Team of the Tournament So far

Goalkeeper 

Ochoa (Mexico)

 Right  Centre Back

Gary Medel  (Chile) 

Centre Back

Marquez (Mexico)

Left Centre Back 

Varane (France)

Defensive Midfielder

Vidal (Chile)

Attacking Midfielder
James Rodriguez (Colombia) 

                    









Attacking Midfielder
Muller (Germany)  

                      












Attacking Midfielder
Neymar (Brazil)

                                                     















Right Forward
Robben (Netherlands)  

                                             
Striker
Benzema  (France)

                                              
Left Forward
Messi  (Argetntina)

                                                                 

My Goals of the Tournament so far.

Top 5  Goals of the World Cup So far 

James Rodriguez (Colombia)  V  Uruguay

Tim Cahill (Australia)   V Holland

Robin Van Persie (Holland) V Spain

Messi (Argentina)  V Bosnia

Neymar (Brazil)  V Cameroon

Latest Betting reccommendations.

A couple of bets have jumped out at me as the tournament progresses,

• over 2.5 goals in a game and 
• both teams to score. 

I think there is incredible value in both of these markets.  

So if you have a euro or fifty cent spare you would not go wrong in betting on either of these for the games ahead.  

Last night I had had Switzerland France and Argentina to win and both teams to score in all three games.  It was quoted at 75/1 and it was a Honduran goal short of coming off.  

Today I am going for Germany, Ghana and Nigeria all to win at 13/1.  

Peerless Pirlo

 In the run up to the World Cup I wrote in this blog about the excitement that such a tournament brings to a 12 year old boy especially when his own country is competing in it. Well so far this tournament has brought that excitement to many neutrals who are much older and should know better.  This has been a tournament that reminds us why we all fell in love with the beautiful game in the first place. There has not been a draw yet, there has been an average of 3.5 goals, the highest since 1958 (early days I know) and there has been only one scoreless half of the 22 so far.  So all in all it is shaping up to be a tournament that will go down as one of the greatest in living memory. 

The weekend saw the entrance to the tournament of the much hyped Argentina, the flaky French and the soap opera that is the England team.  What sort of story line would  they produce this time?.  You got the feeling going into the game that it was going to be more along the lines of Emmerdale rather than Eastenders and that the expectations were being managed by both Hodgson and the FA. Talk of blooding youngsters and the next generation, is either a brave or political move by Hodgson, especially as he may not be around to see them flourish.   But first on to the action.  

Colombia V Greece 

The action on Saturday saw the Colombians beat the Greeks 3-0 and it could have been more.  Greece who won Euro 2004 with defensive tactics have not evolved from this strategy and for the neutral it is good to see one of the dark horses, Colombia dispatch them with ease.  It was like a home game for Colombia and it was the loudest atmosphere yet at the tournament.  The heat and conditions will not trouble Colombia and I expect them to go to the quarter finals at least as they are due to play the runners up in the Italian group.  An impressive performance that promises more.  

Costa Rica V Uruguay 

The second game of Saturday provided the biggest shock of the tournament so far.  Semi Finalists in 2010, Uruguay have kept faith in most of the squad from 2010 but were missing Suarez with a  knee injury going into this game.  Forlan and Cavani led the line for Uruguay and they took the lead through a penalty in the first half.  They had not played well but led at half time.  Costa Rick now with nothing to lose went at Uruguay in the same way they had in the second half against Ireland in a recent friendly.  Campbell who is on Arsenal's books took his chance from a cross with a half volley and smashed it into the back of the net.  Uruguay's reaction to conceding was dispirited and they looked leggy and jaded and were undone from a header from a well taken free.  Costa Rica had Uruguay on the back foot and made it 3 towards the end with a beautiful pass from Campbell, the games star performer, and a well taken finish by the striker.  Uruguay were  reduced to ten men late in the game, and will struggle to get out of the group at this stage. Costa Rica had the greatest day in World Cup history.  

England V Italy 

You know England are playing in a World Cup when RTE donate an hour to the pre-match build up and bring in the A team of Brady, Giles and Dunphy.  England games have produced some classic "RTE Panel" moments over the years from the Garth Crooks and Sven love bomb to the brilliant critique of Graham Taylor's England in Euro 92. This tournament  had started well in this regard as Dunphy has promised to wear a dress if England reach the quarter finals.  If the Irish public needed another reason to cheer against England, here was it.   

