Mo Maan returned to Corinthian-Casuals on his brother Mu’s coaching staff this summer and has poured his heart and soul into the role in the months since. Dominic Bliss caught up with him last week to talk about the Maan family work ethic, his hopes for the future and being ready to take the field when the situation demands it…

​
Can you give us an idea of the sense of excitement among the two Maan brothers when you found out you’d be returning to Corinthian-Casuals in the summer?

I remember this well. I was in the office [at Skip It] and he was outside working on the premises, and he rang me up and said, “Mo, guess what! I got the job.”

I said, “No way!” and since then he’s been like a kid at Christmas every single day. I was buzzing for him, because everyone knows how much he loves Casuals and what Casuals means to him, and I know that when he does something, he gives a million per cent.

He was like, “Mo, I want you to come in, I want you to do this, I want you to do that.”

To be brutally honest, I was a bit apprehensive when he first told me because, obviously, we’ve never done this, but then I was sitting at home with him and talking about his plans and what he wants to do. The more I spoke to him, the more I bought into it, and come pre-season, when we started training, I was like, “Wow, we’re actually here, we’re actually doing this.” It was one of the most exciting times I’ve had for a while.

What I respect about you two is that you set your sights on something and go out and do it, as you’ve shown in business, with Skip It, and as you’ve done here as well. It takes courage to take on a project and back your vision.

The thing is, with business, there’s been no fear of failing. If we fail, we pick ourselves up and go again. That’s why we’ve got a successful business. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had a lot of knock-backs and hard times, but we get back up and we go again. It’s the same with football. We’ve had hard days and good days, and the hard days make us what we are now.

How much of your time does Casuals take up?

Not as much as it does Mu’s! But we’ve not always got a kitman and stuff like that, and I enjoy going early to games. He’s always like, “You’re so early to everything!” but I’ve always been like that. Even playing football, I used to turn up long before the match and just sit around and zone in. But I enjoy doing something to switch off from work, and it’s worth it.

I’d say the same thing about my commitments at the club. It’s worth it and it’s enjoyable most of the time. It’s a good thing to do!

It is! And what these fans do for this club is just unbelievable and I’ve never played in front of a crowd like that, so it’s nice to be part of a club that has a big following.

We caught up with our Brazilian left-back to talk about his journey from Brazil to London, via Italy, and the unique aspects of this club where he has found a tight-knit group of players and a fanbase like no other…

Interview: Dominic Bliss
Images: Stuart Tree

How has your first season with Corinthian-Casuals gone so far?

It has been a great experience for me because the Corinthians are a big team – I have played before at the same level, but there is a big difference because the supporters here give us an extra feeling. I know the history about the Corinthians in Brazil and here, so to be here now is perfect.

Did you say you’ve played at this level before?

Yeah, I played for St Panteleimon last year, but the team is no more for financial reasons – it costs a lot to run a team, it’s not easy to manage.

How did you and the other Brazilian players find out about Corinthian-Casuals?

Someone sent my video to Mu and he told me to come to training. I had come in last year, but the team was not doing good, so I didn’t go because I thought it wasn’t the time. Then, this summer, someone saw the Brazilian players and now we have a lot of Brazilians here because everyone knows someone else who can play… like I did with Marcos. I said, “Gaffer, I have a player here who I think you might be interested in.” He said, “Bring him to training.”

Tell us about your football background.

I started in Brazil, playing Under-15s for Paranaense in my region, Parana. Then I moved to São Paulo, to play for Rio Claro. It was good there because São Paulo is the place where most people see you play, so you get more visibility and you can get an agent, and things like this.

After this, I played in the Under-17s for a team called Paulista, and some agent saw me play there and said he liked my game. He told me he wanted to sign me and started to work with me. He brought me to Italy, but I didn’t have a good experience there because I didn’t have the documents I needed. I could only stay in this one place for three months and I lost time in this crazy situation. He told me one thing, but when I arrived there it was another.

But my family come from Italy, so I started to do the work to get the documents I needed, to do things right. It took about a year to do this, and I didn’t play for this year.

After I got the documents, I was able to play again, and I played for Akragas in Sicily, in a league called Eccellenza, which is like the National League here. They are quite a big club because they had played in Serie C in the years before, and had a big stadium with a lot of supporters. It was a great experience I had there. After that, I moved to another Italian team, Ellera, but that was when the pandemic happened, and after that I moved to England.

How come you came to England?

They stopped the championship and everything because of the pandemic and I told friends I wanted to come to England. I had this feeling to come here, and it was the right time to do it because I hadn’t been playing in Italy during the pandemic.

After I came here, I started to play again but it was at quite a low level, with a team called North West London, who have many, many Brazilians – Marcos [dos Santos] was playing there too. It’s quite funny because I brought him there too, the same as I did here – in Brazil we had the same agent, but we had never actually met. When he came to England, he sent me a message saying, “Bro, I came to England, do you know any teams here?” And, yeah, he’s a good player.

Who was the first of the Brazilians to arrive at Corinthian-Casuals?

I need to remember! I think it was the two keepers, Murillo and Welber, and then they started to bring other players.

What do you think this group of players can achieve?

