7 June Sapporo Eng Vs Arg

TetsuoHashimoto

Is history destined to repeat itself.

June 30
SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) -- Rival groups of fans brawled into the early morning hours Wednesday, and local youths broke store windows and damaged cars after Argentina defeated England on penalty kicks to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
A number of fans and locals were arrested, but police couldn't say how many. About 10 people were slightly injured by thrown bottles.

Old feuds boil at Argentina-England match
SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) -- Scott Astle wanted England to win because Argentina sank the frigate HMS Coventry off the Falkland Islands, and his team is Coventry. Other English soccer fans remembered the despised "Hand of God" dealt to them in 1986.
And the Argentines were desperate to be champions of the world for the third time. They particularly wanted to defeat the English, whose long-since retired coach called them "****ING ANIMALS" in 1966.

As the two nations prepared to square off Tuesday in this football-mad industrial city to decide who makes it to the World Cup quarterfinals, no one thought the game was only about football.
On the sun-splashed plaza by City Hall, the grudge match was previewed with opposing cheers by enthusiastic ival hordes.
Argentines, leaping in the air in their sky blue and white striped shirts, chanted a Spanish word for sissies. Few of their adversaries understood. Instead, they raised glasses of beer for an answering chant:
"You'll never touch the Falklands."

Argentina declared war in 1982 when the military government in Buenos Aires tried to end Britain's presence on the Falklands. Possession of the small South Atlantic islands remains a sore point.
For the English, the conflict is now mostly folklore. They worry about the 1986 World Cup when Diego Maradona punched in a goal with his fist unseen by the referee. Argentina won the match, 2-1, and two games later won the Cup.
When questioned about his goal after the game, Maradona responded: "It was the hand of God."
Astle, a student, had more than a sunken frigate in mind.
He came to France three weeks ago to follow his team. Robbed the first day, he has worn the same gamy red shirt and floppy off-white hat to Marseille, Toulouse, Lens and Saint-Etienne.
He got a ticket in England to the Lens game against Colombia, but this one, like two others, had to be watched on television in a bar.
"It's worth it," he said. "I'm English."
The lack of tickets and French fears about English fans added to the highly charged atmosphere. Only 2,000 tickets were available to Britons, and up to 30,000 of them were expected in Saint-Etienne for the game. Scalper prices were up to nearly $800.
On Monday night, as the city's temporary alcohol-ban took effect and fans learned that the big video screen in the park would not show the match, hundreds of riot police showed up to clear the area.
That triggered insults, scuffles, and wild baton charges in the city center.
Young ethnic North Africans joined in, beating up English stragglers. Other youths attacked English fans near the stadium and they burned several cars. Police arrested nine locals and an Englishman.
Until the police appeared, hundreds of Englishmen, Argentines and Frenchmen had been drinking peacefully together in the balmy open air. A band played on a makeshift stage, and stands served beer and hot dogs.
The police wanted to separate potentially violent fans
Read The Article,
"Get ready: 10,000 English fans expected for World Cup"