The game on Saturday night was a fantastic contrast of styles.  From the possession based Italians to the pacy counter attacking English,  the game always had you on the edge of your seat.  Even when the pace of the game dropped in the final quarter due to the humid conditions.  English players were out on their feet and several went down with cramp.  That is what  chasing a ball around for 90 minutes does for you. The Italian style of letting the ball do the work exemplified  by Pirlo, was perfect for these energy sapping conditions.  In an attacking sense this was a positive performance from England with Sterling and Sturridge bringing their Liverpool form into the game. However Stephen Gerrard and Wayne Rooney both had nights they would like to forget.  Both were out of position and neither were playing their natural game.  For Rooney there is hope, as he can be moved into his favoured position of behind the striker or even up top.  Gerrard does not have the legs to play his natural game and does not have the footballing brain to play the one he wants to play for club and country. If you want a stat that shows the gulf in class between Pirlo and Gerrard.  Pirlo completed 105 of his 108 passes to Gerrard's 62 out of 67 on the night. The game passed him by if you pardon the pun. The problem for England is they do not have a player to replace him, as Carrick and Barry were left at home and neither of them are international class, but would probably do a better job in that role.  

The night did belong to Pirlo and the attacking wing back Darmian.  One ran the show and the other caused all sorts of problems down England's left hand side.  In only his second cap Diame was one of the stand out performers and tactically Prandelli outsmarted Hodgson and pinned Rooney back throughout the game.  All three goals in the game were things of joy and beauty and England can take heart from the turn and pass played by Sterling to setup Rooney who provided a beautiful cross for Sturridge. To others it showed that Pirlo is flawed and he was turned by Sterling far too easily and it is a weakness that should be exploited by more teams.  

It all sets it up for a do or die game between England and Uruguay on Thursday night.   Will Suarez be back, will Rooney be dropped and can Gerrard control a game of football.  I can already answer the latter. 

Ivory Coast V Japan 

This was a game I did not see live as it began at 2am and poor old Tony O'Donoghue of RTE was given the night shift. Tony one of the nicest and most knowledgeable TV reporters out there is the anchor for RTE's afternoon highlights show but tonight he drew the short straw. Just looking at highlights and going on reports it seems like it was a decent game that sprung into action when Drogba came on for the Ivory Coast.  They were 1 nil down at the time and although he did not score, within minutes of him coming on Ivory Coast had equalised and taken the lead from two headers.  Finally the Ivory Coast have a group that they can get out of it. Twice they have been drawn in groups of death when  their golden generation players were  at their prime. Now when some of them seem a little past it they get a group that should see them join Colombia in the next round in my opinion.   How far they go after that is any one's guess but once it is knock out anything can happen.  

So another great day of football came to a close and the tournament gets better and better.  

High Five for Holland

After the controversy of the opening match and poor refereeing decisions, we went into Day 2 hoping that the  football would make the headlines.  Football is never as simple as that and Day 2 of the 2014 World Cup provided us with  both sides of the beautiful game.  

Mexico V Cameroon 

The day began with the 5pm kick off between Mexico and Cameroon.  Cameroon who were a shambles in qualification, and even in the run up to the Finals, there was talk of player disputes and strikes.  Not ideal preparation for a World Cup Finals.  The opening half exposed  all of these cracks and Cameroon were a shambles.  Mexico who were neat and tidy and were well able to keep possession and create chances.  In fact in the first half they scored 2 perfectly good goals through ex Spurs and Barcelona forward Dos Santos. Both were deemed to be offside and replays showed clearly both were  legitimate goals. Mexico went in at half time in the soaking conditions, I am sure angry and frustrated. However after a sluggish start to the second half they did not let this get to them. Mexico scored a well worked team goal and deservedly took the lead through their experienced striker Peralta.  Cameroon were never getting back into the game although they did have half a chance near the end.  Mexico started the tournament composed and with a clear game plan and their game against  Croatia in the final  group game will be the group decider in my view.  Cameroon will go home early and may prove to be one of the worst teams in the tournament.  

