A world cup miscellany

"They are absolutely amazing. Their songs are incredible. I have been listening to their stuff in my hotel room, on the way to matches and in the dressingroom. We have agreed that if we win the World Cup, we want to fly them over to Argentina for our celebration party. We just need them to name their price."– Lionel Messi on his newly discovered passion – Oasis.

Enough is enough: Ginola to sue Houllier over 1994 slur

THE French might have their minds on current World Cup woes but David Ginola’s thoughts are still firmly fixed on the final act of the unsuccessful 1994 qualifying campaign. Gerard Houllier, then manager of France, has never quite forgiven the former Newcastle and Spurs winger for giving the ball away in the last minute of their qualifier against Bulgaria, the error leading to the concession of a goal that ended French hopes of making it to the finals in the USA.

“He sent an Exocet missile through the heart of French Football,” said Houllier at the time, “he committed a crime against the French team.”

When Houllier spoke about the incident yet again on French television recently Ginola decided he’d had his fill. “In 2010, 17 years after, when I see the same person go on television and talk about this event where they treated me like a criminal for too long a cross, I’m sorry, I find this over the top,” he told L’Equipe. “It’s enough! Until my death they are going to talk to me about this! It affects my personal life, my children, it affects a lot of things, it’s intolerable.”

What’s Ginola going to about it? “I’m so sick of it I have decided to press charges,” he announced.

It should be a heck of a trial.

Do you remember . . . . . . . . . . Ramon Quiroga Arancibia

THE Argentine-born Peruvian goalkeeper who managed a rather unique feat at the 1978 World Cup finals in Argentina. Appropriately nicknamed “El Loco” in Peru, and “Chupete” in Argentina, the colourful character won 40 caps for Peru despite being born in Rosario, Argentina.

He is best remembered for his madcap dash in a game against Poland into the opposing half of the pitch where he promptly fouled Grzegorz Lato, earning him a yellow card: he is the only goalkeeper to suffer that fate at a World Cup finals in the opposing half of the pitch.

There were all sorts of conspiracy theories around when he conceded six goals against the country of his birth, a result that allowed Argentina to pip Brazil and advance on goal difference, although both countries vehemently denied any collusion. He is currently a youth coach with the Peruvian club team Cienciano.

Animal Crackers

CHOLLIMA is the Korean name given to a mythical horse and also happens to be the nickname for the North Korean football team. In translation it means “thousand mile horse” and is often portrayed with wings. There are several such statues to be found in the North Korean capital Pyongyang. Alas, after two defeats out of two, it looks like the Chollima will be galloping home any time soon.

Nan goes bananans: Kaka’s grandmother lets ref have it

IT’S GOOD to see the women in the lives of some of the World Cup’s headline-making protagonists having their say on matters. Kaka’s granny, for example, had some choice words for the referee who sent him off against the Ivory Coast.

“She was happy with the way I played, but sad with the sending off. She launched a bit of a tirade at the referee, I do not want to repeat it,” he blushed.

Raymond Domenech’s mother, meanwhile, was none too impressed with Nicolas Anelka’s rather rude rant, the one that suggested the manager was the son of a “whore”.

“I’d like to meet Mr Anelka and give him a piece of my mind as a mother,” the pensioner told French radio. “It’s distressing to be insulted like that, because he is not just the coach but he is also my son. It’s a double insult to my son and to me as his mother.”

Nicolas? Watch your back.

WORLD CUP MASCOTS NO 5: FRANCE 1998

Ah, memories of happier days for the French when they won the World Cup for the first time, beating Brazil (with a mysteriously unwell Ronaldo in their line-up) 3-0 in the final at the Stade de France. Footix the Cockerel never stopped grinning – well, until Tuesday.

Goodbye not au revoir: French press only too happy to see back of Domenech and co

YOU’D HAVE to assume that Raymond Domenech and his players opted not to browse through the French newspapers over breakfast yesterday morning because, naturally enough, the reading would have been less than pleasant.

“‘And bravo again!” said the headline in Liberation, a slightly less than sincere congratulations to the team for their effort against South Africa. “At last the tragi-comedy is over,” they sighed, adding that “the team who have failed so lamentably only qualified for the finals under the cloud of cheating”. Don’t know what that’s about.

“Thank you and goodbye!” said Le Parisien over a photo of a waving Domenech, while L’Equipe opted for “The end of one world”, a reference to the manager’s final press conference during which he told the media “I come from another world to you.”

“Taking people for fools may be an amusing game, but it is important to know when to stop,” said L’Equipe. “Provocation is a subtle art and without doubt a form of intelligence, except when mixed with arrogance and an attitude of contempt for others.”

“Bye Puppets” was the message from Le Republican Lorrain, while the Catalan paper L’Independant chose “Salut Les Mickeys”. This, apparently, is a play on the title of a kids’ Disney programme, so we take it that they’re suggesting the team fought like, well, mice in South Africa.

On the field, not off it.

One to go: Coaching gong would give Maradona double

ARGENTINA’S manager Diego Maradona will be hoping to emulate the feats of Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer by becoming the third man to play in and then manage a World Cup winning team. Zagallo played in the winning Brazilian teams in 1958 and 1962 before managing the national side to the memorable triumph in 1970 in Mexico.

Maradona wore the captain’s armband in his side’s 1986 success and in South Africa will have the chance to make it a glorious double as player and manager.

The Brazilian coach Dunga also has an opportunity to achieve the aforementioned feat as he captained Brazil to their World Cup triumph in 1994. Not bad for a man, Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri to give him his full name, who received the nickname Dunga from an uncle. Dunga is Portuguese for “Dopey”, his uncle claiming he plumped for it because he thought the Brazilian coach would never grow to any great stature – and so, he named him after one of the seven dwarfs.