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Former Rangers skipper on his new role with star-studded Hollywood United
By Brian McIver In Los Angeles
AS a guy who has played football at the highest level around the world, Richard Gough is used to sharing the field with the biggest stars.
But even the former Rangers and Scotland idol was taken aback when he looked over to the touchline and saw Superman warming up.
That was the case last weekend when Gough was one of the Scots taking part in the most star-studded football game in history - as part of Hollywood United.
HUFC are the side with more famous names than Celtic, Rangers, Manchester United and Chelsea put together. The Los Angeles-based squad is made up of some of the biggest stars from football, music, TV and movies and get together to play the beautiful game in the land of beautiful people.
As well as Gough, who has settled in nearby San Diego with his family, former professionals Frank Leboeuf (A World Cup winner with France) and American Alexei Lalas (David Beckham's old boss at LA Galaxy) also play for the celebrity team.
The club was formed 18 years ago in Santa Monica by British ex-pats, including Sex Pistol Steve Jones, who missed a regular game of football and gradually attracted more and more big names as word spread.
And the amateur team has earned a reputation as the most glamorous in the USA, even though they play in the shadow of LA Galaxy star Beckham.
The Hollywood United stars all turned out last weekend for a high-profile charity game at LA Galaxy's home ground, the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, and were joined by a multi-millionaire teamsheet of some of the most well-known faces in Tinsel Town.
Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Skeet Ulrich (Jericho and Scream), Danny Cannon (director of Goal! and CSI), Donal Logue (ER and Max Payne), Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers), Heroes stars Santiago Cabrera and Jimmy Jean Louis, Sex And The City hunk GillesMarini plus Anthony LaPaglia ofWithout A Trace fame were all in action.
And some of the musicians on the pitch included Billy Duffy of The Cult, Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard, Sex Pistol Jones and Benji Madden, lead singer of Good Charlotte.
As well as Gough, renowned Scots actor Tony Curran (This Life, League of Extraordinary Gentleman and Flight Of The Phoenix) was also taking part in his first Hollywood United fixture, playing for rival side Champions United in the fund-raising match for victims of Hurricane Ike which devastated Texas recently.
Tony, 39, was playing on the right flank for Champions and the Celtic fan from Glasgow, who is about to start filming a pilot for a major new TV project, was given high praise from Gough, who described the ginger actor as "a wee Jimmy Johnstone up the wing".
Tony said: "This has been a great day and it's so enjoyable to get a good game of football. I still watch matches from back home when I get the chance, but it's really nice to play and I'd definitely come back for another game.
"It's funny to think I'm playing against Leboeuf, who won the World Cup, and Goughie. Everyone has been having a great laugh and it's all in a worthwhile cause."
As one of the most experienced players on the pitch, Gough was Hollywood United's defensive linchpin and loved the run-out.
The former Scotland hero and Rangers captain now lives by the beach in a suburb of San Diego and is in the property business.
He said: "I love the quiet life out here and enjoy coming up for the games. It's good to do something like this for all the people who suffered from the hurricane.
"I don't play much, but usually come up for the charity events and it's brilliant fun playing against the actors and musicians. Only myself, Frank and Alexei have played professionally before, but there's some real talent out there.
"I was glad we had Superman to come off the bench, though, as we were 5-1 down and needed help. The guy Gilles from Sex And The City was a good player and lovely guy as well.
"But it makes you realise just how much fitness you have lost and I do miss playing.
"We are still competitive - someone dribbled by me then scored past Anthony and celebrated like it was the World Cup.
"I said to Anthony 'Don't worry, I'm gonna give him a wee whack.' I did and he started complaining but I told him 'If I had wanted to hurt you, you wouldn't be on the pitch.'"
The team's general manager, Northampton-born film maker and producer Ian Carrington, was delighted with the turn-out and success of the day.
Ian said: "It's gone from absolutely nothing when I was first playing 11 years ago.
"The awareness of football in the US has increased and so has our team. So we've created a monster and once you get the faces, especially here in LA, you get attention and it's a successful team as well.
