9 Great Cup Runs

Back in September I had a great day out at the inaugural NYC Footy Governors Cup on Governors Island. It was an all day tournament culminating in some glorious trophy lifts. The day got me thinking about the best cup runs in my living memory. I’m sure I have left plenty of good ones out, but the following spring to mind.

1. Ireland Make It To The World Cup Quarter Final

I am a broken record in these articles talking about Ireland in the 1990 World Cup in Italy. But as it was Ireland's first appearance at a World Cup, not so much was expected from us in the tournament. First we had to get out of a tough group that included The Netherlands (fresh from winning Euro 88), England (who would go on and reach the 1990 World Cup semi finals) and the unknown quantity of Egypt. Not only did we get out of the group, but then overcame Romania in the round of 16, before ultimately getting knocked out by a solitary goal from Italy in the quarter finals in Rome. The team came home to a hero's welcome of 800,000 people on the streets of Dublin. Can you imagine if we won the thing?

2. South Korea Make It To The World Cup Semi Finals in 2002

Pressure is always on for host nations of big tournaments. The same was true of South Korea ahead of the World Cup they jointly hosted with Japan in 2002. But under the management of great Guus Hiddink, the team topped a tough first round group that included Portugal, USA and Poland. The South Koreans then sensationally beat both Spain and Italy in subsequent rounds before losing by just one goal in the semi finals to Germany. Granted the run to the semis was marred in all manner of controversy and suspicious referee decisions. But you can’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.

3. USA Make It To The Quarter Finals in 2002

For me, USAs run to the quarter finals of the World Cup in 2002 is the greatest achievement in US soccer history. It is also one that is strangely forgotten in recent history. Perhaps it's because soccer's popularity in the USA has only really bloomed in subsequent years, and the new fans and media attention that has came with it only have a football memory that goes back so far. Nevertheless, the US came out of a group by gloriously beating Portugal 3-2 and then beating permanent rivals Mexico 2-0 in the last 16. Yes, folks, the US beat Mexico when it really mattered. In the quarter finals, the US got knocked out by just one goal to Germany who would go all the way to the final. USA! USA!

4. Celtic Reach The UEFA Cup Final In 2003

Another personal choice for me. Playing in the Scottish Premier League, little is ever expected from Scottish teams in European competition. But in the 2002-2003 season under the management of the inspiring Martin O’Neill (who also had legendary cup runs with Leicester City), Celtic made it all the way to the UEFA Cup final, only to lose to the then unknown Jose Mourinho's Porto in the final. On the route to the final, Celtic beat both Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool. Both ties were dubbed a ‘Battles of Britain’ with English pundits giving Celtic little chance. I went to a number of games on that famous cup run, and was behind the goal in Anfield when John Hartson scored a screamer that knocked out The Redmen.

5. Ajax Reach The Champions League Semi Final In 2019

Ajax have always been one of Europe's greatest clubs. But sadly, in recent years with TV finances being stacked towards the big leagues in Europe, their power to compete on the biggest stage appears to have diminished over time. That was until last season when an exciting crop of young players took Ajax all the way to the Champions League semis. I could argue that Ajax's run was the biggest surprise in Champions League football since Porto won the competition in 2004. Ajax’s run is made more impressive by the fact the Dutch giants had to overcome three qualification rounds just to get into the competition proper.

6. Denmark Win Euro 1992

Denmark winning the 1992 European Championship was truly a fairytale story. The story is made fully incredible by the fact that Denmark hadn’t even qualified to compete in Euro 92. But, due to the outbreak of war in Yugoslavia a team was needed at the last moment to replace the war torn country. The story goes that many of the Danish players were on their summer holidays when they got the phone call that they were needed to play. The Danes beat France in the group stage, The Netherlands in the semis and Germany in the final.

7. Greece Win Euro 2004

It always upsets me the way the Greek team of 2004 is spoken about. Their glorious win in 2004 coupled with Leicester City winning the Premier League are arguably the two biggest football surprise stories that I can think of. I think the Greek team is thought of unfondly because their whole team were unknown with awkward to pronounce names and also because their football was tough and pragmatic. To put some perspective on Greece’s victory - before the tournament Greece were 150/1 to emerge victorious. Personally, I don’t care how you get the job done, as long as you get the job done.

