Twenty one years ago I watched Fulham’s hapless players trudge off the pitch at their wonderful old Craven Cottage ground having been knocked out of the FA Cup by Colchester United, the bottom club of the entire league.
It was dismal. I was a cold (and wet behind the ears) junior reporter and the club were so broke that a regular feature at matches were buckets passed around supporters! (for cash to keep the club going, though the poor quality of football did made you feel queasy).
How the supporters who were there then – and there must be some of them – richly deserve their night in the spotlight. 4-1 against Juventus. FOUR-ONE aganst Juventus. It doesn’t matter whether it was the Europa League, Champions League or Mickey Mouse Cup, the scenes of unbridled joy amongst those supporters at the final whistle were uplifting and memorable – even a TV “cutaway” of Hugh Grant couldn’t spoil it!
The players were magnificent to a man – Clint Dempsey’s winning goal was worthy of a night of analysis.
Was he trying to cross it to the far post? Who cares? It reminded me how England should watch out when they play the USA in their opening game but the best thing – the disbelieving faces of the Fulham fans behind the goal when they realize it’s going in AND THEY ARE REALLY GOING TO BEAT ONE OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST CLUBS!
But this triumph was orchestrated by two men. Mohammed Al Fayed, who has now owned Fulham for 13 years, has given the club some memories they will never forget. The cynics, and there will always be plenty around his involvement in football, should think about how other Chairmen are getting on with balancing the books and making an impact on the Premier League. What a boost for the league this is by the way.
And the other is the man Al-Fayed brought to the club two years ago – Roy Hodgson. Would Al-Fayed swap him with any other coach in the world? Of course not.
He has quietly performed miracles in south west London, overseeing one of the greatest escapes (from relegation) since Charles Bronson (from the Germans) in The Great Escape.
English managers don’t win major trophies with English clubs any more – but Hodgson is no ordinary manager. His CV, 34 years of trophies throughout Scandaniavia, Inter Milan, to Udinese and the Middle East and back to England, is mightily impressive. But this was the 62-year old’s finest hour.
I met him when he brought the Swiss national team for a friendly against England shortly before Euro ’96.
As I watched him coaching the players, commanding their respect with his knowledge and quiet clarity, the fog rolled in across St Albans and ended the session early. Last night the fog cleared and this Englishman who can’t roll his rs was proven beyond doubt to be that rarest of things – a successful English football coach in the 21st Century.
It’s fair to say that a double dream didn’t occupy Philip Lowry’s mind when he was fighting for Institute.
As is traditional, the World Cup trophy is making a one month long tour of the host nation.
FIFA World Cup is awarded to the winning team from the international soccer tournament. It has been awarded every 4 years since 1930. The tournament’s final phase, often called the World Cup Finals, is the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final.
NICK BARMBY picked up five 
Having won six 