"You couldn't put a price on the celebrities here. We do two or three charity events a year and whatever we can do to help is great.
"Anything is possible with the growth of soccer. We have about 120 players and six teams and it keeps getting bigger."
With several different sides all playing in Sunday league or midweek competitions, not all are made up of superstars.
Frank Butler, 44, from Glasgow, works as a pipe fitter in LA and plays in the Hollywood United over-40s side.
He said: "Some of the famous guys are really good, but they are all just players - nobody treats them any differently."
One of the most regular celebrity faces in the team is actor Jimmy Jean Louis, who plays creepy character The Haitian in Heroes.
The actor, 40, who is actually from Haiti, said: "I love playing football and get a game whenever I can. And to raise money at the same time is just perfect."
The Hollywood United goalkeeper's part is played by Australian actor Anthony LaPaglia, award-winning star of Without a Trace and movies like Summer of Sam and So I Married An Axe Murderer. He said: "I've played football all my life and when I moved from New York to LA to start Without a Trace, I heard about the side and signed up.
"I love getting a game and the club keeps growing so who knows where it might end up - we might talk about bidding for an MLS franchise one day."
Benji Madden, hoping to bring his band Good Charlotte to Scotland next year, said: "I haven't played in ages and it was awesome to play with such great players."
The Champions United side, made up mostly of musicians, romped into a 5-1 lead.
But the game of two halves cliche was in evidence again as Steve Jones and Gilles Marini scored a double each, while Leboeuf also got on the scoresheet and Hollywood completed an incredible fightback to win 6-5.
The HUFC defence was bolstered midway through the first half by the introduction of actor Brandon Routh, best known as the Man of Steel in Superman Returns.
But his introduction led to hysterics on the sidelines as a rival musician moaned: "That's not fair - they're bloody bringing on Superman."
Brandon said: "I did okay, I haven't played a full-size field in ages, but showed some good movement for a big guy.
"One of the English guys was explaining to me the term 'super sub' which I thought was funny and pretty appropriate.
"But I certainly don't think I played like Superman today - that's a lot to live up to."
By Brian McIver In Los Angeles
AS a guy who has played football at the highest level around the world, Richard Gough is used to sharing the field with the biggest stars.
But even the former Rangers and Scotland idol was taken aback when he looked over to the touchline and saw Superman warming up.
That was the case last weekend when Gough was one of the Scots taking part in the most star-studded football game in history - as part of Hollywood United.
HUFC are the side with more famous names than Celtic, Rangers, Manchester United and Chelsea put together. The Los Angeles-based squad is made up of some of the biggest stars from football, music, TV and movies and get together to play the beautiful game in the land of beautiful people.
As well as Gough, who has settled in nearby San Diego with his family, former professionals Frank Leboeuf (A World Cup winner with France) and American Alexei Lalas (David Beckham's old boss at LA Galaxy) also play for the celebrity team.
The club was formed 18 years ago in Santa Monica by British ex-pats, including Sex Pistol Steve Jones, who missed a regular game of football and gradually attracted more and more big names as word spread.
And the amateur team has earned a reputation as the most glamorous in the USA, even though they play in the shadow of LA Galaxy star Beckham.
The Hollywood United stars all turned out last weekend for a high-profile charity game at LA Galaxy's home ground, the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, and were joined by a multi-millionaire teamsheet of some of the most well-known faces in Tinsel Town.
Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Skeet Ulrich (Jericho and Scream), Danny Cannon (director of Goal! and CSI), Donal Logue (ER and Max Payne), Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers), Heroes stars Santiago Cabrera and Jimmy Jean Louis, Sex And The City hunk GillesMarini plus Anthony LaPaglia ofWithout A Trace fame were all in action.
And some of the musicians on the pitch included Billy Duffy of The Cult, Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard, Sex Pistol Jones and Benji Madden, lead singer of Good Charlotte.
As well as Gough, renowned Scots actor Tony Curran (This Life, League of Extraordinary Gentleman and Flight Of The Phoenix) was also taking part in his first Hollywood United fixture, playing for rival side Champions United in the fund-raising match for victims of Hurricane Ike which devastated Texas recently.
