Italia '90 Nostalgia

[eaststand85]

The lads from 'Off the Ball' just posted this on Facebook, thoroughly enjoyed it & thought others might too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v24UKqJIKm8.

Apparently they're doing an Italia '90 special on the programme on Monday night (8pm) which sounds like it could be worth a listen.

[gspain]

Seen it before but never tire of watching it.

Twenty years ago though where have all the years gone?

[Junior]

I think the 'noughties' have meant we skipped a decade - coz I sure as hell cant believe its 20 years ago!!!

[pineapple stu]

Yeah - I still think of 2010 as the distant future.

[eaststand85]

Yeah - I still think of 2010 as the distant future.

By any chance is it a post apocalyptic future where air travel is no longer possible, the world economy has crashed like never before and Ireland have been cruelly denied deserved World Cup qualification? Let's hope it never comes to that!!!! :eek::eek:

[MariborKev]

Best trip ever.

I had my 7th birthday just before the tournament and had spent the previous few months in hospital with a broken leg(one of a few!).

Got to Belfast airport, back in the days where there was an RUC checkpoint outside. We had told we were going to London for a family wedding. Cop lent down to the window and went

"Where you off to Sir?"

Me da, turning round to me and the brother in the back

"We're off to the World Cup".

We went absolutely mental in the back. Unbelievable trip, all the way from the start to the end. Defo the summer that made me fall in love with football.

[CRFC&SRFC]

As sports shows go, off the ball is top notch imo...That clip would bring a tear to your eye, 20 yrs, scary too!

Was only a eight year old whipper snapper at time but can remember every game distinctively. That clip helps some up how the nation was at the time. Remember going through sligo town after Romania game in our Lada! hanging out the window and the streets were thronged with people celebrating. Never seen before or since... to think that some people see us as a rugby nation now, they have short memories.

Cant wait for armenia and slovakia trips this year. Had some great ones last year in Bari and Sofia in particular

[elroy]

Anyone else get the 1990 dvd that was with the indo on sat?? Didnt exactly portray us in a great light tbh. Although high praise for the fans, "more colourful than the brazilians"

[jbyrne]

The lads from 'Off the Ball' just posted this on Facebook, thoroughly enjoyed it & thought others might too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v24UKqJIKm8.

Apparently they're doing an Italia '90 special on the programme on Monday night (8pm) which sounds like it could be worth a listen.

started listening to this monday but after the first 10 mins was dominated by the drinking that went on by the Irish public and fans during the tournament i switched it off. that show usually does much better

[eaststand85]

started listening to this monday but after the first 10 mins was dominated by the drinking that went on by the Irish public and fans during the tournament i switched it off. that show usually does much better

Missed first 15-20 mins, switched on in middle of Dunphy intervew and thought it was pretty good from that point on anyway.

[finbarrk]

The worst part of that trip was the 20 hour train journey from Palermo up to Genoa.

[EastTerracer]

The worst part of that trip was the 20 hour train journey from Palermo up to Genoa.

You must have been on the express train - in my memory it felt like a lot longer than 20 hours. I then remember standing outside the stadium for hours in the heat trying to get tickets only to be told to come back the next day (to be fair to the FAI they did hand out numbers so that the day-trippers didn't get tickets ahead of the lads who traveled from Sicily). No such thing as booking tickets on the internet in 'dem days.

[SUB of the day]

That trip had so many highs, the celebrations for the Sheedy and Quinn goals, the agony/ecstacy of the penalties v Romania, and at the final whistle in Rome, the heart bursting pride in being Irish.For me, football just gets to you, like no other sport.

[Claret Murph]

You must have been on the express train - in my memory it felt like a lot longer than 20 hours. I then remember standing outside the stadium for hours in the heat trying to get tickets only to be told to come back the next day (to be fair to the FAI they did hand out numbers so that the day-trippers didn't get tickets ahead of the lads who traveled from Sicily). No such thing as booking tickets on the internet in 'dem days.

Now funny you talk about the train as I decided to take the ferry from Sicily and 24 hours later there I was , hey a nice snooose on the floor of the bar in my sleeping bag , ohh they were the days camping was a blast I must say .

[OwlsFan]

Missed first 15-20 mins, switched on in middle of Dunphy intervew and thought it was pretty good from that point on anyway.

Used to really like listening to Off The Ball on Newstalk, quirky & entertaining both. Until that is, when they did a review of Italia 90 with Declan Lynch from the Sindo, pushing his book about Italia 90, with all of them claiming among other things that:-

- the soccer was awful;

- the soccer played by Ireland was awfuller still;

- we all thought Ireland played good soccer only because we were drunk all the time !!

