Encounters with Hooligans

Not strictly part of the World cup, and thankfully this WC seems to be free of them, but I thought I would put this tale up for a bit of comment. I wasn't in Landsdowne road in 1995 when English thugs/neo nazis disgracefully rioted and caused the abandonment of the game. Various governments and police authorities had done a lot to reduce this problem, beginning in the aftermath of the Heysel disaster in 1985, yet it remained a problem for one country, England, when they travelled abroad to major tournaments, as evidenced by the deployment of water cannon by the French against some of their 'followers' in 1998, for one example.
In late 2003, with Ireland still in with a chance of qualifying for Portugal Euro 2004, and me badly in need of a holiday after finally paying for Japan 02, a few of us took a chance and booked a fortights holiday in Portugal at the time of the opening rounds of the championship. We were staying in Albufiera, a holiday resort that was quite close to the venue for Englands first game. Ireland, of course, didn't qualify, but we managed to get tickets for Spain Russia (nil all, and rubbish as it happened) and went to enjoy the holiday. As with a lot of these sun resorts, Albufiera is basically one long strip/street, where all the pubs/clubs restaurants are. The resort was fairly full of England fans, on our first night there, we met 2 genuine lads from London who advised us not to go further down the strip (we were approx half way), they had been down there earlier on and said it was getting very 'messy' down there, they were sure of trouble and wanted no part in that. Like all genuine fans, they couldn't understand the mentality of this. The lads were right, some troble did start, we weren't close enough to see it, but the police were not really ready for it. This turned out to be small scale enough, with furniture and glasses being broken and a few fights. There was a larger influx of fans expected the next day, and speaking to the bar owner, he was sure the police would be ready this time. How right he was...

Night 2.
I should first mention the Portugese police, the GNR. The GNR are a military police force, not a civilian one, and their attitude toward people in general, never mind hooligans, would not be of a friendly nature at the best of times. They assembled early (7 O'Clock) at the top of the strip, probably 2 van loads of them, fully dressed in riot gear, extendable batons, the lot. They also had 6 horses in riot gear, which was impressive. Horses with shields over their heads and legs is not something you normally see outside of Russell Crowe doing a film about the Romans. They made their way down to the end of the strip, we went to our holiday drinking spot about half way. Nothing happened for about 3 hours, the bar owner told us what would happen if it did. The GNR would baton charge the whole lot up the strip by any means necessary, basically beating anybody who didn't move quickly, regardless of whether they were involved in anything or not. Then, they would close down all the pubs/clubs behind them as they went, making sure nobody could re-convene and restart anything. This pub was on the 2nd floor, we had a good view down the strip, and eventually, it started.
The 'ENG ER LAND' chants started getting louder, somebody threw a chair through a window, cue bedlam. Full scale riot broke out, the GNR moved in to do their thing. They didn't mess about, the baton charge, the horses and a load of drunken yobs trying to out run the police all started coming toward us fairly quickly. The bar owner announced he was closing, in case some of the scum out running the police would come up to his pub on the balcony and start hurling stuff down, or wreck his place. We were moving. By the time we got to the bottom of the stairs, they were a lot closer. Staying on the street meant a chance of the police catching up and getting a clatter for not moving quick enough, we saw a pub open across the road and thought we would stay in out of the way until it was over.

The pub was long and narrow, and when we got here, seemed full. As we slowly made our way down to the very back, a realisation dawned on us that every person in the pub was English. Didn't know what was going to happen re the people in the pub getting involved in the riot, or the thought of the GNR coming in and beating everybody if or when that happened. We sat down, and before we had even got a drink, a large shaven headed fella, bodybuilder type, tattoos, eyebrow rings, shirtless, stereotypical hooligan looking fella comes over to us and says ' Alright lads, where ya from?' It is fair to say we were all looking at him thinking ' Thats it, we're killed' The brave lad in the group says 'Ireland' , yer man turns around and shouts to his mate at the top of the pub ' Hey Johnny, the lads here are from Ireland'. Johnny makes his way down the pub. He is like his mate in every way, except bigger, with more tattoos, more studs in his eybrows and ears and genuinley scary looking. Johnny says to us ' What part of Ireland ye from lads? ' We reply ' Waterford , down south, and our mate here is from Estonia'. Johnny then says ' Do ye know Bray Wanderers lads (in a thick scouse accent), I played for them in the late 80s on trial, got a 2 all draw with Cobh Ramblers' Turned out to be as nice a fella as you could meet, we talked football for a few minutes until the riot drew closer.
Some English fella at the front door had popped his head out for a look, turns around to the pub and says ' The f*cking police, they just beat a fella and his girlfriend across the road, they were doing nothing, I'm not having that' and goes toward the counter to grab a glass to throw at them.

Our new best friend Johnny says ' hold on a minute there lads' to us sprints up to the top of the pub, grabs yer man, sits him down, stands up on a table and announced what was going to happen next. This was a lesson.

