Don't Cry For Me Argentina

It is 1978 and I watching the world cup being played in Argentina.  It was a memorable world cup due to the extraordinary long-strikes that flew into the net and as a Spurs supporter, it was football to watch in the summer season when it is off-season for the British league.

What happened after Argentina won the world cup was one of the most surprising moments in football and a decision that changed the English game forever.  Tottenham at the time appointed a very unlikely manager, what looked like another uninspiring choice and someone who did not fit the mould of a typical top league manager.  His name was Keith Burkinshaw, and in 1978 it was his stroke of genius that changed the British game.

What happened was that Burkinshaw took the opportunity that no other English manager had thought of before, to sign two of the World Cup winners players, and one of them was the captain of the Argentine team Osvaldo Ardiles.  The player that accompanied the great Ardiles was another non-descript player that could well be easily forgotten, his name was Ricky Villa.

It turns out that not only did Burkinshaw surprise the entire British soccer fraternity, but unbeknownst to him, it was the player that was meant to be an add-on to the deal to bring Ardiles to White Hart Lane, that would go on and score perhaps the greatest FA Cup goal, that was also a cup winning goal and that cemented Ricky Villa to legend status for Spurs fans.

The story of the duo culminates in the winning of the 100th FA Cup after a replay, but such is fate that the story for Ricky Villa nearly ended on a Saturday had Spurs not managed to equalize and send the Cup Final to a replay to be played later in mid-week.  The image of Ricky Villa being substituted and his sorrowful long walk to the Wembley tunnel is one that could have signaled a heartbreaking swansong for Ricky Villa - who recognizes that he was not even noticed by fans of Argentina as a player that helped Argentina to win the World Cup in 1978.  Now with his family watching in Argentina, Ricky Villa thought his dream had ended, but it had only begun and hence the song "Don't Cry for me Argentina"

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