It would be an understatement to call Philippos Stavrou a fan of former French soccer great and UEFA President Michel Platini.
The 52-year-old Cypriot has legally changed his name to Philippos Stavrou Platini and runs The Temple of Michel Platini in Mosfiloti, a small village about 10km south of the capital Nicosia.
The museum dedicated to the Frenchman holds 21,137 pieces of memorabilia, including the suit Platini wore for years as chief of European soccer's governing body, frayed and faded soccer jerseys, shorts, balls, caps, watches and even a Platini candle.
A cup that Philippos says his idol once sipped tea from rests in a glass encasement. That's next to a soccer ball used in the 1984 European Championship that France won with captain Platini scoring nine goals, including two hat-tricks. Some 90 items, from books to pennants, bear Platini's signature.
Philippos is hoping the museum, which doubles as a tavern in the evenings, is named among Guinness World Records as the largest sporting memorabilia collection.
Dozens of wellwishers joined local government officials and five Cypriot MPs on Sunday to witness and certify a video of the museum that will be shipped to Guinness headquarters for verification and hopefully a world record.
The former House of Michel Platini has been renamed The Temple with photos everywhere of the Frenchman, from his playing days in the 1980s to his years as UEFA chief.
Philippos says he's spent close to 200,000 euros ($A294,594.20) amassing the memorabilia over more than 25 years and claims his collection is worth millions, but he isn't selling.
"For me, Platini was the greatest of all time," says Philippos, a former footballer who won the country's 2nd division with Ermis.
He dismisses suggestions his adoration of the Frenchman has crossed the line into obsession.
"This gives me life. I'm 52 and I feel 20 years younger," he said.
Platini himself paid the museum an impromptu visit in October 2009.
"He (Platini) told me your father's crazy," said Philippos' son Stavros. "I told him that he's crazy for you."
The UEFA suit that's the museum's centrepiece was a gift from Platini following his visit.
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