Spain V Netherlands

The second game of the day was a repeat of the last World Cup Final in South Africa, Spain V Netherlands.  Both teams had questions marks hanging over their heads coming into the game.  Did Spain have too much mileage on the clock,  Was tika taka dead ? For the The Dutch it was can their forward three propel their younger defensive colleagues to glory? The expectations in Holland were low amongst journalists and fans alike. The Dutch fans outnumbered the Spanish, close to 5 to 1 and before kick off if you were to say that would be reflected in the score line at the end, you would have been visited by men in white coats, and no not GAA umpires.

Spain chose to prepare for the tournament at high altitude rather than the humidity training, many countries went for.  This was either  going to be an inspired or a disastrous choice.  I think we got our answer here.   From the start Holland were in the faces of the Spanish.  Not quite as aggressive as four years ago and the right side the rules this time. They did not let Spain dictate the pace of the game in the way they like.  Sneijder had a chance early on when he shot straight at Cassilas. This exposed cracks in the Spanish centre back partnership of Pique and Ramos.  They looked fragile.  However a debateable penatly mid way through the first  half for a "foul" on Costa was converted by Alonso.  This gave  Spain the impression that all was ok and that they were in control and they could have made it 2 with a chance for Sliva towards the end of the second half.  However the match was lit up in the 44th minute with a moment  of pure footballing genius from Robin Van Persie.  A beautiful 30 yard pass from the young Blind with his father watching on, was met by the flying Van Persie's  with his head, in a moment  that will go down as a classic World Cup Goal.  It had shades of Bergkamp and DeBoer from Marseille in 1998. This was the goal that the Dutch needed, to give them faith and confidence in the system that Van Gaal had deployed.  The game changed on this moment of genius.  

The second half had only just begun when another great pass from Blind this time to Robben,  was pulled from the sky with an exquisite first touch and smashed into the back of the net by Robben.  2-1 and Spain were ragged.  Although they had a goal disallowed through offside, Spain had lost the one thing they crave in a football match, and that is control.  Van Gaal was tactically beating Del Bosque up and Costa and Alonso were withdrawn.  However the problems were in other places.  Ramos Pique and the experienced Cassislas were all having nightmares and Holland got two goals directly from goalkeeping mistakes.  One from when the keeper misjudged the flight of a cross and another when his first touched let him down and Van Persie pounced to slide it in to an empty net.  The Dutch fans rubbed it in with cheers of Olés for every Dutch pass.  Spain were a shambles and what was most surprising was that the scoreline did not flatter the Dutch.  A final goal from Robben which made it 5 and the high fave between Van Gaal and Van  Persie that marked the first  goal had proved to be prophetic.  Spain did lose the opening game of the last World Cup to Switzerland.  But this was differnt and felt it. Spain have serious questions to ask themselves.  Do they keep faith with Cassilas?  Do Ramos and Pique survive for the next match?  Do they go back to their tried and trusted strikerless formation?  Del Bosque is a great coach and it will be interesting to  see how he responds to this setback.  For the Dutch everything went right for them in the second half, but Van Gaal seems to have them set up brilliantly that maximises their resources. Their defence will face different tests as the tournament goes on but Group B opened with a bang. 

Chile V Australia 

The late game on Day 2 was the much fancied Chileans against an Australian team that were written off by many.   For many non footballing fans Chile and Australia are sections within the Wine Department of an off licence.  The question was, which sort of vintage would both countries produce.  For  the Australians it was a young team with a  couple of experienced campaigners  such as Tim Cahill thrown in.  Chile according to many reports were about to produce a vintage crop and it in the words of Frank Sinatra, it could be a "very good year".    Chile started the much better side and were 2 goals in front after 14 minutes and looked to be running Australia ragged. Slick attacking play with effective one twos were exposing the ponderous Australian defence but gradually the Socceroos started to get back into the game.  A trademark header from Tim Cahll before half time gave them hope.  Cahill will go down as one of the great headers of the ball. For a guy who is not a giant, his leap and timing are perfection when it comes to winning headers in the box.  The second half was open and competitive and Australia were never out of the game and exposed defensive fragilities in the Chilean team.  A third goal towards the end, sealed the victory for Chile and put a sheen on a win that was far from simple for Chile. Chile play Spain next and will be  seeking revenge for their defeat in 2010.  A draw may suit the Chileans but their style of play does not suit playing for such an outcome.  It promises to be a cracker.  

