How England footballers’ wives and girlfriends went from sidelines to headlines at the World Cup
THEY have provided a welcome distraction from the torment our boys usually suffer at World Cups.
For more than a decade, we have watched the wives and girlfriends – or wags as we lovingly dubbed them in 2006 – of the England players with fascination.
Since that year’s tournament in Germany, where Victoria Beckham and Cheryl Cole stole the show from the stands with their glamorous support of husbands David and Ashley, the way wags play off the pitch has been discussed almost as much as what has happened on it.
From what they wear to how they celebrate, they have become a national obsession.
But they have not always been the glossy good-time girls we know and love today.
Here, MIKE RIDLEY looks back at the original line-up in 1966 and how the England football wag has gone from shy and retiring to stealing the spotlight.
England — 1966
THE night before England beat West Germany in the final, some of the wags went to the theatre to see variety act The Black And White Minstrel Show.
They made their own way to Wembley the following day and, after the extra-time victory, ate burgers at their hotel while the team dined at a posh banquet.
Full-back George Cohen’s wife Daphne said: “I remember feeling a little fed up that we didn’t even get a ticket for the tea room.”
Mexico — 1970
AT last, wives were able to travel with their husbands to the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. But two probably regretted it.
On the eve of England’s game against Brazil, Tina Moore had to look on as husband Bobby was arrested.
Authorities from Colombia suspected the England captain of stealing a £625 diamond and emerald bracelet from a shop in Bogota on a team visit before the tournament.
Innocent Bobby never revealed who did steal the gems.
And poor Francis Bonetti had to watch husband Peter, England’s stand-in goalie (No1 keeper Gordon Banks was ill) let the ball slip under his body for West Germany to win and end our chances of holding on to the World Cup.
Spain — 1982
AFTER failing to qualify for the 1974 and 1978 tournaments, England took not only their wags to sunny Spain but their kids, too.
In the early Eighties, most wags were housewives and footballers’ modest wages would not stretch to full-time nannies.
The team was based at the Los Tamarises hotel in Bilbao, with its unrivalled views of an oil refinery.
Sadly, England were not so slick in front of goal, failing to make it out of their group after drawing 0-0 with West Germany and Spain.
France — 1998
THEY may look like they are on a Women’s Institute outing but the wags stayed mainly at home when the team played in the World Cup in France.
They used the shiny new Eurostar from Waterloo to travel to the matches until we were knocked out – on penalties, of course – in the last 16.
Germany — 2006
DUBBED “hooligans with Visa cards” by the Press, the wags went wild in Baden-Baden, Germany, England’s tournament base.
Six of them spent £57,000 on clothes in an afternoon and blew thousands on bottles of fizz at night.
The infamous group included Victoria Beckham, Cheryl Cole and Coleen Rooney. After we went out in the quarter-finals, Steven Gerrard’s partner Alex’s hotel bill was £25,000 – including 60 bottles of pink champagne.
Many blamed the wags for our exit. Even Rio Ferdinand said it was “a circus”.
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South Africa — 2010
FOR the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, wags were given the red card by manager Fabio Capello.
With their visits limited to once a week, the girls were so keen to show they had changed that they dressed down to visit some of the country’s most deprived areas for a BBC3 documentary.
But they still ended up in hot water.
Emile Heskey’s fiancée Chantelle Tagoe and Matthew Upson’s girlfriend Ellie Darby, who both appeared in the show, later undid the good work by attending a promotional event in Pretoria where guests got goody bags worth £9,000 each.
Russia — 2018
ENGLAND boss Gareth Southgate has allowed the wags to stay near the England camp in St Petersburg.
Unlike the celebrity bunch of 2006, this latest line-up are a pretty normal lot.
In fact, when they went for a meal at Sunday Ginza restaurant, with Jamie Vardy’s wife Becky leading the way, the nine plus-ones were so well behaved locals did not know they were wags.
Social media posts showed the women laughing – and pouting – as they sipped on chilled glasses of white wine and bottles of champagne before moving on to hookah pipes.
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