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A look forward to the forthcoming World Cup. Part One of Two.
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00:00.
00:30The Lord is the Son of God,
00:36and He is the Son of God.
00:43The Lord is the Son of God,
00:50and He is the Son of God.
01:07Rude, let's start with you picking out for us your four favourites,
01:11and maybe a couple of dark horses.
01:15I think it's always difficult to say,
01:17but I think that Argentina will be a very good team.
01:22I think the Italians will also be there.
01:26They are real tournament players.
01:29The Brazilians, of course.
01:32And I have a little bit of a doubt between all the Germans or France,
01:37but I think that France, because of the home advantage,
01:43I think they will be there.
01:45Well, stay with France, Rude.
01:48The home country, the home soil, as it were.
01:50Just enlarge a little bit on France and their possibilities.
01:54France is technically very good,
01:57but their main problem is to score goals.
02:00And if you see already this moment in the papers,
02:03they are screaming about,
02:04OK, we go and we can play, but we can't score goals.
02:08So that will be their main difficulty.
02:11Trezeguet, is he the man that they are looking to?
02:13They are looking for everyone.
02:14And I saw some interviews with the French players,
02:17and they said also, like, whoever is going to play that doesn't care,
02:21you know, as long as he scores goals.
02:23So they don't have really faith in any striker they have.
02:26And Brazil, or another of your teams,
02:29is it just simply because of everything that they try to do
02:32and the way they play their football?
02:34I think it's a football that everybody enjoys.
02:37Football has to be fun, football has to be technical,
02:42a lot of things happening, a lot of things like,
02:45oh, or, oh, you know, like, that is football all about.
02:50If it's too clinical, you know, people don't like that.
02:53Maybe you can remember the goal that Carlos scored against France,
03:00you know, with his left foot, free kick.
03:01Roberto Carlos.
03:03Because, you know, this was impossible,
03:05and everybody was like, what's happening here?
03:07And that is something that people like to see.
03:10So even though they, even though maybe they're not playing so well,
03:15everybody hopes that they will come to the final,
03:17just because in the way they interpret their football.
03:20Argentina.
03:21Why have we gone for Argentina?
03:23It's very tough to beat them,
03:24because they have this defensive mind on all the time.
03:28So scoring goals against them is not very, very easy.
03:31So I think they're going to have a good chance,
03:34and they played very well also at the MaracanĂ£ Stadium in Brazil.
03:38I was going to say, they beat the world champions.
03:40They beat also the world champions,
03:41so it's very hard to beat them.
03:43So you've enlarged upon Brazil, on Argentina,
03:47and on the host country, France,
03:48so that leaves just Italy.
03:50Italy is a typical tournament player.
03:55They can focus themselves on every game.
03:59It doesn't matter to them if you play beautiful or bad.
04:03The result for them is holy, you know, like a holy thing.
04:07So they can just go for it.
04:08There's also an amount of pressure behind them,
04:11because of the press and the country,
04:13because they think they play the best football in Italy.
04:16So they have to perform, and the players know that.
04:21So I think that because of that pressure,
04:23they will have a good chance to come in the finals.
04:27Who are the personalities we should be looking forward to
04:30in the 16th World Cup finals?
04:32It's very difficult.
04:34But of course, Ronaldo is, you know,
04:36everybody is looking for him.
04:37I hope he can do the business,
04:38because it's only good for football.
04:41I remember a game, it was a friendly game,
04:43a month ago, two months ago, against Germany.
04:46I had to laugh, because I was looking at the German channels,
04:50and I just wanted to hear the comment of the German commentator.
04:55And he said about him, he said, it's incredible.
04:59You know, the one who was defending him,
05:01he had him in his pocket for 89 minutes in his pocket,
05:06and one moment, and he was there.
05:08And they couldn't believe it.
05:10And that is exactly where, you know, the danger of these players.
05:15Where are the great assets of Zinedine Zidane?
05:19I think he's very mobile,
05:23and he can switch very quickly from left to right,
05:28and turn around from players.