Johnny goes to the whole pub 'Right lads, I've been in this situation before. If anybody throws anything out of this pub at the police, they wont come in and do anything. They will roll in a cannister of teargas, you will crawl out of here on your hands and knees, then the police will wait outside for you and beat you as you leave. Now, anybody who wants to be involved in this, leave now, the rest of us will stay here and not cause trouble. Anybody who wants to throw anything out of here will have to go through me first. That OK with everybody? ' Not surprisingly, nobody disagreed. He came back down with his mate to continue the chat, we were asking him how exactly he knew so much about this kind of stuff, he went on to tell us that he was involved in 'some of that kind of stuff' when he was younger, didn't go into a whole lot of detail, but turned out he had a wife and kid and had given it up due to copping on and the responsibility of a family. Outside, the riot was petering out, the GNR came in and closed the pub, ending the conversation, wished each other all the best, and we were on the way back to the hotel after an eventful night.

Night 3.
We were now getting the hang of this, we thought for this night, we would leave our spot as soon as the trouble started and make our way back up toward the top of the strip, these pubs would be the last to be closed, thus, more drinking time. This is what we did, but because we were better planned, we were even able to stop in a few pubs on our way back up, the police had yet to get as far as where we were. In another pub, we met a bunch of lads from Portsmouth, the usual bodybuilder/tattooed type, turned out they were more ' reformed' hooligans. These lads had a more interesting take on it, they reckoned the 'quality' of the hooliganism wasn't up to scratch, the hooligans were too young, out of their heads on drink and not able to fight the police properly!!. Coming from a background of supporting the Boys in Green, where the good behaviour of the hardcore is take as a given (although there have been some unsavoury incidents, maybe thats a discussion for another day) , this conversation seemed downright odd. Again, these lads were now in their 30's , with families, their wives had made them cop on. I can't actually offer any analysis on this school of thought, asking the lads ' and what is the attraction of being a hooligan' may have caused offence, and otherwise they seemed grand lads, talking about that days game like any football fan, so we just decided to take it all in, and nod at the appropriate moments.

Night 4.
The last night of the riots, as ENG ER LAND were moving on to Lisbon for the next game. We were nearly bored of the riots at this stage, riot fatigue had set in. The same stuff happened, this time we went to the very last pub at the top of the strip, reasoning it would be the last to be closed, Place was empty, a small group of young English lads at the next table, all about 20, talking amongst themselves. At one stage, one of them turned around and politely asked us for a light. Minutes later, the first of the rioters running away from the GNR started to come in, and the mob mentality that they are famous for set in. The lads who had been at the table beside us, politely asking for a light, were now up on the table, singing ' No surrender to the IRA' in our direction. They were only young fellas, and there were 6 of us, we didn't move, reasoning that they were harmless enough and most of this display was drink induced bravado. As more came in , the songs all nations love kicked in, '10 German bombers' and '2 world wars, one world cup' More than we could stomach, and we left. We were a few minutes up the road, one of the lads turns to us and says ' Feck it, we should go back there with a small bag, and in your best Northern Ireland accent, ask them to 'mind' it, and leave again, just to see the reaction. Now , that was in bad taste, but after experiencing 3 nights of them, I probably would have done it. For the record, we thought the better of it, but I still have some regrets......

Well I hope that entertained ye somewhat, I raelly can't draw any conclusions, I just don't understand the mindset, and I'm thankful this disease never travels with our country, and long may that continue....



Minty

Team of the Tournament so far

Enyemya

Maicon Lugano Kyaer Lahm



Donovan Schweinsteiger Ozil Messi



Higuain Forlan

Netherlands V Japan kicked the day off and once again the Dutch kept the ball for fun but did not put the Japanese defence under pressure. It was a cagey affair which Japan worked hard and made it difficult for the Dutch. The game was decided by a great strike from outside the box by Wesley Sneijder, which swerved in front of the Japanese keeper. It was a great strike but the goalkeeper should have done a lot better. The Dutch have started slowly but have 6 points, in Euro 2008 they started with a bang and went out with a whimper, they will hope that this campaign is built or more solid foundations.


The second game of the day saw the great African hope of the tournament, Ghana and the ageing Australians. I felt that Australia started well and had gotten over the hangover from the Germany hammering. They could have had a penalty early on when Kewell went over in the box They scored not long after that when the Ghanaian goalkeeper spilled a strike from Briciano and Holden was quickest to react and gave Australia a deserved lead. Ghana then started to create some chances and got in behind the Australian defence once or twice and this led to a incident where the ball hit Kewells arm on the line. The referee had no doubts and gave a penalty and also sent Kewell off. One could feel a little sorry for Kewell but it was the correct decision by the referee. Once again Australians were faced to play the game with 10 men. Gyan finished from the spot for the second game running, however Ghana failed to kick on from here and in fact the best chances in the rest of the game fell to Australia. It was a good disciplined performance by Australia and they have given themselves a chance against Serbia in this tightest of groups. They will have another day out in the Woolshed.


