2006 FIFA World Cup

I didn't expect Eder, I have to be honest with you.

But yeah, I mean, let's say World Cup 2006, Pedd Otter wasn't a superstar, was he? But we've got to find, maybe put Pedd Otter in the front three, but slightly more withdrawn.

Because it's all, I always say about these fun fantasy 11s, it's hypotheses.

Some of them are dead often.

So you can have your dream.

Abate is now on the wing.

flanking skillachi perotta is mid doing what he did at euro world cup 2006 born in england by the way you're welcome perotta world cup winner born in england for you um and the kit in 2006 was designed by an english man neil barrett so again you're welcome um and then uh i need a left winger uh who was your bloke there

but you could have bernardeski if you want

This is the setting, the world, which the WAGs were entering in 2006.

[upbeat music] I'm sure this doesn't come as a surprise to anyone that the tabloid press, journalists, and paparazzi were all over the WAGs like a rash when they resided in Baden-Baden for the 2006 World Cup.

They were photographing and reporting on their every move, whether it was 1,000 pound shopping sprees, boozy dinners, chaotic nights out, family days, or supporting their partners during matches.

It was all meticulously recorded and reported in the press.

Jennifer Bullen writes in their book, Media Representation of Footballers' Wives: A WAG's Life, that during the 2006 World Cup, where England were only in the tournament for 21 days, The Sun had ran 103 WAG-focused articles, which is nearly five articles per day, and the Daily Mail ran 69 articles.

And this doesn't even include broadsheet or magazine coverage, which I'm sure was also very high.

Again, there is a lot of important context to lay down about the British tabloid press when, number one, discussing the media coverage of WAGs, and number two, discussing why WAGs were such a phenomenon in 2006 specifically.

Another pre-famous WAG was Cheryl Cole.

And I kind of converted during, you know, the amazing game in Uruguay.

And then of course the 2006 World Cup.

And the incredible thing from the outside, I had no idea about any of these prejudices.

If you asked me about these prejudices, I think it would just be football people whinging.

That for me was something very, very special.

And yeah, I loved it.

So to bring it back to football, not that we're not loving the cricket talk, of course, but off the back end of the 2006 World Cup, obviously huge tournament for us.

I think Socceroos, that's probably the best we've performed at a World Cup, in my personal opinion, at least.

No, I 100% agree.

Uh, I think that for me, the kind of the gateway drug was the World Cup, uh, watching Francesco Totti in that 2006 World Cup.

I think that was for a lot of people, especially in my age range, who support Roma.

Uh, because he was just, you know, he was, he was something else.

This would not be an easy love story.

At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the teenager came up against Serbia and Montenegro.

and scored in a 6-0 win at 18 years old and 357 days old.

He became the youngest player ever to score for Argentina at a World Cup.