SCOUTING REPORT:CARLOS DE LORENZI Sao Paulo's youth coach spotted Kaka when he was 12 years old

'Sometimes I wonder how many times I would wake up sweating had I passed up the chance to take Kaka on board after seeing him playing in a big, non- competitive kids' tournament in the outskirts of Sao Paulo.

Make no mistake, he was only 12, but still had a lot of skill and, above all, initiative. The only thing that did not make me jump straight away was the fact the boy was quite skinny. But we brought him in, thankfully. Soon we realised that, alongside the talent, Kaka was also full of initiative.

We went to a tournament once and one of our games went to a shoot-out. Even though he was the tiniest and youngest in our under-15 side, guess who was the first to step forward to take a penalty?

In our profession, spotting talent is fundamental, but, even when you reckon there is a rough diamond in front of you, it still gives you goosebumps when the kids make it at the top level.

It could be easy for me to say one could see all the way Kaka would end up being one of the world's top players and even win the Fifa award, but in fact he surpassed everybody's expectations because players like him do not show up every week.

It's remarkable Kaka has achieved so much in the game without becoming a prima donna.

Kaka had other coaches scratching their heads thanks to his frail physique and some even suggested he should try following his father's career as an engineer, but Sao Paulo kept believing.

Nowadays I am working for Luverdense, a third division side. I have found some interesting kids there, but since I am the manager now I have to keep it secret.

An English disaster.

An embarrassing blunder.

Yes, ITV’s error in switching to a commercial during the USA tie (and, yes, missing England’s goal) has caused much comment – most of it by Sky News, who have used every available moment to remind viewers of the mistake on ITV’s HD channel, even repeatedly showing the commercial (which was for a Hyundai car).

In 1990, American viewers of the World Cup quarter-final between the Republic of Ireland and Italy were subjected to a similar commercial break (though, this one was not unintended and not for a car) and, yes, they managed to miss the only goal of the game – scored by one Toto Schilachi.

World Cup Legends: Whatever Happened To . . . ALCIDES GHIGGIA

In front of 200,000 spectators at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, the little Uruguayan famously scored the winning goal against the stunned hosts in the 1950 World Cup final.

His place in every Uruguayan’s heart secured, Ghiggia then briefly played for his adopted country, Italy, before returning to his homeland to retire.

He was present at the opening ceremony of the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany, a few months before his 80th birthday.

If you think it’s time Ireland got over the “Henry incident”, than consider that, in Brazil, the 1950 decider still hurts to this day – though Ghiggia was delighted to be invited back to the Maracanã a few months ago for a ceremony to mark his achievement.

And, with Uruguay participating in this year’s World Cup, Ghiggia has been picking up awards left, right and centre for his glorious exploits all of 60 years ago – including (pictured above) the unveiling of a commemorative plaque of his feat in Montevideo just a few days ago.

FAN FARE

From the people who brought you the vuvuzela, meet the makarapa, another distinctively South African creation, with fans spending hours decorating their hand-cut, hand-painted hard hats with ornaments, flags, etc.

The makarapa – an old word in South Africa for mining hat – needs to be worn along with giant glasses to look really cool.

The upside: Much less noisy than a vuvuzela.

The downside: Just imagine the view the person sitting behind the guy above has.

WORLD CUP BALLS

NO 3: SPAIN 1982

Italy equalled Brazil’s record by claiming a third World Cup crown, beating West Germany 3-1 at the Bernabéu.

BALL VERDICT

The very first water-resistant World Cup ball! Unfortunately, it wasn’t kick-resistant, and the ball regularly had to be replaced during matches.

€7,000,000 + €200,000: ENGLAND COACH FABIO CAPELLO + THE SALARY OF NORTH KOREA HEAD COACH KIM JONG-HUN