The final game of the evening was a thoroughly enjoyable affair and I think the best game of the tournament so far although Slovenia V USA gives it a good run for its money. Cameroon recovered from the terrible performance in the 1st game to produce a display of attacking football and bad defending. The Danes were a bit more well organised by a few sloppy moments meant both teams gave up numerous chances throughout the game. An early error by the whole Danish defence led to Eto's opener and Cameroon had chances to extend their lead. However Denmark got back on terms with a great counter attack set up by bright young hope Simon Kjaer with his sensational raking 60-yard cross-field pass for elder statesman Rommedahl and he crossed for Arsenal striker Bendtnar to finish inside the 6 yard box. The pattern of the game was chances at both end and the game was decided by a great individual goal by the forever young Rommedahl who turned the clock back to cut inside his marker and finished with his left foot. So Cameroon are out and Holland are through and Japan and Denmark meet in the last game to decide who comes second. I felt a bit sorry for Cameroon who put in a very good display and must kick themselves about how bad they were in the opening match. Sadly the World Cup has lost an African team and it looks like more to follow pretty quickly. What effect this will have on the support at the games is hard to tell but there is a possibility that it may take away from the atmosphere and buzz around the games. Lets hope not as the games have really started to improve in entertainment value in the last few days.

Photos from the Opening Game

Pictures taken by my cousin Jennifer at the opening match.

Come on You Boys in Green

So on to the next episode of the soap opera that is the England football team. If anybody though the performance in the first game was poor well they outdid themselves in the 2nd game and they produced a shocking and dismal performance. Once again the issue for England is a failure to control the tempo of the play and to keep the ball, but also to penetrate the opposition's defence. What is it about English football that despite the money in their game, they fail to have a decent passer of the bll who can keep it for long periods and dictate the tempo of the game. In my view Capello should have brought Danny Murphy to the Finals and played him in front of Gareth Barry. They could have played Lampard as the most advanced midfielder and Joe Cole and Gerrard on the wings with Rooney up front. In my view this would have been their best approach at keeping the ball and play players in the positions they have excelled in at their club. If anyone is wondering Gerrard played on the right for Liverpool and scored over 20 goals from that position so sorry Andy and Jamie, his natural position is not as a central midfielder, no matter how many times you call him Stevie G. It shows a lack of appreciation in the English game that a player like Murphy has never been mentioned, but if anybody looked at Fulhams their Europa Cup campaign they would have seen his ability to show for the ball and keep it and not try to play Hollywood passes ever time they get the ball. This is something that Gerrard and Lampard lack.


But saying all that, the performance of the playlers was shocking, shocking first touch, shocking pass and no spirit and very little effort. Its it a possibility that Capello's strict regime is not suited to tournament football and that the weeks of being couped up without any sort of light relief is taking its toll. Maybe its perfect for short international breaks but not suited to tournament football. Whatever is the case, Capello is certainly up against it going into the last game.

The other game in the group was between the smallest country in the tournament, Slovenia and one of the most populated, the USA. This was a game of 2 halves when the technically and well organised Slovenians rushed into a 2 goal lead against a very lethargic American side. Their coach Bradley obviously had words at half time and an early Donovan goal gave them a lifeline. The coaches son Michael Bradley was the best player on the pitch and his high energy and amazing stamina got them back in the game and he scored the equaliser. In fact they should have won the game as the referee disallowed a perfectly good goal at the end. The American fans were not too happy and rightly so. The USA should beat Algeria and England Slovenia is going to prove to be a tight game and it could quite possibly end up a draw with England going home early

The first game of the day pitted Germany against Serbia and everybody was expecting a goal fest for the Germans again. Serbia have been pretty defensive so far and they were the same again. Germany started the game well but it was obvious that the referee was going to try to be the star of the show. He started throwing out yellow cards like confetti early on and it was obvious that someone was going to leave the pitch pretty soon. It happened to be Klose for 3 innocuous challenges. Serbia took full advantage and managed to get a goal. Germany went for it in the second half and managed to control the game with Serbia hitting on the break. Serbia hit the woodwork twice but it was the Germans who had most of the chances and none more so than Podolski. He had a great chance from the penalty spot and became the first German footballer to to miss a penalty at international level in 28 years. Amazing statistic and some German fans said to me, "well he was born in Poland so the record still stands". Whatever the case, what this has done has opened up the group and if Australia can win aginst Ghanall teams may go into the last game on 3 points. Interesting days ahead.

Ok I took a day off from posting yesterday mainly because I did not see any of the games in full. It was a day when the pre tournament favourites lost the opening match to the Swiss, through a calamitous goal. Chile impressed many with a bright open attacking style of play but could only score one goal to beat unfancied Honduras 1-0. We also saw the host nation suffer a 3-0 defeat to the impressive Uruguay. Diego Forlan was impressive again and he is looking at being one of the players of the early stages of the tournament. A great each way bet at the start of the tournament to be top goal scorer at 66/1.

It was then on to today's matches. I decided to take my lunch break in Thomas Reads put and joined the Argentinian fans for the second half of the Argentina V South Korea game. As a person who goes to many of the Ireland matches both home and away it was great to watch a game with people who wanted to sing and chant and cheer throughout the game. They were bar stoolers but of the best variety. It was an amazing atmosphere in the pub and a joy to behold when Argentina scored four goals. I chatted to people from Buenos Aires and Cordoba and there was plenty of Fernet downed by the vociferous support. It was certainly my best experience of the 2010 World Cup so far no doubt and Argenina have become the team I will support all the way to the Final.