Then they brought on Dunphy to give a totally one sided account of his brave crusade against "Jack's primitive football" including quote "Jack's disgraceful treatment of real football men like Lawrenson, Brady, Whelan & O'Leary" !! I flipped & sent em a text suggesting they ask Eamo:-

- how many Finals we qualified for in the many decades before Jack came along;

- what the term "decentskinsmanship" referred to in the case of Brady & O'Leary;

- how Charlton was responsible the Achilles Tendon injury that ended Lawrenson's career for both Club & country;

- who scored the winning peno against Romania; and

- why Dunphy's track record now includes the systematic undermining of at
least 4 ROI Managers (Hand, Charlton, McCarthy & Trapp).



Naturally they ignored the text ... and indeed went on to heavily promote Eamo's new Newstalk show on Sundays !!

What people like ED have consistently failed to understand or are too lazy to enquire into is that professional sport is as much about mentality as it is about pure talent. (E.g. Darren Clarke is a more talented golfer than Padraig Harrington but is as likely to win a major as me). What Jack brought was organisation, a defined system that people didn't have to like but had to implement, Most importantly he brought a mentality that said we will impose our game on the other side. We took the initiative. Jack has league, cup and world cup winners medals. He has managed at club and international level. His record for Ireland is qualification for 3 of the 5 torunaments we entered with him as manager. The ones where we missed out included one where we were unbeaten through the qualifiers,

In the others we went out in a play off. By comparison, Dunphy is a minnow. His cricisisms are as relevant as those of a grafton street busker as to the way the Berlin Symphony is currently playing. He is entitled to his opinion like any punter but it
is not what HR consultants refer to a peer review

[OwlsFan]

...and then I almost crashed the car when I heard Giles say after the Inter vs Barc match on Newstalk the following night: "Football isn't about being pretty. It's about being effective". AFter 22 years of slating Jack...

[Stuttgart88]

The worst part of that trip was the 20 hour train journey from Palermo up to Genoa.You obviously weren't on the catamaran organised by Dave Bacuzzi travel from Palermo to Cagliari for the England game. Hours upon hours in really choppy, stormy conditions. I was about the only guy on the boat not seasick and had to hold plastic bags to passengers' mouths as they threw up. The brochure advertising the trip said it was a 2 or 3 hour journey. I think it was closer to 8. We got in the Cagliari port with only about 40 minutes to go before the game.

The Palermo - Genoa trip seemed to take ages. We changed train in Milan. The Genoa train was about to depart and there were still about 20 Irish yet to get a ticket. The guy at the front took a quick count and put all the tickets on his credit card, all for strangers. He got paid back on the train. Great gesture.

Great trip, unbelievable stuff. Luckily I had just left college and had no job to go back to. I stayed for over 4 weeks. Magic.

[finbarrk]

The interrail pass was a great man back then, about £200 got you all over Europe for a month. Mine was running out after the Genoa match cos I had gone to Amsterdam and other places before the tournament so I couldn't stay for Rome. I remember buying a lad from Leitrim a ferry ticket from France to Rosslare cos he was broke and the money arrived in the post to me afterwards. I also got to see Argentina V Brazil in Milan on the day before our Genoa game.

[Claret Murph]

Everything worked out so well for me , I just flew in for India,where I was backpacking so no job to go back to sort of thing
Got to Rome then headed out for the first game never had a ticket for any of the games and I managed to see all the Ireland
games Itlay v Argentina ( at last got to see Deigo play ) and picked up a ticket for the final in Rome also and paid £25 over
the odds for the ticket off a yank on the day .
Yer poor final but I can say I will always be one of the few who has seen a world cup final well maybe a millionor so of us alive today .
Those were the days .

[gspain]

I think Lynch's book is more about the country at the time rather than the football. However I haven't read it.

We managed to avoid all the awful ferry journeys. Car and tent but got the ferry to/from Civitavecchia (north of Rome) to Sardinia and drove down to Sicily and back up north then.

We stayed for the final too. We had them going out but no problem with tickets once Italy went out. Have been to all the world cups since but never seen a final since.

[elroy]

I think Lynch's book is more about the country at the time rather than the football. However I haven't read it.



