Robert Didd - The world's most travelled fan

Starting with his first match, a 1-1 draw in Saudi Arabia way back in distant 1988 (Adams scored for England) Robert has followed his country's team to Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and Africa (twice). The only reason he hasn't been to South America is that England haven't played there since 1984 before Robert's obsessive odyssey and journey in to football fan legend began. "I was only 14 and it was just before I started going," he says regretfully.

Five continents, 53 countries, £100,000 and well over 200 flights later Soccerphile briefly caught up with Robert in an Osaka tavern after the Cameroon friendly in nearby Kobe, before he was on the move yet again this time by bullet train up to Tokyo for England v Sweden.

With his 150th consecutive game looming when England take on favorites Argentina in Sapporo Dome Robert shows no signs of slowing down or declaring, despite a wife and 3 kids waiting back in Wales.
"I'm looking forward to 20, 30, 40 even 50 years without
missing a game. I hope nothing goes wrong." In a week when two 80 year olds arrived in Japan to support the team, who is to say a total of around 850 games is out of reach.

As well as following the first team Robert still finds the time and money to slip in the Under 21s, schoolboy internationals and even B fixtures, not to mention Chelsea. Rob has given up a similar run of every Blues game home and away to concentrate on England. It was England that inspired Rob to travel when back in the 80s Chelsea weren't getting into Europe much.

Robert's normal travel routine is a three day round trip – fly in, rendezvous with mates, locate the local hostelries, see the game, back to the bar, then home next day – so a month in Japan gives him the chance to relax, take it easy and savour some of the local culture for a change.

Rob has not taken to sushi however and was having trouble with chopsticks when we met, resorting to using one as a kind of spear, but he has warmed to the host country.
‘I'm really enjoying Japan, the people are so friendly, nothing is too much trouble for them. If you cannot find something they will take you there themselves. I've been building bridges with as many locals as possible.'

His efforts to improve Anglo-Japanese relations, after all the negative press about hooligans, will include climbing Mt. Fuji in a party of 23 with 2 Japanese guides on June 4. There will still be snow on the mountain and Rob is looking for an ice-pick. I imagine the panic, him walking in to a hardware store in Osaka in his England top and asking for one.

As you can imagine, Rob is not short of dodgy travel stories: "I was travelling to Cork for a B game, when I noticed something, what turned out to be fuel leaking from the wing, and instructed the cabin staff, lucky for me we were still on the ground at the time and the plane was cancelled, had to get the next flight and only just made the game."

Rob categorizes his worst travel experiences not on the discomfort or length of the journey but on whether he got to the match on time.
"My worst travel experience would be missing a U21 match in 1989 in Sweden, due to not thinking that the boat would return back to Finland during the serving of breakfast. I was wrong, the boat sailed back to Finland before returning 20 hours later. I missed the U21 game, but was still able to make the full game," he says with relief.

Are there any countries you don't like visiting?
"Places I have not enjoyed are Poland and Turkey, the people just want to kill you. I have been to Poland 5 times and Turkey 4 times. They are a couple of fixtures I do not look forward to."

Rob lists Iceland, which he visited for a B international, and China as his preferred destinations, though by the end of his stay Japan could well be up there too, if the reception the locals gave him in Osaka is anything to go by. The Japanese lads in the izakaya want to chat to him, admire his England replica top and compare the quality with their 3 quid copies, which are available all over the city.

This must be costing you a fortune? How much do you earn Rob?

Rob's £13,000 salary as an IT consultant for the National Health Service back in Wales wouldn't seem to cover a £100,000 habit. Rob assures me he "is one of those people who know how to make money" and he's just bought a house near London to prove it, and I suspect, to be nearer to the airport. It's taken him seven years, though, to persuade his Welsh wife to move closer to the capital.

Do you miss the family when you are away?
Rob assures me that his wife knew what she was getting in to before they married and anyway he was instilling the travel bug into his children so he could travel with them as they get older.
"I took my boy to his first football game when he was 2 and his first England game when he was 3, which happened to be the second last game at Wembley. I have taken both of them to local games."

Rob flew back once from Sardinia at Italia 90 for his sister's wedding but didn't bother when she got hitched again on a day that clashed with an England game.
"I turned up in Sardinia and was the only England fan there when they played a local team in a warm up. Then I flew Sardinia-Rome-Tunis to see them play Tunisia, then Tunis-Rome-Sardinia for a game against an all Sardinia XI (which I persuaded some England fans, who had arrived by now, to go to), then Sardinia-Rome-Gatwick for the wedding then Gatwick-Rome-Sardinia for the Ireland game."

Robert seems to live now for the ‘record', dedicating himself to his chosen quest. It would be 154 if England make the final in Yokohama, Robert's got his tickets booked if they do.

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