Tom Brady is back in England to watch his soccer team Birmingham in action on Saturday – but it’ll be a different sense of occasion to his last visit.
The team shared video of Brady greeting coach Wayne Rooney before the game on Saturday and the legendary NFL quarterback also watched Friday’s practice.
Brady shared a picture from the stadium on Saturday morning with the caption on Instagram reading: ‘Beautiful day at St. Andrew’s’.
He announced he had taken a minor stake in the second-tier soccer team on his 46th birthday on August 3 and the team made a promising start to the season under former coach John Eustace.
Brady appeared at Birmingham’s first home game of the new season in September – a 1-0 win against Leeds United and the seven-time Super Bowl winner was welcomed by the team’s passionate fanbase.
But Birmingham abruptly fired coach Eustace in October and brought in Wayne Rooney after he left Major League Soccer team DC United.
Rooney was appointed on October 11 and the team has only won once in the following seven games, sparking fan unrest with some blaming Brady for changing coaches.
Fans fumed at Rooney being linked with the role to begin with and he was targeted with verbal abuse after losing to Hull City on October 25.
Birmingham plays Rotherham at St Andrew’s on Saturday. Rotherham are second-last in the 24-team league with Birmingham sliding to 16th since Rooney took over.
When Brady announced his stake in the team in August, he admitted he needed to educate himself about the ‘other’ football.
Well, let’s just say, I’ve got a lot to learn. But I do know a few things about winning, and I think they might translate pretty well,’ Brady said.
‘I know success starts with the work put in when the world isn’t watching. I know that a team is nothing without the city that shows up and stands behind it. And most importantly, I know I like being the underdog.’
Brady retired from the NFL in February after his Tampa Bay Buccaneers team were knocked out of the playoffs by Dallas Cowboys.
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