Am 80% through the book and although it is a decent read, certainly takes you by the hand down memory lane, it is a book 50% about Irish football at the time and 50% about the state of the country. He does not hold a high opinion of the type of football employed by Ireland at the time, however he does acknowledge the success that the style brought to country and pretty much that no one can have compliants about that. Uses the example of Russia 88 to illustrate how this side was capable of out footballing a top side when given the opportunity. There is a serious amount of references to drink, alcholism and essentially everyone being drunk at the time, though I think this may be clouded by his own drink problem and the drink culture that was(is) very prevalent in the industry in that he operates.

[elroy]

We stayed for the final too. We had them going out but no problem with tickets once Italy went out. Have been to all the world cups since but never seen a final since.

Impressive stuff, you going to make SA this year?

[Junior]

Gspain - How come you never made it to another final since. cost of final tickets? (generally extortionate at face value from what I have seen on fifa.com over the years), availability of them? other reason?

[bennocelt]

Used to really like listening to Off The Ball on Newstalk, quirky & entertaining both. Until that is, when they did a review of Italia 90 with Declan Lynch from the Sindo, pushing his book about Italia 90, with all of them claiming among other things that:-

- the soccer was awful;

- the soccer played by Ireland was awfuller still;

- we all thought Ireland played good soccer only because we were drunk all the time !!


What people like ED have consistently failed to understand or are too lazy to enquire into is that professional sport is as much about mentality as it is about pure talent. (E.g. Darren Clarke is a more talented golfer than Padraig Harrington but is as likely to win a major as me). What Jack brought was organisation, a defined system that people didn't have to like but had to implement, Most importantly he brought a mentality that said we will impose our game on the other side. We took the initiative. Jack has league, cup and world cup winners medals. He has managed at club and international level. His record for Ireland is qualification for 3 of the 5 torunaments we entered with him as manager. The ones where we missed out included one where we were unbeaten through the qualifiers,



To be fair owlsfan the football was pretty dire stuff, but then nearly all teams played like that too. remember watching the old games on TnaG years ago and was amazed how rubbish Ireland were, and how we/I used to think it was great stuff back then. Definitely got caught up in the euphoria of it all
Having said that though the 1990 world cup was still way better than 2002, or even the last one. At least defenders could defend, and games were not all about running.
And agree about Charlton, he did the bis so no questions to be answered at all. And Brady need a kick up the ass anyway:D

by the way - think Lynch hasn't written anything of note in a while, he seems to me to be out of form?

[gspain]

Gspain - How come you never made it to another final since. cost of final tickets? (generally extortionate at face value from what I have seen on fifa.com over the years), availability of them? other reason?

It is availability although they are not cheap. It is also a time thing when we qualified. I was able to spend a month a Italy as I was young no commitments and planned the month off work from over a year out. In 88 I stayed for the final too and haven't been to a Euro final since either. I did have tickets for the Euro2000 final but travel costs were a lot higher then. I did go to some first round games.

I applied in 98, 06 & 2010 for final tickets and didn't get them. I had a final ticket if we made it in 2002 although staying any longer would have been a big problem. Obviously I could have got them this time around by buying a TST7 which were availablke for New Zealand and Bahrain before the playoff but I wouldn't pay a few grand for tickets I wouldn't use just to get a final ticket. In 94 a friend had 2 tickets but he missed our games and spent a fortune going to the final. His few days cost more than my 3 weeks in the U.S.

I'd actually rather see a few games too than just 1 or 2. I'm going for some first round matches in June.

[aidz1]

RTE show about italia 90 that was on 'round 2000. have it up on youtube. Divided in 5 sections.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_1Pd_7z-dQ

[finbarrk]

Did everyone manage to get beer the day of the England game in Cagliari? There was an alcohol ban in the town, I can't remember how we got it but we were drinking cans in the sun for hours before it. It got a bit messy around the train station later after the game.

[jbyrne]

Did everyone manage to get beer the day of the England game in Cagliari? There was an alcohol ban in the town, I can't remember how we got it but we were drinking cans in the sun for hours before it. It got a bit messy around the train station later after the game.

we were confined to a beach outside town on the day and as far as i remember there was a cafe / bar thing that was selling beer. the way we were treated that day was a disgrace. arrived into cagliari from malta early in the morning and were immediately driven to and dumped at a beach outside the town to keep us away from the english fans. were confined to the beach until a couple of hours before ko. there we were in our ireland supporters gear just wandering a beach with very limited facilities while the english lived it up in town. and all because they were liable to cause trouble not us!

[Dee1975]

Best trip ever.

I had my 7th birthday just before the tournament and had spent the previous few months in hospital with a broken leg(one of a few!).