The second game of the day was Nigeria and Greece but due to work commitments I did not catch this game. By all accounts Nigeria started the game well and the game changed on the sending off of the Nigerian Kaita after 33 minutes. This altered the flow of the the game and the overtly cautious Greece were forced to come out and play and won the game 2-1. It all makes for an interesting final last round of games and I for one will be watching it with the Argentinian fans in Thomas Reads.

The final game of the day pitted the alternative Boys in Green, Mexico and the fractious French. It was a very enjoyable game where there was only really one team that wanted to play football and one team that was actually playing as a team. Hernandez came on in the second half and made a huge difference, it looks like the Manchester United bound player is going to be a hit in the English Premiership and he took the first goal coolly tonight. A penalty late in the 2nd half confirmed the result and left the French with a mountain to climb to qualify. They looked a shambles tonight and there was no unity of spirit with any aspect of their performance and I don't think there will be any tears shed if and when they exit the tournament.

There is no doubt that the World Cup is hotting up and the games are becoming more open as we enter the 2nd round of games and teams are forced to go for it a bit more. Hopefully more and more goals will be scored and we can see goals like Forlan's last night and a couple of Higuain's today. Its shaping up to be an interesting round of games and lets hope Algeria can make it even more interesting tomorrow.

Oh a humorous note, Robbie Savage made the headlines today when after his leisurely run on the beach in Cape Town he said he did not know what all the fuss was about the altitude in South Africa. Good to see that he was not living up to the cliche of dumb blondes:)

Who left the Maicon?

Day 5 of the world cup and it was the day when many people believe a World Cup really starts, the introduction of the Samba Boys from Brazil. Unfortunately for them they met the well organised and hard working and Mourinhio-esque efficiency in the first half. While many people have accused of Mourinihio of building up the cult of the manager and with the self titled Special One thrown at him, it would be some stretch of the imagination to suggest he has the same sort of control over his players as the Great Leader does of the North Korean players. The emotion from the players was evident before kick off, with one in particular in buckets of tear, not seen since Damien Duff in that infamous night in Paris (sorry for mentioning that again).

I was very impressed with North Korea in the 1st half. Their defending was top notch and clearly it was the product of having 6 months of continuous training as a squad. The North Korean league has been suspended for the last 6 months in preparation for the World Cup. Brazil were frustrated heading in at half time. Thankfully it was two bits of brilliance that lightened up the 2nd half and class and skill overcame efficiency and organisation which is what many neutral observers like to see. Maicon's goal was a thing of beauty and in my view he meant every bit of it, a stunning strike by the best player in his position today. The second goal was a beautiful pass by Robinhio to Elano, an ex Man City Double act that surely would have Mark Hughes questioning his treatment of the two players. North Korea scored late on much to the delight of their players and probably their millions of followers back home, who may have thought it was the winner.


The earlier two games did not grab the headlines of the later game except for the people of New Zealand. A dramatic late equaliser gave them their first ever World Cup point and denied Slovakia their first World Cup Win on their World Cup Debut. A fantastic header thrilled the millions of fans who had stayed up late into the night to watch this game in New Zealand.

Portugal,Ivory Coast was a game where both team were set up to draw and in the end that is what they got. Ronaldo had a great effort in the 1st half come off the post and Didier Drogba, a 2nd half substitute missed a glorious chance late on in the half. Both teams were set up not to lose the game and Portugal have only conceded 3 goals in their last 16 and it is quite obvious that Erikson had decided that defence is a priority as they were conceding goals before he took charge. What resulted was a predictable dower affair which could have been lightened up by Ronaldo's effort.


Interesting stat of the day is that Ronaldo had the worst passing record of any of the players in yesterdays game and he has not scored for nearly 2 years with Portugal. Anybody who has them in their office sweep will be hoping that stat improves.

The snoozefest continues

Day four of the world cup saw the introduction of most peoples Dark horses for the tournament, the Dutch. With the excellent playmaker Sneider and the fit again Van Persie in their side they are going to be a force going forward. But the questions marks are over their defence. However it was clear from the first half against Denmark that their defence was not going to be tested. Denmark's strength in qualifying was their well organised defence and it was quite ironic that the conceded two goals that were both avoidable and caused by defensive errors. The first was an own goal caused by a bad header and a deflection off Agger from an in swinging corner. The other was caused by the quick reactions and hunger of Dirk Kuyt compared to the sleepiness of the Danish defence. The Dutch will be happy to get this game out of the way and get three points on the board without Robben but it was far from them at their best. Interestingly enough, the Dutch players said that they struggled to breath during the game and that this was caused by the altitude issue. It is going to be an interesting tournament and one of the interesting aspects will be how the players react to the altitude.

