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Georgi, Junior & Ilia: This Club Has An Amazing Story

The Leeds United trio recently teamed up with JD Sports for an exclusive live event

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"\u003Cp\u003EAfter the success of the first live episode in November, the Leeds United podcast returned to JD Sports\u0027 store in Leeds City Centre recently, this time joined by Leeds United trio Georginio, Junior Firpo and Ilia Gruev.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe three stars answered questions from our hosts Emma Jones and Jermaine Beckford, discussing everything from the season so far to local delicacies, before a Q\u0026amp;A and meeting over 100 fans for the exclusive event.\u003C/p\u003E""\u003Chr /\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKey Quotes From The Podcast:\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIlia, what\u0027s the camaraderie like amongst the team?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I would say it\u0027s quite nice to go into the dressing room, you enjoy being with the lads, a lot of players are the same age, so we laugh a lot, enjoy time together, and when you get good results, it\u0027s easier to work.\u00A0\u003Cspan style=\u0022background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);\u0022\u003EIt\u0027s a pleasure to be there every day, which is not normal in this business, so I\u0027m really enjoying it.\u0022\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJunior, you seem to be really enjoying your football at the moment?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Yeah, it\u0027s my third season, the first two weren\u0027t as good as this one, but I can say I\u0027m really enjoying it right now. I\u0027m fit, fingers crossed, stay fit, and that\u0027s the best feeling, so yeah I\u0027m really happy.\u0022\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u00A0\u003Cimg style=\u0022background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);\u0022 src=\u0022https://dc6vmiz8c91pk.cloudfront.net/media/24/31055400522675/jd_web_001.png\u0022 alt=\u0022Georginio pictured at the JD Live event\u0022 /\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);\u0022\u003E\uFEFF\uFEFF\uFEFF\uFEFF\uFEFF\uFEFF\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgi, what sets this club apart?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I enjoy playing here, because the fans are always behind us. After the away game against Blackburn, 7,000 fans, it was amazing. When you start playing football as a kid, your dream is to play for the fans and here, you have a city where everybody likes Leeds. The support is amazing every time, like it was against Hull and Leicester, and this club has an amazing story.\u0022\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIlia, what was the first time walking out at Elland Road like for you?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022When I made my first start at Elland Road, I walked out and heard everyone singing Marching On Together. It gives you extra motivation to show everyone that when the players and fans come together, you can win at home and create something special. This is extraordinary.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s a club, that I think everyone knows outside of the UK, one with lots of tradition. I knew about it when I played in Germany, and everyone knows the club when I\u0027m back in Bulgaria. Now, when I play for Leeds, everyone recognises me more, it\u0027s a very big club, but you have to experience it.\u0022\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u00A0\u003Cimg style=\u0022background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);\u0022 src=\u0022https://dc6vmiz8c91pk.cloudfront.net/media/24/21627763188185/jd_web_002.png\u0022 alt=\u0022Ilia Gruev and Junior Firpo pictured at the JD Live event\u0022 /\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);\u0022\u003E\uFEFF\uFEFF\uFEFF\uFEFF\uFEFF\uFEFF\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJunior, how have you found the reception from fans around the city?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s different. I\u0027ve been at two other big clubs [Barcelona and Real Betis] before Leeds. This city, you know when you\u0027re in love with something so much, that\u0027s our fans with this club, the loyalty, it\u0027s unbelievable.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022As Georgi says, when we go away and there\u0027s the 7,000 fans and you can hear our fans more than the home fans, it\u0027s unbelievable. I\u0027m walking around the city and I don\u0027t see any other shirts, I\u0027m from Malaga, and you see Madrid, Barca, but here, everyone supports Leeds, that\u0027s crazy.\u0022\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJacob, aged 7, asks what advice would you give to an aspiring footballer?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIlia: \u0022Enjoy football, be with your friends, play as much as you can, have fun at this age, that\u0027s the only thing I did. I didn\u0027t think about anything else, I only wanted to play with my friends.\u0022\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorginio: \u0022Dream.\u0022\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https://dc6vmiz8c91pk.cloudfront.net/media/24/12293761207387/jd_web_004.png\u0022 alt=\u0022Georginio, Junior Firpo and Ilia Gruev pictured at the JD Live event\u0022 /\u003E\uFEFF\uFEFF\uFEFF\uFEFF\uFEFF\u003C/p\u003E"

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