Got to Belfast airport, back in the days where there was an RUC checkpoint outside. We had told we were going to London for a family wedding. Cop lent down to the window and went

"Where you off to Sir?"

Me da, turning round to me and the brother in the back

"We're off to the World Cup".

We went absolutely mental in the back. Unbelievable trip, all the way from the start to the end. Defo the summer that made me fall in love with football.

What a moment!!

[gspain]

Did everyone manage to get beer the day of the England game in Cagliari? There was an alcohol ban in the town, I can't remember how we got it but we were drinking cans in the sun for hours before it. It got a bit messy around the train station later after the game.

We were in an out of town campsite so drove back out afterwards. I don't think we had a drink all day. Genoa was much the same with an alcohol ban but no problems in Cefalu in Sicily. Rome was a late finish too
so can't remember if there was drink available.

Funnily enough after THE game in Stuttgart in 88 we walked for miles trying to find an open bar to show the other game and eventually saw the 2nd half and got maybe 2 small beers. The campsite in Hannover had a bar so we had quite a few after the Soviet game. Got back to the tent and realsied we'd have to walk a few hundred yards to put our bags into the car and decided to leave them outside the tent as nobody would steal our bags in Germany. Nobody did but we were woken up the following morning by heavy rain

[finbarrk]

I was in that place in Hannover too in 88 Gary, we left for there straight after the Stuttgart game.
We were sleeping in a public park in some village near Naples while making our way to Palermo when it started ****ing rain during the night. We just had sleeping bags on the grass so we were getting soaked. We tried to cover under the sleeping bags untill the rain stopped but it was too heavy. Eventually we gave up and got up to find some shelter somewhere, walked about 20 meters and the rain stopped. It had been a sprinkler system that had come on during the night!

[gspain]

I was in that place in Hannover too in 88 Gary, we left for there straight after the Stuttgart game.
We were sleeping in a public park in some village near Naples while making our way to Palermo when it started ****ing rain during the night. We just had sleeping bags on the grass so we were getting soaked. We tried to cover under the sleeping bags untill the rain stopped but it was too heavy. Eventually we gave up and got up to find some shelter somewhere, walked about 20 meters and the rain stopped. It had been a sprinkler system that had come on during the night!

Our car had broken down so we stayed in Stuttgart until the Monday (could have been Tuesday now that I think about it) to rent another one and organise repairs.

[Claret Murph]

Funny Gspain when you talked about the campsite in Calgari , I do recall there was two again could be wrong but I was on one about 30 kms out of town and full of english , we all got on like a house on fire until they found out that I was Irish ( I still have an English accent ) anyway only a couple of Irish lads on that site I remember I went into town early to see what was the craic and then was told that there was a ferry leaving after the game so I high tailed it back to the camp site to pack up my tent when one guy came up to me and said he would give a a lift into town as some of the English lads were waiting for me outside the camp ground if you know what I mean . Anyway made it and we all know the rest .

[gspain]

Funny Gspain when you talked about the campsite in Calgari , I do recall there was two again could be wrong but I was on one about 30 kms out of town and full of english , we all got on like a house on fire until they found out that I was Irish ( I still have an English accent ) anyway only a couple of Irish lads on that site I remember I went into town early to see what was the craic and then was told that there was a ferry leaving after the game so I high tailed it back to the camp site to pack up my tent when one guy came up to me and said he would give a a lift into town as some of the English lads were waiting for me outside the camp ground if you know what I mean . Anyway made it and we all know the rest .

Ours was mixed IIRC but well out of town too. It was across the road from the FAI officials hotel so we spent a couple of days by the pool before slipping through a hedge back to our tent. Everyone just assumed we were staying there.

[finbarrk]

I got caught in Genoa where the ferry to Sardinia was leaving from with no money as I had taken an overnight train down from Amsterdam and I forgot about it being Saturday and banks being closed. I was in a sort of a daze from Amsterdam anyway. No atm's then. Met 2 English lads from Birmingham and they stuck me in to their car which was going on the ferry and looked after me untill I got to a bank in Cagliari on the Monday morning. We went to the FAI hotel to try for tickets and I was able to buy them some food and drinks there by means of the credit card. I had a great conversation there with Con Houlihan (RIP) i remember.
I couldn't meet up with others I knew as no means of communication then. Met them in town by chance before the game.