This group is special. We are like family and everyone understands how big Corinthians is. We can’t stay in this division long, because when other teams come to play against us at our home, they give everything because they know how big the game is.

The group is good, and everyone respects us. Even though we don’t have very good English, they understand us and it’s nice because sometimes it’s hard to adapt, but not here.

And the fans…
​
For me, they are amazing, they are great people and I already know all the faces! They always support, if we win or if we lose, they sing and I love this. I will always try to give my best for them.

In the first edition of a new feature giving a voice to our loyal supporters, Dominic Bliss speaks to a man who has quickly become part of the fabric of our fanbase…

Kev, tell us how you first came to Casuals and how you ended up becoming a die-hard fan.

The first time I went to a Casuals match was the day I moved to Berrylands in March 2023. My mate George, who has been going for years, asked me to go to get out of the way of the removal men. It was against Enfield Town and we lost 3-0, but I’ve been going ever since.

What is it about this club that has drawn you in and which keeps you coming back?

I come back because it’s only five mins up the road, and I feel welcome at the club. I’m not just George’s mate or a number and I’ve made lots of friends through going to Casuals. The football is only a part of it.

How important is the social side of matchday for you?

The social side is important to me. I don’t think I’d do half the things I do now if I didn’t talk to other supporters – things like going to away games, including getting on a plane to Jersey. Then playing and managing a walking football team, or going to watch cricket at the Oval.

Does non-league football appeal to you more than the professional game, and why?

The professional game has got too much money in it. How can you have the drive and determination on getting better if you are a millionaire at 16-17? Also, at the end of the game, you don’t see the players go over to the fans after a loss – they run down the tunnel. It is such a different game!

You’ve commented in the past that it’s unusual to see disabled supporters at non-league grounds. Why do you think that is?

I really don’t know why there are not ANY disabled supporters at non-league grounds. George and I have been to seven-ish away games and haven’t seen another wheelchair. The facilities have been good at most of them – some a little bit strange (like going through a DIY shop to get to the toilet), but that’s all part of an away day.

What do you think non-league clubs could do better to make the grounds easier for disabled fans to navigate and welcome more disabled people to their matches?

The biggest thing is access, and I don’t mean putting a ramp in where its steeper than a ski jump. Think about what you are doing, ask a wheelchair user what they would like. Next for me is getting to a useable toilet. Many grounds at this level have got good facilities but believe me I’ve been in some which is similar to an escape room. One thing which I enjoy about non-league grounds is I can sit wherever I want to, with all the other Casuals supporters, not being forced to sit with all the disabled fans who I don’t know!

What have been your stand-out moments as a Casuals fan?

Going to Jersey for the weekend to watch Casuals play has to be the top highlight so far – seeing them play in Europe (sort of), and hopefully I’ll get to do it again someday. Another moment is getting on the front cover of a Casuals programme. There haven’t been many footballing moments… YET, but that comeback win against Abbey Rangers was a great one.

How do you feel about the current setup and our prospects for the future?

The future of the club looks bright. Things look pretty stable at present. After two years of dross on and off the pitch, the club appears to be turning over a new leaf with a good manager and a core of players who really want to do their best to help Casuals move in the right direction. Hopefully, this will lead us to promotion in the next few years.

Is there anything else you’d like to get across that hasn’t been covered by my questions above?

I would like to thank the club for accepting me and making me feel like I belong. They’ve done little things to make my life easier – for example, they introduced a pitch-side bar, and how many clubs have one of those?! The supporters have been great to me too. Many of them find it difficult to understand me in the beginning, but we get there in the end. Finally, a very big thank you to my good friend George. He takes me to most of the games and I really do appreciate it.

Words: Llew Walker

For those visiting the club for the first time, the Corinthian Roll of Honour in the clubhouse is a sobering reminder of the sacrifice made by so many over 100 years ago. The mantle lists 22 of our players who fell in ‘the war to end all wars.’ Most were also Casuals players; some had represented England or played for professional clubs.

The number of Casuals who had fallen was never calculated or commemorated. It was not until 2009 that a rough estimate of ten fallen Casuals was suggested. But in recent years, research has revealed another dozen Corinthians and more than 100 Casuals, many of whom appeared for both clubs. Currently, 124 players have been identified and it is highly likely that this number will increase in the future as research reveals more. Corinthians and Casuals lost more players in the Great War than any other association football club, so it is right and proper that we remember and honour those who played for the club in years past and who gave their lives in the service of their country.

They were members of a generation who understood that taking up arms to fight for King and Country was not just their duty but a matter of personal honour and moral obligation. There were no ulterior motives, no hidden agendas. They all truly believed that volunteering in their country’s hour of need was the right thing to do. They hoped they would act honourably, nobly and bravely in the face of danger, but they were all tormented by the fear that they would be found wanting. However, they faced their fate with a determination and acceptance that modern generations would find hard to comprehend.

Most were junior officers, ‘subalterns’, responsible for the soldiers in their charge. They led by example, were the first over the top and the last to retire. Consequently, life expectancy for a junior officer on the battlefield was only six weeks.