Tony, 39, was playing on the right flank for Champions and the Celtic fan from Glasgow, who is about to start filming a pilot for a major new TV project, was given high praise from Gough, who described the ginger actor as "a wee Jimmy Johnstone up the wing".
Tony said: "This has been a great day and it's so enjoyable to get a good game of football. I still watch matches from back home when I get the chance, but it's really nice to play and I'd definitely come back for another game.
"It's funny to think I'm playing against Leboeuf, who won the World Cup, and Goughie. Everyone has been having a great laugh and it's all in a worthwhile cause."
As one of the most experienced players on the pitch, Gough was Hollywood United's defensive linchpin and loved the run-out.
The former Scotland hero and Rangers captain now lives by the beach in a suburb of San Diego and is in the property business.
He said: "I love the quiet life out here and enjoy coming up for the games. It's good to do something like this for all the people who suffered from the hurricane.
"I don't play much, but usually come up for the charity events and it's brilliant fun playing against the actors and musicians. Only myself, Frank and Alexei have played professionally before, but there's some real talent out there.
"I was glad we had Superman to come off the bench, though, as we were 5-1 down and needed help. The guy Gilles from Sex And The City was a good player and lovely guy as well.
"But it makes you realise just how much fitness you have lost and I do miss playing.
"We are still competitive - someone dribbled by me then scored past Anthony and celebrated like it was the World Cup.
"I said to Anthony 'Don't worry, I'm gonna give him a wee whack.' I did and he started complaining but I told him 'If I had wanted to hurt you, you wouldn't be on the pitch.'"
The team's general manager, Northampton-born film maker and producer Ian Carrington, was delighted with the turn-out and success of the day.
Ian said: "It's gone from absolutely nothing when I was first playing 11 years ago.
"The awareness of football in the US has increased and so has our team. So we've created a monster and once you get the faces, especially here in LA, you get attention and it's a successful team as well.
"You couldn't put a price on the celebrities here. We do two or three charity events a year and whatever we can do to help is great.
"Anything is possible with the growth of soccer. We have about 120 players and six teams and it keeps getting bigger."
With several different sides all playing in Sunday league or midweek competitions, not all are made up of superstars.
Frank Butler, 44, from Glasgow, works as a pipe fitter in LA and plays in the Hollywood United over-40s side.
He said: "Some of the famous guys are really good, but they are all just players - nobody treats them any differently."
One of the most regular celebrity faces in the team is actor Jimmy Jean Louis, who plays creepy character The Haitian in Heroes.
The actor, 40, who is actually from Haiti, said: "I love playing football and get a game whenever I can. And to raise money at the same time is just perfect."
The Hollywood United goalkeeper's part is played by Australian actor Anthony LaPaglia, award-winning star of Without a Trace and movies like Summer of Sam and So I Married An Axe Murderer. He said: "I've played football all my life and when I moved from New York to LA to start Without a Trace, I heard about the side and signed up.
"I love getting a game and the club keeps growing so who knows where it might end up - we might talk about bidding for an MLS franchise one day."
Benji Madden, hoping to bring his band Good Charlotte to Scotland next year, said: "I haven't played in ages and it was awesome to play with such great players."
The Champions United side, made up mostly of musicians, romped into a 5-1 lead.
But the game of two halves cliche was in evidence again as Steve Jones and Gilles Marini scored a double each, while Leboeuf also got on the scoresheet and Hollywood completed an incredible fightback to win 6-5.
The HUFC defence was bolstered midway through the first half by the introduction of actor Brandon Routh, best known as the Man of Steel in Superman Returns.
But his introduction led to hysterics on the sidelines as a rival musician moaned: "That's not fair - they're bloody bringing on Superman."
Brandon said: "I did okay, I haven't played a full-size field in ages, but showed some good movement for a big guy.
"One of the English guys was explaining to me the term 'super sub' which I thought was funny and pretty appropriate.
"But I certainly don't think I played like Superman today - that's a lot to live up to."
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