It’s True – The European Cup Stayed at My House
It seems scarcely believable. But the European Cup- that famous trophy awarded to the winners of the UEFA Champions League- spent one night in May 2001 at our house. I have lost all photographic evidence to prove it, but the European Cup spent the night in a box at the bottom of the bed in the spare room of our house in North London and we had it out on the table whilst we had breakfast. And as a Leeds United fan, still bitter at his team having been cheated out of winning the European Cup in 1975, to have my hands on the European Cup was a special feeling.
This story is 100% true, as my good friend, Paul Tyrrell, can attest. This article is the story of how this came about.
“Find Us The Three Trophies”
It was Spring 2001, and ITV was about to launch on the public it’s newest digital channel – The ITV Sport Channel. The public launch event wanted to showcase the three big competitions that would be shown on the channel. These were the UEFA Champions League, the Football League Cup and the Football League Championship. It also wanted to reveal to the viewing public and the media some of the talent that would be presenting and working on the coverage. These included Gabby Yorath (now Logan), recently brought over from the BBC and a very young Ally McCoist, making his way as a co-commentator brought over from SKY, having recently retired from top flight football. The Channel’s Director was to be Brian Barwick, already ITV’s Director of Sport.
The PR team conceived a public launch with Brian, Gabby and Ally and thought the most striking image would be of the three of them with the three trophies that would be played for on the channel.
So, they set about getting permission from the rights owners – the Football League and UEFA-to borrow the trophies for the media launch, which would take place in Central London.
The European Cup Needs a Chaperone
Getting hold of the League Cup and the League Championship trophies was easy. They could be lent for the day and returned to the Football League the same day.
It was different for the UEFA Champions League trophy – the European Cup. The winners and holders of the Cup – Bayern Munich- had a replica in their possession. The original of the trophy was at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
They were willing to lend it. But there was a catch. Normally, it came with a security team who brought it and took it back again. But, as the launch was first thing in the morning, they were not willing to pay for an overnight stay for the security team. Apparently it had to be in the vision of someone at all times so unless we could pay for an overnight stay for the security team, UEFA would not release it to us.
After some negotiation, UEFA were persuaded to allow us to take possession of the Trophy at the airport and to allocate a chaperone who would ensure that the European Cup never left their sight. They would then get the Trophy to the launch and back to the airport after it.
So, who would be entrusted to look after it?
Tyrrell and Johnson Get the Gig
Step forward ITV’s Head of Media and, at that time, a big Liverpool fan, Paul Tyrrell. He was very happy to collect and look after the European Cup. But, he did not live in London. So who could also be trusted to accommodate Paul and the Trophy and be low key and unostentatious about it. That was where I came in. I was Director of Rights and Business Affairs and part of the ITV Sport team at the ITV Network Centre. Lawyers are supposed to be trusted. But what clinched it for me was that I had just moved into our house in North London and had a spare bedroom for the purpose.
And so, it was agreed that Paul Tyrrell and the European Cup would stay overnight at our house and I would then drive us all, together with the European Cup, to the office the next day for the launch. The Trophy would never leave our sight and would be safely delivered to 200 Gray’s Inn Road.
“And Johnson lifts the famous Trophy”
Just after 9pm, Paul Tyrrell and the European Cup arrived outside our house. The Cup is enormous and was in a protective box that looked like a coffin.
We showed Paul to his room and he settled to sleep with the European Cup in its box (or coffin) at the base of the bed.
The next morning, how could we resist getting the European Cup out of the box and putting it on the kitchen table whilst we had our breakfast. I know we were in our Mid thirties, but, admit it, you would have done the same.
We each took our turns at lifting the Trophy. Paul was then a Liverpool fan, and they had won it plenty of times. I joked that, when I lifted it, it would be the nearest Leeds United would come to the European Cup after we had been shamelessly robbed in the 1975 European Cup Final.
But Can We Prove It?
Of course, there were photos. My wife Joanna, who had to sit through all this laddish childishness, duly took photos of each of us with the Cup and with it on the kitchen table.
Can either of us find our photos to be able to demonstrate incontrovertible proof of this japery? No. This was before Smartphones allowed you to take and store photos. So, we used an old fashioned cheap camera with film. There were definitely photos taken- I can even remember and visualize Paul Tyrrell in his photo – but we have each lost these golden nuggets of evidence.
Conclusion
I do not know why I have suddenly remembered the fact that the European Cup stayed at my house and was on my kitchen table at breakfast. But they are wonderful memories of a very fun time and a very special privilege that my work at the time afforded me. If only I had the photos to prove it!
