Can a soccer team revive hope in a Welsh city? Welcome to Wrexham.
Inside a packed Welsh soccer stadium, two Hollywood actors watch as a player lines up a kick at goal. The celebrities arrived from the United States this morning. Like the almost 10,000 spectators here, they’re riveted by this clash between host team Wrexham and visiting Notts County.
In the 49th minute of the game, Notts County player John Bostock strikes the ball he’s lined up. It curves with the parabolic arc of a boomerang. The “bend it like Bostock” kick sends the ball into the top right corner of Wrexham’s goal.
The two actors swap worried expressions. A whistle blows for halftime. It’s the first of many dramatic moments in an early April match that will be hailed as a classic.
Wrexham has long been the “Bad News Bears” of soccer. It wasn’t always so. During the 1970s, Wrexham Association Football Club was the pride of this rural, working-class town. But when Wrexham’s economy waned, so did the team. Fifteen years ago, the club was demoted to Britain’s most lowly soccer league – four tiers below world-famous teams such as Manchester United. It’s languished there ever since.
In February 2021, Wrexham
