A supporters diary of Italia '90

 Italy is one of my favourite countries and Italia '90 is a world cup tournament that I would have given my trusty right peg to have gone to....sadly at four years old its with great doubt that I would have been able to take it all in. Years down the line though its still a real talking point particularly in the build up to major tournaments, Englands last hurrah making it all the way to the semi-final's of the biggest international tournament that the globe has to offer only to have the dream shattered by Germans by way of a penalty shootout.

The tournament raised the curtain on the careers of Gascoigne and Baggio with experienced seemingly forgotten about strikers Salvatore Schillaci of Italy and Roger Milla of Cameroon becoming household names at the late stage of their respective careers, then there was Maradona, fresh from the controversy of '86 repeating the Argentine success of reaching the final only to be pipped by a German spot kick.

Thats the players and what we saw on television, what about behind the scenes? What about the fans, the conditions, the build up on the match days, the organisation, hospitality, tickets etc? The famous threat of invasion by English hooligans that prompted the tournament organisers to ship them over to the island of Cagliari to act as a makeshift alcatraz...what really went on?

In this 12 part series BBC journalist Kevin Allen armed with a camera and a tent goes on a voyage of Italy following England in their Italia '90 campaign showing the treatment of English supporters by the Italian authorities and locals, footage from inside the stadiums of the games taking place, the riots and police reaction, interviews with fellow journalists covering the tournament along with the F.A press secretary and even a five minute chat with England manager Bobby Robson.

The first part of this series is at the top of the page and the other parts follow on by way of links on youtube and is well worth a watch. Kevin's journey begins in Sardinia as England face Republic of Ireland, Holland and Egypt in the group matches. Instantly it becomes apparent that the Italians are ill-prepared with regard to accomodation with badly prepared camp sites prone to the invasion of carabinieri officers armed with tear gas.

Supporters appear angry and disillusioned with the treatment and lack of support from the British govornment and sports secretary and the frustration turns to anger as supporters riot in Rimini ahead of the second phase match against Belgium in Bologna. Things appear better organised in Naples for the quarter final with Cameroon with buses laid on for supporters under police escort. Sadly for Kevin reaching Naples is no easy task with the handicap of a broken down car and its a race against time to collect tickets.

After seeing off Cameroon in the quarter final its on to Turin with the realisation that England are only one game away from the world cup final and on a less savoury note, the realisation that Juventus supporters are keen to settle scores after the Heysel disaster 6 years previous. Its a tense night in Turin which ends in sadness and Chris Waddle sends English hopes over the bar and back to reality and there is little left but to pack up and head back home.

It's a must-view for any football fan, those who have braved the cold damp terraces along with a 200 mile round trip home on a tuesday night in the lower leagues or those who have camped out to get tickets for the biggest match in their clubs history, this will be right up your street.