05:30And he always has the ball on the right spot.
05:33So when you turn, one touch,
05:34he can play the ball immediately up front.
05:37That gives people who make runs time.
05:42You know, he gives, it's so easy to turn around,
05:46and then he gives these passes well in.
05:48And of course, himself, he can score all of those.
05:51But that is something that imagination you need on midfield.
05:57Players work hard.
05:58They have one player who can give that killer ball on the right spot.
06:02Who is going to beat who in the final?
06:07Okay, then I have to put Holland in there.
06:10Holland in the final.
06:11Yes, of course.
06:13The third time.
06:13It's been twice before, hasn't it?
06:1574 defeat against Germany.
06:1778 defeat against Argentina.
06:19You know, it's my country.
06:21And also the way they impressed me a lot during the preparation.
06:26It doesn't say much.
06:28That's why I didn't put them in the, you know,
06:30in the four that were battling for the World Cup.
06:33But they are my dark horse, so I just put them in the final.
06:37And I think it's going to be Brazil.
06:43But Holland to beat Brazil, really?
06:45Yes, of course.
06:46That's what I hope.
06:47I don't know if it's realistic.
06:51But I think only for football, you know, if the way the Dutch interpretate football
06:58and how the Brazilians interpret football, it's going to be a hell of a match then.
07:03Because there's two teams who like to attack, who like to show themselves.
07:09And not one team is defensively, you know.
07:12It's our character.
07:14It's the way football should be played.
07:16Yeah.
07:17It depends on you.
07:18You can always find a mixture in it.
07:20Of course, the defensive part is also very important.
07:23But we think that the attack is the best defense.
07:26That's our way of thinking.
07:28And then the Brazilians, in a way how they interpret their football,
07:32it would be a nice final for me.
07:34I don't think that the English would be very happy with it.
07:37But you would ask my opinion.
07:41And we got it, didn't we?
07:43Kevin, what about our host, the French?
07:45Yeah, I like the chances of the French.
07:47They're playing at home.
07:48Last few World Cups, I mean, coming from England.
07:51England won it in 66.
07:52We've had the Germans win it when it was in Germany.
07:55Argentina have won it in Argentina.
07:56So it is getting quite an advantage.
07:58But they've got some great players.
07:59If they find a goal scorer, someone who can knock the goals in for them,
08:03they'll be a real threat because they've got good midfield players.
08:06Zidane, possibly the best in the world at the moment, certainly in Europe.
08:09And defensive-wise, they've got a wealth of good defenders.
08:13Absolute glut of them.
08:14John Zidane plays his football in Italy.
08:16How about the runners-up last time round?
08:18Well, you know what you're going to get from the Italians.
08:20You'll get strength, determination, discipline.
08:22I don't think they'll play particularly well, but they'll get there.
08:25Because the Italian mentality is, we'll get there by any means necessary.
08:28So I can see them doing very well.
08:30I don't think they'll really score enough goals to take them past the semi-final.
08:34But, you know, they'll get there.
08:36The Germans have a wonderful overall record in the World Cup.
08:39Alex, what do you expect them to do this time round?
08:41Well, it's surprising to bring back Matthias, but, you know, they do it all the time.
08:45Bit long in the tooth, isn't it?
08:46Yeah.
08:48Incredible experience on the side.
08:50I don't think they'll do this time, but you can't dismiss them.
08:53Because they're discipline, they're will to win.
08:55They're Germans.
08:56You know the way they think about that?
08:58It gives them a chance, but I don't think they'll win it.
09:01How about the Dutch and Kevin Rudd fancy them to go a very, very long way?
09:05Do you?
09:05I agree with Alex about the Germans.
09:08I think this is the least chance they've got in the last few years.
09:10The Dutch are very, very strong individually.
09:13Terrific set of individual players.
09:16Proven, top-class players all over the world.
09:19Won things.
09:19But they always seem to self-destruct.
09:22If they can avoid that this year, if they can get Bergkamp fit,
09:24who's had that fantastic season back in our league.
