Football can often be the spark behind unlikely friendships. Such as the one blossoming between a Polish footballer who moved stateside after leaving Leeds United and an American basketball star who has fallen head over heels in Elland Road adoration.
And there are no prizes for guessing the identity of that mystery Leeds United favourite.
OK, technically it could have been Mateusz Bogusz. The Poland international schemer who swapped West Yorkshire for Los Angeles.
But, given that Mateusz Klich now plies his trade a stone’s throw away from the Atlanta Hawk’s State Farm Arena home, it is perhaps unsurprising that the now-Atlanta United midfielder has found himself sharing his love of Leeds United with a man now fully on board with the club’s Premier League journey under Daniel Farke.
Leeds United shareholder Larry Nance Jr opens up on Mateusz Klich friendship
Speaking just days after Leeds secured their top-flight return in record-breaking fashion, Atlanta Hawks veteran and 49ers investor Larry Nance Jr opened up on the connection between himself and one of Marcelo Bielsa’s Championship-conquering heroes from 2020.
“Actually, me and [Klich] talk frequently,” Nance Jr admits, his Atlanta Hawks side based a two minute stroll from Atlanta United’s Mercedez Benz Arena. “We text often, we message on social platforms.
“Atlanta United haven’t played at home for a while so I haven’t made it to one of his games, but he’s got to several Hawks games. We’ve got to meet up before and afterwards.
“We’ve actually become pretty good friends. He’s a guy hopefully I will be able to meet here in Atlanta and hopefully expand on that relationship cause that team that he was a part of… I have actually watched the majority of [Leeds’ Bielsa-era] games anyway, before I even knew I would be involved!
“I have been a fan of his since the jump and he’s just been a really cool guy to get to know.”
An ever-present in that thrilling campaign under the mercurial Bielsa, Klich crossed the Atlantic in 2023. The experienced playmaker spent two years at DC United before joining forces with Brad Guzan, Miguel Almiron and one-time Leeds target Emmanuel Latte Lathe in Atlanta.
As such, given that Gianni Alioski is currently in Saudi Arabia, Luke Ayling moved north to Middlesbrough and Kalvin Phillips became a treble-winning with Manchester City, only three members of that brilliant Bielsa team remain in West Yorkshire.
Illan Meslier, Pascal Struijk, and long-serving centre-forward Patrick Bamford.
Nance Jr talks about his admiration for Patrick Bamford and Liam Cooper
Former Leeds captain Liam Cooper brought his ‘exceptional’ leadership skills to Bulgaria last summer, arriving to help dig troubled giants CSKA Sofia out of a hole.
Nance Jr, a 32-year-old in a rather youthful Atlanta Hawks roster, views himself as something of a ‘leader’ in defence. It’s no wonder, then, that Cooper was someone he quickly grew to admire.
“I was really disappointed when Coops left,” Nance Jr smiles, recalling the iconic skipper’s heroic header to drag Leeds back in a 2-2 draw with Cardiff City on the opening day of the 2023/24 campaign, suffering a serious knee injury in the process.
“He was my favourite. Still is always will be. Talk about side before self, that dude sacrificed himself to score a header. That is a captain. That is a leader. I love that dude. His jersey will be in my basement for sure. That is a true winner.
“And Bamford, same age [as me, almost]. Love the guy. I just want well for him for all he’s done. He seems like a great dude as well.
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