Fernando Forestieri is getting ready to make another great story in football as Oxford City face Leicester City in the first round of the FA Cup in the hope of upsetting their League One rivals. The 36-year-old Argentine forward recently switched to the National League North outfit, where he has plenty of experience to play alongside world-class stars Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
He was noticed when he played his first game for Hebburn Town at the Hebburn Sports and Social Ground. Oxford City were up three at the 81st minute and Forestieri came on as a late replacement with a crowd of just 873 supporters in attendance, as opposed to the crowds he would have faced while playing professionally.
Forestieri’s last outing at Real Madrid’s iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium was in front of about 72,000 fans. He has, however, said that playing in English non-league football was a fun test to play, likening the pace of the game to a “tennis rally”.
Oxford City have taken a promising start to their campaign, winning seven of their last 11 games to come into third place in the National League North table. Their next job comes with a chance to gain national recognition in Friday’s clash with Leicester City (19:45 GMT).
The fixture is also of special significance to Forestieri. The Argentine helped the minnows, Sheffield Wednesday, get to the Championship play-off final, as Leicester reeled off their Premier League title glory 10 years ago. Hull City got the win at Wembley after a late Chris Hughton struck to make it 1-0 on Wednesday.
Forestieri also has links to Leicester as he was part of Watford’s pivotal Championship play-off success against the Foxes in 2013.