09:27Yeah, every chance.
09:28You know, you've got to make a really good case for them.
09:30John Barnes, you've got a little feeling for Argentina, haven't you?
09:32Yeah.
09:33I mean, I've said I think Brazil will win, but I think Argentina will push them all the way.
09:36Because in the past, they've always had a Maradona, a Kempes,
09:40and then the rest of them are like journeymen from Argentina.
09:42But the team they have out there now are all experienced players.
09:46All playing in Italy or Spain.
09:47You know, they've got Ortega in Spain.
09:49They've got Veron.
09:50They've got Chamot, Almeida, Nesta.
09:52They've got wonderful players.
09:53Nesta Sencini, that is.
09:54And, you know, they beat Brazil in Brazil.
09:56And they've probably had the best preparation in terms of performances and results.
10:01They beat Yugoslavia at home.
10:02We're a good side.
10:03So they've probably had the best preparation in terms of results coming into the World Cup.
10:06How about those Spaniards, Alex?
10:07I agree with John.
10:09I think Argentina are a big threat.
10:10Really?
10:11Spain, like Kevin was saying about goal scoring, you know, you do need a goal scorer.
10:15And Spain don't have an out-and-out goal scorer.
10:17But they have some excellent players.
10:18You know, Ferrer, Sergio, Hero, who did a fantastic good player.
10:23What a game he had in the final.
10:25Yeah.
10:25Nadal.
10:25The European final.
10:26Louis Enrique.
10:27Raul up front.
10:28So, they will...
10:30The unfortunate thing for Spain is that they're a difficult section.
10:34Very difficult.
10:35And anyone can get knocked out in that section.
10:37But if they get through, they'll have a good tournament.
10:39I'm sure.
10:39Right.
10:39Well, let's nail you all, shall we, for the line-up at...
10:43Well, around the corner from here.
10:44A bit down the road at the start of France.
10:45July 12th.
10:46The World Cup final, 98.
10:47John, who do you think?
10:48Well, I think if it wasn't in Europe, I would have gone for Brazil-Argentina.
10:53But I don't think we could have two South American teams in the final.
10:55So, I'm going to go for Brazil and Holland.
10:59Okay.
10:59A la Ruud Hullit.
11:00Kevin?
11:01I'm going to go for France and Brazil.
11:05Simple as that.
11:06And, Alex, give us your two to go all the way.
11:10Argentina-France.
11:11Home team.
11:13And to win it?
11:14Always get there.
11:15Argentina.
11:17France.
11:18Brazil.
11:19Okay.
11:19Well, we will see.
11:27Football shapes the Brazilian soul.
11:30Triumph is demanded.
11:32Forty years ago, Pelé began it.
11:34Ronaldo, their latest icon, is expected to continue it.
11:38Behind him, the most naturally gifted group in the championship.
11:40And among them, old thunder thighs.
11:51For me, Ronaldo, Del Piero, Raul, and the left side, Roberto Carlos.
12:01Roberto Carlos' part in helping Real Madrid to end their 32-year struggle to win again the European Cup has
12:08been considerable.
12:09But for Brazilians, it's the national team which matters most.
12:12Muchos dicen que Brasil es el nĂºmero uno del mundo.
12:14Creo que es importante demostrar en campo que somos fuertes.
12:18Y Brasil, por haber ganado el Ăºltimo Mundial, tiene una fuerza muy grande.
12:23Tenemos muchĂsimo respeto a las otras selecciones, pero esperamos serpenta campeĂ³n y,
12:28nuevamente, dar una alegrĂa mĂ¡s a la aficiĂ³n de Brasil.
12:30With the Triswell Footballer of the Year, the name most on their lips.
12:40Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars
12:47Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars
12:53In other words, hold my hand
13:01In other words, darling, kiss me
13:08Requisitado a todo instante para entrevista, para filmes, para comerciais.
13:13E isso pode fazer, muitas vezes, levar a um desgaste.
