This below is what I wrote 10 years ago to set the scene for what was to come from me in World Cup countdowns and reports. That was me, the young boy in Malta and how I fell in love with the World Cup. It continued, every 4 years since. Forty four years later, I will be living in a World Cup host city as the 2026 edition comes to Toronto. Is it a full circle in life, of sorts? It's going to be here and I want to be a part of it, beyond being a fan in a stadium. The plan, the dream, is to find out what the World Cup means to fans in all the host cities across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. And to take that even further, where in the world can I find the excitement that I felt?
Two months ago I spent 4 days in England, and went to 4 football matches. From a sold out Wembley Stadium to a few hundred spectators at The EMR Stadium in Tilbury, temporary home of Grays Athletic. I talked football for 4 days, I met interesting people with great stories. And I decided that's what I want to do. The World Cup dream has evolved. Now to get the plan into action.My conscious life started in 1982, in June 1982. Sure, there may be
memory flashes of toys played with and waves washing me up on beaches
(!) but it is that summer of which I can recall specific events. Espana
'82. It was fun. Everybody around me talked about the "World Cup". And
there was no corruption, no politics, no locals protesting about being
ignored. No, there was Cameroon, Ziggy Boniek, Paolo Rossi, the eyes of
Marco Tardelli and Dino Zoff and Brazil. Dino was my idol, until I was
converted, not allowed to like those mean Italians anymore. But more
importantly there was Brazil, THAT Brazil.......Zico, Eder, Falcao,
Socrates, Junior, Cerezo. They had the exotic names and every night that
they played it was an event. And I was in awe. Yes, this world cup
thingamabob was fun. I wanted to watch this every summer.
Too young to worry about end of year school exams, this was the summer
of being every Brazilian player for a few hours outside every evening
until "the match" started. I didn't know, or wouldn't have cared less if
there was any controversy. Sure, the Falkland's War had just ended and
the Argentinian and English fans didn't really like each other, but what
did I know about that. I only knew about Kevin Keegan's bad back, or
was it Brooking? Or did Brooking have something else wrong with him?
Bryan Robson scored after 27 seconds against France (England are going
to win the World Cup!). I thought Northern Ireland were good. They beat
Spain even though the referee tried to give Spain a second chance to
score a penalty. Controversy? Yes, I learned about that too, but only on
the pitch. The Kuwaiti Prince ordered his team off the pitch because he
thought it unfair that the French were better than them. Harold
Schumacher wasn't sent off for knocking that poor guy out cold? Germany
and Austria agreed that Germany would win 1-0. I didn't really get that
one for a while.
All of that made it even more wow! This is great stuff. When do they all
do this again? Four years? Ah well, at least we can watch Brazil for a
couple more weeks. Even that new superstar, Maradona, couldn't stop
them. Only Dino. And he did. And Paolo Rossi scored 3 and Brazil were
gone. What did I care that Bryan Robson's 27 second goal didn't
automatically mean that England would be champions. The disaster was
that the Harlem Globetrotters of football were beaten by the oh so
boring Italians who didn't even win a match in the first round. They had
a "system", apparently. The Brazilians didn't. They just had Zico et
al. And it all seemed so unfair.....another lesson I learned.
So Italy went on and won the whole thing. Rossi scored a few more. And
Marco Tardelli's arm waving, eyes bulging goal celebration stuck in my
head. Did these players make millions at the time? Were there wives and
girlfriends celebrities? Did they have to choose between their personal
sponsor's boot and the team's? Did they care more about playing for
their club or country? Did Fifa insist that only their sponsors' logos
were visible? I don't know and I didn't care. But I did know that Marco
Tardelli scored a goal to win the World Cup for his country and he was
very, very happy.
And the best team doesn't always win.
