Exclusive: Ilia Gruev talks to LeedsLive about his experience of the atmosphere at Elland Road as a Leeds United player putting in the biggest tackles and life with an ex-footballer as a father
Goals bring a particularly deranged kind of howl from all sides of Elland Road. Nothing gets close to the detonation of Leeds United strikes like Archie Gray’s against Leicester City, but there is a ferocious gratitude reserved on the terraces for game-breaking tackles that crush an opposition in its tracks.
The 23-year-old loves that appreciation. He senses a knowledgeable crowd that values more than goals and big saves. They like fighters in this neck of the woods and Gruev has a job just trying to retain his tunnel vision. “Then also you hear the fans and they're screaming and cheering you up and this is then the whole atmosphere and the energy changes. This is very important and the other team, the opponent, feels it on Elland Road.”
“He has been here two or three times this year,” he said. “It's very nice to have a person who helps you understand. He understands the business and this is very good for me because he helps me. “It's very nice you have people who are inside the business and who know how the business is working because normal people don't know how the business is working. This helps me and it's a big advantage for me.”
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