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[bummelo]

The Choker In



Despair ... heartbroken
Seaman consoled by Becks
From NICK PARKER
in Shizuoka

ENGLAND’S World Cup dream ended in torture and tears yesterday as our clash with Brazil turned into the Choker in Shizuoka.

It was TORTURE for fans who witnessed the 2-1 quarter-final defeat in the Japanese city and the millions in Britain who watched the game on TV.

And a flood of TEARS was shed by goalie David Seaman, who was devastated after samba star Ronaldinho looped a soft free-kick over his head to grab the winner.

Seaman, 38, was given consoling hugs by team-mates including skipper David Beckham after the final whistle.

A lip-reading expert who saw the scene on telly said Becks reassured the downcast keeper by telling him: “You were f***ing brilliant. You’ve done a good job.”

Beckham, 27, said later: “It would be an absolute disgrace if anyone made David Seaman a scapegoat.

“He has been the best goalkeeper in this tournament — it was just a fluke goal.”

But pony-tailed Seaman, who had played his 73rd and possibly last game for England, broke down again as he talked to newsmen.



Agonising ... Seaman watches
winning goal fly over him
Head bowed, he said: “I blame myself. It was quite a way out and I was expecting a cross — and I am sure he meant a cross — but I misread it and it was a goal.

“The main thing is that I want to say sorry to all the fans because they have been fantastic. I am sorry for the team and I am sorry for the people back home.”

Told he’d had a fantastic career, he spun on his heels and walked away, saying: “I’m sorry — it’s just so hard.”

Becks consoled himself by swapping shirts with Brazil’s brilliant wing back Roberto Carlos.

The gesture of mutual respect was reminiscent of how Brazilian legend Pele and England captain Bobby Moore exchanged kit the last time the two teams met in the World Cup in 1970.

It was hard to believe that just over an hour earlier Sven Goran Eriksson’s men looked set for glory after Michael Owen poached a great goal to put our boys one up.


1970 ... England captain Bobby Moore swaps shirts with superstar Pele after Brazil’s 1-0 victory in Mexico in 1970
2002 ... current England skipper David Beckham and Brazilian Roberto Carlos embrace after yesterday’s game


It all went sour on the stroke of half time when Ronaldinho — whose eight-times-in-one-night sex romp with an English lap dancer was revealed by The Sun yesterday — took off on a dazzling run.

He slipped the ball to Rivaldo, whose pinpoint shot scythed into the corner of Seaman’s net.

Ronaldinho’s free kick five minutes into the second half hammered the final nail into England’s coffin.

Soon afterwards, the tousle-haired ace was sent off for flattening Danny Mills. But England’s 11 men still could not crack Brazil’s ten — and it was all over.

English tears flowed in the stands. Michael Owen’s beautiful girlfriend Louise Bonsall wept in the VIP box.

And Seaman’s wife Debbie — among players’ loved ones flown out to support their men — could only watch his misery from a distance.



Misery ... Rio Ferdinand after the defeat
Thousands of fans clad in St George flags stayed in Shizuoka’s Epoca stadium to salute the team, before filing out silently.

But there was PRIDE amid the gloom as they remembered England’s superb performance in the tournament — especially the win over Argentina.

There was HUMOUR as fans sang along with the Sun Supporters Band as they belted out the Monty Python tune Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life and Vera Lynn’s classic We’ll Meet Again.

There were even LAUGHS as England lads and lasses went on to party in central Tokyo with Japanese fans ... and Brazilians.

And there was tons of SYMPATHY for Seaman, who kept our Cup hopes alive with great saves against Sweden and Argentina.

Londoner John Sherratt, a 30-year-old courier firm manager, said: “He can go home with his head held high. Not a single fan I spoke to was blaming him.”

Tony Blair phoned coach Eriksson to congratulate him on the team’s performance in the tournament.

He took time out from the EU summit in Seville, Spain, to make the five-minute call.

The PM, who watched the game on TV, is planning a Downing Street reception for the squad when it returns.

Mr Blair said: “We are all devastated, of course we are. But before we went into the tournament, who would ever have thought we would have come this far?

“We beat Argentina, we played with fantastic spirit and determination. We are really, really proud of the England team.”

