"Pak Do Ik." "He scores." "North Korea have taken the lead with five minutes ofthe first half left." "What a sensation." "Italy a goal down to North Korea, who ever would have believed it." "They are absolutely overwhelmed" "I took part in the eighth World Cup and wore Number 7." "My name is Pak Do lk" "Pak Do lk 7" "Right Wing." "He was fast" "He created chances to score" "Han Bong Jin 1 1" "Pak Sung Jin" "Right Half." "Scored one goal in each ofthe Chile and Portugal games" "Everyone did well." "Pak Sung Jin 8" "Left half." "Im Song Hwi" "He was good in midfield." "Im Song Hwi 6" "Left Wing." "He had several good chances against Italy" "Yang Song Guk 15" "Goalkeeper Ri Chan Myong" "He is our country's treasured goalkeeper." "Ri Chan Myong 1" "Myong Rye Hyun Head Coach" "This is my old lady who has lost all her teeth." "That's why she's become ugly now!" "." "Rim Jung Son 5" "In 1966, these North Korean Footballers travelled to England for the Eighth World Cup as 1000:.1 outsiders." "So little was known about them that they might as well have been flying in from the moon." "Yet they would take the World Cup by storm, and for a brief period, become the darlings ofthe nation." "Today, North Korea remains an enigma, as alien as it was in 1966" "Korea has been split since the end of the Second World War, the division between North and South is the Cold War's final frontier." "To the North ofthe border, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, population 22 million, has been ruled by its own unique brand of communism for over 50 years." "The father of North Korea is Kim ll Sung, known as the 'Great Leader'." "He became head of state in 1948 and led the country through the Korean War." "Kim ll Sung is so revered that despite his death I 1994, he remains head of state." "North Korea is now ruled by his son Kim Jong ll, known as the 'Dear Leader'." "Every North Korean wears a lapel badge depicting either the Great Leader or the Dear Leader." "In 1966, the World Cup became the biggest sporting event ever, with records crowds and unprecedented worldwide television coverage." "For such a public spectacle at the height of the Cold War," "North Korea's involvement was to prove difficult at every turn." "16 years earlier, Korea had plunged into civil war." "The savage and brutal conflict, which lasted for three years, was a clash between the cold-war ideologies of the communist North and the capitalist South." "The North was supported by China and the Soviet Union, the South by America and the United Nations." "Hostilities ended with Korea still split and an estimated four million people killed." "A peace treaty has never been signed." "The War left North Korea completely isolated from the West." "This is the first time that anyone has been given permission to enter North Korea to interview the football players about their experiences at the 8th World Cup." "Yanggakdo Stadium, Pyongyang" "Wolmido v Mount Ryongak Friendly game" "My name is Rim Jung Son" "I was Number 5,a defender, for the 8th World Cup in 1966." "My Father was a football player in the past" "I grew up seeing him play all the time." "It was natural for me to play football throughout my youth." "Of course, my father wanted me to be a footballer and I played through primary and secondary school and further education." "In 1957, I started training as a professional football player." "That's how I was brought up as a player." "Out ofthe 16 places at the World Cup finals, only one was available to all of Africa, Asia and Oceania." "Indignant at this discrimination, all African nations withdrew their teams from the qualification process" "South Korea, who had competed in the 1954 World Cup, also pulled out." "Just two countries, North Korea and Australia, were left to compete for that one available place at the World Cup Finals." "The North Koreans had been training solidly for ten months and had played many internationals in preparation, including a tour ofthe Soviet Union and Eastern Europe." "They were a tight knit and disciplined unit." "Myong Rye Hyun was Korea's head coach and was to see the team through their extraordinary World Cup Adventure." "To compete with the West.." "Myong Rye Hyun Head Coach we believed we had to be mentally determined... ..Physically fit, fast and full of energy." "Our Great Leader stressed that to be an excellent footballer you must run fast and kick accurately." "Speed and energy were the dominant themes in North Korean society at the time." "At the end ofthe Korean war, the North lay completely flattened." "Reconstruction of any sort would be an immense task." "The development of Kim ll Sung's socialist utopia at lightening speed was named 'Chollima', after the winged horse of Korean mythology." "Reflecting the energy around them, North Korea's footballers played a fast paced Chollima style offootball." "People in North Korea were working all day and all night." "As sportsmen, we could only train morning and afternoon." "But we did so intensively." "In this way, we could follow the Chollima movement like everyone else." "The football supporters said to us:" "As sportsmen on the football ground do well and we will take care of the North Korean