Added: 4 years ago
From: lordjrw
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  • I am just old enough to remember the 1970 WC in Mexico. Fuzzy TV black and white pictures, coomentary on a poor telephone satellite link.

    Mexico 70 was the best, followed by Spain 1982 and then Italia 90. Nessun Dorma, Gazza are the best memories though! And yes, we should have won!

    Can anyone tell me what the outstanding moment of the last WC in South Africa was? Thought not.

  • beautiful, still painful touching even all these years since. best england side i have seen in my lifetime. we were bad in the opening stages but should have won it.

  • I watched it all in NZ. Yup we got all the English games live over here. In general it was a boring and low scoring world cup. What really made it exciting though was the English team and how they played. I mean, they really played with passion intensity and speed. While Gascoigne was player of the tournament, Des Walker played some great footy. England were unlucky not to do it.

  • golden era of football

  • Stuart pearce :(

  • great song and im 13 i love it wish i was alive when italia 90 was on

  • sadly it was the most boring world cup in history

  • @Roarlover34 you are a KNOB Italia 90 was one of the best world cups ever, Boring ...??? The games against Cameroon and Germany were really boring were't they !!!  You bell end !!

  • @costarobbie

    italia 1990 was the best world cup eva 'from our own eras' no1 should forget that!!!!!

  • ITALIA 90 even the name sounds heroic!

  • last world cup without names on the shirts... last real football world cup in my opinion

  • this is what the internet was invented for SUPERB memories

  • don't get much better than this.......

  • Semi's in 90 & 96...and fuck all since. Come on England, give the nation something to ROAR about!!

  • This makes me even more disappointed Qatar are hosting 2022.

  • You have to appreciate whoever made the big decision to have Pavarotti. At the time football fans were seen as hooligans and the BBC could have gone for something irrelevant but they didn't, they put some effort in and went with class.

  • Three people are assholes.

  • It's amazing how much more slick this opening is when compared to the '86 one.

    '86 was a better world cup - but I have great memories of 1990 too. Crap final - but still some great matches and players.

  • Fantastic, yet bitter sweet memories.

  • Cryuff turn ftw

  • @theMAXILOPEZpsycho Couldn't have put it better myself. Where has it all gone?!

  • Sorry kisbie my bad. Yes you are right. The BBC didn't have it because because FIFA made them have it !!! Sorry again. My bad. But contests to the Italians for making the record and bravo to the Brits for choosing the opening song sung by the official singer for italia90. I would have chosen a Mozart For Italy myself. Sorry my bad and apologies for not giving mr Lynam credit.

  • Actually it was the Italians and Luciano P(rip) that made nessun dorma the theme tune to italia 90. The BBC had nothing to do with it.

    Great tune though.

  • @joeyandmartin The BBC didn't have it because FIFA made them have it (ITV didn't have it, did they?). They chose it on their own. Des Lynam said it was the idea of some young guy who worked in their music library. It just so happened that FIFA also asked the Three Tenors to perform before the final, and this was their signature tune.

  • Gotta give credit to the BBC for turning Nessun Dorma into a sporting anthem.

  • Even the BBC Sport sting at the start seemed like it was heralding Something Important.

  • I think this was the last time football had true romance in it, players who played for love and passion, a fantastic location in a football mad country, players that people can relate to who bother to play for their country

    Can anyone imagine a world cup in Qatar matching this??

  • the best world cup ever. roger muller for cameroon,,toto scallachi, gazzas tears,, even englands run to the semis was a joy to watch. loved it

  • Wee Toto Schillaci

  • first time ever commented on here ... but compelled. could be the booze. but yeah. i 33 and remember this world cup as if it was something real and pure. the summer . the expectation. the soundtrack. forget the money. it was about something. there was a culture and football represented something. was even old enough to laugh as costa rica done the sweaty socks!!! all in good nature tho!! loves got the world in motion!!!! ahhh football where did you go?

  • The feel good factor that year was brilliant. Cold beers outside the pub in the early evening awaiting kickoff.....England actually competing.....Happy days.

