Billionaire Peter Lowy has discussed why he supports Leeds United and how special his first visit to Elland Road as a board member was in a first interview since his appointment was announced.
The Australian describes himself as a lifelong Whites fan and recently invested in the club through his family’s investment company Lowy Family Group, as part of 49ers Enterprises.
Speaking during the club’s end-of-season award ceremony on Sunday night, he underlined the influence of Don Revie’s Leeds on his formative years.
“I was a young lad,” he said “The first time I heard, I didn’t see Leeds play, I heard them play on the radio.
“You didn’t have satellites in Australia. I used to listen to Match of the Day on the BBC on a short-wave radio.
“When you hear attacking football, beautiful football and wingers, I love wingers. When the ball goes wide and a winger goes down and he cuts behind a full-back and he cuts it back: most beautiful football I ever heard.
“That’s what I fell in love with and that was Leeds.”
The first sighting of Lowy on Sunday came when he walked down from the Jack Charlton Stand and onto the pitch before kick-off.
The former Westfield shopping centres chief took a walk on the pitch and almost found himself cautioned by a member of the security staff before he returned to the perimeter.
“Today was spectacular for me,” he said. “It was a dream come true. I’ve been watching Leeds my whole life, ever since the 60s and I love football.
“To come to the stadium today and be able to walk on the pitch without getting kicked off was just a dream come true.
“It’s like a young lad walking to heaven on earth for me.”
Having followed Leeds for so many decades, Lowy admits he had doubts, like everyone, about whether the Whites would ever make it back to the Premier League.
The new board member compared Bielsa’s attacking, aggressive outfit with the United side of the 1970s and 1980s.
“Like everybody else, when you’re in the wilderness you’re never sure you’ll get there, but once the change happened and Marcelo came along as a coach, you watched the first couple of games and thought ‘this is going to work,’” he said.
“I’ve been around football a really long time. I believe football teams have a personality and Leeds lost their personality and that’s why they were in the wilderness.
“The way they play football today is the same way they played football in the 70s and 80s. They play attacking football, they play to win, they’re aggressive and they got their mojo back.”
