Jobby Crossan is the subject of a BBC documentary.
Jobby’s Sports Centre is the focus of True North: The Trophy Shop, a new documentary on BBC.
It’s no ordinary shop, with no ordinary shopkeeper - none other than soccer legend John ‘Jobby’ Crossan, who has shared a pitch with the iconic trio of George Best, Eusébio and Pelé.
Upon retirement he faced the same dilemma as many do in sport - what now? In this new film produced by Triplevision, viewers see first-hand how a sports shop bought by John in the 1970s became his next calling, quickly becoming a meeting point for friends old and new and Derry’s go to destination for all sporting achievement awards.
But Jobby's story is no ordinary story for a man who captained Manchester City 94 times and played in the semi-finals of the European Cup during the height of his career.
Jobby's shop has been at the centre of the Northwest Sporting community now for over 40 years, with cups, trophies, medals from his shop sitting at home across a diverse and vibrant city. It's not just football. Jobby's shop has engraved the prizes for a wide-range of sports.
His story remains widely unknown to many, especially to the younger generation of football fans these days.
"A man came in with his five or six year old son, and said "See that man there - he played for Manchester City - and me standing there with my white hair and my glasses at 80 odd years of age," Jobby laughs.
Jobby has played with some of the greatest players of all time - Puskas, Eusebio, Charlton, Law, Di Stefano and George Best. His remarkable career saw him make over 370 appearances and score 80 goals for some of the top clubs in world football such as Sparta Rotterdam, Standard Liege, Sunderland and Middlesbrough. He made all of these achievements despite being banned from playing football in the UK for life.
Jobby's career began closer to home at the Brandywell, playing for his hometown club Derry City, the beginning of a remarkable tale for someone who grew up on Brandywell Avenue into a family that had no shortage of success in football.
His time at Derry City did not end well however and it caused a controversy that rocked local football and became the subject of BBC journalist Ritchie Kelly's book 'The Man They Couldn't Ban'.
The UK-wide ban proved to be a blessing in disguise however as he was able to go down the unbelievable trail he did, playing for Standard Liege in Belgium who were one of the top clubs in Europe at the time, reaching the semi-final of the European Cup in 1958 where Jobby played against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
"I got about three kicks of the ball," he laughs. "Puskas was a genius. He had a left foot on him and he could put the ball on the Guildhall clock."
True North: The Trophy Shop is on BBC One Northern Ireland on Wednesday 18 January, 10.40pm. It is available now on BBC iPlayer.
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