Long-serving Otago Daily
Times soccer writer Rab Smith reflects on his memories of
the 1982 World Cup and considers the prospect of New Zealand
returning to the tournament in 2010.
The Spanish World Cup in 1982 might have been a film written
with a perfect scenario, as the All Whites played Brazil,
Scotland and Russia and were accompanied by what seemed like
all of Dunedin's football fans milling around in Malaga.
You couldn't pass a taverna or a cafe without seeing Barry
van Gorp or Bryan Cunningham or Les Watson.
Soccer administrators, supporters, players and referees all
headed for Spain to support their national team.
After all, All Whites star Steve Wooddin was an Otago import,
and in a warm-up prior to Spain, a huge crowd turned up at
the old Caledonian Ground to watch Wooddin and his team-mates
play against the League of Ireland.
The official Otago touring party to Spain was well organised
by van Gorp, but my mate Mike Richmond and I decided to fly
solo and after reaching London, bought an ancient VW and
backfired our way south to the Iberian Peninsula.
In a typical Spanish welcome, our car was burgled just after
we crossed the border, then there was an educational
interview with La Policia and Guarda Civil who treated us as
if we were the criminals.
Before we were allowed to leave town, we had to report back
with an interpreter, and it would require too many chapters
to describe our helper, an obliging fellow who made a living
driving his speedboat at night to Tangiers, and was always
accompanied by two tough-looking minders.
Minus credit cards, cameras, press accreditation and other
burgled items, Mike and I continued south and met up with the
Otago group, who were living in spartan skyscrapers near
Nerja.
Their vertical concrete village hardly compared with our digs
at Capistrano, a white, classical Spanish hilltop village
that looked ancient but was in fact near new, recently built
by a Canadian entrepreneur.
Capistrano was inhabited by a host of middle-aged,
blue-rinsed British housewives, who could breaststroke in the
superb series of swimming pools without making a ripple.
But when a couple of busloads of Scots football supporters
arrived, and dived in, the ladies vanished, and the kilted
Tartan Army, complete with plastic sombreros, took over.
We happily joined the Scots group at games in Malaga, and
that match between New Zealand and Scotland was a tour
highlight as the All Whites fought back to 3-2 down before
half-time.
Steve Sumner scored, then Wooddin, who said of his goal: "I
was just on the edge of the penalty area, so it must have
been 20 or 21 yards. The keeper got his hand to it, but as
soon as I hit it, I knew it was going in."
In the second half, New Zealand's flags faltered when
Scotland pulled away to a 5-2 win, but at the aftermatch in
pubs all round the ground, both sets of supporters sang their
hearts out until the wee small hours.
It's hard to imagine South Africa generating the same naive,
idyllic atmosphere, and of course this time Scotland will
just be watching the tournament on television.
Comparisons? I can hardly imagine match tickets ever costing
as little as they did in Spain, where you bought a booklet of
entry tickets for a few pesetas, tore out the ticket you
wanted and chucked the rest.
Cheapest tickets for the final in South Africa will
officially cost $US400 ($NZ540), and there are seats
available at $US1000.
Ouch.
Also, while there may be some adventurers thinking of a Land
Rover journey through Africa, it would struggle to match our
VW's route through France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain,
checking out vineyards along the way.
After the 1982 World Cup there were many recriminations that
football in New Zealand did not harness the huge interest
generated.
The simple truth was that although thousands of children
wanted to enrol in clubs, there was simply not the manpower
and finance available to absorb them and maintain the
momentum.
If the All Whites manage to win qualification to South Africa
this weekend, there will be a similar groundswell of budding
Ryan Nelsens wanting to sign up.
The question is whether a large increase can be absorbed into
what is already a code bursting at the seams with keen
youngsters.
Time will tell.