13:17Que ele esqueça da condiĂ§Ă£o profissional,
13:20a condiĂ§Ă£o atlĂ©tica, a condiĂ§Ă£o fĂsica que Ă© precisa.
13:23Yet fame seems to have travelled easily with Ronaldo,
13:27who was a goofy 17-year-old reserve four years ago.
13:30Knew what would be expected the next time around.
13:42Forward by Foster Curta. Oh, he's got Zola in here.
13:45That's a Raghi square. And Zola!
13:47Who would have thought it?
13:49The goals which beat England at Wembley and Russia in the playoff
13:53took Italy but not the scorers to the finals.
13:57Gianfranco Zola and Pierluigi Casiraghi will be but spectators in need of consoling.
14:02So for the first game will be the much vaunted Alessandro Del Piero,
14:06out with a pulled abductor muscle.
14:09And suddenly one of the two surprise choices when the squad met up in Florence
14:13looks sure to play.
14:15Giuseppe Bergami, a winner of 82, accepts his role in the shadows.
14:18But the limelight beckons for Roberto Baggio.
14:30The man who had the last kick of 94, a penalty which flew over the crossbar,
14:36owes his late recall to his best season tally ever.
14:3822 goals for Bologna.
15:01Above all others, Italy is a nation which most prizes the family.
15:07So what Bryce, the Maldinis?
15:14As I said, this is a team that has a mix of young people with expert people.
15:19The fact that having a expert people like Roberto Baggio
15:23does not have any pleasure.
15:25He will surely not suffer the pressure of the world,
15:30because the pressure has always been in his career.
15:57The Germans always seem to get it right.
16:00The Germans always seem to get it right.
16:04Oliver Bierhoff has settled Euro 96.
16:09At the celebrations, JĂ¼rgen Klinsmann and company cheekily borrowed the song.
16:15But who could deny the truth of the sentiment?
16:19Bertie Volks, the manager, and Klinsmann remain in tandem.
16:23The squad is experienced if aging, and they know what it takes.
16:27Oh, they are always the highest expectations and the most pressure.
16:30So we know exactly if we fail, if we lose maybe in the quarter-final,
16:35even semi-final, we will get a lot of stick in our home country.
16:40But that's the way it is because of the tradition Germany has,
16:46you know, in all the tournaments since many years.
16:48So you have to live with these expectations and we can cope with it.
16:54Klinsmann, now a member of the 100-cap club,
16:57if not what he was, can still rise to the occasion.
17:04Andreas Muller and Thomas Hessler are still around throughout the craft.
17:11The difference for Bierhoff is that he's now first choice.
17:15A fine season with Udinese, which won him a money-spinning transfer to Milan,
17:19has made sure of that.
17:22But how will Lothar Matthias fit in?
17:25The captain of the 1990 winners, a man who first played in the finals 16 years ago.
17:30There is no star, but you win and lose together.
17:34And if the team has success,
17:36then it will certainly be the one or the other one,
17:38who may be able to get more out of the public.
17:41That's normal, but I think that the success is important.
17:57They've won it twice before, but not in Europe.
18:00One man believes Argentina can change that.
18:05The most important thing is that Argentina,
18:09wherever it is,
18:10it will always be a country that has a lot of attraction,
18:15a lot of football.
18:16If things are good, if things are good, if things are good.
18:18But Argentina, I think, always works in the sense
18:23that they practice a lot in the world of South American football.
18:34The latter day Kempis is Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina's record goalscorer.
18:39But maybe the most glittering Argentine talent post-Maradona
18:43is his successor at number 10, Ariel Ortega,
18:46who played in more of Argentina's qualifying matches than anybody else,
18:50and scuppered the Republic of Ireland with that majestic goal in Dublin.
18:54My personal hopes are, of course,
19:00to play the final of the world,
19:01in the 98,
19:02to win it,
19:05and to go out of the team,
19:07and try to feel that it makes a difference.
19:13To beat Brazil is always a supreme moment for Argentina,
19:17even if it's a friendly.