The second game of the day was Japan V Cameroon and I did not see it, but from the highlights the Japanese were neat and tidy and well organised and worked hard and scored a decent goal. By all accounts Cameroon were lethargic and lacked any sort of energy and played their star forward Eto out of the wing. Glasgow Rangers fans can profess to the bizarre decision of Paul Le Guen and he did not disappoint on this front with this decision. It places Japan in a very good position with regard to qualifying for the 2nd round.


The Final game of the day was the perennial slow starters and group colleagues of Ireland, Italy. Due to an early start and a late night the night before, I found myself struggling to stay awake last night and quite a few times I nodded off during the 1st and 2nd half. I am not sure was the sooth tones of the buzzing of bees at the game or as other people call it the vuvenzelas, or was it the turgid football on show. Italy were caught just before half time at a set piece and the things that they are famous for, organisation and good defence were found wanting as the ball was clipped into the box. Lippi obviously read the riot act at half time and rumours that Buffon refused to turn up for the 2nd half spread around the Italian camp. Italy came out in the 2nd half and when they brought on the Argentinian born Camronesi and the much fancied Di Natale they looked a much better team, and they scored a quite fortunate goal from the combative De Rossi. So once again Italy start slow but many people are writing them off. I wonder will they have egg on their face when the tournament finishes.

So 4 days in and its a tournament that has disappointed many. The lack of goals is worrying and the slow pace of the games is quite obvious. There is no doubt that the altitude is having an effect on the players and they cannot keep up a fast pace throughout the game. In addition the standard of shooting has been abysmal and I cannot think of one free kick of a decent standard. In my view this is caused by the combination of the altitude and the new ball. Its quite interesting to read that the German league has played with this ball for the second half of the German league. Just to add Germany won 4-0 and seem to have had no problem striking the ball cleanly. Once again preparation and organisation puts the Germans in a position as contenders with a nice sprinkling of skill too.

Bet of the Day for Monday

Oh and courtesy of sham on www.ybig.ie the bet for tomorrow is holland to win italy to win and draw between japan and cameroon. You should get odds of about 10/1 on that.

The Germans Begin their march

Finally we have a team now that at least look like they could be real contenders to win the tournament. Germany came into this competition as a bit of an unknown quantity. Injuries to over 7 players from the squad and the tragic suicide last year of their goalkeeper left many people wondering what state the Germans will be in going into this World Cup. Well they answered tonight in pretty spectacular fashion. A great performance of attacking play orchestrated by the majestic Ozil lightened up the tournament. Question marks will still hang over their defence, because the Australian team looked leggy and showed their age tonight. Their offside trap was sprung time and time again and Australia looked like they could struggle to get a win in this competition.

On to the earlier games, well I only saw bits of Slovenia and Algeria as I do have a life and a guy has to make choices in life, although I did see the highlights and what was regarded as a very very dull game by all concerned had 2 incidents that decided the game. One was the deserved sending off of the Algerian Substitute Ghezzal, and the other was the Rob Greenesque blooper by the Algerian Keeper that led to a goal by the ex West Brom player Koren. I get the impression that I did not miss much by taking a break from this game and although England looked very poor last night they will not be able to fail to qualify from this group.


The 2nd game of the day was between many peoples Dark Horses Serbia and the Black Stars of Ghana. In again what was a pretty poor game it was sprang to life with a sending off and then decided minutes later by a penalty which was brought about by a bizarre moment of madness from Luckovic when he handled the ball when there was no need to. What followed was a rather convincing plea of innocence until replays confirmed his moment of madness. The penalty was routinely converted and Ghana held on to be the first African team to record a win at World Cup 2010.


All in all not a great day but it was brought to life with a very convincing win by the Germans tonight in Darwin. They have put down a marker and they did start 1990 win a convincing win over a good Yugoslavia side 4-1. Is that an omen, non its not as I don't believe in them, but they do seem to have a fluid team with a very good system and plenty of attacking options. Oh I have not mentioned the word efficient once as I do not think it applies to this team and stereotypes are lazy, just like this blogger.


Stat of the day. It was the first World Cup Day in History when all three games had a sending off.

Tales from the Road.

World Cup 2002.

By the time Brazil 2014 rolls around, it will be 12 years since Ireland last had the experience of a world cup (if we are good/lucky enough to make it) . As a regular away game attendee, I can say that Irelands fans come in all shapes, sizes and ages, but it has occurred to me that most of them under the age of 30 would not have been at a world cup. I was one of the lucky ones to be in Japan 2002, Neil has invited me to share a few experiences, so here goes.....

Following Ireland on their travels is my main hobby, it combines my love of football with a fondness for travel, you get to see parts of Europe that you otherwise may not, and usually in the company of a few thousand like minded lunatics for the beer, as a travel experience, its hard to beat. Everybody starts somewhere, and I'm guessing I would be one of the few to start at the top, so to speak, my first ever Ireland game was in Japan 2002 Vs Cameroon. I was always a mad Ireland fan, but neither my friends nor famliy would have been attendees at games, so like many thousand people, settled for watching them on TV. Toward the end of 2001, 2 things happened to change this, firstly, my good friend Damo Fitz decided he was moving to Japan to work, and Ireland made the playoffs, with a 2 leg match Vs Iran to come. Damo moved before these 2 games, we had the usual going away do, and after a sizeable number of pints, he kindly invited about 10 of us to stay with him should we qualify. Seemed like a good idea, as I recall, all 10 of us were well up for it that particular night. Well, we know what happened Vs Iran, but we still had the venue draw to come. Most of the Irish fans were hoping for Korea (cheaper) but my mate was Tokyo based, so when we got drawn in venues near Tokyo, I felt I would never get a better opportunity to go.

