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There were plenty of fan favourites even during Leeds United’s darkest days.
Archie Gray is no different than most his age in growing up idolising Lionel Messi - but far fewer took early inspiration from much-loved Leeds United striker Luciano Becchio.
Gray and his family have become inextricably linked with Leeds and he became the latest to step out onto the pitch at Elland Road last season, making his first-team debut in the opening-weekend 2-2 draw against Cardiff City and not looking back since. But while he only became a regular on the pitch last year, the York-born youngster had spent plenty of time around it as a ball boy.
Leeds were a long way from their best during his childhood, floating around the Championship and briefly dropping into League One, but the club were not short of heroes and few were as popular as Becchio. The Argentinian arrived during the club’s nadir but became a much-loved figure for his important goals and obvious passion for the city - and that was not lost on a young Elland Road ball boy.
“My Dad is an obvious one, he gives me so much advice and helps me after games. He kept me on it in training when I was younger,” Gray told Stadium Astro when asked who his idols were growing up. “Probably, when I was younger - I didn’t get to watch him play much because he was towards the end of his career when I was a really, really young kid - someone I used to watch all the time was Luciano Becchio.
“I was a ball boy at Leeds and I got to see him pretty much every game and even if I saw him now, I saw him a few times last season and I was like ‘woah, that’s Becchio’. Obviously, he probably doesn’t remember me as a ball boy but watching him, he was a great player. But probably one in general, I’ll probably just say [Lionel] Messi for what he’s done in the game and I can’t describe how good he is.”
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Gray was unfortunately unable to enjoy the glory of promotion in the same way as Becchio did over a decade earlier, albeit in a division above. He became one of the poster boys for last season’s excellent Championship campaign in which Daniel Farke led a young and exciting group of players.
A central midfielder by trade, Gray was only 17 for the majority of last season but quickly became one of the Championship’s most accomplished right-backs, playing 44 regular-season league games and all three play-off final matches. But the campaign ended in play-off defeat and an all-too-familiar heartbreak.
Gray was the first of three fan-favourites - the others being Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter - to leave Leeds over the summer, joining Tottenham Hotspur in a deal worth £40m at the start of July. Since moving south, the 18-year-old’s versatility has really been put to the test with many of his appearances coming at centre-back, but he has still made a positive early impression and is well-liked by manager Ange Postecoglou.
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