Over the long weekend I was luckily enough to see an advanced copy of the new movie ‘One Night In Turin” which chronicles England’s 1990 World Cup run where they lost to West Germany on penalties in the semi-finals.
Watching the movie I was struck by the similarities between England’s 1990 World Cup run and the 2010 effort. Leading up to the World Cup in 1990 there was a lot of negative press in the English media about Bobby Robson and whether he was the right man for the job. Fade back to last summer and the columns in the English press about Fabio Capello.
After England drew 1-1 with the Republic of Ireland in their World Cup opener, the knives were out in the tabloids, as they all called for Robson’s head. Very similar to the coverage of England after drawing with the U.S. last summer.
The difference between the two World Cups was that in 1990 England has Gazza. Paul Gascoigne, who put England on his back and carried them to them into the knockout stages where they met rivals West Germany in the semi-finals. The image of Italia 90 is of Gascoigne is tears during the West Germany game after receiving a yellow card that would have kept him out of the World Cup FInal if England had advanced.
The movie does not focus on what happened on the pitch. The late 80’s was the peak of the hooliganism problem in England and the movie does not shy away from the rioting of England fans up and down Italy during the World Cup. The rioting peaked during the semi-finals in Turin, where Juventus fan and the Italian police took revenge for the Heysel disaster five years later.
If you are an England fan, or just a fan of soccer, you will enjoy the movie. One Night In Turin is available for the movie’s web site.
Here is the trailer to the movie:
One Night in Turin – Trailer from Revolver Entertainment US on Vimeo.