The next month was spent badgering the rest of the lads into making a decision, all pulled out one by one, I had a day off somewhere in mid January, went to travel agents, deliberately booked a non refundable flight (so it would cost as much NOT to go if I had 2nd thoughts), so I was on me way, just had to wait until June. The Saipan incident blew up 3 days before I was due to leave, my overriding memory of it is being the lead item on SKY news (the actual news, not Sky sports news)for 3 days in a row, something I think only the recent British general election can claim since. Arriving in Japan, we were very much dependant on calls from home re the Roy Keane situation, personal internet access was not something people carried with them, most fans took the attitude that we are here to support the 11 that Mick picks to represent our country, and those that were not there, could do whatever they liked, to put it politely. Con Houlihan wrote of the 1990 world cup that he missed the 1990 world cup, he was in Italy. That was Houlihans genius, I never understood the comment until Japan. Because we were in Japan, we missed the row between Dunphy and Brady, the calls on Joe Duffy, the interviews with Delaney and other FAI jokers, the Tommie Gorman interviews with Royston, the intervention of Bertie/JP Macmanus/Alex Ferguson etc, more or less all of it. It was still there when we got back though, and some would say , still is.......

Tokyo is a great city, it is as off the wall as it looks on TV, neon everywhere, permanent rush hour, the sheer volume of people has to be seen to be believed. The railway networks actually employ people to push you into the train (politely, of course) in the rush hours due to the crowds on them. Tokyos rail network is superb, but it is run by about 8 different companies, you need different rail company tickets to travel different lines. The organisers, in their wisdom, recognised this would not work and cause confusion, so they brought out a World Cup pass that enabled you to travel any of them, essential piece of equipment. The only thing with it was, it was a document you had to show to a guard, you could not put it through a machine like a ticket. This was an unlikely source of entertainment on our first few days. I'll explain further, Guinness had brought out a ' drinking passport' a guide to all the Irish pubs in Tokyo. It was the same size as a passport, it was black, had a harp on one side and a picture of a pint on the other side. The first few times we showed the (genuine) world cup pass to the rail guards, we could tell by their expressions they hadn't a clue what it was, but they let us through anyway. This led me to think we could get away with showing them the 'passport' with the harp on it, and sure enough, it worked at about 4 train stations in a row, much to the amusement of our mate Damo, who was sure we would be arrested. As we got more drink on board, by the end of the night, we were showing them the picture of the pint of Guiness and sailing on past the security barriers, for some reason, the memory of it still makes me laugh.

The games themselves were something else. Arriving at Tokyo central (a kilometre square on 6 levels in size) and on to the bullet train to the Cameroon game, coming down a flight of stairs, seeing an absolute sea of green as far as the eye could see the length of the platform, the singing on the train for 4 hours , arriving at the train station at the other end (to be interviewed by Japanese TV, I dont know anybody who wasn't ) singing the national anthem, looking at the size of the Cameroon lads in comparison to , say, Matty Holland, the same Mr Holland getting a superb equaliser, the journey back on the train, then on to Roppongi (party district) and staying out until bright with thousands more doing the same, it was all just a build up to the big one, the Germany game.

We were in a routine at his stage, on non match days, we would do a bit of sightseeing in the morning before heading to Damos local Irish pub to watch the games that were on that day, a highlight being the England Sweden game, where we persuaded everybody to wear yellow for the day....Another highlight was the games involving the hosts, Japan. Locals coming in in their business suits, off to the jacks, change into Japanese jersey, buy one drink for the entire match, final whistle, head home. They were mad when the game was on, but seemed to just switch off at he final whistle, just another example of the cultural difference I suppose.

The Germany game was do or die, we knew the Saudis were weak, we had to get a result. Didnt look good when Klose scored, but we were getting better as the game moved on and we put more pressure on them. I genuinely did not know how close we were to FT when Robbie got the equaliser, I didn't realise it was injury time until we were leaving the stadium looking at the repeats on the small screens they had dotted around. What can I say about this? I have never experienced the utter bedlam, the roaring, the outpouring of emotion, I could go on, but words just don't do it justice. I'm normally a pessimistic fan as well, but for some reason, on this night , I was totally convinced we would get the equaliser, I just knew it. Christy Moore may have put it best in 'Joxer goes to Stuttgart' - That day will be the highlight of many peoples lives. Well that day is mine, make of that what you will. The party? Well , we got a taxi back to Roppongi, the driver said traffic was terrible, we were about 2 miles away, I thought I heard something, put down the window, and sure enough, the unmistakeable sound of ' come on you boys in green' all the way from Paddy Foleys in Roppongi, 2 miles away. We said thanks to the driver, we would walk the rest of it.... Just about got the voice back in time for the Saudi game...

