AN avid West Ham fan has scored big time after he was chosen to be at the forefront of a Coca Cola advert.

Michael Campbell, from Colchester, has always had a passion for football.

As a teenager he was even on trial to play for his beloved West Ham, training twice a week, but unfortunately did not make the grade.

In 1987, he went back looking for work and spent five seasons doing commercial work for the club.

Michael, 72, said: “I walked in off the street and created a job for myself.

“They bought me a new car with West Ham stickers all over it, it got a lot of attention.

“I’ve done commercial work for six different clubs in total.”

Gazette:

Michael, who used to be in the construction business before retirement, set up a West Ham fan Facebook page which has more than 9,000 members.

His home near Southway is also full of West Ham memorabilia.

He said: “In December, there was a guy who asked to join the Facebook group, he said he worked for a film company and was really interested in my passion for the club.

“Coca Cola said they would be one of the main sponsors for the English FA Premier League and had to film an advert that would be shown, possibly globally, on a daily basis.

“He asked me if I wanted to be in it and I said ‘You bet! Just tell me what I need to do’.”

Michael and his son went to a sports club in Hackney where there were film crews waiting.

They were then ferried off to the Mildmay Snooker Club and were given West Ham gear to wear.

In the advert, football fans from different clubs are heard cheering and talking about previous matches with ‘Only You’ by Yazoo playing in the background.

Towards the end of the video the music cuts and Michael, who is filmed donning a West Ham scarf while leaning over a snooker table, says: “We are West Ham, we ain’t singing.”

He was never expecting to play such a big part in the video.

Michael said: “As I’m the tallest I thought I was be at the back, but to my pleasant surprise I was in the forefront.

“They filmed for hours but a lot of it had to be cut out.

“I felt honoured and proud to be able to represent my club. I’m thrilled to bits.”

Gazette:

For someone who gets birthday wishes from legendary West Ham players like Mark Noble, anyone would have thought an opportunity such as this was nothing out of the ordinary.

However, Michael said he still felt starstruck being chosen to feature in the advert for such a huge company like Coca Cola.

The producers were so interested in his football history, they kept him behind for an interview.

He said: “They wanted a private interview with me for a behind the scenes programme for the Coca Cola website.

“The film went up on YouTube but my interview wasn’t used. I’ve asked them for a copy of it.”

Search for Where Everyone Plays | Coca-Cola & the Premier League on YouTube.