A FORMER Dallas Tornado player met up with his former teammates on the 50th anniversary of a world tour that almost took their lives.

John Stewart, who now lives in Hartford, had a four-year stint for Liverpool FC in the 60s before jetting off to play for Dallas, which was owned by sports entrepreneur Lamar Hunt, son of the oil tycoon H. L. Hunt.

The Tornado team was assembled in 1967, in a training camp in Spain before embarking on a seven-month world tour in preparation for the inaugural USA soccer league in 1968.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the tour, 10 of the original players held a reunion at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Chester from June 18 to 22.

John, who served 31 years for Cheshire Police following his football career, was one of 16 players selected from England, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and the USA.

While on their travels, the team very nearly fell victim to a terrorist attack after a bomb exploded on a plane they were due to fly on.

John said: “Luckily we missed a flight BEA CY 284, from Athens to Nicosia, which exploded at 29,000 feet over the sea after a bomb was detonated under a seat, killing 63 people.

“It’s intended target was the Greek army general Georgia’s Grivas, who also missed the flight and later travelled to Nicosia on the same plane as the Tornado team.”

The world tour saw the Tornados travel to 26 countries across the globe, playing on average four matches a week.

John said: “We played games in Saigon, Vietnam whilst the war raged around us and survived an on the pitch riot in Singapore.

“The team played in front of crowds of up to 50,000 and against sides the calibre of Real Oviedo, Fenerbahçe and the Japanese national team.

“At times it felt like it was the Tornado against the world and the players became very close, like a band of brothers.”