It's been a long wait for the Premier League season to start again, and we'reso glad to be back. My guest this week is Sam Benjamin, director of Devils Barand assistant general manager of BMI, a subsidiary of FJ Benjamin Holdings, who is a Liverpool fan

SAM Benjamin recalls with passion and tenderness the day his love affair withfootball began.

"It was the 1978 World Cup Final. My father called me into his study wherehe was watching the match and told me to pick one of the two teams to support.Before the final whistle I had changed teams at least four times,' he says ofthe match between Argentina and Holland which ended 3-1 in favour of the South Americans.

"I realised also that night how interesting football was, how in just onesecond a match can change because that's all the time it takes to score a goal.

"I liked the Argentina team, they were very cool," he says, adding that he was inspired by the performances of such players as Mario Kempes, Oswaldo Ardilles and Daniel Passerella. Ardilles, along with Ricardo Villa, were signed by Tottenham Hotspur shortly after Argentina's World Cup triumph, and Sam soon became a Spurs fan.

That, and the fact that during that time the English League did not have quite as much coverage as it does now, so the only live matches available were usually the FA Cup matches - and Spurs were a good cup team to watch. But Sam was saved by his namesake in a Liverpool shirt.

"There was this player Sammy Lee in the Liverpool team whom I identifiedwith because, you know, as a little boy, Sam, Sammy, the association meant something to me," he explains.

And it wasn't long before young Sam Benjamin became a fan of Liverpool FC,much to father Frank Benjamin's chagrin - the Chairman and CEO of the FJBenjamin Group, which has had a long association with Manchester United.

"My dad's a Manchester United fan, and there was definitely rivalry at home," says Sam with a slightly michievous grin. "It's fun to have that sort of rivalry where people in your home are fans of different teams," he adds.

His mother is an Everton fan, younger brother Ben supports Liverpool "because being six years younger, I made him a Liverpool fan" through very thorough and proper guidance, and big brother Douglas, FJ Benjamin Group's executive director, is "somewhere between Arsenal and Manchester United, if there's such a thing".

Which could be another way of saying he supports Birmingham City, but we're not ready to confirm that, and neither will Sam.

"For me, it is Liverpool all the way," declares Sam with fist on his heart, which bears the Liverpool crest.

"I'll support them, good times or bad." And he's had some very bad times.

"Like when Liverpool lost 2-0 to Arsenal in 1989 in the last match of theseason at Anfield,' he says, recalling the pain of the defeat that meant Liverpool lost the Championship to Arsenal by a goal difference of one.

"Michael Thomas,' he says, referring to the scorer of the goal that broke millions of hearts. "I was in boarding school then, and my friends who were Arsenal fans didn't spare me. I was in so much grief I couldn't do very much for several days after that."

That calamity of Michael Thomas' goal was followed by the disasters of Hillsborough and Heysel, which led to his beloved club and all other English clubs being expelled from European competitions.

All of which seem like a long time ago, now that Liverpool are Champions of Europe.

"Yes!" he exclaims. "You know I was so happy when Liverpool beat AC Milan, I just ran up and down my house for about 20 times screaming. And when they played the anthem, You'll Never Walk Alone, my hair .. and I have a lot of hair on my body, stood on end."

He hopes Liverpool's good form will continue this season, and believes Rafael Benitez is the man to do the job.

"Benitez has the ability to take Liverpool to greatness," says Sam confidently. "He has made it clear that no player is greater than the club.

"He is not afraid to make changes and he brings in players who are hungry for success.

"Liverpool were a team who played because of passion, and Benitez is bringing that back. They're not like Chelsea who just go and sign everyone they want," he says, looking a tad agitated while taking dig at Chelsea.

"There should be a cap on how much a club is allowed to spend on transfers, like 30 million per season instead of the ridiculous amounts one club is spending now, and they should also put a bracket on wages so competition will be fairer," he adds.

His love for Liverpool is documented in the many photos taken over the years with players of the team. Among his collection, which he lovingly captioned and assembled in a large frame, are shots with Ian Rush, Bruce Grobbelar, Graeme Souness, Jamie Redknapp, Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler. But Sam isn't a mere spectator. He even has a regular Sunday game going. As assistant general manager of BMI, which is part of the FJ Benjamin Group, markets luxury timepieces by Girard-Perregaux, JeanRichard, Bell & Ross and Guess.

And part of the fun of being in that job is having the chance to play in an invitational Juventus team at the Delle Alpi, the privilege by way of an invitation from Luigi Macaluso, president of Girard-Perregaux. Which is fine since Sam started becoming interested in Juventus when Liverpool were out of the European Cup.

"They became my second team, but when Liverpool play Juventus, there's no question about who I'll support."

Fair enough. But what's this about a Liverpool fan being a director of Devils Bar, which is so often associated with the Red Devils?

"I am professional when it comes to my duties," says Sam amicably. "You come to Devils for a drink and it doesn't matter whether you support Manchester United or some other club, you're well-treated," he promises.

"Besides, I am a Liverpool fan and will always be, that is in my heart. You can't take that away from me."