Sunderland superfan became a star in Argentina - but missed a trip to Buenos Aires through cancer and Covid
‘They are still very friendly and they are very fanatical about Sunderland’
He’s the Mackem who became a star in Argentina - but Peter Farrer has revealed why he never got to fly to Buenos Aires.
Peter, now 70, has looked back on his roller coaster period in the spotlight in 2020.
First, he became one of the stars in the Sunderland Til’ I Die series on Netflix.
His appearances in both series of the docu-series, which followed the highs and lows of SAFC and its fans, made him a recognisable face on Wearside – but he also captured the imagination of football fans 7,000 miles away in Argentina.
Fans of River Plate, one of Argentina’s biggest football cubs, took the now retired taxi driver to their hearts. So much so, that club president Rodolfo D'Onofrio wanted to fly him over for a game at the El Monumental stadium.
Sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic struck and Peter’s hopes were dashed. Soon after, Peter suffered more heart breaking news when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
He had blood tests and remembered ‘I got a text on Christmas morning that year to say I had prostate cancer.’
Peter had to wait seven months for an operation which could only go ahead when lockdown restrictions were lifted. He is fine now but he still has medical checks every six months, and urged other men to get checked out as soon as they suspect they have health issues.
The setbacks meant he never got to take up the offer of a journey to Argentina but he said: “I still keep in touch with them and we have a WhatsApp group. They are still very friendly and they are very fanatical about Sunderland.”
Peter first told the Sunderland Echo about his Argentinian links in 2020.
Peter, who is dad to Peter and Mark, said: “I’m not on Facebook or Twitter but my son Peter is and he has the same name as me so they found him on that.
“He messaged me at 7am on a Sunday morning and said a man called Sebastian from River Plate had been in touch to say they’ve fallen in love with the club, they’ve fallen in love with Sunderland, and they’ve fallen in love with me. River Plate is like Man United over there so I couldn’t believe it.”
Speaking this week, Peter updated us and said: “We speak almost every day and I keep in touch, particularly with Sebastian, Nico and some of the others.”
We just had to ask Peter about his thoughts for England’s FIFA World Cup semi-final against Argentina. He said: “It is not going to be easy but England has got a chance, especially if Saka and Gordon turn it on.”