Johanneson: Albert Louis (Albert)

1961-1970 (Player Details)

Outside Left

Born: Johannesburg, South Africa: 13-03-1940

Debut: v Swansea Town (h): 08-04-1961

5’7” 10st 3lb (1969)

#33 in 100 Greatest LUFC Players Ever

The “Black Flash” was recommended to Leeds by a teacher, after Johanneson starred with Germiston Coloured School and Germiston Colliers. He came from the poverty of township life in South Africa to star on the football fields of England. He arrived on a three month trial and was signed in April 1961, making his debut the same month. He played one game with fellow Black South African winger Gerry Francis for the Elland Road side, Gerry playing on the right flank and Albert on the left. His bewitching skills, at outside-left, caused havoc amongst Second Division defences. He had great speed, neat ball skills and an eye for goal. Albert Johanneson was the first black footballer to achieve true prominence in the English professional game. Others before him, such as Roy Brown, of Stoke City, and Doncaster Rovers' Charlie Williams (who became better known as a comedian), enjoyed worthy careers just after the Second World War, but the personable South African's dashing exploits with Leeds United in the 1960s gave him a far higher public profile. Johanneson was a left winger whose explosive pace, bewitching side-step and knack of scoring goals made him one of the most effective early contributors to the revival at Leeds. Conditioned by a life of rigid apartheid, Johanneson was understandably unsure of himself initially, not even knowing if he was allowed to join his white colleagues in the team bath. They responded by stripping him of his kit and plunging him in; a rough-and-ready welcome but a warm one which he appreciated. Thereafter, Johanneson settled well both on and off the pitch, winning promotion to the senior side, and became a favourite with the Elland Road fans. They, like the vast majority of other supporters, judged him purely on his merits as a footballer, and he stood out as one of the few entertainers in an essentially dour team. Incidents of racism were extremely rare, though on one occasion he complained that an Everton defender, whom he didn't name, had called him a "black bastard" during the heat of a particularly bitter match. Revie's advice was to "call him a white bastard back." Johanneson distinguished himself in the latter stages of Leeds's successful battle against relegation in 1961-62, then became firmly established in the side and was the joint top scorer with thirteen League goals as they won the Second Division championship two years later. He continued to mesmerise his defensive opponents in the First Division. A target for racial abuse, Albert Johanneson's confidence was sometimes undermined by the jibes of his opponents. He was especially effective in tandem with the club's skipper, Bobby Collins. As the effervescent little Scottish schemer put it, "Albert could fly and I could put the ball on the spot for him. When he was in his stride there weren't many who could catch him." Johanneson's performing peak came, perhaps, in 1964-65, when the newly promoted Leeds were pipped for the title only on goal average by Manchester United, then lost the FA Cup Final to Liverpool. In retrospect, that Wembley defeat, Johanneson was the first black player to appear in a final, but made disappointingly little impact, marked something of a watershed in his career. It was as though his self-belief, always rather fragile, had taken a severe knock and he was never quite the same again. Soon after that he lost his place to the England international Mike O'Grady, and then became increasingly peripheral through a combination of niggling injuries and the rise of the brilliant Eddie Gray. Accordingly, Johanneson was no more than a bit player as Revie's Leeds matured into a mighty footballing force and it was no surprise when he left to join York City, of the Fourth Division, in the summer of 1970. Though in his thirty-first year, he had much to offer the Minster men and in his one full season at Bootham Crescent, he helped them gain promotion. He continued to be dogged by fitness problems, however, but scored three goals in twenty-six appearances before retiring in June 1972. He moved back to South Africa for a spell of coaching but returned to Leeds where he fell under the influence of drink and drifted through life as a lonely and broken man. Upon leaving the game, the good life soon disappeared for Albert. He lived in squalor with his brother Trevor and struggled against alcoholism. Towards the end of his life Johanneson had little to remember of the glory days of his soccer career. His marriage had broken up, and he had little or no money. Friends made efforts to get Johanneson to beat the bottle and a dinner was held at Elland Road in his honour, but he was unable to win his personal battle and was found dead in his high-rise flat in Leeds on 29th September1995, aged fifty-five, although it is thought that he died several days earlier. Older Leeds fans will remember the flying winger in happier times. Those who played with him still talk about the days when Albert was on song. Peter Lorimer, who made over six hundred and fifty appearances for United, was one who admired the silky skills of the South African. "Albert could be the scourge of defences but he never quite fulfilled his potential. He could still be a joy to watch and to play with. As a person he'll be sadly missed." Others talk of Johanneson's difficulty in making it to the big time. There are stories that say he was happiest when playing with Leeds in the Second Division and that he sometimes struggled to express himself at a higher level. Norman Hunter joined Leeds a year after the South African and was a pillar of the defence for many years afterwards. He recalls tales of Albert and believes he was unlucky to be around when Leeds had so many top-notch players. "On his day he could skin any full-back, but he lacked the consistency and it was unfortunate that Albert was around at the same time as Eddie Gray. He was one of Don Revie's most promising signings but when Eddie got a grip of his place on the wing, something had to give and Albert found himself in the reserves." Those who saw Albert Johanneson in later years were shocked at his decline. There is a story that George Best met up with him in Leeds in a chance encounter and even though the Irishman was no stranger to the demon drink, he was still shocked to see the effect it had taken on the first non-white footballer to make an impact on the game in England in the 1960s. Best remembered Albert as a nice man with a lot of skill and others in the game have emphasised that with a little extra confidence he could have become a great player rather than a good one. The Albert Johanneson story is one of a fallen sporting hero whose plight shocked many at Leeds United and around the football world. But many supporters will remember those games when he sparkled, and Norman Hunter is quick to dismiss the theory that he was unable to cope with stick from the opposing defenders. "He was braver than many people gave him credit for and had the scars on his legs to prove it." A number of club officials and ex-players attended Albert's funeral at Lawnswood Cemetary in Leeds and probably reflected how the sporting limelight can some years afterwards leave our heroes struggling alone with alienation.