A Welsh man has gone from local legend to global celebrity, all in the span of a few days.
A video was posted on Facebook recently of Andrew Cassidy, a former fisherman doing some impressive juggling of a soccer ball. The video is grainy, and Cassidy is in a dirty-looking parking lot, but no matter, as the original, expletive-laden clip has accumulated more than 1.2 million views on YouTube.
Cassidy's unbelievable skills, plus the fact that he is quite nimble for a 280-pound man, have some people calling him the "Welsh Maradona."
The 50-year-old Cassidy worked as a fisherman until he was laid off in 2002. Now he spends two hours a day practicing his soccer juggling. Apparently, Cassidy has been doing his tricks in the parking lot for years, but he's been spurred to fame by the 45-second video.
"I'm quite agile for a big guy and I've got good hand-eye coordination, balance and timing," he told the Daily Mail. "I'm pretty good even though I've got a lot of blubber on me: it's just a matter of practice and I've got plenty of time on my hands for that."
Not only has Cassidy become a worldwide sensation, he has also received an invitation to guest star at at the opening ceremony of the upcoming World Freestyle Football Championships in Dubai.
"It's crazy to think that so many people have seen my skills - this is just what I do," Cassidy said. "Sometimes kids will have a kick around with me but they always leave after I've shown them up."