economy.'" "At the 8th World cup." "Chollima was to take North Korea's western opponents by surprise." "Having fought on opposite sides in the Korean War," "North Korea and Australia did not recognise each other so the play-offwas switched to a neutral venue, Cambodia." "Uniquely the home and away legs would be played three days apart in the same country." "No-one, especially the supremely confident Australians, gave North Korea a chance." "Yet this was Australia's first full international for seven years and their preparation had been decidedly low key." "Only one oftheir players was born in Australia, the majority, like Englishman Geoff Sleight, were in fact British." "We went to Cairns in northern Queensland because it was considered to be a similar climate to that of Cambodia." "And we played two friendly games, one against Northern Queensland Amateur Select Team who we managed to beat 17:0." "And one against a team from Ingham who we managed to beat 26:0." "So we went off to play against North Korea feeling pretty good." "It was really an opportunity to get back to England to play in the World Cup Finals." "Rim Jung Son Number 5 We had no idea about the Australian team." "We arrived in Phnom Penh on 13 November and the Australians arrived on 1 5 November." "At the time, the Cambodians were just putting the finishing touches to a brand new stadium holding 55,000 people." "And we were allowed to train on that pitch every day." "They were on the field as we arrived for training each day." "But we were under the impression that they were people who were in the North Korean Army, that they were regimented." "They'd have to do as they were told to do." "To us, we were liberated, we were free thinking and we though our way was the best." "I recall that we didn't train very much." "We didn't determine any strategy or use any tactics." "We would play full scale practice games against each other." "We realised later that we had the second session after the North Koreans and they used to sit in the stand and watch us play these practice games." "We were impressed by Australia's technical skills" "Their individual skills were especially good." "However, we could see they had a weakness." "They lacked teamwork, and they lacked speed even though they were technically proficient." "So we could see a way to compete with the Australian team." "To ensure fairness, Cambodia's ruler Noradom Sihanouk ordered the stadium to be divided in two." "Halfwould support the Australians, and halfthe North Koreans." "They put the biggest player in their team marking me." "Now I'm only a little guy." "I kicked that fullback when the ball was there, when the ball wasn't there." "I kicked him, I elbowed him." "I tried everything." "Couldn't hurt him, couldn't out psyche him, couldn't scare him, couldn't do anything." "And I think on reflection they were all the same." "They were army guys, they were tougher than we were." "I was glad we were only playing them at football." "The beat us 6-1 and the second game we lost 3-1." "We won the game with a great result." "Our minds were already running to England." "Martin polley Sports Historian, As soon as the North Koreans qualified the British Foreign office" "Martin polley Sports Historian, realised that they had a problem on their hands as the UK didn't recognise North Korea." "They clearly didn't want them here." "They viewed them as an embarrassment." "One of the foreign office officials wrote 'The North Koreans have thoughtlessly beaten the Australians and so will be giving us a headache'." "They were worried that it would set a precedent for recognising other countries where sovereignty was in dispute and the main one they were worried about was East Germany." "They toyed with the idea of refusing visas to the North Korean players which would have been in line with a policy towards other countries where they didn't recognise sovereignty." "But they realised early on that this might lead fifa to move the World Cup to another country." "And they realised that this would cause major problems for British sports lovers, for all the organisation that had gone on." "And so they had to try and work out a compromise that would let the Koreans in but not imply recognition ofthe Peoples Democratic Republic of Korea." "When we were on the plane..." "We thought about our Great Leader's teaching to glorify our homeland." "At the time, NATO had guidelines for all member countries, that if they had sporting contacts or other cultural contacts with East Germans, that they should call them East Germans and not the German Democratic Republic." "That they should not allow them to fly flags, that they should not allow them to have any specific anthems playing." "And the Foreign Office was very worried that if they let the North Koreans in, calling themselves the DPRK, with flags with anthems, with all the rest ofthat paraphernalia, that they would have to extend the same courtesy to the East Germans in future." "Uruguay in Group One" "Second Argentine in Group Two" "And Chile in Group Four" "The first into Group Two," "West Germany." "Next Hungary, Group Three." "USSR in Group Four." "First to come is France in Group one, the second is Spain," "the