Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Pat’s Patter Pint-sized genius still casts a long shadow
These days social media, particularly Facebook, impacts on every area of our lives and not always positively.
However, I recently received a very pleasant surprise when a dog-eared and decades-old picture I posted on my Facebook page earned me an invitation to participate in a popular football comedy show down on Tyneside.
To explain: my afternoon with a certain Diego Maradona occurred quite by chance. It was the summer of 1991 and I was enjoying a few holiday refreshments in a Cypriot bar when who should walk in but the world’s most famous footballer.
Being the shy and retiring type, I made a bee-line for the little genius, desperate to be touched by the Hand of God and to offer him a drink. His English wasn’t the best and by the end of an afternoon’s indulgence neither was mine. In fact it almost put me off tequila and Black Russians for life. What a day. I always thought he was an amazing dribbler but to be fair he never spilled a drop.
Anyway, back to my appearance on the famous ‘Footbaaall Show’ at The Stand Comedy Club in Newcastle.
Other guests on the night included Scotland’s most successful international manager Craig Brown and veteran Newcastle Chronicle sports journalist John Gibson, a man who, like Craig Brown, has actually been at a World Cup finals tournament.
It seems that my archived picture with the infamous pint-sized Argentinian had generated some real interest among our southern neighbours and, what with the Euros having just kicked of and the 30th anniversary of The Hand of God goal looming, a perfect storm of circumstances had ensured my invitation.
With Scotland not taking part, the majority of interest from the audience centred around which team I was supporting and why.
When I told the Geordie crowd I was putting my not inconsiderable weight behind Russia and Wales (with hindsight I should have said Iceland) I was instantly accused of displaying anti-English sentiments simply because Scotland were once again not good enough to qualify.
However, when I explained that I was rooting for Russia because my lovely wife Svetlana is a proud Muscovite and that Wales were my second team simply because someone told me I resembled a beached one the last time I visited the seaside, the tension quickly left the room.
An enjoyable evening drew to a satisfactory close when I offered up another photograph of myself next to one of their own famous footballers and the key eye-witness to The Hand of God goal.
I went on to explain that when I quizzed Mr Shilton about the incident he confirmed what I already knew: that it was indeed a blatant foul.
Although I didn’t have the bottle to admit it to the big keeper, it is also one of my favourite goals of all time, along with the other one my wee drinking buddy notched that day in the Estadio Azteca.
As commentator Barry Davies opined at the time: “You have to say that’s magnificent”.