Crunch game for Gary

13 April 2012

There have been reports that the BBC are so cost conscious that they have banned biscuits at meetings but a corporation tea- lady wheeled in a trolley laden with a hundredweight of Bourbons, gypsy creams, chocolate digestives and an assortment of other goodies. She left, only to return with a second trolley bearing a flagon of coffee, a steaming tea urn and two jumbo bottles of water - still and sparkling.

She need not have bothered. Alan Hansen sat on the other side of the room examining a Garibaldi disdainfully, perhaps marking it down as an overpriced, sloppy, foreign import with a tendency to lose its man at corners. Nor did Gary Lineker look like the sort of man who ODs on digestives.

With Lineker, what you meet in real life is what you see on the screen. He is a wealthy superstar twice over but, just as there is no trace of biscuit-enduced fat, nor is there a trace of ego.

He chatted in the same informal, unhurried style that will be on display when he presents Saturday's England-Greece World Cup qualifier live on BBC1, a match which could and should book the country's participation in next summer's finals. Not surprisingly, the World Cup is much on his mind.

Oddly enough, the World Cup incident he recalled first was not miserable defeat against Germany in 1990, nor winning the Golden Boot in Mexico, 1986. It came in the second round against Paraguay in the heat and dust of the Aztec Stadium, Mexico City, a few days after he scored the hat-trick against Poland, which made his reputation as one of the planet's deadliest strikers.

"I scored another couple in that game against Paraguay, and got an elbow in the throat, which wasn't pleasant," he said, holding his windpipe theatrically. "I was on the sidelines recovering. Peter Beardsley took my place at the near-post from a corner, and scored. So I was kicking myself that I'd missed out on another hat-trick, such is the selfishness of a striker.

"I was chuffed and gutted at the same time," he said, ruing bitterly the one that got away.

But those three goals against the Poles kick-started the rest of Lineker's career, and you might say, his life.

Lest we forget, England were on the plane home if they lost to Poland. Lineker had not scored in months and there was a clamour to replace him. If it had not happened for him then, he may never have played for England again; might not have moved from Everton to Barcelona; probably would not be working for the BBC.

"That match changed my life," Lineker said. "Before the Poland game I was under pressure. The manager, Bobby Robson, had a choice of me or Mark Hateley. I was given another chance, scored a hat-trick and things have never been quite the same. All of a sudden I became known throughout the world and went on to become top scorer in the World Cup.

"It was such a big game for England, and it's hard to describe how difficult it was to play in those conditions. We were at altitude, the temperature was over 100 and the humidity was terrible. It was a great performance.

"When we did go out against Argentina in the quarter-finals we left feeling a degree of pride, and that we'd been cheated by the 'Hand of God' goal."

From a team point of view there was no doubt about his sickest World Cup moment: that terrible night in Turin when Chris Waddle and Stuart Pearce missed in the penalty shoot-out and the Germans went through to the final instead of England.

"That is the only thing I look back on with regret," Lineker said with a sadness that does not seem to have abated much in 11 years.

"We were so close. People talk about Charlton's record (Lineker finished his England career with 48 goals, one fewer than Sir Bobby's record total) but that doesn't matter. It was an incredible match, and the goal I scored was my greatest one-off moment. But the feeling didn't last because of the penalty shoot-out."

Lineker gives the present England team an outside chance of going two steps better than the Class of 90.

"I don't think there can be many squads in the world with a better group of youngsters but the conditions will be against them," he warned.

Lineker, having played for a season in the Japanese J-League with Nagoya Grampus Eight, knew what he was talking about. High summer in South Korea and Japan could make the Aztec Stadium seem like Filbert Street in February.

He said: "It might be we'll have to wait another four years to see them at their best but they do have a chance."

The coughing sound in the background was Alan Hansen choking on his shortbread.

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Crunch game for Gary

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