third is Portugal" "and the fourth is Italy, in Group Four." "Mexico, Switzerland, Bulgaria..." "Interestingly the Foreign Office came up with their minimum demands and their maximum demands." "It negotiated on those grounds." "Now on the name there didn't seem to be much problems, people very quickly accepted North Korea as the name." "And the last, North Korea in Group Four." "The flag flying was the most problematic issue." "Dennis Howell, the Minister for Sport was very keen on a festival atmosphere and didn't want other countries minimising their chance to fly their flags, and in this case Howell won out and all flags were flown." "And the Foreign Office just had to say to the South Koreans this doesn't mean we now recognise North Korea." "Now on the anthems the Foreign Office view held and they did manage to minimise the playing of anthems." "They came up with the model that the only anthems played would be before the opening match," "England against Uruguay and before the final, which they assumed would not involved North Korea." "In fact the North Korean anthem was not played at all so in that case the Foreign Office view managed to minimise the display of symbols of nationhood." "And all the while they managed more or less to keep it out ofthe press." "There was a little bit of speculation about the diplomatic overtones to this." "But they managed to keep the actual negotiations, the horse dealing that was going on, out of the press." "It now gives me great pleasure to declare open the Eighth World Football Championship." "We never imagined we'd see our national flat flying in England." "So when we saw our flag in the English sky as professional players, we felt so proud of ourselves and of our country" "Pak Do lk's apartment Sports Street, Pyongyang" "Due to his exploits at the Eighth World Cup in England," "Pak Do lk is the most famous North Korean footballer outside of his country." "Right after the war, I worked in a print factory as a labourer." "While I was labouring, I started playing football." "In 1957, I was selected to play for the Pyongyang team." "That was when I turned professional." "I was already 20 years old." "Middlesbrough, England." "In 1959, I was selected for the National Squad." "Pak Do lk later became National Team Manager" "North Korea were drawn on Group 4, along with Italy, Chile and the Soviet Union." "We know the Soviet Union had a good side" "David Lacey Football Journalist, And Italy of course are always in contention." "It looked a pretty strong group." "Of course nobody had really thought seriously about the North Koreans, they were just there to make up the numbers." "We composed this song ourselves and took it to England." "The title is: 'The Chollima Football Team'." "Carrying our nation's honour on our shoulders...'" "We are the glorious Chollima football team'" "We can beat anyone even the strongest team'" "We will show others who we are'" "That's right'" "Fight and win'" "Let us raise our national flag to fly in the sky in celebration'" "The North Korean delegation numbered 74, which included the squad, coaching staff, medical team, chefs and four man documentary crew." "The base for their three group games would be Middlesbrough, an industrial working class city in the North East of England." "We knewthat Britain had participated in the Korean War." "In other words, we were the enemy." "With the Korean War still fresh in the minds of the British, perceptions of the Korean team as an aggressive, hard-line, Communist enemy were widespread." "Yet the Mayor of Middlesborough, John Boothby, embraced the Koreans and in a clear message to the town went out of his way to make his guests feel welcome." "Charles Amer Middlesbrough FC Director 1966 They came here with a reputation." "Probably it was misguided." "But by the same token you had to do something to try and overcome people's thinking in the area." "As Ambassadors of their country, you couldn't have had better people." "The Koreans stayed at a newly opened hotel adjacent to the airport and trained on the pitches belonging to the local petrochemical plant." "Nobody knew anything about them." "Nobody knew anything about the society or anything like that." "So they were an unknown quantity." "And just to see lnternational Football" "So they were an unknown quantity." "And just to see lnternational Football in the North East was tremendous." "There was a real sort of buzz." "North Korea v USSR" "Tremendous atmosphere here at Ayresome Park." "The rank on the right there, the Russians." "In all white strip tonight." "And on the left of course, the team that everyone wants to know about, the North Koreans." "The Koreans have played in Russia." "They've played against Spartak and indeed... beat them 2-0" "The North Koreans' average height was just 5'5'." "The Soviets, having seen their domestic teams lose to the speedy Koreans, knew they had to make full use of their significant physical advantage." "Oh and a very nasty piece of kicking there by the Russian." "The Russians came in for severe criticism because they'd been a bit physical with the Koreans." "They all seemed to be twice as tall and twice as heavy and they bounced the little men around