The Gladiator star Russell Crowe is a huge fan of the mighty Whites Leeds United and was on voiceover duties for them.
One of the fans who follow Leeds every week is a true A-lister: Oscar-winning ‘Gladiator’ star Russell Crowe.
Crowe is the narrator of ‘Take Us Home,’ an Amazon documentary that chronicles the exhilarating highs and somber lows of Bielsa’s first season as Leeds manager.
After all, there are many celebrity Leeds United supporters, but how did a New Zealand-born actor become such a big fan of the powerful Whites? He revealed to Radio 5Live in 2015 how he fell in love with a club on the other side of the world.
“I followed Leeds since I was a little kid.” he said.
“I used to come home from sport in the afternoon, me and my brother, and watch Match of the Day.
“We’re talking about a period of time in Australia when we had very few TV channels.”
Crowe was a little child during Don Revie’s ultra-successful team’s years, and his affection for the club no doubt grew stronger in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Leeds United had a big contingent of Aussie stars.
Harry Kewell may not be well-known in LS11 these days, but he and Mark Viduka were key members of David O’Leary’s daring young side that reached the Champions League semi-finals.
The good days seemed to be marching ‘on & on’ at the time, to borrow a Leeds United term, but the next 15 years were spent in financial devastation, and for a time, in the third tier of English football.
Crowe worked his magic as the owner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and he whipped Leeds United fans into a frenzy in 2015 when he hinted at a takeover.
Leeds fans were yearning for a reprieve from the Cellino years, and it appears that Crowe really considered taking over the club.
Crowe, on the other hand, stated on Twitter that he did not believe he would be able to devote the time required to turn around the club’s fortunes.
Fortunately, the Whites are in much better shape currently, and Bielsa has contributed to making a return to the Premier League a real possibility.
Crowe had felt the sting of Leeds’ play-off defeat to Derby County as much as anybody else, having previously expressed his wish to see the club return to its rightful place.
He said: “I know when it comes to sport that it’s not necessarily about money. It’s about culture, and I have learned a lot in nine years [in charge of the Rabbitohs].
“And it would give me nothing but pleasure to see that white army marching on together, getting back into the Premiership and being back where they should be.”