19:18That goal by Claudio Lopez,
19:20a colleague of Ortega at Valencia,
19:22beat the world champions in Rio in April,
19:25and thrilled the Argentine coach
19:26and former World Cup winning captain,
19:28Daniel Passarella.
19:30He's had his best results
19:31when he's fielded his exiles from Spain and Italy,
19:34Javier Zanetti of Inter Milan, for example,
19:36whose goal helped win the UEFA Cup.
19:40And what a goal!
19:42Javier Zanetti with an absolute rocket!
20:12Unlike Argentina,
20:14Holland have never won the World Cup,
20:15despite having twice been beaten finalists.
20:18Our story in tournaments is always
20:20that we've got a lot of quality,
20:21but we don't seem to show it,
20:24so hopefully this year will be different.
20:28If Holland's supremely comfortable qualification is any guide,
20:32the class of 98 bears some resemblance
20:34to the quality of the Cruyff contingent in the 70s.
20:38But the modern group have a wider conception
20:40of playing outside their own country.
20:43Dutch influence in Arsenal's double, for instance.
20:45We have a very good squad.
20:47When you look at the players,
20:49they're all playing in Europe,
20:51with really top clubs,
20:55like Barcelona, Madrid, Milan,
21:00Dennis and myself at Arsenal.
21:02So, we've got a very good team.
21:05Edgar Davids of Juventus,
21:07sent home for indiscipline in Euro 96,
21:10is back in the fold,
21:11despite recurring question marks over his temperament.
21:15You could say much the same about Patrick Kluivert,
21:17who also plays in Serie A for AC Milan.
21:20At 21, he still has the world scene to conquer.
21:24And Clarence Seydorf has had a spectacular season
21:27with Real Madrid,
21:29culminating in winning the European Cup.
21:31Now, he turns his attention to Holland's affairs.
21:35I think the most important thing is the team sport,
21:37the team mind,
21:38and I think if we can manage staying together,
21:42thinking together,
21:44then we can do a lot of things
21:45with the qualities we have individually.
21:47Which side of the Dutch character will emerge in France?
21:50Coach Guz Hiddink seems prepared,
21:51positive, but realistic.
21:54I'm proud of my squad.
21:55We have a good squad,
21:57with a very good attitude.
22:00But I can't give...
22:02I'm not God.
22:03I can't give any assurance so far to reach,
22:06but we are very ambitious.
22:19Spain's Javier Clemente was the most successful coach
22:22between World Cups.
22:24His team were unbeaten for 31 matches,
22:26save for a penalty shootout,
22:28but now have to shed the label
22:29of perennial quarter-finalists.
22:32The majority of those players are coming
22:34with much more experience,
22:35with much more wills,
22:36for some of them,
22:38maybe it's the last World Cup,
22:39and with...
22:41between the veterinary and the youth,
22:43which is a mixture of the selection,
22:46I think we can aspire to great things.
22:5036-year-old goalkeeper Andoni Zubi Zaretta
22:53is facing his fourth World Cup.
22:56Luis Enrique of Barcelona
22:58provides flair from midfield.
23:02From Real Madrid comes the versatile
23:03colossus Fernando Hierro.
23:06Another Fernando,
23:0722-year-old Morientes,
23:09scored twice on his debut against Sweden.
23:13And then there's RaĂºl himself.
23:16He celebrates his 21st birthday,
23:18the day the knockout phase of the World Cup starts.
23:21It's then that Spain and RaĂºl
23:22need to live up to their reputation.
23:25One happy omen for the youngster,
23:27the last time a major tournament was held in France,
23:29the European Championships in 84,
23:31Spain reached the final.
23:34We're going to fight for it,
23:35although a World Cup is difficult.
23:37There are always great teams in Brazil,
23:40Argentina, France, Italy, Inglaterra.
23:44We all aspire to get it.
23:46It will only be the one who wins.
23:50So, can Spain rid themselves
23:52of that great pretender's tag,
23:54or will they again flatter to deceive?
23:58Alan, let's take it.