8. Wigan Win The FA Cup in 2013

Although it’s prestige has been severely diminished in recent years - The FA Cup is still the most famous domestic cup competition in the world. It is also the oldest national football competition in the world. The romance and myth of the competition suggests anyone can win it on their day. But in truth the winners, certainly in my time are the usual suspects - Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and recently Man City. So with that in mind, the most glorious winners by far were Wigan Athletic in 2013. In truth they had a favorable draw to the final which included ties against Bournemouth, Macclesfield, Huddersfield, Everton and Millwall. But they did then have to beat the big spending Manchester City in the final. Despite the glory of winning the cup, Wigan were also relegated from the Premier League in the same season

9. Iceland Reach The Quarter Finals of Euro 2016

With a population of just 330,000 people - Iceland's very qualification for Euro 2016 was considered remarkable. For their first qualification game at home to Turkey, only 7,000 people turned out in the 15,000 capacity national stadium. That was the beginning of an incredible story which captured the hearts and minds of people the world over. Iceland ultimately made it all the way to the quarter finals of Euro 2016. Along with the thunderous Viking Clap, for me the greatest moment of Iceland's story was when they knocked England out, beating them 2-1 in the second round. And this video reaction by former England manager Steve McClaren to Iceland’s 2nd goal is priceless:

If you feel I’ve missed an obvious one, leave a note in the comments…

8 weird, wonderful, and not always real, football grounds

In this week’s video I went to cover some NYC playoffs on the rooftop of Upper 90 in Astoria - a brilliant unique football environment in NYC. It got me thinking of some other unique footy locations. So without further ado, and in no particular order, here are some great alternative places you might find football being played.

1. Indoor Mode In Striker

OK, granted, my first example isn’t even in the real world, but it was too much fun not to mention. Striker is a Super Nintendo soccer video game from the early 90s that me and my friends would play endlessly. The game had a unique mode that allowed you to play indoor. It was certainly unique at the time, and was particularly fun because the ball could bounce off the walls, making the gameplay lightning fast.

2. The Pontiac Silverdome

Speaking of indoor football, the Pontiac Silverdome hosted the first ‘indoor’ game in World Cup history when the USA played Switzerland in the 1994 World Cup. Having a roof over a stadium is now much more common, but in 1994 it felt very unique. In its heyday, the Silverdome hosted all manner of high profile sporting events, but sadly now has been left to crumble. 

3. The Colosseum in the Good v Evil Nike ad

In writing this article, I have just realized hat unique football locations in the world of make believe are more fun. And there are few better companies at coming up with makey uppy football theatres than Nike. In the Good v Evil ad from the last 90s - Eric Cantona, Paolo Maldini and a raft of other superstars take on Satan’s footballers in a far away colosseum where the pitch lines are marked by flames. It’s a classic. 

4. Airport 98 

The next great football location in the Nike cannon is Rio airport which was used for a television ad pre-World Cup 1998 in France. The ad which was directed by legendary action director John Woo features a bored Brazilian national team deciding to have a kick about around the airport. The spot has been described by FourFourTwo as the greatest ad ever. The music really makes it for me. 

5. The Secret Tournament ships hull

The last of the 3 Nike ads that spring to mind was made in advance of the 2002 World Cup. The location - a cage inside a cargo ship’s hull. The commercial was directed by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame and featured a kicking remix of the Elvis track ‘A Little More Conversation.” The track went on to reach No.1 in 20 countries on the back of the ad’s success. It was all a bit convoluted if you ask me, but it stuck in the head.

6. AS Monaco's training field

I was actually going to reference AS Monaco's football stadium, Stade Louis II, which has always stood out to me watching TV as having a unique look and feel to it. But, upon just a couple of minutes research it appears to me that Monaco's training field may be an even greater footy location. Have a look.

7. Estadio Hernando Siles – La Paz, Bolivia

This one on the list is more of a good trivia piece than having any particular resonance with me. Estadiou Hernando Siles in La Paz is always referenced as being one of the highest stadiums in the world at 3,601 metres (11,932 feet) above sea level.  The stadium is so high that Lional Messi got sick on it during a game, and Neymar described the conditions as inhuman while wearing an oxygen mask at the arena.

"Inhuman to play in such conditions. Pitch, altitude, ball... everything bad," he wrote on Instagram.

Did we mention, it’s apparently home to paranormal activity as well?

8. Estadio Nacional, Lisbon

A nostalgic final choice for me. Estadio Nacional in Lisbon in where Glasgow Celtic won the European Cup (Champions League) in 1967. I recently took a pilgrimage to the stadium and had a walk about inside. You can see the video of that adventure above. What is interesting about this Estadio Nacionals characteristics is that it hasn’t really changed much since its look and feel in 1967. The stadium is surrounded beautifully by greenery and is close to the beach. It has a great retro feel to it in an era of soulless modern stadium development.

Estadio Nacional still hosts the Portoguese Cup Final if you are curious. 

That's all folks.