2006: Zidane a right nutter. World Cup Memories (12)

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That’s it, the end of a series Salut! Sunderland has been proud to present, Pete Sixsmith‘s magnificent memories of 11 World Cups. With more warning that Pete had such a great idea up his sleeve, it would been worth turning into a slim volume. He began with the 1966 tournament in which (West) Germany were beaten by England, and ends in (reunited) Germany where the final will forever be remembered for the final gesture of Zinedine Zidane’s career* (captured rather neatly in Mads Boedker’s photo). …

And so we reach the last of our reviews of past World Cups What I Can Remember, with a look at Germany four years ago. Another European tournament, another terrific set of stadiums and another one that pulled a nation together for four weeks through the magic of football.

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Arsenal, Sunderland and “that thug Cana”

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How’s your Albanian? The applause when Arsenal was mentioned, during Lorik Cana’s recent TV question-and-answer session back in Kosovo, was a little worrying for those of us who seriously rate him. Add a touch of discipline, and much greater consistency, to his unrivalled passion and strength and you’d have another Patrick Vieira at the peak of his powers. Unfortunately, Arsène Wenger may feel the same way …

How long will Gooner memories be if speculation about Lorik Cana and renewed interest on the part of Arsène Wenger turns out to be true, and leads to an attempt to lure our captain to the Emirates stadium?

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World Cup: flying the flag for France, and 31 others

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Bill Taylor lives in Toronto, Ontario but, as a former resident of Bishop Auckland, near Toronto, Co Durham and a Sunderland fan with strong Wearside links, is a regular visitor to this site. So how is his adopted city gearing up for a distant sporting event in which it will play no part? With a smile it is unlikely to offer all the flunkeys, fixers and functionaries due in town for a G20 summit …

Toronto supports… everybody.

A few years ago, the United Nations called this the world’s most cosmopolitan city. Which is why, everywhere you look right now (including outside the little shoe store at the bottom of my street), you see the flags of all nations.

All nations that are in the World Cup, that is. It’s certainly not in honour of the G20 Summit later this month which is turning downtown Toronto into an armed fortress, with photo-passes for anyone who lives or works within the fenced-off area and a bill for security that has passed the $1 billion mark and is still climbing.

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2002: screaming girls, Irish Troubles. World Cup memories (11)

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Pete Sixsmith arrives at the penultimate stage of his journey to every World Cups from 1966 to 2006. From the 2002 tournament he remembers the McCarthy-Keano spat, wailing South Korean teenagers, Tommy Sorensen’s howlers and yet another Brazilian trophy …

It’s interesting that as you get older, the more recent memories don’t stay for very long, while the more distant ones linger. When speaking to Neil Martin a couple of weeks ago, I was able to picture the goals he scored in my boyhood far more clearly than I could those of say, Tore Andre Flo or Jon Stead.

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Transfer tales and kite flying

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kite flyingOne thing you learn quite quickly, if you’re a football fan who also reads the papers, listens to the radio and watches TV, is to take transfer talk with a lorryload of salt.

We’ve heard so far that Steve Bruce still isn’t convinced by Craig Gordon, which would handily explain our supposed interest in keepers most of those who saw Gordon last season would consider inferior. Then we’re told one or two of the Big Four (or is that Five, Six or Seven now?) have their eyes on Scotland’s and our No 1. Mmm.

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World Cup memories (10): around the world in 18 days

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Not really a break for Pete Sixsmith, whose series of World Cup reminiscences resumes tomorrow. But I also have reason to remember France 98. It was the year I feared I’d be keeping my head down in street battles, but ended up travelling the world …

Imagine you’ve been told at work that you’re going on a month of night shifts, and suddenly you’re given a paid holiday instead. Or that instead of representing your company at a winter conference in Skegness, the location has been switched to the Seychelles.

That was a bit like my France 98. I spent the first four months of the year or more expecting The Daily Telegraph to send me to report on hooliganism, especially any outbreaks involving England fans, or more accurately violent English criminals drawn to the location of football games. It would be an understatement to say I was not looking forward to it.

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1998: France’s un-deux-trois-zéro. World Cup memories (9)

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It is hard to believe the players who stumbled to a dismal 1-0 defeat against China a few days ago represented the same country that swept to such an exhilarating World Cup victory in 1998. Pete Sixsmith remembers when France were the cultured giants of European football

Back to Europe for this one and to France, the homeland of Jules Rimet, Napoleon Bonaparte and Jacques Tati – and a country with proper football stadiums and a populace who knew something about the game.

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World Cup: Saffron, Republica and Sunderland

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David Jaymes, who occasionally sends information in my direction for use at Salut! Sunderland’s folk and roots music offshoot, Salut! Live, may well be unaware that Ready To Go and Republica – whom he manages (he is not, as I suggested when first posting, their publicist) – are inseparable from the recent history of Sunderland.

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1994, moody Balkans and the unbeautiful game: World Cup memories (8)

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And so to America. Land of the Free (as in free of football passion). Pete Sixsmith speaks with genuine affection about a country where he has travelled a lot and even worked, but which hasn’t a clue when it comes to what everyone else in the world calls football and they call soccer, at least as played by males beyond the age of about 11. But hang on, Pete: didn’t Claudio Reyna’s goals once keep us up? …


After the glories of Italia 90 came the grind of USA 94. The football wasn’t a great deal better or worse, but I thought the tournament was a shocker. Let me explain.

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