Alfie Conn – Crossing the Divide
He was the first high-profile footballer of the modern game to cross the Old Firm divide at a time when playing for both the blue and green halves of Glasgow was considered unthinkable.
Thirty years after carving his name in the annal of arguably the most hostile rivalry in European football, Alfie Conn is reluctant to dredge up the past but refuses any suggestions that he was a brave pioneer.
“For me it was always just a job,” recalls Conn, “I try not to discuss it too much because the dust has settled over the years. I don’t consider myself brave at all. I had a wife and family to support and a mortgage to pay.”
However Conn still gets insulted over it. He had gone into a bar a while ago and a guy came in with his girlfriend. They seemed nice enough and were bought a drink as they sat in their company for much of the night. When Conn and his friends got up to leave, the guy refused to shake Alfie’s hand and called him a turncoat bastard. That’s how much animosity there still is not only towards Conn but any other player that has crossed over – none more so than Maurice Johnston.
Conn played in the blue of Rangers for eight years and then he moved to Spurs, where he achieved cult status amongst the fans on the White Hart Lane terraces. That’s when Celtic manager Jock Stein came calling.
“He was one of those managers I always wanted to play under,” Conn explained. “Rangers hadn’t come back in for me and I thought I could still learn a lot. So when Stein asked me, I didn’t hesitate.”
Returning North of the Border, he says , was always going to be confrontational but he was not prepared for quite so much hostility.
“Several people warned me against it but it was only after I signed when I flew back into Glasgow, with all the press and TV, that I realised it was bigger than I first thought. That’s when it hit home. It wasn’t easy hearing the team that used to cheer for me throwing insults but at least it kept the city talking.”
Like everyone connected with the Old Firm, Conn always keeps a keen eye on proceedings and he goes back to Ibrox four or five times a season which gives you some idea of where his allegiances lie. But he doesn’t set foot in Ibrox during an Old Firm match.
“I think everyone knows I was a Rangers supporter when I was a boy, it’s just one of the games I don’t go to. It still plays on my mind seeing both sets of supporters together. I prefer to watch it on the TV.”
Although other players have made the switch from blue to green or vice versa, including Kenny Miller, Steven Pressley and Mark Brown, Conn wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.
“It depends on the individual and how they handle pressure. If you go from one to the other, you’ve got to be prepared to take a lot of abuse. But I have loads of friends who support Celtic as well as Rangers, believe me. I moved on a long time ago.”