HERO:
[foharbOiu^
NAME:
fQcb&VsrPetta
'/////////////a
Words: Paul Cuddihy
In this season's Celtic View we have been quizzing former Celts on who inspired them to embark on
a career in football. Next up is former Celtic winger, Bobby Petta, who made 81 appearances between
1999 and 2004, scoring three goals, including a famous strike in the Amsterdam ArenA. And his
hero is an icon of Dutch football and one of the greatest players eve rto play the beautiful game...
•N»
Who was your football hero? watch what he did and try to practise and do what
It's difficult to pick just one because I loved watching he did.
creative players. When I was younger I watched
footage of Johan Cruyff again and again, studying<2^
what he did, and then 1 went out to the back yard
and started practising. As I got older and started
playing football, 1 used to love watching Marco
van Basten. It's a motivation when they're your«V*,
fellow countrymen, and you try to emulate them.ilk
As well as van Basten, there was Ruud Gullit,«L»
and then Roberto Baggio when he came on the«L»
scene - his free-kicks and his dribbling skills. Then,
obviously, there was the Ronaldo. He was justA mm
amazing to watch. But there was so many, it's so- Im
hard to pick just one. You watch these players,4*
visualise what they're doing and, as a young kid you
think you are those players, and you try to do it onjk
the training ground, or when you're playing with
your mates or in a game.
Any other heroes growing up?
I loved tennis and athletics, and 1 thought Carl LewisJ*
was great. I remember watching him in 1984 at
the Olympics and then I wanted the same running
shorts and trainers as him, And we'd organise
sprinting competitions. I was pretty quick when I
was a wee boy. I love sports in general.
When did you first see your hero play?
Johan Cruyff came back to Feyenoord in 1983, but
I'd seen a lot of footage of him, and he was a leader,
He could play any position in the team. And 1 would
cy-v
my
«N
