You probably won't know who Tony Whelan is, but he has helped develop many of the top players in the league.
As Manchester United's academy advisor, Whelan has nurtured the early careers of MarcusRashford, Jesse Lingard, Danny Wellbeck and Paul Pogba as well as hundreds of other young prospects.
He describes the young man as a hero of his own.
"Marcus, with his family background, where he lived and the different challenges he's faced in his life, who would have thought that he was going to be a humanitarian par excellence?" was the question asked by Whelan in the interview.
The number of black, Asian and minority ethnic managers and non senior coaches has gone down since last season according to an FA report.
More than half of the players in the top flight are black, a far cry from the days of Whelan, but that is not the point.
During my time in the UK, I played against about seven black players, but I left to go to America in 1977. Seven is the number. Now, you wouldn't see that.
I'm the only black face in the squad, the Manchester United squad and the Manchester City squad.
He made his Manchester United debut at the age of 17 in 1970.
Sir Matt Busby, who was so respected he was like the Pope, was the manager of United's former training ground and he "treasures" his memories of seeing legends like George Best and Denis Law.
Colin Bell, Franny Lee, and Mike Summerbee were teammates of Whelan's at Manchester City.
The general environment for black players in British football in the 1970s wasmunised to racist slurs.
He said he didn't need to mention the names he used to get called.
I had great people. I was always with someone. People who stood up for me were my team-mates and friends. I thought to myself how I got through all that. I liked football a lot.
After his time in England, he moved to the US where he met some of football's biggest icons.
I played for the Fort Lauderdale strikers. Gordon Banks was playing with me. I played with a guy named Muller. It's difficult to think back.
I played against some great players as well. I played against a lot of people. It was like 'what am I doing?' I'm from Wythenshawe and I play against all these superstars.
After retiring from playing, he went to work as a social worker in Manchester. There were similarities between his early days as a player and his current career phase.
I returned from America in 1982. I didn't see anyone of my color.
The number of black faces was similar to when I was a player. That's not the same as it used to be. I think you would go a long way without seeing a black coach.
Joe Thompson is a former Rochdale player who was with the United academy.
Thompson said that he's almost like our hero. When I see Tony, I'm going to be bracing myself because he's notorious for a handshake. Tony is one of the people who are doing what they are doing in the community.
We were able to relate to him even though Manchester United didn't know.
He has time for everyone. He taught me things beyond the white lines of the football pitch that I've been able to take with me as a man and that's why I have the utmost respect for him.
He says that Sir Alex Ferguson's support has been inestimable. It's always helpful and supportive. You wanted to please him and he had time for you.
We would always go see him if we had young players. I have always been able to express myself as a coach and as a human being. In my time here, that's really special.
Everyone can be a footballer. People don't understand how hard it is. It's an achievement for a young player to become a professional football player. To be respectful of other people you have to teach them to be resilient.
"They have a set of skills that they can transfer, so their experience here has not just been trying to achieve the goal of being a footballer, they've also gone other things in their locker that are going to help them get jobs and careers in the future."
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