Lightning does, in fact, strike twice. In February, a combination of a Sydney storm and Wellington airport’s curfew delayed our arrival in New Zealand by 24 hours, complicating a holiday of a lifetime. On Friday night, similar weather, with the airport affected this time being Munich’s, threatened to ruin the journey of a lifetime – or at least one that had been going on for well over 30 years.
My first England game: March 1985, a friendly win at Wembley over the Republic of Ireland, with Leicester’s Gary Lineker scoring his first international goal. My first away game: November 1991 in Poland, Tottenham’s Gary Lineker scoring his last competitive goal. Now, at my 12th tournament following the men’s team, I had a ticket to watch them play in their first final on foreign soil.
