A True Sporting Rivalry

For non-family members.......this post is about a great football rivalry between my family and our cousins, the Lairds. It was started by my father, Desmond Walls, and my uncle, Bobby Laird.We had 5 boys (Dezy, Kevin, Peter, Paddy and myself) as did the Lairds (Bob, Eamonn, Davey, Harry and Brendan).What could be simpler or more innocent than a football match every time these two dynasties got together ? Right !

At the age of 9 I knew that there were only 3 sporting rivalries that really mattered: Dublin against Kerry; Ireland against England; and The Walls against The Lairds.






On a scale of importance The Walls against The Lairds was way out in front. Losing to Kerry or England was awful enough but at least you knew there’d be a chance for revenge within the next 12 months. Losing to the Lairds was pure, raw pain and the worst part was knowing that you probably wouldn’t play them again for another 10 years.





My father wasn’t outmanoeuvred at much but I reckon Bobby Laird had him for breakfast when together they conceived this harebrained scheme all those years ago. “I’ve got a few sons,” said my father, “check with Clare if you want exact numbers…..and you’ve got 5 sons. What could be more natural than a regular match-up with you and me as captains?”



My father knew that his superior fitness and manic drive would ensure a Walls victory 9 times out of 10……and he was right in those early days. But Bobby Laird was clearly a shrewd man. He had foresight. “Those Walls boys have talent” he thought to himself “but there isn’t an honest toiler among them. They all want to be the creative one running the show. Musicians, photographers and feckin’ bloggers the whole lot of them! Give us 10 years and we’ll be walking this match every time.”


Both teams being introduced to President DeValera the day before the 1969 match.

Now my eldest brother, Dezy, never heard Bobby having that thought, but he arrived at a similar conclusion. Unfortunately for us Dezy arrived at this conclusion after the Lairds had beaten us 16 times in a row;

“We used to win the early ones because we were older and our father was younger .... then they found our Achilles heel.” says Dez. “Get the Walls arguing among themselves and you have them. For some reason (once our natural leader was gone) we could never put anyone in charge. If Roy Keane had been a Walls he'd have had to walk out saying anarchy is self defeating.”

If Roy Keane had been a Walls brother-in-law he would have been lucky to get a game….maybe in goal. We used to rope in our brothers-in-law because we knew we weren’t good enough on our own. Ciaran and Joe were quite useful outfield players. Then we’d make them goalie because they were the only ones we could convince. We Walls brothers were far too important to go in goal. The ironic thing is that the Lairds had a brother-in-law called Felix. Now if ever a name earmarked you to play goalie it has to be Felix. You know like, ‘Felix reacted instantly and leapt feline-like to tip over another piledriver from Paddy.’ But I don’t think the Lairds ever put Felix in goal. They were nice to their brothers-in-law.

Can you believe I found a picture of Felix ?? Tx Clare.


By the time I was 9 I was already steeped in the Walls /Laird tradition. I’d never played in a Walls-Lairds game, I’d never even seen one, but I was ready to lay down my young life to help put one over those... those... Clontarfians. Dezy was still hurting from the previous 12 defeats but this time he was determined to right a great wrong. The match was scheduled for February 1977 but Dezy started plotting some 6 months earlier.

Throughout the long winter of 1976/ 77 we would wake early to train on Dollymount Strand, virtually in the shadow of the Laird homestead.  This was a masterstroke on Dezy’s part.  He knew it was only a matter of time before Uncle Bobby decided to walk the dog on the beach at 6.30am on a cold November morning. How Bobby’s heart would sink when he saw this determined group of athletes……Dezy playing in his tweed jacket and nylon slacks, Paddy lighting a fag, John puffing on his inhaler, and David Walls, well, just talking a lot.


'Dezy, why do I always have to get the ball back when it goes in the sea ?

Dezy should perhaps have suspected that all was not well simply by looking at the ages of his beach trainees…15, 13 and 9. The adults… Kevin, Peter and Ciaran… were tucked up in bed. (Actually I think Kevin was in Canada but he was probably still tucked up in bed.)

You’ve probably guessed by now that the Walls didn’t win the match in February 1977. Dezy didn’t quite pull it off. But I’ll tell you what he did do. He gave me one of the great memories of my young life. I was a 9-year old soccer nut and for me that game was more important than the FA Cup Final. I’d never been so nervous or excited about anything. There must have been 100 sisters, cousins and aunties on the sidelines at St Anne’s Park that day. It wasn’t just about the day itself though. It was the 6 months of endless tactical scheming over post-dinner coffee in Carrickbrack House. It was the heated arguments. It was the unheated early morning sessions on Dollymount Strand. It was doing something with your 4 brothers, something that our father had started and we were carrying on.


Snoopy, getting ready to chair the tactics meeting in the kitchen of Carrickbrack House.

At 9 years old it was natural to assume that there’d be many more Lairds games. In fact I can only remember one more, in the summer of 1986 which, much to everyone’s amazement, the Walls lost. It was a good occasion but, in truth, nothing could ever have compared with that first game for me.

So now, please make sure that the Lairds get to read this because there are 2 things I want to say. Firstly, please everybody add your memories to this, especially from the early days when Daddy and Bobby were involved.


