'It's been a long, hard road but I have no regrets': How Leeds United fan's love of football led him to a life teaching English in Brazil

He arrived in Brazil with just a suitcase of belongings to find within minutes that his planned lodgings had fallen through. Unable to speak Portuguese, and with only enough money to eat little more than oranges, Ian Bloom would have been forgiven for throwing in the towel and returning to England.

But he had left home in Leeds with a dream to teach English in a country he’d been drawn to through his love of football – and even with the rockiest of starts, he was determined to realise that goal.

Now aged 65, Ian is marking forty years of teaching in Brazil, these days running classes from his home in São Roque in the state of São Paulo. "I love what I do and and it's not like work when you do something that you enjoy,” he says, reflecting on his career. “A few years ago I decided it was time to open up a school at my home (rather than travelling around to people). Nowadays, people come to me and I also give classes online to people abroad, people in Portugal, and even Brazilians who live in England.”

Home is now 6,000 miles away from where Ian grew up, but his house in Brazil leaves no doubt about his childhood roots, with Leeds United’s colours and crest featuring heavily in the decor. There was one stipulation for our chat – it mustn’t clash with an LUFC match. “My interest has always been football, always Leeds,” Ian says. “Growing up I wanted to be a football player…I wanted to be a professional goalkeeper.” As a teen, he secured a spot at a training academy in Hull, “but I hated it,” he admits. “I used to go and train there wearing Leeds socks...I was only interested in playing for Leeds. People would say to me, ‘You have to play for any team that gives you a contract’. But I lost interest because I only wanted to play for the team that I loved.”

The goalkeeper dream wasn’t to be, but football still went on to shape Ian’s future. After befriending a number of teachers, he became inspired to study a course in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and later decided he’d like to teach abroad. Brazil was an easy choice for a young man who’d become mesmerised by the country’s football, whose love for Don Revie’s no-nonsense Whites team of the late 1960s and 70s was complemented by a passion for the flair of icons like Pelé.

His friend worked in radio and had contact with people all over the world so put Ian in touch with listeners in Brazil. What started with letters and the exchange of football shirts led to Ian spending six weeks in the country with three different families. With that, his mind was made up. He finished his university course and started making plans to go back permanently, this time to start his career teaching English to non-native speakers.

In 1986, at the age of 25, Ian made the life-changing move. But he arrived in Brazil to discover that his planned lodgings had fallen through, leaving him without a place a to stay. After hearing about his predicament, a new acquaintance offered up the living room of his home as a temporary solution. "So I slept on the floor in the living room,” Ian recalls. “Flushing the toilet was done with a bucket, there was no chain to pull to flush with. But he said the good thing is you don’t have to pay anything and can stay as long as you like. Listening to that coming from this guy (I’d only just met), and knowing my situation, for me that was five stars!”

Ian spent a month there, in Campinas, slowly learning to speak the language with the help of a waiter in a snack bar. “I didn't know how to ask for anything to eat and I didn't have a lot of money with me. I used to point at things on the menu and I’d get out my dictionary and translate literally ‘I want that’. It's not the way you'd normally ask for something, but it's understandable.” The waiter would read the name of the dish in Portuguese then write it down on a paper napkin for Ian to take away and learn. The more time he spent in the country, the more words he’d pick up in conversation too.

From Campinas, it was then on to live in São Roque with a friend that Ian had made on his earlier trip. There, he secured a job at an English school, his first paid role teaching English in Brazil. Students began to ask if he would give them lessons privately, so after nine months, he left the school to do just that. Soon, he became recognisable as the Yorkshireman who taught English. “I used to dress up smartly, long sleeves, tie and formal stuff. I used to be really hot, but I used to walk everywhere. It caught people's attention because I stood out like a sore thumb. The other guys are walking around in shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops.”

Ian has taught English ever since, in workplaces and to individuals, only briefly returning to England in 1988 when he lost his father. "I felt it was really hard to come back to Brazil, but my mum encouraged me...I couldn't pack my own bags. I didn't have the heart to,” he says.

Two years ago, Ian received an honour known as the Keys to the City, recognising his services. "When I stood behind the podium after receiving the award, the first thing I did was look up to the ceiling while several flash backs went through my mind,” he reflects.

“Sleeping on the floor, a toilet that didn't flush, a drink of coke that I (didn’t have the language) to order, the dozen or so tangerines I bought in the street market for lunch on several occasions because it's all I could afford…I have no regrets. It’s been a long, hard road, but in the end I feel I have done something positive which has helped and continues to help a lot of people...In some cases I am teaching the third generation of people’s families. I am just so grateful.”