic seats (this i've seen).
All-seater stadiums have all but killed the atmosphere at most matches. I went to a Widzew Lodz v Belchatow
game last year and there was only around 5,000 fans but the atmosphere was electric. 2 weeks later I
went to a Celtic-Hearts game at Parkhead - 50,000 people, Celtic won 5 nil and it was like leaving a
funeral after the game.
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| 11. Name one thing that was better about football in the 1970/80s ?
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Flares, proper bad behaviour from footballers, being able to skip into grounds, when the tele came to the ground,
reasonable ticket prices, better haircuts (i mean Derek Riordans is unexcusable and he's just being singled out here),
beards, drunk old men at the match singing (brilliant), streakers.....the list is endless.
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| 12. Name one thing that is better about football today ?
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The overall technique, the fact that you see less and less long balls. I remember so many games were like
watching 11 a-side tennis, I mean f*cks sake my son plays under 10's and they all play in triangles now!!!!!
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| 13. Favourite football related moment on TV or film ?
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Big Jim Dorman picking his nose in Gregory's Girl in the bit when they are trying out for the new striker.
They used our older school football team (our ladys high school) in the film and big Jim (kitted out) was
there picking his nose whilst it was getting filmed. He went on our supporters bus as well.
15 minutes of fame, years of abuse.
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| 14. Do you know any really good football trivia questions that we could use ?
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It's a pretty easy question, but I love the term - it's like something out of Profanisaurus in the viz !
Q. What is the Swiss Bolt ?
A. Click here.
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| 15. What is your favourite football location or item that you've taken a picture of ?
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Akranes in West Iceland, I have 2 beautiful pictures from there, one taken at 3 in the morning during summer
twilight - you could see the church next to my house in Reykjavik around 100km away the air was so clear.
Totally beautiful, surreal, haunting experience walking around an empty stadium at 3 in the morning
and it's light. The local bank manager bought a print to put up in the bank in Akranes, wonder if it's still there!!
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| 16. And the strangest ?
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Many, many bizarre tales, but the one that bewildered me the most was when I shot Stadion Xlecia in Warsaw,
3 weeks before they knocked it down. It used to be the national stadium and had fallen into total disrepair,
but they still cut the grass on the pitch?? The top of the stadium was used as a market (one of these sh*t
markets selling fake luxury goods) and when I was on the terracing the vendors, after finishing their bottles
of Coke, launched them towards the pitch.
I mean some of Poland's greatest footballers played there, it was beautiful, like an old roman ampitheatre
and it was getting knocked down to make way for a f*cking Tescos probably and to replace it they will build
some awful stadium kit hms average nostril monstrosity calling it progress. Sometimes it just confuses me logic.
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| 17. Should the top Scottish clubs ever consider joining up with clubs from the English Premiership to form a British League ?
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Yes and no. I think there should be some sort of British competition, but if Celtic and Rangers left, the
Scottish League would turn into a similar situation like they have in Eire, other clubs need something to
strive to beat. When you look at the English League there is only ever 3 teams competing for the title, it's
just that the middle ground teams are a lot better and have more money. I suppose it just comes down to
finance (there are also far too many games now), so i really don't know the answer to that one, but like
I said money will make the decision for us.
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| 18. Favourite World Cup moment ?
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I know it's a cliche but it really has to be Archie Gemmill's goal v Holland. I mean some baldy Scottish dwarf
running round the Dutch defence and chipping the goalkeeper. Did it really happen or was it just a film?
We had some shirt of his from the 78 World Cup up at the stadiums exhibition in London, his son lent it us.
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| 19. If you could change one rule of the game what would it be ?
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Football should be played at 3pm on a Saturday and midweek games on a Wednesday - I'm sick of missing the start of matches.
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| 20. Finally Brian, your all time XI ? (this can be a Celtic XI, Scottish XI, FH XI, World XI etc)
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Pele - H.Larsson - G.Best
J.Cruyff - Z.Zidane - J.Johnstone
Socrates
P.Maldini - F.Beckenbauer - D.Petrescu
A.Boruc
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To see some of Brian Sweeney's excellent work, visit his website at
Sweenypix.com and go to the 'Projects' - 'Work
In Progress' section for some of his football images.
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Article Keywords: Celebrity Football Question and Answers - Soccer Questions for Celebrities
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Twenty Questions : Brian Sweeney (Photographer) 