The Lairds....still celebrating victory over the Walls after all these years. From left; Marie, Davey, Eamonn and Bob.

And secondly, there must surely be enough soccer-playing grandkids on both sides for us to rekindle this tradition for the next generation? Given the greater numbers on the Walls side, clearly we must have the better team, a team that will win 9 times out of 10...

THE ULTIMATE QUIZ FOR THE ULTIMATE WORLD CUP ANORAK*

*ANORAK: UK disapproving a boring person who is too interested in the details of a hobby and finds it difficult to meet and spend time with other people (Cambridge Dictionaries Online)

This was inspired by a chat I had today with the Head Copywriter at the radio station where I work. She has been asked to come up with 125 World Cup quiz questions for a promotion we’re running next month. My World Cup anorak-ness could barely contain itself as I spluttered; “only 125 ?”

Bobby Moore and Pele 1970

I was only warming up when I enquired if she knew which team captain was arrested en route to defending their World Cup title in 1970. I was starting to hit my stride when I asked her to identify the defender who was so tragically murdered just days after his own goal saw Colombia eliminated from the 1994 World Cup. But I was netting a spectacular winner when I asked her to name the dog who recovered the stolen World Cup trophy in England in 1966.

That fiercely unfocused look she gave me is a look which apprentice World Cup Anoraks often mistake for boredom. How much they have yet to learn !

Fear not World Cup Anoraks, ye are safe here. Neither your name or your score will be made public (Eoin Brennan...6). You will rather retire to your favourite dark corner and ponder on your ranking:

0 - 2 ………You probably have a real life !

3 - 4……….You used to have a real life !

5 - 6……….You know someone who has a real life !

HERE”S THE QUIZ:

1930 – URUGUAY

Over 200 countries entered the 2010 World Cup. Two years of qualifying tournaments reduced that number to 32, the number of countries who will contest the Finals in South Africa, beginning on 11 June 2010. Back in 1930 there was no need for qualifying tournaments. Numerous withdrawals meant that only a small number of countries pitched up in Uruguay to contest the very first World Cup Finals.

The first World Cup Finals, in Uruguay in 1930, was contested by how many teams ?

(a)     8

(b)    18

(c)     13

1934 - ITALY

Uruguay failed to defend their crown in 1934, miffed at the number of European countries who had given them a miss in 1930. Mussolini misused the World Cup in much the same way as Hitler did the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Enough said. Italy won.

Moving on. Here’s the question……the beaten finalists are one of 3 countries who have lost 2 World Cup Finals but never been crowned world champions. The other 2 countries are Hungary and Netherlands. So, who lost the 1934 World Cup Final to Italy (as well as the 1962 Final to Brazil) ?

(a)    France

(b)   Chile

(c)    Czechoslovakia

1938 – France

This time the Italians gave the fascist salute before their Quarter Final game. They went on to win the tournament. The Italians may have won 4 World Cups, but how proud can they really be about the first 2 ?

Vittorio Pozzo and his 2nd World Cup

The question is:

Italy perform well close to home. They have won 4 World Cups and all 4 have been won in Europe. We’ve just learned about the World Cups they won in Italy and France. The other 2 World Cups they won were in;

     (a) Germany and Spain

     (b) Germany and France

(c)    England and Germany

1950 – Brazil

The 1950 World Cup in Brazil was a chaotic affair. Not surprising when you consider that the world was desperately trying to put itself back together after the destruction of World War 2. It was remarkable that the tournament survived. It was even more remarkable that the World Cup trophy survived. I’ve read conflicting reports of who the hero was that kept the trophy out of the clutches of the gold-digging Nazis.

Some say it was Ottorino Barassi, general secretary of the Italian federation (remember, the Italians were holders of the trophy.) Others say it was Jules Rimet himself, the man who came up with concept of the World Cup. What is not in dispute is that the World Cup spent the Second World War hidden under a bed, we’re just not quite sure if it was Otto’s bed or Jules’ bed.

Look what I found under the bed...

FIFA clearly believed that Jules was the saviour as the World Cup trophy was renamed the Jules Rimet trophy prior to the tournament.

Reading old reports of Brazil 1950 gives you a hint of what it is the Eurocentric critics of SA 2010 are afraid of. The 13 teams who played in the 1950 finals had to travel vast distances to play their group matches. Same story for SA 2010…but we might just be ok as we have a couple of jet planes lying around to help speed things up.

Then there were the stadiums. Brazil built the world’s largest stadium, the Maracana, for the 1950 tournament. Well they started building it for the 1950 tournament. They didn’t actually finish building it until everyone had gone home. South Africa has built 5 new stadiums from scratch for 2010. 3 or 4 years ago it was assumed we wouldn’t finish them on time. In the end we had them all ready to go with more time to spare than Germany did in 2006.

Brazil 1950 was also hit by a spate of withdrawals. Turkey and Scotland both withdrew after qualifying. Portugal were offered Scotland’s place but refused. Then France, who had failed to qualify, were offered Turkey’s place. This was the first example of France’s tendency to qualify for World Cups in rather unorthodox circumstances. At least the France of 1950 had the decency to turn down FIFA’s offer, something the French  desperadoes of 2010 could have learned from.