Some of those who fell were household names at the time, but most were reasonably unknown outside footballing circles. They were all unpaid amateurs who loved the game, but football came second to their occupations or studies. Yet when the call came, they immediately volunteered, leaving their jobs, families and studies and putting their lives on hold.
​
Even though many had long since retired from the game, as young men, they had played for the club. Some made dozens of appearances, others only a handful and some played only once. John Hyland Fosdick never played for the club at all, even though his name appears on the mantle in the clubhouse. He had been invited to tour South America with Corinthians and was halfway across the Atlantic when war was declared. Without having played a game, the whole team immediately returned to England to sign up. Fosdick died in July 1915 when he was struck in the head by shrapnel while defending the Hooge Crater. He was 20 years old and still a student at Cambridge.
​

At the other end of the scale, Thomas Sowerby Rowlandson played 150 games for Corinthian and 20 for Casuals. He made his debut as a 15-year-old schoolboy at Charterhouse, drafted into the team for the injured Casuals goalkeeper. He kept a clean sheet that day. His football career included appearances for professional teams like Sunderland and Newcastle, and he was also selected to represent England. Tom fell, leading his company in an attack on a German trench. He had tied a red handkerchief to a walking stick and held it over his head, so his men could see him and follow. Reaching the trench first, he was hit by a bomb or grenade, and although he was carried from the battlefield, he later died from his wounds. He was 36 years old.

Aged between 20 and 57, they came from all corners of the British Isles. They fell in Flanders, France, and around the world, in places with haunting, infamous names such as Gallipoli, Ypres, Loos, the Somme and Passchendaele. Many suffered from shell shock or were wounded and hospitalised, always choosing to return to the regiment, the men and their fate.

Most were killed in action or died from wounds. Some died from faulty munitions, accidents or illnesses and three, damaged by the war, took their own lives. Others were listed as missing in action, and 27 have no known graves, their bodies lost to various battlefields. Several were killed by friendly fire, and five sets of brothers who played for the club fell. Around half were married, and over fifty sons and daughters lost their father. A handful were unmarried only sons, their deaths ending their family’s bloodline.
​
It’s been 110 years since these men answered the call to arms. Their names appear on countless monuments and honour rolls at home and abroad. In Fallen, for the first time, they appear together as our club mates, their sacrifices commemorated and their stories told. We share a bond with them. They are our fallen comrades, and they shall never be forgotten. ​

Josh Lukwata came to the club as our new goalkeeper coach in pre-season and has become a regular face at King George’s on matchdays. The ex-Fulham academy prospect has an interesting back story so we caught up with him last week to find out more.

Take us back a few years to your time as a goalkeeper in the Fulham academy.

I was there for nine years, from the age of 10. When I first started, it was more of a hobby because I just liked to play, so landing at Fulham at the age I did… I was just amazed.

I was on trial for six months and even when I got signed it was still crazy to think I was actually signing for Fulham. I wasn’t even thinking of making it as a professional footballer, so at that time I don’t think it would have affected me all that much if they hadn’t signed me. I was just enjoying it.

It wasn’t until they gave us tickets to my first Premier League game, and I stepped up the stairs to a professional stadium, that I said, “Woah, this is how many people come to watch football games?”

That’s when I changed my whole idea of football and started saying I wanted to do everything I could to potentially play on stages like that one day. I started taking it 100 times more seriously from that moment and improving as much as I could.

How did you develop as a keeper in that period?

Every year they would decide if they were going to keep you, and I just carried on being kept until I got to the scholarship stage. I was a part of some great youth teams that won Premier League tournaments and went abroad to so many places in Europe. I played against near enough all of the biggest teams in Europe, and so many of the boys I played with or against are now on the big stage. It was a surreal experience.

Who were some of your Fulham team-mates?

Both of the Sessegnon brothers – Ryan and Steven – and there was Ebere Eze, Josh Maja, plus a few others who are now playing in League One and Two. I can remember playing against Declan Rice, Robert Sanchez, Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho – the list goes on. Sometimes I don’t know until someone brings up a teamsheet showing me up against some big player that I had no idea about at the time.

I read that you were eventually released because of your height, which must have been incredibly frustrating.

That was the hardest pill to swallow because they used to have manager-player reflection meetings every few months, where they tell you what you’re doing well and what they think you can improve on. Every time I came out of those meetings, everything was about working on the weaknesses and every single time they would tell me I’d improved on those things at the next meeting.

So when it was something that I literally couldn’t control at all – my height – it was so frustrating. There’s nothing I can do about that, and it’s so hard to take it in and digest it when there’s nothing in the universe that can change that. I’m 5ft 8in or 5ft 9in and, in England, if you’re a centre-back or goalkeeper, a lot of managers have their own profile of what they expect in terms of height.

Even before they gave me the scholarship, they were straight up with me. They said I was good but it looked like my height could be a problem. I didn’t necessarily let that hold me back, I just thought as long as I performed well they wouldn’t have any reason not to give me a scholarship.

So once I got given the scholarship, it was a very joyful moment – I remember my mum being in tears of joy because it looked like it was against all odds. I kept performing at these tournaments and in training so I think they had no choice but to give me a scholarship at that time.