Ball watching

Teenage years can be a blur but I can clearly recall that I was definitely excited on 25th June 1978.

It marked the culmination of 4 weeks of frantic activity around the Football World Cup.

I had followed the tournament to a level exceeding obsession.

In a small, surplus school note book I kept a meticulous record of every detail of every game. Rather than wait for the match report in the newspaper of the following day I scribbled down the starting line-ups as they were paused on the TV screen prior to a match.

I wrote down the names of the match officials and at the end of the 90 minutes plus any extra time (in the latter stages) I had compiled a very amateurish report.

Football was my thing. I lived, slept and dreamt it.

In such a fan fervour ,aged 14 , I was totally oblivious to the significance of the competition to the host country of Argentina

At that time it was a military dictatorship and a very troubled one.

A coup in 1976 had seen, in the following years, the incarceration, torture and disappearance of thousands of opponents and dissenters to the regime. It was an opportunity for beleagured leaders to showcase the country to a huge global audience through an unmissable propaganda machine and yet those on the street would state that the beautiful game was the overriding factor in the unifying of a people, if only for the four weeks of the tournament.

The home team, Argentina started quite well with wins against Hungary and France and even a defeat to Italy could not prevent progress to the next league stage. The national emotions associated with oppression and fear were gradually lifting with the growing success of the national squad. Players found themselves in the public eye with every aspect of their lives on and off the pitch under scrutiny.

Round two saw  a win against Poland followed by a tense draw with Brazil. In order to be masters of their own destiny and to get to the final in their half of the draw the last stage game against Peru would have to be a win by at least four clear goals.

In the first few minutes of play Peru had two great chances to dent the aspirations of the host nation. Amidst many conspiracy theories, including talk of a massive grain shipment to Lima albeit never proven, the visitors quickly gave up and Argentina stormed ahead to win 6-0.

It was a tremendous acheivement for the team and in the changing room before the final with Holland there was a visit by the ruling General to well wish and milk the occasion.

Daniel Passarella, the Argentina captain was not a great supporter of the regime and in a well publicised snub to the leadership he shook hands having just emerged from the shower, later admitting that only a few moments earlier he had been washing his genitalia.

This lack of respect was recorded in a glaring stare by the General and his entourage.

In a country where such a show of dissent had been regularly met with violence or a straightforward disappearance Passarella felt surprisingly aggrieved at only receiving a Presidential gift of a cigar box whereas his team mates deemed loyal were inundated with presents and favours.

The pre-match pep talk by manager Menotti was very brief and to the point to the extent of "There's the pitch, you are the best, so show it!".

The Dutch were tough opponents and had been wound up by the late arrival by 5 minutes of the home team to allow the 70,000 crowd to be whipped up into a frenzy. A ticker tape storm erupted from the stands as they emerged from the tunnel but the match was delayed further with the Argentinian bench objecting to a prominent plaster cast on the arm of Rene van de Kerkhof.

A compromise was reached with additional soft bandages.

Kempes, the star striker scored first but celebrations were premature with Holland equalising with only 8 minutes left of full time. Extra time looked inevitable although Rensenbrink for Holland saw a potentially winning strike bounce off the foot of the post.

In extra time Kempes and Bertoni scored and the nation celebrated. Players fell to the ground, elated but exhausted offering up a prayer or acknowledging the crowd. In a pitch invasion spectators grubbed up the grass on the pitch or were seen eating it as though part of a glorious feast.

The party continued into the night and over the following days with millions out on the streets. This was a direct contrast to the days before the tournament when congregations of more than 3 persons were prohibited.