Jan Mattys never saw a ball without wanting to kick it.

That's a ball, not a pair of balls - like I've said before, Jan Mattys wasn't a violent man. No, he just loved the game.

Even if it was just a couple of kids booting some balled-up rags around in an alley, the moment any football caught his eye Jan Mattys was transfixed. His eyes followed the ball like he had a fever.

Not that he could play himself, of course. The ball bounced off him like he was a plank of wood. Spinal problem, he used to claim.

But he sure loved to talk about the game. That's why - if he was still with us today - I know he'd be the first one over at the: -

WORLD CUP 2010 THREAD

And I know that, if you honour the memory of the bishops' greatest enemy, you'll be there too.