World Cup Memories – RHS Staff
Mr Rennison
Mexico 1970 was my first remembered World Cup. I lived every minute of the whole tournament including the song ‘Back Home’ which made number one in the charts with one of the lines starting: ‘They’ll be watching and waiting…’ and we were.
England v Brazil lost 1-0 – Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton (captain of England bizarrely arrested for shop lifting pre-tournament; he was innocent) and Gordon Banks who made a most fantastic save against Pele in that game. A moment that has been replayed many times since.
The inevitable quarter final match against Germany when all was going well until Uwe Seeler and Gerd Muller (how the names get etched on the memory) scored goals to beat England. The selection of Peter Bonetti instead of Banks, (Oh! Alf Ramsey manager of the World Champions what were you thinking? I later learned Banks was injured) and the substitution of Bobby Charlton… The game went into extra time. We lost 3-2. It was the end of the dream of back to back World Cups. Will it always be this exciting watching England? Will we always lose to Germany in the later stages?
The final Brazil 4 Italy 1, was special and probably one of the best ever. If you have not seen it then this was when Brazilian football was at its peak – Pele, Jarzhino, Rivelino and company – fantastic!
Mr Edmondson
France 98 – not my first memory, but my strongest…
I was on the submarine HMS Trafalgar and we were at sea for the Argentina match. We broadcast the radio 5 commentary over the speaker system but the reception kept fading in and out. We knew the result was 2-2 but the reception faded during the penalty shoot-out. We then went deep (out of radio reception) and did not find out the result for two days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHCqp7Xbjdg
Mrs Lockyer
My first memories of the world cup were from 1986. I remember sitting on my father’s lap on Sunday 22nd June watching Argentina v England in the quarter finals. The match was memorable for two reasons. Firstly, after 51 minutes, Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal and then 4 minutes later his second: a beautiful, mazy run. I can remember the overwhelming feeling of utter disappointment when the final whistle blue and the realisation that England were out of the tournament. Secondly, it was at this particular moment my parents decided to tell me that I would not be going to the local secondary school with all my friends in September, but they were sending me away to an all girls’ boarding school! I can remember the overwhelming feeling of utter sadness – why would they do this to me? However, I soon got over it and I do have to say …..…. my boarding school years really were some of the best of my life!
Mr Brightwell
My first memories of a World Cup are from 1990. The England v. Holland game took place on the same day as a family wedding. The game ended 0-0, but Stuart Pearce had a last minute goal disallowed. For 90 minutes the bride was definitely not the centre of attention! During this World Cup we also got to see Cameroon 38-year-old super sub Roger Milla, who was only in the squad because Cameroon president asked him to come out of retirement. Milla came off the bench against Romania, scored twice, dancing jubilantly at the corner flag. This was also the World Cup were I first realised England were not fantastic at penalties.
Mrs Gitsham
As a child of the 1960s I am old enough to have been born in that magical decade when England were last victorious in the World Cup, although I don’t remember the match. Nor can I claim to be a football fan. However, I have some very vivid memories of the World Cup build-up, largely because of the songs. For those of you who don’t know, there used to be song which was part of the build up to the World Cup. It was usually a catchy song to get the whole country singing, whether they were a football fan or not. My earliest memory is ‘Back Home’ in 1970. The players swapped the football pitch for the recording studio and they were backed by a marching band to produce a rousing song that we all joined in with. The host nation, Mexico, was far away, but we there in spirit with ‘our boys’ as we all sang along:
Back home they’ll be thinking about us
When we are far away
Back home they’ll be really behind us
In every game we play
They’ll share every goal we are scoring
Out there we will still hear them roaring
And we’ll give all we’ve got to give
For the folks back home
It reached the top of the charts and stayed there for three weeks in May 1970. Surely the omens were good? Sadly this level of success was not matched on the field and England didn’t make it to the final. They were cup holders but lost to Germany in the quarter finals.
The next two campaigns passed me by, possibly because England didn’t even make it through the qualifiers and there wasn’t a song, but 1982 was going to be our year. The competition was held in Spain and there was a new song, again performed by the players, with the prophetic title ‘This Time (We’ll Get it Right)’. How we hoped they would! There were some Ipswich Town players in the team: Mills, Mariner and Butcher, so the rest of my football-supporting family were very excited. Would manager Ron Greenwood’s squad of 22 players bring the Cup home from Spain? Well, no they didn’t, even though we sang our hearts out.
We’re on our way,
We are Ron’s twenty-two
Hear the roar,
Of the red, white and blue
This time, more than any other time, this time,
We’re going to find a way,
Find a way to get away,
This time, getting it all together
To win them all,
It’s what we’ll set out to do
We have a dream,
We know you’re sharing it too
Mr Encinas
The years have passed and England managers and teams have come and gone. Our hopes have been raised and dashed again. The dream of an England player lifting the World Cup seems an impossible one. The songs of yesteryear are distant memories.
This year there is no song and it seems to me that the hype surrounding the team has been very low key. But wait! England beat Tunisia in their first match. This hasn’t happened since way back. Could this be our year? [That was the sound of Mrs Gitsham jinxing any dim chance there was of an England victory this year. We’ll settle for the quarters frankly, Mrs G.]
My first memories of a World Cup go all the way back to 1982 in Spain. Fortunately, I was only 5 then, so I did not have to suffer with Spain’s disastrous performance as one of the worst hosts ever. In that World Cup, the wonderful Brazil team of Zico, Socrates and Falcao did not reach the final, but they amazed the world and even I remember the flair and ability they displayed during that summer. I also remember someone in my family going to watch a match in the purpose-built new stadium in Valladolid and my frustration because I was not allowed to go!
However, the first World Cup I remember as a proper fan is Mexico 1986, when Maradona led Argentina to victory. I was 9, so I was old enough to get excited and disappointed with Spain’s highs and lows. The highlight was undoubtedly Emilio Butragueño’s 4 goals in the 5-1 win against Denmark in the last sixteen round. Michel’s ghost goal in the 1-0 loss against Brazil in the group phase was the first time I remember feeling completely deflated after a football match because of the referee’s decisions. This unlucky incident was going to anticipate what would happen with Spain’s World Cup campaigns in that tournament and the next 5!
In 86, Spain went into the quarter-finals against Belgium full of confidence. 5 minutes from the end of the match, Juan Señor scored an equaliser that sent the game to extra time. Then it went to penalties; only Eloy Olaya missed and we were out of the tournament. Spain’s World Cup campaigns in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006 all started with optimism and most of them had enough moments to get the fans thinking that could be the year, only to crash out when we least expected it. The ref, bad luck, penalties… It looked like Spain would never manage to get past the quarter finals and fulfil their potential in a World Cup, until that tournament in South Africa and that night in Johannesburg. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, look up Iniesta’s goal on Youtube. If you are an England fan, I understand your pain, but you must know that I was convinced that I would not live to see Spain being crowned World Champions. This could be your year.
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