That passed off relatively easily, once the genius that is Gary Breen scored, we knew we were off to Korea. Incidentally, the first time I heard the 'team of Gary Breens' song was in Roppongi after this game, I have met nobody who can pre-date it. For me, due to work commitments, the world cup was over. Japan is an expensive country, it cost me € 2500 and I had free accomodation, just to give you an idea. Damos father headed home the day before me, I went to the airport with him to make enquiries about changing flights, but the airline I was with could not give me a definite flight for another 10 days, and that was even before I enqired about the cost.

Well, from the highs to the lows in no space of time, I arrived back the day before the Spain game, back in the local to watch it, but I was struck by Con Houlihans comment again, for all the genuine enthusiasm and roaring at the TV from the regulars and my friends, it just isn't the same as being there, it doesn't even appear on the same radar to be honest. One thing I do know though. If we had won, I was on the next flight to Korea. People don't believe me when I say it, but thats the powerful draw Ireland football can have on you.

To finish, there is a man known to meself, Neil and others as ' 3 World Cups' because he was lucky enough to be born in an era where we qualified for 3 of them, and had the financial means to go to them. Thing is, he is not slow to remind people of this, which is how how aquired the nickname. I am aware I can be a 'world cup bore' when I talk on this subject, I could say more, I have more stories etc, but I hope I gave ye a small idea of what 2002 was like from the perspective of an Irish fan, and I haven't bored ye too much. I will say only one thing, we are a small nation, we will not qualify for every one of them in the future, if you have a chance to go to one, and the means to do it, then take yer cue from Nike - Just do it. You won't regret it.

Tip of the Day- Day 3

If you fancy a flutter tomorrow.

I would go for the Double of Serbia win - German and Australia to Draw. This gives odds of 8/1 on Bet Fair.

Great moments on the Road to South Africa Part II

A tale of two Soap Operas

So the 2nd day of the tournament has past and what a day it was. A day full of incident and a day that will be dominated by one incident. But more of that later.

The Day began with the South Koreans against the ex European Champions and overly defensive Greeks. I decided to go and play pitch n putt in St Anne's Park, because one cannot sit in front of the TV all day watching football can they. From catching the end of the game and seeing the goals it seems that Greece have kept all of the bad parts of their Euro 2004 victory (lack of creativity) and got rid of any of the good ones (good organisation and set pieces etc ). The South Koreans from the highlights looked to be very organised and played with plenty of energy. They have now put themselves in a good position to qualify and I would fancy them against Nigeria.

On to the next game and it was the turn of Argentina and the soap opera that is the Argentinian team managed by Diego Maradona. They lined up with huge attacking threat in Messi, Tevez and Higuain and the player of the Portuguese season Di Maria and a favourite of many Championship Manager player. However there was also the prospect of the Newcastle left playing at right back for Argentina and an ageing Veron in central midfield. Questions marks were also raised about Maradona's lack of tactical nous and thatit would be exposed by managers at the highest level.

However I must say I was very impressed with Argentina in the first half, they kept the ball brilliantly and defied all the critics who said they would play route one and bypass the midfield. They did something that is going to be very important with the altitude conditions which was keep the ball for long periods of time. They also created chances time and time again but they could not finish Nigeria off. The more the game went on the more it looked as if Nigeria may sneak a late and undeserved goal. Thankfully for all of the Argentinians in Thomas Reads pub in Dublin, this did not happen and they could party their night away.

From one soap opera to another. A well known Irish comedian by the name of Karl Spain says that watching England at a World Cup is a lot like watching a re run of Only Fools and Horses, we know the joke but still can't stop ourselves from pissing ourselves laughing when it happens. Again it happened tonight. England started with all the hope and pomp behind them as if they were going to channel the pressure to produce a positive outcome. A well worked goal created by the much maligned Emile Heskey and converted by the recent England Captain Stephen Gerrard gave them the perfect start. From then on, they produced the same type of performance that they did in 2006. All of the people who said that Gerrard and Lampard can play together in central midfield were proven once again to be wrong. Basically neither of them are central midfielders, both of them are more support strikers than then they are classic central midfielders. As a result England gave the ball away time and time again. Predictably England resorted to long balls up to Heskey and could not control the game. Although the goal they conceded was a freak it was deserved on the run of play. Many people have underestimated this American team but they once gain showed that at this level they will cause problems for the top teams like they did last year at the Confederations Cup.

If England think the only issue tonight is that their goal keeper made a mistake, they have no hope in the tournament. If they recognise that a central midfield of Lampard and Gerrard has no future, then they may go on to do something but there also looks to be issues at the back where King's lack of fitness and Carragher's lack of pace rose their heads again.

Oh and to finish on one quiz question, name the player who's mistakes led to more goals than anybody else's last season in the English Premiership.


The answer Robert Green.

What a start to the tournament.

