For England fans, let’s hope we don’t see any tears from Fabio on Wednesday. This rare footage is from Marco Van Basten’s retirement.

Don Fabio gets stuck in to Rene Houseman at the 1974 World Cup and manages to avoid a booking by er standing to attention when spoken to by the ref.

Congratulations to Blackpool on getting to the Premiership. The club that conjures up names like Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortensen and Jimmy Armfield. Ian Holloway could be added to that list.

I have posted parts of this before but now someone has kindly uploaded the whole thing to YouTube.

In 1995 Channel 4 did a one-off fly-on-the-wall documentary that followed Leyton Orient through their disastrous 1994-95 relegation season. Highlights included a nine-match losing streak, a 0% away win record, the collapse of the chairman’s coffee business due to the war in Rwanda and the club finding itself unable to pay the milk bill, with their coach company demanding payment upfront before away trips.

Most memorably of all though was co-manager John Sitton who became the unwitting star of the film with his potty-mouthed tirades and the half-time sacking of defender Terry Howard.

Sadly, Sitton hasn’t worked in football since since but has been a taxi driver, martial arts instructor and now compiles match statistics for results services.

Bring Your Dinner

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Congratulations to Inter on reaching the European Cup final last night. Here’s a quick reminder of the time Jose Mourinho really made his mark on British football by sprinting down the touchline to celebrate with his Porto players against Man United.

In the 89th minute Phil Neville conceded a soft free-kick 25 yards out and when Benni McCarthy’s strike was flapped at by Tim Howard, Costinha smashed home the rebound to make it 3-2 on aggregate to send Porto into the second round and on their way to winning the trophy.

Have you ever wondered what happened to John Gregory?

No, well here he is anyway cooly celebrating his goalkeeper scoring a last minute equaliser for Israeli side Maccabi Ahi Nazareth.

Wouldn’t it be great if Wenger re-grew this marvellous mop over the summer.

A young bomber-jacket wearing Danny Baker reports back from the Den on Millwall’s Division 3 relegation battle at the end of the 82-83 season. George Graham, who looks surprisingly jovial, had recently been appointed as manager and helped them avoid relegation that year before taking them up in 1984–85 to the old second division. But never mind that, just look at some of the knitwear.

Maradona has written an outlandish apology asking for forgiveness from FIFA during the hearing into his postmatch profanity-filled tirade after Argentina’s World Cup qulaification. It’s a good read, almost as good as the outbust itself and is coursety of Jonathon Wilson at the Faster Times:

“Mis amigos, I cannot tell you how splendid it is to be here in Zurich. The mountain air, the sea breezes, the generous banks, the tick tock of your Rolexes, the fine chocolate; I come to you a humble and humbled man. Last month, when I apologized to all the women in the world I knew in my heart of hearts that it was not enough. The men of the world deserve to hear from me too.  But first a word or two in my defense for I have done the state some service, and they know it. When, after the game against Uruguay, I told those scum of the Fourth Estate that they could all suck my cock and keep on sucking it I meant nothing untoward! Nada! In Villa Fiorito, where I grew up, it was simply my grandmother’s way of calling us in to dinner after she had throttled, gutted and cooked one of the local roosters. I am a generous man with a good heart and in Montevideo I had planned a great victory feast for my journalist friends,  roosters donated by local cock-fighting impresarios, cooked on a spit like suckling pig, then skewered for easy sucking.  And in any case in lunfardo a “cock” is actually a great man, a proud and strutting rooster cocksman. The President of Argentina herself would be proud to be called a “cock” even though she doesn’t have one. But I apologize also and especially to her for the shame and disgrace that the misinterpretation of my words and gestures- -for those of you who have seen the Youtube video of the team bus my eyes were wide, my mouth open and my hand moving like that because I was dreaming of swallowing chorizos with red peppers as that is always how I celebrate a victory!  But in any case, gentlemen of Zurich, I ask you, was it not Jesus himself who said “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone?”  Is there one among you who can honestly say that there has never been a time when his chorizo has got the better of him? We have beautiful minds, mis amigos, but treacherous bodies. And the truth is I never left you, through all my wild days, my mad existence, I kept my promise… I’m sorry, the emotion of this occasion has carried me away.  My neutral Swiss friends, some people say you are cowards. I say you are the bravest of men, honest and faithful right up to the end.  If you were horses I would ride you, but in a heterosexual way, the wind in our gaucho faces, tears of remorse streaming down our cheeks. Dark swallows will return, but my ill judged words and gestures, they’ll not come back. Give me one more chance and I promise to remain on the sidelines, silent, absorbed, my chorizo tiny as a Brazilian garrincha inside my tracksuit. Disculpame!”

Here’s Ken Furphy again giving what could be the first ever televised teamtalk as his Watford players prepare for their FA fourth round tie against Manchester United in 1969. Watford were a third division side at the time and Machester United were the European champions but Furphy has got them sussed. Geroge Best – “Lay off him until you’ve got two men covering round the back…. then go and have a bite at him”.  Bobby Charlton – “He’ll be wearing number nine on his back, don’t let him have anything round the box”. And it paid off as they earned themselves a 1-1 draw in front of a record home crowd.  Note the player at the back having a fag.