Ayresome Park." "And I think from that point, the Ayresome Park supporters rather got behind Korea, had a bit of sympathy for them." "They played wildly, and we were unable to deal with that." "A certain amount of needle now developing and fists are being thrown at this particular moment." "The score, 3:0 and I can't believe that either of these two teams are going to do very well at all." "It was what everybody had expected." "And we made cooing noises about how determined and enthusiastic the North Koreans were." "But really wrote them offwith that game." "Although we were defeated 3:0 we gained confidence." "We took this confidence into the Chile and Italy games." "I was Number 8 in the 1966 World Cup." "My name is Pak Sung Jin." "I started playing when I was young." "A football team played next to my house." "This inspired me to play." "Pak Sung Jin was North Korea's top scorer in the Eighth World Cup." "He had one ofthe most powerful shots of the tournament." "Pak Sung Jin was very fit and had especially strong legs." "He tied elastic string round them and stretched his legs." "He did this every day, a thousand times each leg." "We are here today with the players who took part in the eighth World Cup." "to show respect for our Great Leader, Kim ll Sung." "To be in front of his statue reminds us of his support for football and the love he has shown for us." "Let us pay our respects to our Great Leader, Kim ll Sung." "When we heard of his death, we were all so sad." "Not only the sportsmen and women but the whole country." "This place was flooded with people's tears." "Before we left our homeland, he invited us to see him on 10 June 1966." "That day, he embraced us lovingly and said :" "European and South American nations dominate international football." "As representatives of the Asian and African region.." "as coloured people, I urge you to win one or two matches." "Standing in front of him now takes me back to that day." "I wish he was still alive." "I really wish..." "I wish he was alive and with us today." "Despite losing to the Soviet Union, North Korea's players looked to the country's guiding philosophy, 'Juche', for inspiration." "'Juche' remains at the core of North Korean society." "Its main message is that one is responsible for one's own destiny." "North Korea v Chile" "The Koreans looking full of confidence." "They wept after their defeat by Russia but they are quite convinced they are going to qualify." "Chile had hosted the previous World Cup and finished third." "But theytoo had lost their opening group match, 2:0 to Italy." "For Middlesbrough fans, whose team had just been relegated to Division Three, it seemed natural to rally behind the North Korea, the underdog." "Against Chile, the Koreans would now be fully adopted as the home side." "The crowd support for Korea enormous." "They are certainly looking a little more menacing already." "And this one's got a very good chance here, if he's got a left foot." "Against Chile you first saw the signs of how Korea might do a little bit better than we thought." "Because they were learning all the time." "They weren't a bit dispirited by the game against Russia." "And they actually went out and produced a bit offootball." "And Korea looking very much at home at the moment." "Unfortunately, we gave away a penalty from which they scored." "And now brought down." "And it's a penalty." "Ri Chan Myong on the line." "That's number one for Chile... after 26 minutes." "It was raining very hard." "But nothing seemed to affect the Koreans." "I think they'd have been the same if they'd been playing in heavy mud or an ice pitch." "They always reminded me of a team of clockwork mice." "Collectively wound up at the start ofthe game, and just ran around at the same pace until the final whistle." "Still the score 1 :0 in Chile's favour." "If North Korea lost this game, they would be out of the tournament." "As the final whistle approached, the Middlesbrough crowd knew that their team faced elimination." "The crowd willing them on, shouting 'Have a go!" ".'" "It was 1 :0, with five minutes to go." "Ifwe didn't score a goal the memory of North Korea in the World Cup would disappear forever." "The crowd are so anxious for this team to do well." "If they scored, I'm sure this place would explode." "The crowd almost willing it and it's a goal." "Korea have scored their first goal of the world cup tournament." "Pak Sung Jin, Number 8 the scorer." "Before the goal, I saw the crowd waving our flags and shouting, 'Korea!" "'" "That lifted our spirits." "I also thought about our Great Leader who was waiting for us." "I felt in my heart..." "I had a light from the darkness." "The crowd absolutely delirious." "They've waited two matches for this moment and they willed North Korea into that goal." "They've never cheered Middlesborough like this for years here." "The police were there to make sure no-one came onto the pitch." "And the navy has come to wish them well" "This showed how much the English people loved us especially those from Middlesbrough." "It still remains a riddle to me the people of Middlesbrough supported us all the way through." "I still don't know the reason why." "They played good