  • a good song and a singer that will be remembered like beethoven bach timless

  • what a world cup and what a song i was 8 and still remember it

  • He's right, France 98 was the last of the greats.

  • Nice one

  • I'm Irish, and I was born in '91 - why did that make the hairs stand up on my arms!?!

  • Sends chills down my spine. Amazing titles from the BBC.

  • 1 minute in.. Marco Van Basten.. what a player!

  • Epic...makes me want to cry

  • Tardelli's celebration will forever live in world cup memory

  • BBC hahahaahah 'BigBlackCock'? hahahahahaahhaah

  • Italy-Class; S Africa-Primitive

  • Last of the Great world cups sadly.

  • @Justdisco: WC 1998 was the last of the great world cups!

  • @Justdisco : WC '98 was the last of the great world cups!

  • @dutchak1986 NO. 2002 was.

  • @jimbobfrank118

    2002 was Bruce Dyer! '98 was the last of the great WC'S-who can forget Bergkamp's last minute winner against Argentina?! You'd struggle to remember anything decent in 2002.

  • Best world cup of modern times

  • Greatest world cup for england in recent times

  • Apperently the most borign world cup ever but do we forget it NO ! Bobby Robson's finest hour as england manager, Gazza's tears, Linekar's goal, the list goes on !

  • That diving header makes my nipples hard.

  • Best world cup in my memory, and Ive een a few now.

  • best world cup of all time

  • In the UK, nobody does World Cup coverage better than the BBC - not just this year, but all the years.

    (Italia 90 was my favourite World Cup too, by the way!!)

  • That tune single handedly exploded opera in the UK - it led to the Three Tenors and a decade of popular opera classics. Pavarotti's estate should thank the BBC - it made him a household name in Britain.

  • i was -2 then 

  • COME ON ENGLAND!!!!!

  • I was 7 then, but this is still one of my great world cup memories. Classic sequence to a classic world cup.

  • This was an inspired choice for the Italia 90 theme tune. I am sure that even those who are not particularly inclined towards opera would still appreciate the power and beauty of this piece of music. Italia 90 was a great tournament - shame about the eventual outcome though!

  • Sod that new Dizzy Rascal song.... this gives me goose bumps on the back of my neck!! I was 10 years old watching this world cup...... great memories!!!

  • @sol80uk i was ten too great memories man, england were so close. unlucky baggio and italy too.

  • @sol80uk me too mate, great memories.

  • That brings back so many great memories from long ago.. It feels like a dream. I am 30 years old now. Well, here we go today - In less than 12 hours the greatest sporting comptition in the world will begin. History in the making.

  • Its a beautiful thing the world cup...

  • Brings out the goosebumps this. The first World Cup I remember properly.

  • @MeanMisterMustard2 me 2 m8

  • Schofield. As far as top flight football goes, there are actually less competitions around now. The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup became a larger UEFA Cup with all the league format. The Champions' League was expanded to stop the wealthier clubs from breaking away. The main bulk of the message, I do agree with - they are greedy b**tards.

  • Of the World Cups I have cogniscent memory of, definitely the best World Cup ever. Of all the films I have seen? The 1970 World Cup - I was 2 at the time - has to be the best ever. Thanks for posting, Lord!

  • the best world cup ever! football & madchester! "loves got the world in motion"!

  • god that song makes me want to cry

  • Fergal Hunter is a cunt

  • Best world cup ever !! Baresi, Baggio, Klinsman, Maldini, Van Basten unbelievable talent,real footballers

  • @jungle1969 maradona..

  • @of course, the best player in our time !!

  • i was 2 when this happened...dont remember fuck all! hehe

  • I was 14 during Italia '90. Holy shit was it that long ago?

  • I was 7 years old when World Cup Italia happened, and that was the first time I discovered football. I was baptized by the glory and drama of this beautiful sport. I didn't fully understand the rules, but the the essence of the game was fluent and undeniable. This was life, victory, defeat, beauty. As soon as Nessun Dorma played alongside Gazza's tears, I was an addict, and World Cup Italia laid down the blueprint for what reides at football's heart for an entire generation. Bravo!

  • Got me a replica 1990 no.19 shirt for this WC, time to heal those wounds.

