MAISIE ADAM

The comedian on her search for Bielsa, a wedding gift from Pochettino and her Georgia Stanway face tattoo fears

- Chris Flanagan

What was the first match you ever attended?

W Bradford Park Avenue, and it got called off 25 minutes in because something happened to the goalie. He survived but I was like, “Oh my god, does this happen every game?” I was only young. I was with my uncle and cousin, the goalie just keeled over forward. The first thing someone behind me said was, “Get up, you girl”, people were having a pop at him, and a woman was like, “Shut up, that’s my husband.” [Turn to page 74 for the full story of the goalkeeper, who later became famous]

What was your first Leeds game like?

Harrogate against Torquay was my first full game, then I started going to Elland Road – I just remember how loud it was. Bradford Park Avenue and Harrogate were so much tamer, Elland Road was bloody terrifying, frankly!

Who was your childhood Leeds hero and did you ever meet them?

Mark Viduka, but I’ve never met him. Alan Smith was the first bloke to break my heart because he joined Manchester United, but I did meet the other person who did that. I was about 19 and at Heathrow Airport, we were putting our bags on the scales, I looked over to my left and was like, “Oh my god, it’s Rio Ferdinand...” I asked for a picture and was still like, “But why did you go there, Manchester?!” When I played at Soccer Aid last year, Harry Kewell was there - it’s wild when you meet footballers later in life and realise they're a real human being, in normal clothes. It's like when you see a teacher outside of school.

Tell us about the best Leeds match you've ever been to...