football." "They were all small, that was a novelty in itself." "It was like watching a team ofjockeys playing" "But they moved the ball around really well." "I think they took people by surprise." "And they were very positive in their approach." "They played attacking football." "There was nothing defensive about their approach to the game." "And the crowd got behind him form the way that they saw them play." "After the game, the Mayor of Middlesbrough came to see us and I shook his hand." "He said, 'Tremendous stuff I have never seen such an exciting game." "Asian football is invigorating.'" "He said, 'Who is Number 8?" "I want to shake his hand.'" "I got an autographic book." "A World Cup Willy, autograph book." "I remember going to the Airport hotel where the Koreans were staying." "And I was introduced to all of the players." "And I sat on Pak Do lk s knee, which was a highlight." "One thing that stands out they were wearing very blue track suits." "They were very smart." "They were always polite, very happy people." "And I remember at the time there was lots of other children trying to get autographs." "And I've got all their autographs and I've kept that safe over the thirty odd years and I'll just always keep it safe." "Well the day after, they had this reception given by the Mayor in Middlesorough." "And it was a very pleasant sort of evening, you know and at the end of it I think as a thank you, in a way, the Koreans wanted to have a sing-song, or they wanted to sing a friendship song." "I think they called it 'Warm Friendship'." "They proved that not only were they good on the field but they were good offthe field as well." "Oh my close friend," "Let's sing together" "Even though we were" "Born in different places." "Even though time passed," "And the landscape changed" "Our friendship will never change." "At the eighth World Cup, a friendship had been allowed to blossom between two peoples whose worlds would otherwise never have collided." "When I play football, I am the goalkeeper" "like the army guards the security ofthe country." "Without a brilliant goalkeeper the team cannot achieve victory even through there are 10 others doing their best." "That's why I prefer goalkeeping." "We are in Panmunjom." "North and South Korea have been divided for more than 50 years." "That's why we are suffering." "This concrete is the military demarcation line." "It is fifty centimetres wide and five centimetres high." "My boss, Kyung Yang Ho thinks that ifthe North and South became a single team we would do very well." "Our two countries are split." "It makes development of our sports, politics and social system difficult." "I was the goalkeeper" "Ri Chan Myong in the Eighth World Cup." "In 1953, while in middle school I started playing football." "Pyongyang was flattened by American bombs." "There was nothing left." "We had to live in the air raid shelters." "We could hardly find a ball to play with." "It was a difficult time to train." "Even basic survival was difficult." "But I desired it." "Goalkeeper Ri Chan Myong is Head Coach of April 25th, the Korean People's Army team." "Counter attack, that's the best solution." "His performances in the World Cup would earn him widespread acclaim." "I am not tall and I have small hands." "Therefore, I had to be especially fit" "So I could jump the distance." "I would practise jumping so the crossbar came to here." "I had quite rough hands." "Now I don't play nay more, and they are soft again!" "Just as animals evolve, his hands have changed from rough to smooth." "Sync Mass Games." "Kim ll Sung, extending the revolutionary struggle to the football pitch, had asked the team to win one or two matches." "The final group game against the mighty Italians, was the footballers' last chance to bring honour to their nation." "The stage was set for a glorious battle." "The Italians had previously won the World Cup twice and arrived in England as one of the tournament favourites." "They were a young and glamorous team with household names such as Rivera, Fachetti and Mazzola." "In the run up to the World Cup we were on good form." "After we beat Chile in our first game, we thought" "Well, we're pretty much through.'" "Then when we lost against Russia, we really started to worry." "Strangely, we had the sensation of it being a great day" "That probably influenced the situation negatively rather than calming it." "But we were convinced that with only needing a draw we wouldn't have any problem." "against a side which we believed to be, and was, inferior." "In Italy, the Korea game was considered a formality and anything less than the quarter finals would be a national disgrace." "For North Korea, a draw was not enough they had to win to stay in the tournament." "Before the Italian game, our victorious mood was such that even ifwe were faced with a huge mountain we could demolish it and march right through." "Back in North Korea, it was three in the morning." "Millions crowded round their radio sets to listen to live commentary from the game." "When the match kicked off, Italy made a powerful, attacking start." "The goal seemed to be jinxed against us none of our shots went in." "This meant for us that the whole game