I am going to be biased there and say I am delighted with the start of the tournament. On days like this I love draws. I would have to say I am the casual gambler. The odd Grand National here and there, Royal Athlete and Papillion both came up for me and Barros in 2004 and Ronaldo and Brazil in 2002. Its quite likely that I am one of the few people who is actually up on the bookies. Today it got even better. I set up a Bet Fair account during the week and the next day I got a call to say they had given me a free 30 Euro bet. So what did I do, I stuck it all on 2 draws on the first day at 10/1.

The last few minutes of the French game were as nervous as I have been watching a game since Paris (that's the last time I will mention that game). The irony of Henry appealing for a hand ball, was both galling and laughable, just as his free at the end was.

I did not get to see the first match in Joburg as I was in work, but once I heard the result was 1-1, I was happy. Just like Jon Bon Jovi I was half way there. So I sat down this evening with a nice glass of red wine to watch one of the most hateful collection of players that has ever gathered on a football pitch. If there were World Cup medals handed out for tantrums, toy throwing, pettiness and in squad fighting, the French would be World Champions ten times over. I am just glad that Henry did not get the chance to break my heart a second time when he got that free in the last few minutes.

So a good first day and 300 quid safely into my current account from my Bet Fair account.

Great Moments from the Road to South Africa 2010

High Flyers.

In what will be the first World Cup to be played at altitude since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, the affects of altitude on the players is up for discussion in many quarters. When you think that Argentina won the 1986 World Cup and Brazil won the previous World cup at altitude in 1970, it is starting to look good for those of you who have placed bets on the the South American teams. While it would be a big stretch to say that altitude played a major part in both these countries victories, as they were both led by the outstanding players of their generation and the Brazilian team of 1970 will go down in history as one of the all time great footballing teams, in the tighter games it could be the difference between success and failure.

When you add in thee fact that the some of the games from the South American World Cup Qualifiers are played at altitude, the odds on a South American side bringing home the trophy begin to stack up. There is no doubt that previous experience at playing top level games at altitude and how to recover from the effects of altitude is something that the top European teams will not be used to and it gives the South American sides a big advantage.

So what are the ways that teams can counteract this South American advantage. According to most medical experts there are 2 ways to approach the issue of altitude for top sporting professionals. One is to fly in as close to the game as possible and the second is immerse yourself in the conditions a full six weeks beforehand. Most teams seem to be be landing a week or so before there game. This seems to go against all medical advice. Brazil have been in South Africa for the last 3 weeks. It seems they are getting their preparation spot on and added to this their previous experience at playing at altitude, it all points towards once again that Brazil will be able to win a World Cup outside of their own continent.

Finally a interesting aspect to the issue of altitude is that it seems that the older players suffer less of the effects of altitude than the younger players. As a result the older teams such as Italy Brazil and the oldest team at the competition England, will look to take advantage of this.

Before anybody goes out and places all of their mortgage on Brazil or Argentina, it should be taken into account that 3 of the matches are played at sea level and none of the games will be played above 2000 metres, where the affects of altitude really start to kick in. All in all, its going to be an interesting World Cup and if the 1986 World cup is anything go go by, there will be plenty of long range efforts flying into the top corner.

Further Reading

Betting Tips

Ok I thought for my first post I would talk about the betting markets and where I see there is value to be had over the next few weeks.

I think Di Natale of Italy at 50/1 to be top goalscorer is a fantastic each way bet. He has scored 29 goals this season for Udinese. In addition to this Italy have a group containing New Zealand Paraguay and Slovakia. New Zealand could be the worst team in the tournament and will be sure to leak plenty of goals. I saw Paraguay in Dublin recently and they were very poor. Although this was just a friendly, they lacked any sort of hunger and their defence lacked balance and speed. If Italy win their group they are due to play the runners up in the group containing Holland, Denmark, Japan and Cameroom. Taking all of this into account, I think Di Natale has an outstanding chance of being in the top 5 goalscorers in this years World Cup.


Another good bet is 11/1 on Bet Fair. A Spain Brazil Final. Spain and Brazil are the the two form teams in the world at the moment and both play possession football which will be very important when altitude starts to have its effect on the players


For an early bet to get the tournament off to a good start, I think a double of England V USA and Germany V Australia to both be a draw at 18/1 is outstanding value on Bet Fair. Both USA and Austraila are physical sides who will start the tournament well and will not give either Germany or England much time and space on the ball. Australia were outstanding when they played Ireland in Thomond Park last year. Both teams have great goalkeepers who will be known to viewers of the English Premiership, Tim Howard and Mark Schwarzer.


Finally if you think there may be a shock on the first day you could do far worse than putting a few quid on Uruguay to shock the French at 3/1 and yes most Irish fans will only be too happy if Diego Forlan has been the nemesis of Raymond Domenech and Thierry Henry.

Introduction.

Hello I am Neil I am a football fan and I have looked forward to World Cups ever since I can remember. I am an Irish football fan first and foremost but unfortunately we will not be there. But alas the tournament must go on and over the next few weeks, I will be giving my views on the games that are played over in South Africa. Happy reading.

Neil

10/06/10