  • @alzico cant fault ya! go retro umbro, 1966 or Italia 90 styles!

  • I was 8 and it touched my soul, never forget it, there was something in the air back then only really equalled by the mad summer of 96. 

  • Heh lads and ladies-did you watch todays game.We were poor in every dept,and it took 2 OGs 2 get the result-I dont think anything in that performance will spook the USA and hand on heart,which hurts,unless things approve the USA could cause us probs.I think I should be earnin far more £ doin Hanson,Townsends job,but no such luck.In my opinion we need to have a settled 23 and more importantly 11-a nos 1 gk b a start and fine tune it over the next few weeks-not long,but "I still believe".

  • i get goosebumps everytime i see this. Can't wait for this years wc to start

  • hopefully england will win it this year :DD

  • No I would not turn down a hundred grand a week but I would also not turn down a grand a week or a hundred quid a week if that was the going rate. What I would not do is make further wage demands when I was already a millionaire and endorse every product that came along. Also as both the champions league and the Europa league have expanded to include more teams so there are more games. Anyway if your into football so much then it's only a good thing for you so enjoy yourself

  • still makes my hair's on the back of my neck stand up seeing those classic images with that piece of music. how we didn't perform better and win that world cup with those players i will never know.

  • goosebumps!!!

  • England so should have won the world cup in 1990...

  • This should be blaring out from every pub,club and home-maybe our dressing room too.Yes lets be optimistic-again,lets be prepared to cry-again,but a fit Gazza,god forbid lets pray Rooney stays fit!

  • Not long now boys and girls. Come on England. Oh for a fit, 20 year old Gascoigne.

  • Even the titles were epic! Goodness, watching this after all this time still manages to make my heart swell scarily inside my chest and the tears spring up in my eyes. I truly loved this world cup.

  • Goodness, watching this still makes my heart swell scarily inside my chest and the tears spring up in my eyes. I truly loved this world cup.

  • Less than a month to go now

  • Credit to the BBC. They do the best, classiest montages in the world.

    This was one of their finest moments yet.

    I await to see their work on this summer's World Cup from South Africa.

  • remember this like it was yesterday- watched the semi in the common room at university hall of resisdence... very quiet at the end- i just knew pearce would not score.... arrrrggghhh.

  • Así comenzaban partido a partido las transmisiones del Mundial de Italia 90: el mejor mundial que he visto en mi vida, con una constelación d eestrellas del fútbol mundial que dudo que vuelva a repetirse: Matthaus, Gullit, Maradona, Gascoigne, Baggio, Baresi, Maldini, Klinsmann, Breheme, Milla, Butragueño, Van Basten, Careca, Romario, Bebeto, Caniggia, Dunga, Haessler, Lineker, Schillacci...

  • Excelente !!!

  • Italia 90: the best world cup ever!!!!

  • I remember watching this as a 13 year old kid and crying when we lost in the semi finals, I was a football fan ever since! That was a beautiful summer.

  • @T0mat0S0up I cried too and I was a lot older than 13 lol, just sat in a field looking at the sky for over an hour afterwards.

  • @T0mat0S0up you only started supporting football at 13 ?

  • I was 24 back then! Top theme tune still "sing" it now in the shower! Actually the quality of footie wasnt that great in 1990 and the final was dire but after a slow start England did well. One memory, in the Royal Oak pub Windsor watching the matches. In Pre Sky times footie in pubs wasnt as common except for tournaments Great atmosphere when Platt came from nowhere and scored the winner against Belguim in about the 99th min the whole pub went ballistic superb times

  • Hearing this sends a shiver down my spine. That summer was brilliant and we were so close, so close you could almost taste it. The whole country was united and it was the best of times and then from nowhere the worst of times. Wouldn't have missed it for anything. Every time the World Cup rolls around, the expectation and excitement is unreal but it never lives up to it. This one did! Well almost anyway.

  • fuking right i was born in 1985 and remember more about this world cup than any other gazza linekar waddle pearce platt beardsley england through and dito

  • My only though: Fuck, I'm old.