became negative." "We weren't able to turn it around." "So every minute of the 90 minutes was negative." "In the 34th minute the Italian captain Bulgarelli was injured in a tackle he made on Pak Sung Jin." "He left the field on a stretcher." "With no substitutes allowed, Italy were now down to ten men." "Off goes Bulgarelli." "We missed three chances at the start of the game." "We become scared of losing." "Then our team-mate was injured, and there were no substitutes back then." "So we had to play with ten men." "That's no excuse, of course ltaly should beat Korea with ten men." "But it was the worry and the insecurity we all felt.." "which stopped us performing the way we could." "In the 41st minute North Korea delivered a fatal blow." "Pak Do lk." "He SCORES!" "Korea have taken the lead." "Italy a goal down to North Korea" "Who ever would have believed it." "They are absolutely overwhelmed." "I moved so I could use my right foot which is always more accurate." "I kicked the ball straight back into the net." "I was so happy, I wanted to repeat Pak Do lk's motion." "The first reaction was one of anger of helplessness ofwanting to react we did react, but in the wrong way." "We didn't think clearly, we were taking risks." "We were all playing as individuals instead ofjust playing calmly and letting our quality come through." "Perhaps we were too young to think ofthat" "In the dressing room at halftime, the players were full of resolve." "We knew what the Great Leader expected from us." "Behind me was the goal, which was small." "But behind the goal was our nation." "If I conceded a goal, the reputation of North Korea would fall." "We would have failed in the task set us by the Great Leader." "Therefore, I guarded the goal with my life." "And who would be anywhere else tonight in this World Cup Competition but here at Ayresome Park." "Extraordinary things afoot." "And this stadium has never heard support like this for years and years." "And they're away here now, an attack." "Pak Do lk." "And this man has an excellent chance of scoring if he can get his left foot." "It's just wide." "And the Italians in all sorts of disarray." "This is Rivera and this could be very dangerous." "Good save by Ri Chan Myong." "It was an intriguing battle." "Every one of these Koreans playing to their utmost." "Our defenders were under enormous pressure but we reminded ourselves that we could win." "And Ayresome Park in uproar." "And they've won." "Good heavens, they've won." "North Korea have beaten Italy." "What is going on here." "They are delighted." "This is fantastic." "And North Korea will be in the quarter finals." "And the crowd rising to them." "And they are in tears." "They are weeping tears ofjoy." "In the dressing room, the Koreans kept opening the door and inviting us in to celebrate with them." "Because they were celebrating on lemonade, there was no, there didn't seem to be any alcohol present whatsoever." "And they were just jumping up and down." "Talking and jibbering away in their own language." "Just highly, highly delighted." "I've never seen so many people in one enclosed place." "Everybody from North Korea must have been in there." "Well next door was deadly silent." "There was nothing to say, so the best thing in that situation was silence.." "because at that moment, we were all responsible." "From the coach to the last player, we all felt responsible." "for having created something so negative which then actually proved to be negative for Italian football." "I think a lot of us cried in the locker room that day." "North Korea's victory was unquestionably the greatest shock in World Cup History." "Italy would win the European championships two years later and would be runners up at the next World Cup." "But right now the wealthiest players on the planet returned home to ridicule and a hail of rotten tomatoes from their supporters." "It was a disaster!" "Now we can laugh about it but back then, what was awful was arriving at the airport with everyone waiting for us." "Some tried to get out one way others another way it was very ugly." "There were various exits from the airport but people were throwing tomatoes eggs, they threw all sorts." "I was lucky, I managed to get out without them seeing me!" "I was quick!" "To this day, any disaster in Italian football is referred to as 'another Korea'." "Firstly, our Great Leader had instructed us to win one or two matches." "We felt we had achieved this task." "We felt proud of our achievement." "Secondly, I could imagine how happy the people of our nation would feel." "Our sporting heroes fulfilled our nation's wishes." "People poured on to the streets to celebrate and cry.." "even though it was the middle of the night." "As for myself, I was a train driver." "There was no radio on the train, so I couldn't hear the news live." "But when I heard we had won, I would work harder than ever because of the excitement." "It was so good, I cried." "It was historic." "We fulfilled the miracle of Asia's dream." "Ifwe analyse why Italy lost the game." "firstly, they lost the mental battle." "Secondly, after they conceded a goal to us, they tried to hurry to score." "That meant they played individually, not as