[EastTerracer]

I got caught in Genoa where the ferry to Sardinia was leaving from with no money as I had taken an overnight train down from Amsterdam and I forgot about it being Saturday and banks being closed. I was in a sort of a daze from Amsterdam anyway. No atm's then. Met 2 English lads from Birmingham and they stuck me in to their car which was going on the ferry and looked after me untill I got to a bank in Cagliari on the Monday morning. We went to the FAI hotel to try for tickets and I was able to buy them some food and drinks there by means of the credit card. I had a great conversation there with Con Houlihan (RIP) i remember.
I couldn't meet up with others I knew as no means of communication then. Met them in town by chance before the game.

Poor oul' Con - everyone assumes he's dead. He's alive and (relatively speaking) well and he writes a regular column for the Evening Herald. :)

http://www.herald.ie/opinion/columnists/con-houlihan/con-houlihan-the-real-legacy-of-the-easter-rising-2146247.html

[finbarrk]

My apologies re Con Houlihan, I had it in my head that he passed away. I must have been thinking of someone else. He would have been with the Evening press back then, he did some brilliant articles.

[OwlsFan]

My apologies re Con Houlihan, I had it in my head that he passed away. I must have been thinking of someone else. He would have been with the Evening press back then, he did some brilliant articles.

He was a fine writer ok but I kept the piece where he attacked the appointment of Charlton. I knew Jack would be a success. He turned around Wednesday from a team struggling to avoid relegation to the old 4th division and got them promoted to the 2nd. I sent Con a copy of his article and reminded him of his statement after Ireland qualified for Euro 88. I didn't get a response ;) I still have that article. It was written after we lost at home to Wales in Charlton's first game in charge. Some quotes:

"I am tempted to sell my property in Spain and give the proceeds to the FAI to pay off the Manager whom they should never have appointed".

"We have the talent. What we need is a manager"

"As I forecast exclusively - big deal - Jack is no giant killer".

"Midfield is a problem. Paul McGrath isn't happy there"

"Newcomer Ray Houghton did fairly well but he is no Liam Brady".

"Will Whelan ever mature sufficiently to become our midfield general?"

March 27 1986. I really enjoyed Con as a writer. One of the best but I knew in my heart that wur Jack would be the man so I kept the article

[pineapple stu]

Reeling in the Years 1990 on last night. :)

Edit - sure you can't say no to another helping of it!

5YnLtcWcGcE

[elroy]

He was a fine writer ok but I kept the piece where he attacked the appointment of Charlton. I knew Jack would be a success. He turned around Wednesday from a team struggling to avoid relegation to the old 4th division and got them promoted to the 2nd. I sent Con a copy of his article and reminded him of his statement after Ireland qualified for Euro 88. I didn't get a response ;) I still have that article. It was written after we lost at home to Wales in Charlton's first game in charge. Some quotes:

"I am tempted to sell my property in Spain and give the proceeds to the FAI to pay off the Manager whom they should never have appointed".

"We have the talent. What we need is a manager"

"As I forecast exclusively - big deal - Jack is no giant killer".

"Midfield is a problem. Paul McGrath isn't happy there"

"Newcomer Ray Houghton did fairly well but he is no Liam Brady".

"Will Whelan ever mature sufficiently to become our midfield general?"

March 27 1986. I really enjoyed Con as a writer. One of the best but I knew in my heart that wur Jack would be the man so I kept the article

A modern day comparison would be the appointment of someone like Paul Jewell over Trappatoni.

The appointment process of Jack was a bit bizarre to say the least. Bob Paisley was very much a front runner for the job at the time and obviously had far better credentials, so I could understand if there was a little negativity from the press and fans towards Jack in the early days.

[gspain]

There was a banner on the south terrace in the early days most likely the Uruguay game "Union Jack Go Back" - wonder if those guys are still around. Up there with the one in Old Trafford in 1990 "Four years of excuses Ferguson and we're still ****e".

[tetsujin1979]

There was a banner on the south terrace in the early days most likely the Uruguay game "Union Jack Go Back" - wonder if those guys are still around. Up there with the one in Old Trafford in 1990 "Four years of excuses Ferguson and we're still ****e".
Remember seeing some of them at the Wales game (Jack's first in charge) as well "go home Union Jack"
its in the Reelin' in the Years episode that covers that year

[Wolfie]

There was a banner on the south terrace in the early days most likely the Uruguay game "Union Jack Go Back" - wonder if those guys are still around. .

They tended to surface at games at the first sight of a wobble.

Fast forward to 1993. Ireland v Spain. We win the game we qualify for our 2nd World Cup on the bounce.

You'll remember Spain took a 3 nil lead within 25 minutes.

A geezer beside me on the South Buckets said "Its all down to that giraffe neck Brit. He shouldn't be in charge of the team".