20 Things Everyone Remembers From France ’98

France ’98 never seems to get much love when great World Cups are talked about, even within the confines of its own decade.

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The 10 Most Partridge Moments from Glenn Hoddle’s 1998 World Cup Diary

One thing that was lost in the furore that followed the publication of the England manager’s incendiary World Cup Diary was the picture Hoddle inadvertently paints of himself – that of a man one travel tavern and a toblerone addiction away from being North Norfolk’s premier disc jockey. Here are some particularly Alanesque sections…

The World Cup Diary of Glenn Hoddle, Aged 40 and Three-Quarters

‘You and I have been physically given two hands and two legs and half-decent brains…some people have not been born like that for a reason. The karma is working from another lifetime.’

With those words, Glenn Hoddle consigned his time as England manager to a former life.

Big in Japan: Wenger in the J-League

“He’s a novice. He should keep his opinions to Japanese football.”

The famous welcome Alex Ferguson extended to Arsene Wenger might have been one of his less nuanced attempts at mind games, but it was also an opinion quietly shared by many at the club who’d appointed him back in September 1996.

Wild Goose Chase: The Lars Elstrup Story

If ever a contest was in need of a distraction, it was the dour Danish Supaliga struggle between also-rans Randers and VF Silkeborg in August 2016. Midway through the second half, one hell of a diversion duly arrived when a bald and very much naked middle-aged man sprang onto the turf, bounded athletically round the pitch and entertained spectators with handstands and cartwheels while avoiding the pursuing stewards.

Tico Time: Costa Rica’s Astonishing Italia ’90

No World Cup is complete without its underdog story, and Italia ‘90’s was Cameroon. Theirs was a tale with everything; from their shocking (and hilarious) opening game near-literal scalp of the world champions, to the iconic wiggling of their 38-year-old star turn, Roger Milla, to their history-making feat of becoming the first African side to reach the quarter finals.

The tournament’s other fairytale however, was arguably even more remarkable. Costa Rica might not have gone as far as the Indomitable Lions, but in many ways their road had been longer.

From Russia with Shrugs: The Unholy Union of Millwall and Sergei Yuran

Picture the scene: Paulo Dybala and Claudio Marchisio stride into the Juventus dressing room. Life is sweet in Turin. They’re top of Serie A. They’ve breezed through their Champions League group. Yet the duo are here to say their goodbyes. Arrivederci, Gigi. Adios, Gonzalo. For they have heard the clarion call of the English Championship. And those play-offs won’t win themselves…

Home Too Soon? Hodgson at Blackburn

Exotic. Mysterious. Sexy. Not words you’d readily associate with Roy Hodgson. Indeed, that’s been a big part of Mr Roy’s appeal in recent times. He is English football’s equivalent of a pair of oven gloves or a trip to the garden centre. Familiar. Unremarkable. Safe.

Franck Sauzée: The Last King of Scotland

Tasked with returning Hibernian to the Scottish Premier League in 1998, Alex McCleish apparently thumbed through some early 90s sticker books. He was in search of a statement signing, an experienced yet flashy name to send the message that Easter Road was the place to be, even when hosting Clydebank.

Thrashing Santa, fearing the reaper: Crystal Palace’s Millennium Bug

“Forget about the money and everything else. If we go up, we’ll face 10 months of misery”

Steve Coppell, 1997

 

How did you ring in the Millennium? Did you have a quiet one in with your loved ones, watching the fireworks smug in the knowledge that the end of a century was indeed nothing special? Did you raise a dignified glass to the next 1000 years? Or did you go hell for leather, embarking on a path of debauchery so depraved as to make the video for Smack My Bitch Up look like a Richard Curtis production?