  • Noone will ever forget  Nessum Dorma and Gazza Crying. EVER

  • Man i am A Forest fan through and through. We should have won that World Cup. I am fed up with that cups critism, if we had of won it would have been the 'Greatest' ever. We had good team in fact a greaT TEAM .We should always remember 'Rome' not for failings but for honour and pride. Both teams deserved to win and football is still as cruel as it was then..

    The best thing was no-one blamed anyone.

    Come on England YES YOU CAN!!!

  • @bobsjob2 We did win 1 thing at Italia 90; the Fair Play trophy

  • Because England did well, we are inclined to think of Italia 90 and Euro 96 as great tournaments on the whole. Truth be told though, the overall standard wasn't that high in either. In fact, the defensive play that most teams employed in 1990 was one of the main reasons that FIFA outlawed the back pass to the keeper.

  • greatest country on earth, as of 2010

  • best world cup ever,im now 33 and the whole thing still makes my hairs stand ,even more so with david platt

  • I'm with you on that. Nessun Dorma still brings a lump to my throat. I had to go to my room after that penalty shootout, I had something in my eye :-(

  • ronnie whelan was included because of his mint goal against ussr in euro 1988. qualityy

  • Look at how they celebrated back then, go watch klinsmanns celebration when West Germany scored v Holland. Not all arsehole overpayed millionaires like today, I mean yeah they were overpayed, but they played for the love of the game and all wanted to be the best, you didnt get Kieron Dyers back then sitting on there arses getting 70K per week.

  • This tune allways gives me a cold shivers, its from the first world cup i realy remember and the one that got me into football it brings back the memeory of lineker goal against germany and platt against belgium i was 9 at the time...Class

  • anyway,  new comment: Italy is the most beautiful country in the world .

  • i don't know what i've said wrong, but my comment was never seen

  • I'm very humbled that BBC added a Ronnie Whelan clip in the opening sequence.

  • Quality opening sequence for the best world cup since 66

  • LOL spot on.

  • well atleast we know how to stay loal! *cough*turncoat*cough*

  • yeah yeah, you probably support united you stupid mick.

  • @grouchomarxmusic

    Actually i Support Bohemian FC, Ya Fucking waste of sperm

  • @ruigruk shit off you paddy shitcunt.

  • @WhoLueYou twat

  • That was a World Cup indeed - shame the final was shit, Germans tried and succeeded in killing the game, especially Diego. Love the Music, great build up !

  • What a theme and what a tournament - PERFECTO GRANDE.

    Tardelli celebration just sums up the passion, pure fuckin passion - this game has.

    This theme along with that celebration makes me nostalgic.

  • @rossoneri0007 very true. Amazing! For me this is the greatest ever world cup and the greatest ever European championships was 2004. I doubt a tournament will ever top them

  • In case anyone's interested, what they're singing translates as:

    Women: No one will know his name and we will have to, alas, die, die!

    Luciano: Vanish, o night! Set, stars! Set, stars! At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win!

  • best world cup ever!

  • disagree totally - 2002 was excellent. Too many draws, shoot outs and defensive football in this one. The stadia however were beautiful.

  • 02 it was the biggest fraud in wc history, a lot of roberys in that wc.

  • Hmmmm, you might have a point there, the debatable Korean wins v Italy and Spain being a couple. Brazil awarded a penalty v Turkey when Lucio was fouled outside the box, but that could have happened any time. But from a neutral's perspective - it was thrilling - Senegal beating France to get to the Quarters. USA beating Portugal being a couple of examples.

  • neutals perspective? for me this is good only from senegal and usa perspective what you say;)

    from poland perspective the best was 74;) ;)heh:>

    and 82 was not so good but good ;)

  • are you crazy 2002 is famous for korea's referee scandal.

  • in what way was 2002 excellent?

  • @coreydec

    statistically the worst world cup ever with the lowest number of goals and most draws. Also a terrible final and Maradonna never showed up for the whole competition. From and English and Irish point of view it was a great experience but so many great teams and players ie: Brazil (Careca, Romario), Yugoslavia (Dragan Stojkovich) were huge disappointments. Of course the biggest let down of all was Holland. Gullit, Van Basten and Rijjkaard were massive let-downs. 