He also paid tribute to the travelling England fans, saying: “They have behaved really well and entered into the spirit of the thing.”

Sven promised his young lions — written off as World Cup no-hopers this time last year — would bounce back stronger. He said: “We learned a lot about many things today and a lot of young players will be better and better.”

The Queen was told the result at Windsor Castle.

A Royal aide said: “Her Majesty is naturally disappointed that we didn’t make it to the semi-finals.”

The players headed back to their hotel in Shizuoka for an emotional reunion with around 100 wives, girlfriends and loved ones.

Debbie Seaman — there with children Georgina, two, and seven-month-old Robbie — gave her husband a huge hug.

In Britain, Becks’s wife Victoria was cheered by a host of relatives. The pregnant Spice Girl watched the match with son Brooklyn, three, at their Hertfordshire mansion.

Afterwards her sister Louise, brother Christian and parents Tony and Jackie arrived to spend the day with her.

Disappointed Posh kept a low profile. Her dad said: “She doesn’t want to talk.”

The squad will fly back to Britain today on a chartered BA jet.

The plane is due to touch down at Heathrow at 10.45pm our time. But no fans’ welcome is planned and the jet will taxi to a secure area.

Bookies had mixed feelings about England’s brutal exit.

Patriotic soccer supporters among them were sad. But the result saved them from a £30million caning they faced if our boys had won the Cup.

Corals spokesman David Stevens said: “As a fan I am gutted. But with my bookmaker’s hat on I have to breathe a hugh sigh of relief.”

In RIO DE JANEIRO Brazilian fans danced into the night and packed bars along Copacabana beach.

Man of the match Ronaldinho, who plays his club football in Paris, was also jubilant. But he does have one nasty surprise in store.

Manchester lass Lisa Collins, the lap dancer with whom he enjoyed a six-hour romp in a Paris hotel, said she would punish him for punishing England by slapping a ban on sex when he returns.

She added: “It’ll be out of bounds for at least a week.”

Ronaldinho, though, might not be too bothered. After all, he has just screwed the whole of England ...


Oasis hit the winner



It`s bawl over now ... fans share sorrow
By DOMINIC MOHAN

OASIS anthem Stop Crying Your Heart Out has become the soundtrack to England’s World Cup exit — and it could hit No1 tomorrow as a result.

BBC TV and radio stations used the band’s epic new single to illustrate the team’s dramatic defeat.

The moving words, penned by Noel Gallagher, sum up the nation’s feelings perfectly — and seem as if they were written with disconsolate stars like Rio Ferdinand, David Seaman and David Beckham, very much in mind.

Shops across the country yesterday reported a stampede for the single, which was released on Monday.

A spokesman for Virgin Records said: “We predict people will buy it en-masse. It sums up the nation’s mood.”

And HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo told The Sun: “We have found that in certain areas of the country once the match finished there was a noticeable demand for the song.

“The sentiments of the track mean people are coming into the stores and asking for it. It could help it get to Number One.”

The lyrics include the words:


Hold up, hold on, don’t be scared, you’ll never change what’s been and gone;

May your smile shine on, don’t be scared, your destiny may keep you warm.

Cos all of the stars are fading away, just try not to worry, you’ll see them some day, take what you need, and be on your way,

And stop crying your heart out.



WORDS and Music by Noel Gallagher by kind permission Oasis Music/Creation Songs/Sony Music Publishing UK Ltd. Copyright: 2002.

[bummelo]

Hans off!
By DAVE KIDD

SUNSPORT demands that every Englishman does his duty and cheers Brazil in the World Cup Final tomorrow.

For the good of the game and the sanity of every English holidaymaker, Germany must not get their Hans on that golden trophy.

If Rudi Voller`s men win, we might as well throw in the towel rather than fight for spaces on the sunloungers of the Med.

This German side is as appetising as a bucket of sauerkraut and has no right to be on the same pitch as Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Co.

Who do you want - bronzed Brazilian babes doing a Samba or fat Bavarians in leather shorts slapping their thighs?

If Rio of Peckham cannot lift the cup, the boys from Rio de Janeiro must.

[2teidie]

HAHAHA
Die aremen Engländer
Die ewigen schlechten Verlierer