Day 2 really sparked  the opening of the World Cup and if it continues along these lines it should be a great tournament.  A stunning result in Salvador for the Dutch will make headlines throughout the world.  So far we have had 4 games and only one team has failed to score and there has been a total of 15 goals so far.  It could be a "very good year" alright.  

Home Town Decisions.

                                       

There is a reason why the hosts have never lost their opening game at a World Cup and tonight we found out why.  One, they have the massive enthusiasm and support of their home fans and two and maybe more importantly, if there are decisions to be made, they are most likely to end on the positive end of them.  You have got to feel sorry for Croatia after tonight's opening match of the 2014 World Cup.  Croatia played the game brilliantly, attacked with purpose, had two brilliant central midfield performances but unfortunately for them, they were let down by the referee and their own goalkeeper.  

The opening match of previous World Cups have been curious affairs. From the controversial and shocking game between Cameroon and Argentina that opened Italia 90 to the 8 goal affair between Germany and Costa Rica at Germany 2006.  There has often been a major story from these games and tonight was no different.  The game had a surprise goal to open the game, a shocking refereeing decision, a wonderful display from Modric, Neymar and Oscar and a goalkeeping display that was laborious at best.  

Croatia came into the game as massive underdogs but they caused Brazil plenty of problems tonight and with any luck will be in this tournament after the second week.  They attacked Brazil in a quasi counter-attacking policy which penetrated the Brazilian defence 3 or 4 times in the opening 20 minutes.  This tactic paid off and Croatia opened the scoring through  an own goal from Marcelo,  the first time a World Cup has begun with an own goal.  To be fair to Brazil they responded to the goal with guts and determination and did not wilt amongst the expectation of their home support. A shot from outside the box from Neymar crept into the bottom corner late in the first half and the sides went in at half time in what was an open and entertaining first half. 

The second half had begun slowly and Croatia were frustrating the hosts and it was not until Fred felt an arm on his shoulders and went down, did the game have its biggest talking point.  Fred fell to the ground and the referee quickly pointed to the spot.  Penalty !!! the Croatian players surrounded the referee and he defiantly waved away their protests and brandished a yellow card to the Southampton defender Lovren.  An extremely harsh decision which caused the Brazilian striker to thank the heavens.   He had been anonymous until that point and this was his only major input to the game.  The penalty was taken by Neymar and a poor penalty was nearly saved by the keeper but in the end finished in the back of the net.  

2-1 and the rest of the world began to shift their support from Brazil to Croatia.  From then on the Croats were out of their comfort zone and were chasing a game they did not deserve to be behind in.  Towards the end of the game they caused panic in the Brazilian defence with David Luis causing panic to even the most laid back Brazilian fan.  Seconds after one of these panic stations, Oscar broke into the Croatian half and struck his shot with his toe from 25 yards out and caught the keeper by surprise and the ball found the back of the net.  Once again the keeper was slow to get down.  Not taking away anything from Oscar's effort but this was a poor goalkeeping display from Stipe Pletikosa and in the end he cost his side.  

So Brazil get over the first hurdle with a little help from poor goalkeeping, poor refereeing decisions and good performances from Neymar and Oscar.  But there are serious question marks hanging over this Brazilian team.  To most observers of the English Premiership, the decision to choose Paulinho over Fernandinho seems a strange one. However Scolari has a history of choosing pragmatism over romanticism.  This is not samba football but it is effective football and although this Brazilian team has flaws, it will go a long way with home support, favourable refereeing decisions and a coach who knows how to win.  Write them off at your peril.  

My Bets for World Cup 2014

Double  Brazil to win the tournament and Fred to be the top scorer 40/1

Top Goal Scorer Benzema 28/1

Sergio Aguero 14/1

More to follow

Our World Cup

Ahhh to be a 12 year old again, not a care in the world other than, do you have enough money for another game of Wonder Boy or can you swap your Steve Hodge Panini sticker for an elusive Lothar Matthaus one ? In the run up to a World Cup I always think back to that great summer in Ireland in 1990 when the whole of the country behaved as if we were teenagers and our parents had gone way for the month and left the keys to the drinks cabinet in the door. 

