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Quickly Kevin; will he score? The 90s Football Show
Quickly Kevin; will he score? The 90s Football Show

Tony Dorigo - Part 2 of 2 (QK Reloaded)

November 18, 2025 • 46m

Summary

⏱️ 11 min read

Overview

Tony Dorigo shares his remarkable journey from Australia to becoming an England international, including his experiences at Italia 90, Euro 92, and the infamous 1994 World Cup qualifying campaign. He discusses Bobby Robson's management style, Gary Lineker's infamous mishap, match-fixing in Italian football, and provides candid insights into Graham Taylor's tactical decisions that contributed to England's failure to reach USA 94.

Bobby Robson's Management and Italia 90 Preparations

Tony Dorigo recalls Bobby Robson's calm and methodical approach to management, despite facing intense media pressure after losing all three warm-up games before the tournament. Robson commanded respect from players even while making endearing mistakes like mixing up player names, famously calling for 'Stuart Webb' instead of either Stuart Pearce or Neil Webb. The atmosphere before the semi-final was a mix of tension and nervous excitement, with players trying to prepare mentally while dealing with the magnitude of the moment.

  • Bobby Robson had enormous respect from players despite media pressure after losing three warm-up games
  • Robson would mix up player names, once calling for 'Stuart Webb' causing confusion between Stuart Pearce and Neil Webb
  • Players discussed penalty takers before the semi-final, adding to the nerves
  • Dorigo was surprisingly named to the bench for the semi-final despite not being involved previously
" I was in on the semi-final, but even if you're not involved, you are inside. I do remember being inside in the Egypt game at half time... it was Gary Lineker that song where he overstretched, left something out on the pitch, comes back in, and there was no air conditioning, it was boiling hot inside that dressing room. "

The Flawed Scouting Report on Cameroon

In one of the tournament's most embarrassing tactical failures, England received a dismissive scouting report on Cameroon before their quarter-final match. Bobby Robson read out the report which claimed Cameroon 'can't pass, they can't head, they can't do this.' This was the only time Dorigo recalls hearing a scouting report read aloud to the team. England nearly paid the price for this underestimation, struggling against a Cameroon side that had already beaten Argentina and proved to be excellent in every department England had dismissed.

  • Bobby Robson read out a scouting report claiming Cameroon couldn't pass, head, or play
  • This was the only time the team heard a scouting report read aloud
  • Cameroon proved the report completely wrong, having already beaten Argentina
  • England escaped with a 3-2 victory thanks to two Gary Lineker penalties
" We got given a scouting report, and Bobby Robson kind of read it out. It sounds like it's a sheet of A4, it probably wasn't that big. And it was more to do with, well, they can't pass, they can't head, they can't do this, that sort of thing. Little did we know, of course, we soon found out that they certainly can pass, they certainly can play, they certainly can hit. "

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