24:15Six years ago, South Africa didn't have an international football team,
24:19but now Bofana Bofana, Zulu for the boys,
24:22are the talk of the country.
24:24Until recently, they had a hard-working manager
24:26by the name of Clive Barker.
24:28When he fell to earth, Jomo Sono guided them
24:31to the African Nations Cup final.
24:33But the chosen man to lead them in France
24:34is a Frenchman, Philippe Troussier.
24:37Appointed in March, he's had most of his players on the march ever since.
24:41A harsh training regime hasn't gone down well,
24:43financial disputes have surfaced,
24:45so Troussier's job, in the eyes of his captain at least,
24:48is to restore unity.
24:50Philippe, I think he was one of the good coaches
24:54that we lost in South Africa.
24:59Because when I still played,
25:02he was my coach,
25:03and I know how hard he is.
25:04He's very, very strict,
25:05and I think that's where the problems come in
25:08with the South African players.
25:10But I think, you know, when time goes on,
25:14they'll get used to him,
25:15and everything will work well with them.
25:18Radheby played in South Africa's first fixture,
25:21and has become a fixture.
25:23Alongside him, Mark Fish,
25:24as big a star as South African football has produced.
25:27They stop the goals.
25:29Leading the line that scores them
25:30is a former Leeds player, Phil Messinga.
25:32But as with most of his colleagues,
25:34his reputation has yet to be supported
25:36by performances on the world stage.
25:38It's gonna be hard.
25:40You know, of course,
25:41each and every team that is qualified,
25:44it's a brilliant team.
25:45And they're great players, great talent.
25:47And I think for us as first-timers,
25:50it's gonna be very hard,
25:51and it's gonna be challenging.
25:53But it's good for us to go there and impress,
25:56and show that we can compete
25:58with the world's best European teams.
26:01And I think we can just do that.
26:03Central to that will be Benny McCarthy of Ajax.
26:06He scored four times in 12 minutes against Namibia,
26:09and is every South African's favorite son.
26:11All the players that will be involved,
26:14they will have their families watching.
26:16And we've got the whole country in our shoulders.
26:19And I mean, you can imagine how,
26:21if we leave that trophy,
26:23it will be Christmas every day in South Africa.
26:33The land of the rising sun is the land of rampant ambition.
26:36Four years hence, Japan will co-host the World Cup,
26:39so it was crucial they should qualify for this one.
26:41World Cup in Japan!
26:44In Japan!
26:47The development of the national team
26:49has been underpinned by the creation of the J-League,
26:52Japanese and geriatric
26:54when it comes to acquiring some foreign players.
26:56But the Japan squad now in France
26:59is more youthful and totally home-based.
27:04They've played 15 qualifying matches to reach this stage,
27:08culminating in a play-off victory over Iran,
27:10clinched with a golden goal.
27:12But who'll score the goals,
27:14all of which would be treated as golden,
27:16in the finals?
27:29Around the various training camps in France this evening,
27:32every country will have a young player wondering
27:34whether this competition will be his big stage.
27:36Japan are no different.
27:39What is soccer in Japan is not a sport,
27:41but I don't think it's impossible for the world.
27:45But it's impossible for the world to win.
27:49I think it's sometimes difficult to consider
27:49if the world's best for the world,
27:50but I think it's really difficult.
27:51As I said previously,
27:52that it's more willing to win,
27:53I think it's more than the goal
27:55than I am making most of the goals.
27:59In the end I think it's more important.
28:09He's just a swing of the right boot away from a place in a Japanese Hall of Fame.
28:14A quiet, understated sort of a place where people keep their feelings to themselves.
28:26If any team risks being burnt out before they set foot on French turf,
28:30it's surely the Jamaicans.
28:32They played more qualifying games than any other team
28:34and then embarked on a frantic schedule of warm-up matches, 25 in all.
28:41As a result, the reggae boys' fame has spread far and wide.
28:45The island has never known anything quite like this,
28:47nor have some of the players, even those based in Portsmouth.
28:51Throughout the years, you know, the Caribbean's been known for its cricket team as such,
28:55and they've done exceptionally well.
