1982 FIFA World Cup

The first World Cup I ever remember.

was the 1982 World Cup.

I remember it because my family was on holiday in Spain at the time in Benelmadena, or Benelmedina, as they say back home.

And in the semi-final of that World Cup, a German goalkeeper called Harald Schumacher launched himself at a French striker called Battiston, I think it was, and nearly killed him.

I saw a quote from Kevin Keegan in all the tributes that were paid to him this summer.

There was one where he says, for everything he did in football, he's probably best known for his perm and for missing the header for England against Spain in the World Cup 1982.

And this is a guy who had done absolutely everything in the game and won trophies and he's remembered, or he's self-deprecating, but he says there are two things he's remembered for.

That Keegan team is remembered for not winning the title.

Yeah.

potentially is released partly it gets rid of this situation England in the 2018 World Cup they tried to lose against Belgium actually both teams were trying to lose in the 2018 World Cup in the last draw to get the easier side of the the pool there yeah But Scott, maybe the most famous example is from the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

It might not surprise people to know that most of the examples as I was reading about this came from the world of international football.

This is the 1982 match between West Germany and Austria.

Where all the football stuff hangs.

I've got my, there's a Betis plaque and my España 82 poster that David Kilpatrick gave me.

One of your former guests, actually.

David

Because, you know, Breitner, when we talked about the Breitniger era, of course, that was the super duo.

They played together at the World Cup 1982, also for Germany.

And I mean, he was the key player in midfield.

Then, of course, Bayern had to replace him.

Yeah.

And Holger Willmer from Cologne, you know, he played more like a right defender because Dremler was suffering from a couple of injuries.

Also, you know, he played in the World Cup 1982.

But then, you know, Dremler was a little bit, I think, over his time.

Yeah.

But, yeah, in Romania, okay, they'd qualified in 84 and hadn't been any great shakes, but they'd missed out narrowly on the 1982 World Cup.

They'd missed out narrowly on the 86 World Cup.

Northern Ireland sneaking ahead of them, along with England in that group.

Gentili was born in 1953 in Tripoli, Libya, to a Sicilian family and moved to Lombardia as a child.

As a player, he became a Juventus icon through the 70s and 80s, and with over 300 appearances, six Serie A titles and a starring role in Italy's 1982 World Cup win, We're marking Diego Maradona and Zico in successive matches, and with his performances earning him a worldwide reputation as one of the toughest defenders to play the game.

And despite said reputation, this is a staggering statistic, for those who have watched him play in particular, Gentile was sent off only once in his entire career.

That's the player that everyone remembers.