“Your life would have been much happier if you supported Arsenal.”
Dr Soraya Rahim Ismail uttered those ‘hurtful’ words to the man who would become her husband – Tottenham supporter Nick Tiernan.
Early in their relationship, Tiernan had the ‘bright idea’ of taking Soraya to a Tottenham match. As painful as it was to hear her statement, it was not a deal breaker, as he reluctantly agreed with his future wife.
What made Soraya’s remarks even more painful was that London-born Tiernan comes from a family of ‘Gooners’ – the nickname for Arsenal supporters.
“My dad and grandad were lifelong Arsenal supporters, but I wanted to be contrarian,” Tiernan, 49, said.
“It was in the early 1980s when I decided on Spurs as they were quite good then with (Glenn) Hoddle and Argentina’s World Cup winners (Osvaldo ‘Ossie’) Ardiles and (Ricardo) Villa in the team.
“We had some success but didn’t build on it.”
Tottenham had a purple patch in the early 1980s, winning the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982 and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1984. It was also runner-up to Liverpool in the 1982 League Cup.
Back in the present, Tiernan said he is happy with Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou despite the team’s poor start to the season.
After seven matches, Tottenham is ninth with 10 points. Before the international break, it lost 3-2 to Brighton despite leading 2-0 at half-time.
“There have been a couple of disappointing results, but if you look at expected goals, possession, all the stats, I think we’re better than last year,” he said.
“I do like big Ange. I like his philosophy and straight-talking style, but more importantly, the entertaining football, which is part of Tottenham’s DNA.
“We should be able to finish in the top four at the end of the season. Manchester City has a couple of injuries and a court case, while Arsenal is mentally weak. So, yeah, top four is possible.”
A top-four finish would see Tottenham qualify for the Champions League.
Tiernan, who is Boost Juice Malaysia’s chief executive officer, was met on the sidelines of the recent Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon, where his company was the 10km race title sponsor for the third consecutive year.
He and Soraya opened their first Boost store at the KL Twin Towers Suria KLCC in 2009, and the company has grown from strength to strength.
“I injured myself during the 10km run, but that’s life. I’m very much into sports, and that’s why Boost Juice tries to support many local sporting events,” said Tiernan, who used to be a midfielder for a social football team called FC Rojak.
“The team was named Rojak because it brought together players from various backgrounds – white guys, Malay, Indian, and Chinese – creating a truly multicultural environment. This diversity is one of the reasons I love Malaysia.”
Tiernan added that besides the marathon, Boost Juice is the title sponsor for Liga Suparimau – a series of youth football leagues for 5- to 17-year-olds, a women’s rugby team, a badminton team, and even a Thailand-based cycling team.
“Sport is a great vehicle to promote unity, and at Boost, we believe everyone should ‘love life’, and what better way than being active in all kinds of sports?” added Tiernan.
FIXTURES (Malaysian times)
Oct 19
Tottenham vs West Ham (7.30pm)
Ipswich vs Everton (10pm)
Manchester United vs Brentford (10pm)
Fulham vs Aston Villa (10pm)
Newcastle vs Brighton (10pm)
Southampton vs Leicester (10pm)
Oct 20
Bournemouth vs Arsenal (12.30am)
Wolves vs Manchester City (9pm)
Liverpool vs Chelsea (11.30pm)
Oct 22
Nottingham Forest vs Crystal Palace (3am)
