WE WERE ALL

Viv Anderson on inspiring a new generation.. shrugging off the racists to become the first black player to win a Three Lions cap

IT WAS 40 years ago this very month – Wednesday, November 29, 1978 – that Viv Anderson shattered the glass ceiling.

His debut against Czechoslovakia made the former Manchester United defender the first black player to earn a full international cap for England – and to pave the way for future generations.

“When I played in the 70s the only black player I’d ever seen on the television was Clyde Best for West Ham,” the 62-year-old told Mirror Sport. “Obviously it has improved over the years. But Clyde inspired me and hopefully I managed to inspire the next generation.

“We live in a far more multi-racial country now and we want to see more black faces, more Asian faces, more of everyone who loves the game.”

As always, Anderson is keen to share attention with the other two VIV ANDERSON spoke as he prepared to saddle up for Prostate Cancer UK’s annual Football to Amsterdam bike ride from June 7-9, 2019.

He will pedal from Oakwell and finish the 145-mile challenge at Ajax’s Johan Cruyff Arena.

“This is my fourth year,” he said. “The biggest thing for me was the statistics: One in eight males suffer from Prostate Cancer. But it’s one in

trailblazers, Laurie Cunningham and Cyrille Regis. Cunningham was England’s first black player at any level when he represented the Under21s in 1977. Regis was the third when he played for the U-21s in 1978. An ITV documentary, Out Of Their Skin, will mark the achievements and reflect on the progress since.

“We were all pioneers,” Anderson four black men. That’s one of the reasons why I get involved. Too many men don’t talk about it when, if you catch it early, the success rate is very high. I’ve had the test and it’s 30 seconds every year for 6-12 months of peace of mind. The awareness is growing and we want that to continue.”

For more information about taking part in the 2019 ride, go to prostatecanceruk.org/amsterdam or contact the cycling team by calling 020 3310 7034 or emailing cycling@prostatecanceruk.org.

added. “But when you talk about Cyrille and Laurie and all these flair players, the focus was on them. It was never on me. I was the skinny rightback from Nottingham. I just think to myself, ‘Bloody hell, that was quick! Where does the time go?’”

Just as John Barnes shrugged off the bigots by back-heeling a banana thrown on to the pitch as he played for Liverpool, Anderson recalls the time Brian Clough helped him to laugh off the racists trying to bully him out of a career at Nottingham Forest. “We were playing up in Carlisle,” Anderson said. “You didn’t see many black faces up there. I was on the bench and Mr Clough sent me out to warm up but after five minutes I sat back down.

“He said to me: ‘I told you to warm up!’ I said, ‘I did, but they are throwing bananas, pears and apples at me!’

“He said, ‘You go back out there and warm up. Show them they are not going to stop you playing – and get me two pears and a banana.’

“People laugh at that and I laughed at the time but it also taught me: If you wanted a career you had to learn to laugh it off.

“From then on I never took any notice of people screaming, shouting, throwing things. I wanted to be a footballer.”

Four decades on, there are still too few black bosses to inspire players as