Saturday’s Premier League clash between Huddersfield Town and Tottenham Hotspur will mean more to Tony Galvin than most.
Huddersfield born and raised, Galvin spent nine successful years at White Hart Lane from 1978 to 1987 as a flying winger.
The Ireland international was spotted by legendary Spurs gaffer Bill Nicholson while playing part-time for non-league Goole Town, where he’d moved to study Russian at Hull University.
Galvin won two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup while in North London but memories of going to Leeds Road with his mates are as fond as any in football.
“Growing up I used to go to watch Town play with some of my friends from school,” he told Tottenham’s official website.
“A few of them who went along then are season ticket holders now and they’re all going to the game tomorrow.
“Generally I remember them as a Second Division team and it was very exciting when they got into the First Division in 1970.
“They had a good team at that point with Trevor Cherry and back in the late 60’s Frank Worthington was a bit of a hero.
“I moved away to university and from then only saw them occasionally but you always follow them because it’s your home team.”
The lunchtime kick-off will be a family affair for Galvin, who earned 29 caps for Ireland.
As well as the many childhood friends dotted among the crowd at the John Smith’s Stadium, he’ll be going with brother Chris who played as a professional with Hull City and has lived in Huddersfield all his life.
The 61 year-old still keeps a close eye on the Terriers’ progress and has revelled in their recent successes.
“The new ground is close to the old Leeds Road and it’s lovely,” Galvin said.
“Every time I’ve been the atmosphere has been great and my friends who go all the time say it was incredible last season.
“As a team they don’t score a lot of goals but defensively they’re fairly tight.
“They work very hard early on in the game and they’ll try to nick and early goal.”
“Aaron Mooy was very consistent last season and has started very well this season as well.”
Galvin is well-placed to judge the significance of this fixture - with a foot in both camps - and it isn’t lost on him.
“I think Spurs will be too strong for Huddersfield on Saturday but for them it’s a learning process,” he said.
“It’s going to be a special occasion for a lot of people and it’ll be a great day for the town, whatever the result.”
