Hanover 1968 was where it all went wrong, as far as I was concerned.
To my mind, at that time, England were better than West Germany because they were the world champions. Which meant Charlton was better than Beckenbauer. Hurst was better than Seeler. Banks was better than Tilkowski. Moore was better than Schulz. It was all very simple.
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On Wednesday night, as England qualified to meet Germany in the round of 16, with the USA topping England’s group and Australia doing Ghana a favour, the great and good of south African football returned to Sandton, the exclusive Johannesburg suburb which they have made their home during this World Cup, and their joy was unconfined.
The reason for the joy was not just on footballing grounds, although these are not insignificant.
They had a record six teams in the tournament but one by one they tumbled out, failing to live up to expectations, dashing the hopes of an entire continent.
The vuvezelas may still be screeching and organisers saying all the right things about the show going on but no-one can ignore the hugely disappointing performances of Africa’s teams at Africa’s World Cup.
Jabulani means “celebrate” in Zulu. But you would have to go a long way to find anyone, anywhere - player, coach or fan - remotely happy when it comes to the controversial ball being used in the World Cup.
After the vuvuzela, nothing has generated greater debate. Watch any game and watch freekicks flying over the bar, outfield players struggling with their control, passes being overhit and goalies fumbling.
If the BBC News channel had given Simon Meyerson just a little more time before England’s World Cup match against Algeria, he would have got round to the fundamental reason for the players’ collective under-performance, a reason that underlies their palpably stilted team ethic.
So when will USA withdraw its bid from the 2018 World Cup and concentrate on getting 2022 for the States?
On the day of the FIFA Congress, immediately after Australia withdrew from 2018, rumours swept Sandton, the once exclusive white suburb now dominated by the huge statute of Nelson Mandela where the good and great of football have gathered, that the USA was about to pull out.
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Picture the scene.
It is Brazil’s first match at the 2010 World Cup; night has fallen; it is so cold that the Official Fan Shop has sold out of blankets at 400 Rand a throw.
And here I am on a corner looking for North Korea fans.
As I start to write this piece, England’s footballers are about to engage in their latest bid to end 30 years of hurt - sorry, make that 44 years, forgot to add the 14 since the European Championships ended with that penalty shoot-out at Wembley against let’s move on - and their prospects are as boundless as a blank page. Southgate. Why couldn’t he just blast it?
So we’re all at it again. Hoping.
Football World Cups are like political elections. Just as politicians promise the earth when they want power, so a World Cup is preceded by extravagant promises by the organisers that rarely materialise.
Will South Africa be any different?
It will and it will not.
They were the kind of images FIFA President Sepp Blatter and his right-hand man, South Africa 2010 organising committee chief Danny Jordaan, least wanted to witness.
“World sees our soccer shame,” trumpeted the front page of Johannesburg’s main newspaper above several gruesome images.
One a terrified child, another a blood-stained fan with one eye half-closed; a third a frightening melee of confused supporters trying to find their feet after crashing into a gate.
Which World Cup do England have the better chance of winning – 2010 or 2018?
For the bookies, the answer is clear.
A leading betting website on Saturday rated Fabio Capello’s men 8/1 fourth-favourites to triumph in South Africa, behind Spain (4/1), Brazil (9/2) and Argentina (13/2).
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Whatever happens to England in South Africa, and whether or not the hurt of 44 years is finally assuaged on July 11, there has been one revolution in England’s national game that is undeniable.
And profound.
So Turkey narrowly failed in their efforts to upset France and win the right to host the 2016 European football championship.
Having come so close in Friday’s vote, I’m sure members of the Turkish bid team will need time to get over their disappointment.
But once they do, they can reflect that their efforts have secured an important legacy for Turkey: never again will a Turkish bid for any sports competition be taken lightly.
It was always going to be a close-run affair but you only needed to witness the relief on the faces of the victorious French delegation and the look of total despair on those of their Turkish rivals to understand just how agonising it was.
It was just over a year ago that Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA, asked: where is English football’s Franz Beckenbauer?
This was just as FIFA was deciding that the rotation policy was dead and igniting England’s 2018 bid. Blatter’s tone suggested he knew the answer even as he phrased the question. There was no one.