EDitorial ± 8-Jul-2010

Panini Boy

That there World Cup's still going on, despite the deserved eviction of Our Boys. Maybe, just maybe. Er, no. While Ozil and co were ripping through our majestic defence, The Boy was busy soaking his mates with his Flash Flood pistol. At least some people were having fun that afternoon.

Pleased to say that I've been brainwashing number one son into the magnificence and significance of the four yearly tournament. While I used to gawp at the feats of Cruyff and Kempes, he's been carefully trained to gasp at the footwork of Messi and Kaka. Helped, naturally, by that essential WC add-on, the Panini sticker album.

Comes in at 50p a pack, so he's not got too many. He claimed yesterday to have "found" a pound in the school playground and so returned with a brace. Likely story.

It's educational, you know, trying to pronounce the names of all those players, from South Africa's musical Tshabalala to Spain's lilting Iniesta to Uruguay's handballing Suarez. Imagine his delight, then, to open a fresh pack and discover the footballer whose name he loves the most -- step forward Danny Shittu.