  • @wayofthecass

    Absolutely right. A very poor tournament and it had been a very much anticipated one too esp as European football was looking good again in the late 80s. Too many scoreless draws, which led to the eventual introduction of the backpass rule. 1994 was much better, notwithstanding a poor final

  • @coreydec The BBC used the Stone Roses ''This Is The One'' before the replacement with Nessun Dorma. I think TSR was a groovier opener!

  • @coreydec don't think so, and i'm Italian :) Only this intro is good :)

  • Comment removed

  • football summed up perfectly by this amazing piece of music. even though i haven't a clue what he's singing about! it's just powerful opera as is the beautiful game. it goes perfectly hand in hand. especially when the world cups hosted in a passionate footballing country. you couldn't imagine this theme having the same impact or meaning had it been chosen for japan 02 for instance, if you get my drift!

  • Best world cup theme song in the world ever......doubt if ever be beaten!

  • just watched the england v germany semi-final on espn classic! i was 8 years old at the time and still remember it well! best world cup that one was!

  • Dont know why but i got shivers all over when playing this...

    very powerful song, very emotional too..

    wonderful!

  • My first memories of the beautiful game were Italia 90' .......beautiful!

  • Fucking hell! Does it get any better than this?

  • takes me back!!! what a summer that was!

  • will there ever be a world cup to

    beat ITALIA '90?

    I do not think so.

  • Or as Graham Taylor would say "Do I not think so"

  • that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. wow. Perfectly finished with Tardelli's world cup winning celebrations.

  • 0:51 - Cruyff sells that dummy so well - look how long it takes for the defender to react to it!

  • I was 9 during this world cup and it made me love international football. Players seemed to care so much back then compared to todays game that is diluted with to many trophies and competitions (Europa league) oh and it's full of greedy bastards

  • me too, i remember it well as a 9year old at the time! And the pain of the penalties!! arghh!!!

  • @SCHOFIELD81 totally agree, i was 9 and i really though england were gonna go all the way!! fuckin penalties!!!

  • @SCHOFIELD81

    Too many tophies? The Uefa cup existed back then (since 1971) and so did the European Cup Winners cup so in Europe there used to be more tophies.

    If someone offered you a 100 grand a week to play football you'd say 'nah just make it a grand a week'. yeah sure mate

  • That's fucking brilliant. Having Pele, Cruyff and then Maradona and finishing with Tardelli's famous celebration. Quality stuff.

  • fookin' right.

  • i was a school kid about 14 and this music and tournament(london sckool) made me love football....the italians put on a hell of a show....and the stars! Gazza , toto schilaaci , the irish , the bloody penalty kicks, waddle no hoddle pearce ...sorry im in remanice heaven

  • 2006 :D

  • god I remember watching this opening between Scotland V Costa Rica when I was 4 years old

    R.I.P

    Pavarotti & Sir Bobby Robson

    T-T

  • The music still gives me goosebumps, whenever I hear it. I was so wanting England to meet Argentina in the final, so we could avenge the 'Hand of God' of the exceptionally talented, but flawed cheating genius that was Diego Armando Maradona!

  • I was over in Italy for this tournament.

    It was fantastic, long before the days of face painting, etc.

    Shame we went out in the semis. :-(

  • this is when the bbc used to be good at sport, now they belong in the gutter

  • wot memories eh such joy

  • RIP Sir Bobby

  • I was 10 when this WC came and I ALWAYS think of this song when I think of Gazza with the tears andf the Waddle miss

    DAMN

  • I was 10 too! Seems a lifetime ago now doesnt it. Best tournament ever in my opinion. LOVED IT. Those were the daysssss!!!

  • It was a world cup with so many legends of the game. The best world cup ever.

  • In fact it is universally considered the poorest World Cup ever...

  • 1962 and 2002 were both worse, i think.

  • Great music for a great sport. How can you go wrong?

  • When England lost, it was like it was the end of the world.

  • Not for me it wasn't!

  • That's because you are a bomb tossing fuckwit.

  • lmfao......

  • i bet it was when ireland lost in the quarter finals