Superfan heads to his 11th World Cup

Youngster eager to show Denmark coach what he can do

Dressed

in a patriotic red and white suit and a golden crown adorned with small footballs, Andrzej Bobowski is getting ready to attend his 11th football World Cup.

The 78-year-old Poland fan has been to every World Cup since 1978 — even when his own national team did not qualify. There are no such worries this time, though. “I actually dreamt that we’ll play in the final against Russia,” he said.

The former builder, who also supports the Polish club champions Legia Warsaw, has seen 135 World Cup games since he headed to Argentina in 1978. (Reuters)

It took the best part of five years for Andreas Christiansen to finally make his breakthrough at Chelsea and the versatile 22-year-old is ready to show Danish coach Age Hareide that he also deserves to be in his team at the World Cup.

Having managed just one game in his first four years since joining Chelsea as a teenager in 2013, Christiansen, who can slot in across the back or in midfield, played 40 games last term, picking up valuable experience he hopes to take to Russia. “As long as you have one preferred position, I don’t think it can be a downside that you can play in more positions,” Christiansen said ahead of Denmark’s final World Cup warm-up game against Mexico in Copenhagen today.

“If you don’t have a preferred position, it’s not good, because then you’re not going to be first choice at anything.

“I’m a little bit of both, but I think it just increases my chances of getting some playing time. I see it as a positive thing.” Even if he has played in several positions for club and country, Christiansen believes Hareide has no doubts about where he should be deployed.