28:58But now cricket's secondary in Jamaica,
29:00because the team itself is a personal thing instead of a collective island thing.
29:05So it's something for them to cling on to.
29:07They've taken it dear to their hearts over there,
29:10and they're just expressing it in the only way they know how to.
29:13Simpson was recruited well before the boys went big time.
29:16So too was Paul Hall, a pompy team-mate,
29:19and both have learnt from the promptings of someone who knows what's required.
29:22Alan Ball, I mean, my manager at Portsmouth, he's briefed me,
29:27because as you know, he's a World Cup winner,
29:28and he's told me to take in every minute of the World Cup and enjoy it.
29:33I mean, I don't want to go to the World Cup thinking,
29:35well, I went and that was it, you know, I'm not going there to make the numbers up.
29:39I'm personally going there to try and make a name, you know,
29:42and do something and enjoy it first and foremost.
29:45To attend a Jamaican game will be like partying in the streets of Kingston.
29:50Theirs will be a refreshing presence
29:51among the more sombre faces of those with greater expectations.
30:04So will the three lions roar?
30:07How will Glen Hoddle's England fur?
30:09No stone has been left unturned in regards to preparation,
30:12but the ripples and the stone the England coach threw in the water
30:15by excluding Paul Gascoigne from his squad are still being felt.
30:22In the absence of Paul Gascoigne,
30:24are there players now like David Beckham, Paul Skoll,
30:26Steve McManaman, Darren Anderton and others
30:28that now have to show creativity that England don't have with Gascoigne there?
30:34Well, I'm not sure we'd have had him.
30:36That's the point.
30:37I don't think we'd have had that creativity, not the very top.
30:40With the state that he was in, the position he was in with his fitness
30:43and that is the crux of it all.
30:46We've got to remind ourselves that a Paul Gascoigne,
30:48a fit Paul Gascoigne of, say, Rome, when he was playing in Rome,
30:52would have been there.
30:53And we would undoubtedly, I as a coach, will miss that.
30:56And the squad will miss that.
30:57And the country will miss that.
30:58But I don't think we ever had that.
31:00You can't go into a World Cup with a risk factor.
31:03Argentina winning to 94 with a risk with Maradona.
31:06The genius that he was, but it slapped them back in their face, really, virtually.
31:11You have players in your squad that have taken a long, hard look at their lifestyle and changed.
31:15Does Paul Gascoigne need to do that now?
31:17I think he does, yeah.
31:18I think there's a couple of examples, if you like, without going into details,
31:21where I think he needs to have a little look at how people have turned their,
31:25one, their life around, and two, their football careers around.
31:29And it's a great example and it's one that I think Paul should look at
31:33because that door's not been closed by me.
31:37We'll say the burning question before we get to this World Cup.
31:40What do you think of footballers in sarongs?
31:45Yeah, we'll have to get him a sponsored one, I suppose, in the right colours.
31:50Because, yeah, well, young David's young.
31:53Perhaps I wore a few things that I shouldn't have worn when I was younger as well.
31:58But the one thing, that's not going to hurt him physically or mentally.
32:10As for nights on the town, with a line drawn under the controversy
32:13over Teddy Sheringham's Portuguese soiree,
32:16Glenn Hoddle and his cast, plus partners,
32:18with a talk of the town on Saturday night.
32:27For the next couple of weeks and more, it's hoped,
32:31England players won't be able to sneeze without a camera clicking
32:34or someone analysing the significance of the said sneeze.
32:37But as the expectation grows,
32:40the body and fashion language revealed a relaxed mood and atmosphere.
32:55And on the fashion front,
32:57David Beckham decide that against the sarong,
33:00the crowd were more interested who else was in the limo.
33:04The squad are constantly rehearsing.
33:06The heart of the Euro 96 team,
33:08Seaman, Adams, Ince and Shearer,
33:10will form the backbone for France 98.
33:12I think we've got a spine through our team as good as anyone
33:16going into that tournament.
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