From the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, to the Arctic Circle and numerous World Cups, John Murray has seen it all during three decades behind the microphone for the BBC. "When I was growing up, listening to the radio and watching television, it was really commentary to matches in far flung places that captured my imagination," explains Murray. "Access to those matches on the radio - and international matches as well - were a big part of what really fired my imagination." "It must have been my first game abroad and the stadium there was right next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa," he recalls. "There were only a couple of hundred people at the ground, but right outside is the Leaning Tower of Pisa."

Source: BBC February 19, 2026 08:12 UTC