a team." "Teamwork triumphed over technical superiority." "North Korea had become the fist Asian side to make it to the quarter finals ofthe World Cup." "They now had to move their base away from Middlesbrough to Liverpool, where they would play Portugal." "Liverpool, like Middlesbrough, was a working class city, world famous for being the home of the Beatles." "In a strange twist, the atheist North Koreans found themselves staying at Loyola Hall, a Roman Catholic retreat" "The Italians were booked in to come because this is a roman catholic centre I suppose it was the natural place for them to think of coming to stay when they were here." "When they got knocked out, the North Koreans hadn't got anywhere booked." "I don't know if they hadn't been expecting to get through, but they certainly didn't have anywhere." "So we got frantic contact from them saying could they possibly stay here instead." "At the time, this place would have mainly been used by priests and nuns and perhaps a few particularly religious laypeople." "You certainly wouldn't have expected a communist football team to be here at all." "Outwardly, the Koreans appeared relaxed." "They had become the darlings ofthe nation and had set the tournament alight" "But, despite appearances, they were far from comfortable in their new surroundings." "They were given single rooms, a custom entirely alien to a communist team who normally slept in dormitories." "Over the desk were many strange objects, pictures and things." "Looking at them made it difficult to stay there." "By insisting stubbornly, I was allowed to share a room with Han Bong Jin" "As a Catholic house we have Crucifixes, crosses, in each of the rooms, they all had to be taken down." "That wasn't judged to be suitable." "Despite the best intentions of their new hosts, the religious imagery throughout Loyola Hall remained a problem to the players." "At night, when I looked outside, I could see a chapel." "Inside was a statue of Jesus on the cross with scary nails in his palms." "In the middle of the night, this chapel was lit by a spotlight." "It was the first time we had seen such things." "They caused us to worry and fear, and we couldn't sleep well." "I took part in the Eighth World Cup." "I am number 15, Yang Song Guk." "In our generation, everyone recognises my face." "Younger generations recognise me by my name, Yang Song Guk.." "hero of the Eighth World Cup." "We are proud to have Yang Song Guk here as our manager." "With your help, we have won a National cup every year." "We are proud ofyou." "Thank you." "Yang Song Guk had been drafted into the team against Italy and provided North Korea with a cutting edge on their left side." "Against Portugal he was to be even more prominent." "This was the biggest game in the history of Asian football." "North Korea faced a colossal task." "Portugal had won all three oftheir group games, scoring nine goals in the process." "They had knocked the holders, Brazil, out of the tournament." "And in their ranks was Eusebio, who alongside Pele was regarded as the best player in the world." "The North Koreans could again rely on massive local support, including around three thousand fans who travelled the 150 miles from Middlesbrough." "We decided to try and get tickets and go across and see them play Portugal." "We devised this banner 'Pak Do lk' Crown Prince of the Orient' and that stuck and we took that with us." "We must have dressed the car up." "We did have the banner, we had the scarves and it was the middle of summer." "And you know being teenagers, great opportunity to go out for the day and support your local team - in this case it was North Korea as opposed to Middlesbrough." "Carrying the nation's honour on our shoulders." "We are the glorious Chollima football team." "We can beat anyone, even the strongest team." "The tournament was now at the knockout stage." "After this game, North Korea would either head to Wembley for the semi-finals, or be on their way home." "I think having beaten Italy, people had to give them some sort of chance." "But the way Portugal were playing after that tremendous group with Hungary and Brazil." "People though well theywill probably give a good account ofthemselves and be beaten by a couple of goals." "Nobody expected the Quarter final to have ended up as it did." "Koreans getting a lot of support from the crowd." "This is Hwi..." "Ohhhhhh and it's a goal." "Right in the first minute." "Pak Sung Jin the goal scorer." "And what a start to this match." "Augusto" "A good shot and a good save." "Very good save indeed." "And you can see the difficulty the goalkeeper has there." "He's just a bit stretched to get up to it." "He's not very tall, he's about 5ft 7'" "But certainly the North Koreans may not be very tall, but they're quick, they're very,very nippy and they can jump as well" "This is Jin, Ohh and the goalkeeper misjudged that completely." "And it's number two." "And the crowd going mad." "They're shouting 'Easy, Easy!" "'" "We want three', is the cry now!" "Ik..." "Now Guk..." "He must score, he must score." "Three Nil." "Easy' yells the crowd and the Portuguese just aren't in this match." "We scored one, then two, then three goals, and the