Donal MacIntyre says Chelsea might not be in his blood, but he still looks out for the club.
MacIntyre still has 'affection' for Chelsea
Donal MacIntyre insists he's still fond of Chelsea despite the 'trauma' some of the club's fans have caused him.
The Investigative reporter is renowned for his TV series 'MacIntyre Undercover' in which he infiltrated the Chelsea Headhunters hooligan gang, who he covertly filmed planning an attack.
Members of the gang were subsequently jailed following the expose in 2000, while the 46-year-old has received numerous death threats in the 12 years that have passed.
In 2009 MacIntyre and his wife Ameera were both assaulted in an attack related to the documentary, but he says he's still pleased to see the club doing well.
"For a side that has caused me no end of trauma I have huge affection for them," he told
Soccer AM.
"I loved Mourinho and I love the fact that they've made it into the (Champions league) final and I really hope that they win.
"And the fact that they did it with 10 men, they did brilliantly. So I do keep a great eye on them and I have affection for them, although I'd rather the supporters didn't beat me up!"
History
Despite not being a Chelsea fan, MacIntyre revealed he was able to hold his own in conversations about the club during his investigation, because of the studious approach he took to learning the club's history.
"At the time I studied the history of Chelsea and all the DVDs and books literally like somebody would do a university degree" he explained.
"At the end of the season, apart from doing our work, I think my proudest moment was going toe-to-toe with some crusty old lifelong supporters and being able to hold my own, and in some cases outshine them.
"I knew every result and every bit of history, so the thought that as a football supporter it's always in your blood, it's not necessarily, sometimes it's just in the books and DVDs."
Tattoo
The Dublin-born journalist didn't stop there, however, and in an attempt to blend in further he decided to get a Chelsea tattoo.
But he told Helen and Max he also had an ulterior motive:
"Well it was the only way I was going to get onto Soccer AM!" he joked.
"No one was going to book me instead of Shaun Goater so I thought OK, Donal MacIntyre get a Chelsea tattoo!
"I still get strange looks on the beaches abroad. People say 'are you a Chelsea fan?' and I say no and they say 'you've got a Chelsea tattoo' and I say 'it's a long story!'"
