LEE Duxbury can remember Edinho’s first goal in a City shirt as if it was yesterday.

“I had the ball in midfield and tried to play it out wide to Chris Waddle.

“It was going short but Jakes (Wayne Jacobs) flicked it on for him and Wadds crossed for Edinho to score with a header,” he recalled. “We won 2-1 and everyone loved him from that moment.”

Oldham were the opponents that day in February 1997 – as they will be at Valley Parade tomorrow when the Brazilian makes his first appearance at Valley Parade since leaving City 20 years ago.

Edinho is certain of a great reception after becoming an iconic figure during his two-season spell with the club, during which he scored 16 goals in 60 games. It wasn’t just the player that the fans warmed to but the man himself.

“He was hard-working and such a good footballer,” said Duxbury. “But the supporters really took him to their heart because, living in a hotel, he went to the same places they did for meals.

“Families would go over and invite him to join them to eat. He was such a humbling, happy person.

“He didn’t speak any English – and it’s not much better now but at least we’ve got the translation app on our phones!

“It was a massive step for him to come here at the time. I’m not sure I could have been so brave.

“I had the chance to go to America and that’s English-speaking. It would have been easy.

“But the thought of going abroad and not knowing the language takes a lot of courage.

“I’d played against a few Brazilians but you didn’t expect to see one playing at Bradford.

“But he was a very clever player, similar in a way to Paul Jewell who had that upbringing from Liverpool. His footballing brain was excellent.

“He wasn’t a big striker as such, he was a number 10 who also knew where to stand to score the little tap-ins.

“He just seemed to enjoy life in such a positive way and I’m attracted to those people.”

Duxbury believes the “stars were aligned” that it should be such a fitting fixture this weekend – he spent 15 years of his football career with the Latics, eight as a player and the rest as first-team coach.

The reunion itself came about through pure chance after Edinho spotted an advert in his native Portugal for a veterans tournament featuring a team from Bradford City.

He went along to watch and ended up playing for the side managed by former Bantams apprentice Lee Clapham.

The link with his former club restored, Edinho then asked if he could come over and be involved in a charity match in the city on Sunday with plenty of ex-players.

Duxbury, ambassador of the Supporting Charities football club who have arranged the game at Campion FC, said: “I told him to stop with me and planned to really make a fuss of him, perhaps take him to a Premier League game or something.

“But then I checked the fixtures and saw Bradford against Oldham. I couldn’t believe it.”

The pair will be the corporate guests at Valley Parade before heading off to Duxbury’s local, the Old White Bear at Crosshills near Keighley, for a meet-and-greet night alongside Clapham.

Duxbury hopes they will be have City’s first win of the season to talk about by then, although he has sympathy for the plight of Oldham.

While not fighting for their existence like Lancashire neighbours Bolton and Bury, the Latics continue to go through the mill after some turbulent years.

Duxbury said: “I can tell you some absolute horror stories that happened at Oldham during my time there.

“It’s so back-stabbing and political, that side of the game is just horrible.

“I was talking to Abbo (Greg Abbott) last week and it spoils football. That’s why I won’t go back into it.

“Oldham’s owner is an ex-agent and more or less running the club with the football side as well. How can you work under that?

“Look at the clubs that are run well and you don’t hear about their owners. Someone like Forest Green are successful because of that.

“Then you get Bury, Oldham and Bolton and clubs that are run so unprofessionally. The EFL have to bring in major restrictions on owners coming in.

“It upsets me because it’s the supporters who miss out."