In 1974, 13 year old Nick Kidney painstakingly repainted and remodelled a standard team of Subbuteo footballers into superheroes. It was typical of Nick that the project was never quite finished, that the goalkeeper would remain untouched, an Achilles heel in the side with normal ‘human subbuteo’ frailties. Of course, he played with his superheroes team just once or twice before they began to lose their allure, inevitably superseded by more grown up adventures with guitars and girls. It is one of the most satisfying achievements of my book 'In Soccer Wonderland' that it inspired Nick, by then approaching 40 and married with two kids, a career and mortgage, to venture up to his parents attic and rediscover this unique and touching memento of teenage innocence and ingenuity. With the inclusion of a superb new goalkeeper, Mr Fantastic of the Fantastic Four, Nick also replaced the team's only weak link, finally completing the side that he began building some 25 years earlier.

Julian Germain