Damian Lewis at Soccer Aid

We have recently got the news that Damian Lewis will play in Soccer Aid Charity Match at Manchester’s legendary Old Trafford Stadium on June 5.

Well… The tweet by Soccer Aid is priceless!

Me? England choose you @lewis_damian! Welcome to #SoccerAid 2016 ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/CmtXS0fWy9

— Soccer Aid (@socceraid) May 26, 2016

Oh yes, YOU! And knowing how much Damian loves his footie,  he should be looking forward to this match at least as much as and probably more than we are! And big thanks go to Damian for LOVING football and thereby giving me the opportunity to write on a sport that I deeply deeply love!

Now… for those of you that are not familiar with Soccer Aid…

What is Soccer Aid?

Wiki‘s description is short but informative: “Soccer Aid is a biennial British charity event that has raised over £15 million in aid of UNICEF UK, through ticket sales and donations from the public. The event is a football match between two teams of celebrities and former professional players, representing England and the Rest of the World(RoW).

Who is playing this year?

Here is the latest line up for the celebrities and legends on both teams. Notice two Brazilian legends on Team RoW: Ronaldinho and Cafu. Brilliant!

How to watch the match?

In the UK: At Old Stafford if you are a lucky one and you can buy your tickets here! Otherwise, ITV is broadcasting the full match.

In the Rest of the World: Well, we, the mortals, need to do with live updates on Twitter and post-match You Tube videos. You can keep up with the latest Soccer Aid news, e.g. the latest line-up announcements by joining the chat with hashtag #SoccerAid on Twitter and by following @SoccerAid and @Unicef_UK.

Now… Damian is no stranger to Soccer Aid. He played in the first ever Soccer Aid match in 2006 and then returned to Old Trafford one more time in 2010. His name was in the original line up in 2014 but he had to withdraw due to scheduling problems — Damian was filming Wolf Hall at the time.

When asked about Soccer Aid, Damian calls the whole experience “the most ridiculous Boy’s Own fantasy week you could hope for” in an interview:

“We trained together for a week then played at Old Trafford in front of 72,000 people. It was the most ridiculous Boy’s Own fantasy week you could hope for.

I have been on the pitch with Maradona, Zola, Zidane, Henrik Larsson and Ryan Giggs. I’ve played in central midfield with Jamie Redknapp and had Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham just ahead of me. It was just so amazing.”

Soccer Aid 2006:

Damian is a part of the England Squad in the first ever Soccer Aid match in 2006. They play on May 27 2006 at Old Trafford in front of 70K+ people. And, as a big football fan, and as a big football fan that has been supporting Argentina in the World Cup since 1982 Spain — OMG! OMG! OMG! Being on the field with Diego Maradona… Well, I cannot even… 🙂 And I am pretty sure everyone that lived long enough remembers “Hand of God” against England 30 years ago. Damian, you are a LUCKY man indeed!

We first see Damian in training: I will not spoil it for you but you will LOVE this video!

And he is in some serious action at the match:

Here’s a detailed score sheet:

And Team England is holding the cup in the end. Hey, who is that HAPPY boy on the very left side?

Soccer Aid 2010:

The match between England and the Rest of the World takes place on June 6, 2010 at Old Trafford .

Team England is looking sharp in training!

So 2006 has Maradona, one of all-time best players and, well, my all-time favorite. And 2010 has yet another one of all-time BEST: Zinedine Zidane! It’s just so amazing to see one of my favorite players and a true football legend and my favorite actor in the same shot playing the game they LOVE!

And, hey, Mr. Zidane, as much as I deeply admire you as a football legend, and yeah, I know it is a classic, but still… I just don’t like you pulling a nutmeg on our guy!

Having said that, how many people can say “Zizou nutmegged me!” 😀

Here is a detailed score sheet for the match:

Because the regular match time is over with England: 2 – Rest of the World: 2 they have to go to a penalty shoot out to determine the winner. One thing about the Soccer Aid penalty shoot is that it’s an all-celebrity zone meaning the world famous former football players in the match are not allowed to participate in the penalty shoot — fair enough 🙂

When it is Damian’s turn for the penalty shoot, both England and Rest of the World seem to have missed 3 penalties each — which means if Damian scores for England, he will take his team a step closer to winning… Haha I love it the way I dramatize a charity football match!

I’m sure you want to re-live that moment Damian scores the penalty! But first just focus on the look Damian gives to the goal keeper as he comes for the penalty for a second… I mean, it’s just such an out of this world, confident smirk that I can’t help love it… 🙂

And here comes Number 8… and the penalty shot! Watch it here!

Damian scores and Damian jumps very high! And he sets the bar high for us. Now we have high expectations for June 5 and would love to see a “once every 10 year goal.” Go get it, mate!