crowd went mad." "We were exhausted jumping up and down." "As much by shock and surprise as anything else." "It was just like Italy all over again, except they scored more goals." "And what happened to Portugal was the same as what happened to Italy." "They just seriously under estimated them." "I was doing the quarter final between Hungary and the Soviet Union." "And we didn't have instant radio then or scores being flashed up on screens but news filtered through." "Oh Korea one up, well yes, then two up, three up and you think hang on I'm at the wrong game aren't I." "You knew at the back ofyour mind that it wasn't going to last." "So you enjoyed it while you could." "You just knew, you know your footballing part of your brain took over and thought, well this can't be right." "They're winning 3-0 and we only been playing 20 minutes." "After I scored the third goal, it was 3-0 and we had a feeling of victory." "After I scored the third goal, it was 3-0 and we had a feeling of victory." "Three, Nil." "And that must be the most astonishing score line in the competition so far." "Well there is no question about it that these boys are turning form upside down." "They look more the favourites than Portugal do." "The crowd now calling for four and believe me that is possible." "Portugal's main hopes now lay at the feet of their star player, the Mozambique-born striker Eusebio." "Eusebio going through." "Eusebio. 3:1" "Eusebio took the ball from the net and running back placed it in the centre circle." "He boosted his team's morale and made them positive." "It completely turned them around." "One wonders whether if these North Koreans were more experienced in lnternational Competition, whether they would try and sit on this lead, but it is obviously not their style." "Most teams in the world ifthey'd been in that situation, they'd have tightened everything up, slowed everything down." "Made Portugal do the work." "As it was, Korea l thought lost a bit of discipline in that game." "They started committing panicky fouls, didn't they." "Gave away penalties." "And really played into Eusebio's hands or to Eusebio's feet." "Eusebio" "Against the strong Portuguese attack we lacked the strength and energy to match them." "Furthermore, due to a lack of experience we didn't know how to hold on to our lead." "In other words, we didn't know how to manage the time efficiently." "There's the score then." "If the North Koreans could just tighten up their defence they might well be through to the semi- finals." "Its Eusebio." "Well that's the man we thought could win this match for Portugal." "Eusebio" "Kyong going with him." "So this penalty could put Portugal in the lead." "Four goals to three all four to Eusebio" "Eusebio was an outstanding player especially good at middle and long range shooting." "He was strong, powerful and flexible" "I wasn't a good enough goalkeeper to save his shots" "I conceded five goals." "Myong who has had a very good game in goal." "That's one obviously for Torres" "There it is." "Leading 3-0, then defeated 5-3 it was very disappointing." "Well the crowd really saluting these Koreans who've played their hearts out." "They are looking a bit dejected and disappointed but they've really done far, far better than anyone could possibly expect." "But we were proud of ourselves for getting to the quarter-final and we felt like winners for such a glorious victory rather than losers, even though we lost the game." "For years, rumours circulated in South Korea that the North Korean team had been imprisoned on their return to Pyongyang." "This was allegedly due to womanising and excessive drinking at a party to celebrate their victory over Italy." "The North Korean players totally refute all these allegations." "When we arrived in Pyongyang we were welcomed home like national heroes." "We said sorry to the citizens of Pyongyang." "We wished we could have done a better job." "These are newspapers from North Korea." "Our players came back to our country with great honour for our nation." "so we all welcomed them." "Another headline says that Pak Sung Jin plays like magic and the goalkeeper plays like a spiritual god" "If I have a traffic offence and the traffic warden sees Pak Do lk on my id, they let me go straight away." "We achieved what we did due to the support of our people" "So far, I haven't done that much for my country." "When I visit a football stadium it reminds me of the victorious moment of the Eighth World Cup in England." "I see a ball, and my leg wants to kick it in a reflex action." "I'm physically old, but my mind is lively." "I still feel like playing." "I wish I could play now as I did back then." "Of course I can do it, I'm very good?" "like this." "Trying to look young." "He's the fittest for his age." "I don't think I'll make it to 65." "We see each other quite often, at birthday parties." "We relive our memories." "At our birthday parties, we invite friends and family" "But especially other members of the 'London Club'" "The English people took us to their hearts and vice versa." "I learned that football is not only about the winning." "Wherever we go playing football can improve diplomatic relations and promote peace."