Goalkeeping father and son become global social media stars after boy's last-minute save

Clips of the high flying pint-size keeper saves began being shared on social media and now Ollie has even met his goalkeeping hero, Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale, who messaged him after seeing the video.

Dean, who played semi-professionally for Dover Athletic, was shocked how popular the videos became so quickly, despite most being filmed in his garden between Kinver and Stourbridge.

He said: "We are just a father and a son who are trying to document the progress he will make over the years online. However, now it feels like half the world knows about Ollie and his goalkeeping.

"We had 44 followers before we uploaded a video of a brilliant save at the end of the match, by the time I'd got home it must have been shared and it had 100,000 views, it was mad. I was glued on my phone, just trying to reply to messages, I had to put it down and get some sleep, by the morning it was over a million on TikTok.

"All the blue ticks, verified accounts, began appearing in my DMs, ESPN, and all types of media outlets and football people who were asking for interviews and to share the video on their own sites."

The duo's TikTok account, Ollie Russell GK and dad, has over 200,000 subscribers and more than eight million likes, his Instagram has more than 60,000 followers and their YouTube channel Father and Son Goalkeeping also has 60,000 subscribers. The pair also host a podcast as well as being regular guests on other shows.

"I think it is because he is small, a great save, and the heartwarming way his teammates came over to congratulated him. Another reason is because a lot of the people who saw the video thought Ollie was a girl because of his long blonde hair. Our hits are from across the world and in a lot of cultures seeing a young girl goalkeeper would have been something new."

One female goalkeeper who has spotted Ollie's talent is England's women's team iconic keeper Mary Earps, who forced Nike to sell her number one kit after a massive public outcry and her heroics in national tournaments.

Dean said: "It was brilliant to see Mary Earps message, she is an amazing keeper and really encouraged Ollie."

OIlie said: "Mary Earps is the England keeper and I was so happy to see her message."

However, Arsenal mad Ollie's favourite keeper is Aaron Ramsdale, who is currently battling another one of the boy's favourites David Raya for the Gunner's starting place, and both have already contacted Ollie.

He said: "Aaron Ramsdale is my favourite keeper and he messaged us and got us tickets for an Arsenal game. It was amazing."

Ollie plays for Kewford FC and after getting tired of trying to capture his saves from the sidelines, Dean installed a GoPro camera in the goal to film Ollie's save.

Within weeks it paid off when the camera caught a last minute save by Ollie and his relieved team mate hug him and say "Yes Ollie". The ". has been seen more than 200 million times now, and has been described as "everything which is beautiful about the game

Former Manchester United and Wrexham goalkeeper, Ben Foster, who is now a successful podcaster recorded Ollie a message after seeing the video.

He said: "I am a massive fan of yours, watching you flying about the place making saves, keep at it and I think you will be a Premier League keeper in 15 years."

Dean, aged 40, left his native Kent after becoming a Christian and moved to Kinver. He then became a police officer and began turning out for the West Midlands Police none-league team, he currently runs a Waveboard centre in Cannock.

However, after creating a huge global audience without meaning to Ollie and Dean are getting to see how the other half live.

He said: "I don't want to be that guy, the social media influencer, we do the videos for ourselves really. However, when the ice bath craze started I contacted a company and they sent me one in exchange for some videos."

Ollie said: "I've got a sponsor, I get my goalie gloves for free."

Dean added: "One Glove contacted us to sponsor Ollie, which was fantastic, so we have got their support. He is having a photo shoot with them next week, it does feel surreal at times."

Another superstar on the pitch grew up not far from Ollie and Dean believes he must have seen the videos, via his father, an old teammate of Dean's.

He said: "I used to play with Jude Bellingham's dad for the police team, it is incredible to see what Jude has gone onto, he must be the best player in the world right now. Having two players from around Stourbridge having their videos shared by football fans across the world is just amazing."