Focus On... Rich Nelson

The world of football is full of wonderful people doing good things without receiving the credit they deserve. Not players, of course - good god, no. We're talking about the people you see every day on Twitter or Facebook, many of which spend their valuable time perhaps writing blog articles or recording podcasts for your pleasure.

One such man is Rich Nelson, the brilliant blogger who skilfully created the go-to website for all things Finnish football, Escape To Suomi. Undoubtedly an authority on his chosen subject, you probably wouldn't no much about him other than his devotion to The Land of a Thousand Lakes and its footballing prowess... but that's about to change as we Focus On the man himself, Rich Nelson!

Full Name:
Rich Nelson

Current project(s):
Escape to Suomi

Birthplace:

Rich Nelson

London

Birthdate:
18 March 1980

Height:
5 ft 9 in

Previous blogs/podcasts:
Nelson's Column

Married:
Yes, to Hanne

Children:
No

Car:
Toyota Aygo

Favourite blogs/podcasts:
The Football Attic (of course!), In Bed With Maradona, The Sound of Football, Swiss Ramble, The Two Unfortunates, The False Nine

Team(s) supported:
Arsenal, Stranraer and KuPS

Favourite football player ever:
Dennis Bergkamp

Biggest thrill while blogging/podcasting:
The Finnish league hosted my season preview on their official website, with full credit and were very good hosts when I visited in the summer.

Biggest disappointment while blogging/podcasting:
Was specifically asked to write a comprehensive DVD review for a popular magazine on a documentary about Jari Litmanen, and was told it wasn't quite what they wanted - they didn't realise the film wasn't in English...

Best countries visited:
Finland, Australia, Germany

Favourite food:
Pulled pork sandwich

Miscelleaneous likes:
Catching villains, dogs, eBay

Miscellaneous dislikes:
Traffic, Sunday football

Favourite TV shows:
24, The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, In-Betweeners, Thick of It, Family Guy, Alan Partridge

Favourite musicians:
Bruce Springsteen, Rolling Stones, The Jam

Biggest drag in blogging/podcasting:
People nicking posts/photos and not crediting

Personal ambition:
Blogging-wise, to feature on a podcast. Otherwse, speak fluent Finnish (it's pretty basic at the moment).

If not in your current career, which job would you do?
Guide Dog instructor

Which person in the world would you most like to meet?
Larry David

Favourite activity on a day off:
Taking dog to the park

So there you go, that's Rich Nelson and our thanks go to him for taking part in Focus On. If you'd like to appear in a future edition of Focus On, remember to visit our info page and find out how you can take part.