UPFROnT
FourFourTwo July 2022 15Utrecht 4-1 Feyenoord
June 1, 2003 KNVB Cup final
“A few weeks earlier it had been announced that I’d
be joining Feyenoord, so there was a lot of pressure on
me. I wanted to give everything to win this game and
sign off in a positive way. Not only did that happen by
winning the cup with Utrecht – the first trophy of my
career – but I also scored the final goal which sealed
it for us. Of course, I celebrated with the Utrecht fans,
but at a certain point I wanted to thank both sets of
supporters. So I turned to Feyenoord’s and received
a hearty round of applause, despite them having just
lost 4-1. That was a unique moment for me, because
I immediately got the feeling of, ‘Hey, when I start at
Feyenoord I’ll actually already be 1-0 up, even though
I did them a disservice today’.”
Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea (4-1 pens)
May 1, 2007 Champions League semi-final
“We’d lost the first leg at Stamford Bridge 1-0. It was
a difficult position to rectify, because if Chelsea were
to score once at Anfield, that would mean we needed
three. But with a lot of energy, passion and struggle,
we managed to win 1-0. We were actually the better
side during extra time; I scored but it was disallowed
for offside. So it came down to penalties... where I had
the pleasure of taking the winning spot-kick that sent
us through to the final in Athens. To win such a game
at a buzzing Anfield, when everyone thought it could
be a tough match beforehand, was fantastic.”
Netherlands 2-1 Mexico
June 29, 2014 World Cup last 16
“I made my 100th appearance for the Netherlands in
this match, which wasn’t always guaranteed – ahead
of the tournament, everyone thought I might just fill
in once or twice. But I got into the starting line-up for
the third group game against Chile and never left! This
match was particularly special because on the same
day seven years earlier, my father had passed away.
I also happened to be the seventh Dutch international
to earn 100 caps, so it was a day full of emotion. After
the final whistle, everyone was celebrating – I pointed
my fingers up to the sky.”
Feyenoord 3-1 Heracles
May 14, 2017 Eredivisie
“This was the last game of my professional career, but
it was also really special because I scored a hat-trick
at De Kuip as Feyenoord became Eredivisie champions
for the first time in 18 years. I was the captain, though
that wasn’t always obvious right up until the weekend
before the match. As the season progressed my role
had changed: I was often on the bench, only playing
occasionally. My body doesn’t thrive on that. So in the
weeks leading up to that last game, I’d already made
up my mind – it was going to be my final appearance
as a professional footballer. To end my career in such
an incredible way, in my stadium of De Kuip, gave me
an extreme feeling of happiness.”
Steven Walter
Imagine the scenario: the World Cup is just
a month away, but Qatar aren’t answering
Gianni Infantino’s emails and no one’s sure
whether they’re still willing to host it.
Admittedly, that’s unlikely to happen after
billions of pounds spent on shiny new things,
but it’s been a very real problem before June’s
scheduled CONIFA Euro 2022 – allegedly, the
grand return of football’s oddest competition.
CONIFA brings together a rag-tag collection
of teams representing territories and minority
groups not recognised by FIFA – a World Cup
has been running every two years since 2014,
won by County of Nice, Georgia’s breakaway
region of Abkhazia, then Karpatalja in 2018.
The latter tournament was officially hosted
by the ‘national’ team of Barawa, a Somali
diaspora in England, and took place around
London – 60-year-old keeper Bruce Grobbelaar
played for Zimbabwean region Matabeleland,
while Northern Cyprus were cheered on by
Turkish folk dancers (above).
It wasn’t enough to win the final, though,
as Karpatalja – representing the Hungarian
minority in western Ukraine – bagged victory
on penalties, in a match refereed by Mark
Clattenburg (no word on a new tattoo yet).
The CONIFA Euros took place a year later
in 2019, won by another breakaway Georgian
region in South Ossetia, after Donetsk and
Luhansk withdrew shortly beforehand.
Then things got even more complicated –
and not just because Artsakh, the territorywhich hosted that tournament, was soon
invaded by Azerbaijan. COVID put the skids on
2020’s CONIFA World Cup, and then the Euros
had to be put back a year to 2022.
Despite the war in Ukraine, Karpatalja have
been gearing up for another tilt – they’re slated
to take part alongside other teams including
Elba Island (a tiny Italian island off Tuscany),
Sicily, and also the intriguingly named Two
Sicilies, which turns out to be a territory that
covers both Sicily and the southern part of
Italy. Point one: none of this makes any sense.
Point two: is Sicily vs Two Sicilies the hottest
new rivalry in football? Point three: why can’t
they merge to become Three Sicilies?
Kernow, a team representing Cornwall, have
also been due to take part – finally, their first
chance to enter a CONIFA tournament, three
years after playing their first official match.
But that was before the whole event was
thrown into doubt again. First, Abkhazia, South
Ossetia and ethnic Albanians Chameria each
withdrew, then CONIFA released a statement
warning that the tournament was in jeopardy,
complaining that hosts County of Nice had
been giving them the silent treatment.
“Despite ... multiple letters and approaches,
both the hosting FA and the Municipality of
Nice remain unresponsive,” they sniffed.
Maybe the hosts have watched too many
Godfather movies, and got cold feet when
they realised every side in Sicily was coming.
Chris FlanaganCHAOS OF COnIFA
The world’s weirdest tournament has faced yet more confusion