There are a couple of other parallels between Brazil 1950 and SA 2010. Of the 13 countries who played in the 1950 finals, all but 1 will be playing in South Africa. In 1950 Italy were drawn in the same group as Paraguay, Spain the same group as Chile and, most famous of all, England were drawn in the same group as the United States. All of these match-ups will be repeated in June. The England vs USA match in Rustenburg on 12 June will surely summon up the ghost of Larry Gaetjens, the USA striker responsible for, still, the biggest upset in World Cup history…..USA 1 England 0.

USA team which beat England in Belo Horizonte in 1950 World Cup

1950 was the only time in 19 World Cup tournaments where there was no actual World Cup Final. Instead, the 4 group winners advanced to another league format with the country topping that table being crowned World Cup winners.

Whoever at FIFA decided to do without a Final must have spent the rest of their days giving thanks that the concluding league game between Brazil and Uruguay was effectively a Final. It certainly wouldn’t happen in today’s marketing-oriented FIFA. While the Olympic Games may give the World Cup a genuine run for its money as the world’s biggest sporting event, the actual World Cup Final is by far the biggest single sporting event on planet earth. The Olympics has no grand climax, no one moment that the preceding 2 weeks have been building up to.

But every 4 years, on one Sunday, 2 billion people around the world will be doing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. Almost every country on earth enters the World Cup (more than 200). Now, over 90 minutes on one Sunday, 2 billion people will tune in to see the last 2 countries battle it out. It’s the most blindingly brilliant idea, and it’s down to its pure simplicity.

What 2 billion people will be focusing on on Sunday 11 July

Quite how an organisation as bureaucratic as FIFA owns a concept as simple as the World Cup is a great mystery. In fact there’s a strong argument for the phrase ‘FIFA World Cup’ to be reclassified as an oxymoron.

Enough of this gay banter……………here’s the question;

The 1950 World Cup “Final” attracted a world record crowd of

(a)                199 854

(b)               220 042

(c)                179 521

P.S. Uruguay beat Brazil 2-1 in that ‘Final.’ Brazil only needed a draw but got all over-confident when leading 1-0 early in the second half. Brazil had been overwhelming favourites and numerous suicides were reported in Rio that night as a direct result of the outcome of the game.

Uruguay celebrate becoming world champions in 1950. 

1954 – Switzerland

I got quite carried away with Brazil 1950, so we’re going to time manage Switzerland 1954 and ensure an efficient account of the 5^th FIFA World Cup.

In essence, Hungary were head and shoulders above everyone else but got out-manoeuvred by the crafty West Germans, playing in their first World Cup since the end of the war. The Germans had sent out a deliberately weakened team in the group game against the Magnificent Magyars (Hungary). They lost 8-3 but managed to crock Hungary’s star player, Ferenc Puskas in the process. When the same 2 teams met up again in the Final, Germany were at full strength but Puskas was not. The 3-2 victory for West Germany was almost as big a shock as Uruguay beating Brazil 4 years earlier.

Germany celebrate victory in 1954

Very efficient time management John. Well done. Now the question please;

The infamous ‘Battle of Berne” quarter final saw 3 players sent off and a mass dressing room brawl after the game. Which 2 teams were playing ?;

(a)    Hungary and Uruguay

(b)   Brazil and Uruguay

(c)    Hungary and Brazil

1958 – Sweden

Pele blows the world away ! At 17 years old Pele took this World Cup by storm. His Brazil team improved as the tournament went on, scoring 5 against France in the semi-finals and then another 5 against hosts Sweden in the Final. Pele was the youngest player ever to appear in a World Cup Finals until Norman Whiteside of Northern Ireland took that record in Spain 1982.

Attendances had been sparse throughout the tournament but the Swedes picked up their game and started filling the stadiums as their own team progressed all the way to the Final.

Your question;

Sweden 1958 saw a new record for the number of goals in a World Cup final tournament by one player. That record was set by Just Fontaine of France and still stands to this today. Fontaine scored how many goals in Sweden 1958;

(a)    9

(b)   12

(c)    13

Just Fontaine

ANSWERS:

- 1930.........(C) 13

- 1934.........(C) Czechoslovakia

- 1938.........(a) Germany and Spain

- 1950.........(a) 199 854

- 1954.........(c) Hungary and Brazil

- 1958......... (c) 13

Part 2 to follow soon……………

U2, Soweto Gospel Choir and World Cup 2010

Sports broadcaster ESPN has been making use of U2 to promote their coverage of South Africa 2010. Check out the video below as well as the following 2 posts. Great stuff !

Soweto Gospel Choir


Not only that but U2 have now collaborated with the award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir to record music which will be used in a series of inserts on South Africa. These inserts will be broadcast on ESPN throughout the World Cup.

U2 'Streets Have No Name'...Robben Island.....ESPN TV Commercial

Great ad promoting ESPN's coverage of South Africa 2010 World Cup.

U2 'One' and 2006 World Cup

If you're one of those folk who are struggling to understand what all the hype is about....check this out, from Germany 2006.