In one way I feel sorry for the 12 year olds of today growing up in Ireland, like us back in 1990 they are possibly seeing a country come out of economic hard times but they do not have a World Cup with Ireland in it to look forward to.  In fact back in June of 1990, none of us knew what to expect.  Ireland had qualified for its first ever World Cup.  We had a taster 2 years previously when Ireland played at the European Championships in Germany, beating England and drawing with the USSR along the way.   But even as a young 10 year old, I could grasp that it was a tournament for the football fans.   Italy 90 or Italia Novante as it was called in Italy and parts of West Clare,  was something different.  House wives, GAA Die hards, Parish Priests, pioneers all joined the party and became drunk on the fumes from the bonhomie that was exuding from the sweaty Irish in our Penny’s T Shirts.   Irish people young and old, city and country, embraced the party and every 3 or 4 days the country came to a standstill.  In what has become a well-worn phrase but was coined first by the great Con Houlihan, "I missed Italia 90; I was in Italy for it".   Well this 12 year old certainly did not miss the tournament.

 Although too young and far too serious about the football to be watching the games in the pubs, every game for me was a massive event.  The dissection of the games by Giles and Dunphy was pantomime and Shakespeare at the same time.   We were being educated and entertained and little did we know it but it was preparation for the English Junior Cert in 3 years’ time.   I loved the dribbling skills of Roberto Baggio, the power and dynamism of Lothar Matthaus, the flowing hair of Giuseppe Giannini and the not so great hair of Chris Waddle and Thomas Skuravy.   

In the year preceding Italia 90, RTE2 had started to show highlights of Serie A games on Monday nights.   In the pre internet age, many of us did not know the scores of these games which had been played over 24 hours previously.   Yet they became major discussion points in the school yard on the Tuesday morning.  AC Milan imploding as they blew the title to Trappatoni’s Inter Milan.  Week after week we were enthralled by wonder goals.  Every Monday night seemed to feature a 30 yard screamer that was better than the previous weeks.  Against this backdrop, the football "aficionados" which were our gang of 12 year olds  were well prepared.   We knew about the 3 Germans at Inter Milan and the 3 Dutch players at AC Milan.  Napoli had the 3 South American’s of Maradona, Caereca and Alemao.  

In a world where information was not as easily obtained as it is now,  we were well briefed going into this World Cup.  Of course sticker albums were a great source of information.   You would be familiar with the whole Romanian squad, date of birth and squad numbers.  You may have never seen them play before, but you knew that Daniel Timofte was 1.82m in height.  What that was in inches and feet was anyone's guess. Timofte was to go on to play a pivotal role in the history of Irish Football during that tournament.   It was his penalty that Packie Bonner so brilliantly read and saved that set it up for David O Leary to score and send us to Rome and a quarter final against Italy.   These were heady days but, we did not know they were not the norm.   It was the greatest time in the history of the country and anxiety and money worries were thrown out the window and replaced with a month long party that had no hangover.  

Ireland did make that trip to Rome to face Italy were they met the Pope along the way.   As we went out to a goal by a player that only a World Cup can throw up  Toto Schillaci, I was in tears as RTE ended its coverage that night with Edith Piaf’s, “je ne regrette rien” .  The journey was over for this team and I was devastated as we lost to Italy in the quarter finals of a world Cup. That statement now seems ridiculous after last nights debacle against Portugal.  They say the kids of today are spoiled, well in a footballing sense we were the most spoiled bunch of Irish 12 year olds there ever has been.  We have not reached the quarter finals since and we are not likely to do so in the near future.  But for the next month lots of 12 year olds in Bosnia are about to have the greatest month of their life as they watch their team take part in a World Cup for the first time.   I wonder will the Bosnian TV Station cancel ALF if the Bosnian match goes to penalties.   So for the next few weeks lets all be 12 year old Bosnian kids or at least be ALF and sit back and enjoy the action.  

“je ne regrette rien”

Real Madrid V Borussia Dortmund. Substance over Money

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.