It's a no-holds-barred conversation with footballing legend Paul Cannell — the Geordie striker who lit up mid-1970s Newcastle United, vaulted into the heyday of the North American Soccer League, and left a trail of memorable goals, disciplinary cards, and impish chaos in his wake.
Best remembered for his fiery stint with the two incarnations of the NASL's Washington Diplomats, Cannell was as much a headline in the nightlife columns as he was on the sports pages. On the field, he was fearless in the air and relentless in the tackle, leading the Dips in scoring while collecting enough penalty points to draw more than a few league suspensions. Off the field, he became a fixture in DC-area bars and dance clubs, a radio guest of a young new voice named Howard Stern, and — by his own telling — the first soccer player ever signed by Nike, bringing Studio 54-era disco-inspired white boots to the playing pitch.
Cannell takes us straight into the heart of those wild years. He opens up about the highs and hangovers of the NASL boom (including stints with the Memphis Rogues, Calgary Boomers & Detroit Express), brushes with legends like Johan Cruyff and Pelé, the infamous “F***in’ Hell, It’s Paul Cannell” chant that followed him everywhere, and the unfiltered stories that made his memoir as outrageous as its title.
Blunt, funny, and never shy of controversy, Cannell reminds us why he became one of the NASL’s most colorful figures — and why his name still carries a mix of respect, disbelief, and laughter decades later — especially among DC sportswriters and soccer fans.
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