Razor Ruddock, in Spain, by a swimming pool, having a playing card pulled from behind his ear by a member of the Magic Circle. It’s a peculiar image.
But for the Crystal Palace staff and players in the early 2000s, it was perfectly normal.
“We used to have a lot of magic going on at the club at the time,” explains Roberto Forzoni, the first-team coach producing cards from thin air to the amusement of a dumbstruck Palace squad.
Forzoni’s penchant for magic followed him from the age of 12, through his career in the backrooms across English football, up to today, as a member of the Magic Circle and performer at parties hosted by former colleagues and Palace managers Steve Coppell and Alan Smith.