LIONS HAVE GROWN INTO EURO GIANTS

STOURBRIDGE claimed a little piece of Real Madrid's Champions League triumph last weekend.

- Chris Dunlavy

If Jude Bellingham does the business for England this summer, they can take some credit for that too.

But for the Step 3 Glassboys, Madrid's £105m wonderkid wouldn't even be a footballer, let alone a global superstar carrying the hopes of a nation into Euro 2024.

The 20-year-old couldn't have cared less about football until he joined the club's youth ranks at the age of seven and, in his own words, "got the bug" for the beautiful game.

"After that, it was all I wanted to do," he told The FA in 2022, before hailing the influence of dad Mark, a high-ranking police of ficer and legendary NonLeague striker who scored over 700 goals in an absurdly prolific career including for the likes of Leamington.

Stourbridge chairman Andy Pountney and vicechairman Andy Bullingham were both at Wembley to see Bellingham lift the most prestigious trophy . in club football, whilst the club tweeted a picture showing Jude in Stourbridge colours as a boy.

"It was brilliant to see a lad who played for us when he was small win the Champions League and hopefully he can do the same in the Euros for us," said Bullingham.

Indeed, but Bellingham isn't the only player with links to the Non-League game who will be aspiring to glory in Germany.

Jordan Pickford made his professional debut on loan at Darlington in the 2011-12 season, aged just 17.

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