Watching the World Cup warm-ups this week, I saw on the side of the North korean bus something like, “Heroes of 1966, Korea DPR will be victorious!” For those who don’t know, North Korea’s last World Cup appearance saw them beat Italy and go 3-0 up against Eusebio’s Portugal in the quarter-finals (before losing 5-3). My first reaction was, now come on North Korea, let it go. 1966 was ages ago! Get over it, move on, don’t live on past glories. England would never do that, eh!
As kids at school we learnt that the Battle of Hastings was 1066, the Great Fire of London was 1666, and England won the World Cup in 1966. History did apparently happen on other non-66 years, but the England football team winning major tournaments alas did not. Years of Keegan, Lineker, Gazza, Beckham… all those oh-so-nears wear you down. Thirty years of hurt became fourty-four, and I can’t see that we have improved so much that we will be able to get past another inevitable penalty shoot-out, probably against the Germans. (Incidentally, England has won the World Cup more times than Germany. ‘West Germany’ however won it three times…) Still we like to hope, and we have Wayne Rooney.
England open their 2010 World Cup against the USA on Saturday. Hopefully it won’t turn out like the first time they played each other in a World Cup, in 1950. On that occasion, when England first deigned to take part in this silly cup of inferior nations, the seasoned US beat the England of Mortenson, Finney and Wright 1-0. The US team still talks about it even now; come on now, 1950 was ages ago, etc etc…
petescully 
I had been intending to watch the ’66 Cup Final tonight but I seem to have lost the DVD. ;) Drat. Thing is though I was thinking yesterday – when we were growing up it wasn’t that long ago but now it seems ages. When I grew up Peter Shilton was goalkeeper – when Bobby Moore tackled Pele Peter Shilton was goalkeeper, etc. Most of the people who used to talk about it when I was a kid were talking from memory but now most of them are just talking – the same as I am – about what we’ve seen on tv.
Sadly I think this is the weakest squad we’ve had for quite some time – still I’ll suspend disbelief and dare to dream until they crash.
I grew up with Shilton as the goalie (he was the goalie from about 42 AD onwards) but wasn’t Banks in goal when Moore tackled Pele (cos he made the Pele save in the same game, didn’t he?) Funny how some of our greatest glories are simply a defender and a goalie doing their job against a famous striker, in a game we actually lost… I agree about the squad, somehow I just can’t see David James being the penalty hero, but stranger things have happened. Mystic Pete has yet to release his ghastly predictions but he tells me Brazil will win it “cos European teams don’t win outside of Europe” (he also says Spain won’t win it, cos “they don’t like it up ’em”). This is an Africa World Cup though, and odd things could happen.
Still, five Spurs players in the squad!!! Which is just brilliant. It means if we lose, it’ll basically be our fault.
And I’d much rather have seen Darren Bent go than Heskey.
Ah, you’re right! Yes, I have blundered – it was later that year when Shilton made his debut.
It’s so hard to call this year; I don’t think many of the teams are as strong as they would like to think. You’re right about David James, I’d rather have someone who isn’t prone to racing out of the box and blundering.
Great for Spurs, it’s been an amazing turn around in the past eighteen months, exceptional stuff. Naturally I agree on Bent – Capello has never given him a decent crack, it’s always like “you have one half, score or you’re a failure” but the fact he’s banging them in for fun up here (despite us being medicore most of the year!) shows how capable he is. Imagine you go into extra time and you can bring one of the best strikers in England off the bench? That would be quite something.