England and Norway reignite a rivalry better known for one popular comment than football when they meet in the World Cup quarter-finals in Miami on Saturday.
It was 45 years before Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland lit up the current competition when a Norwegian named Bjorge Lillelien delivered a speech that has become legendary.
Norway, never near the threat they are now in September 1981, had just beaten an England side boasting the class of Bryan Robson, Glenn Hoddle, Kevin Keegan and Trevor Francis 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier.
The win was a seismic shock, considered a national embarrassment for England and a huge victory for Norway at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo.
Lillelien would not let the opportunity to pile on England’s woes pass him by as he directed a message to the country’s politicians and sportsmen – especially then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
The man, who has been kept under wraps, warmed to accusing Polish referee Jerzy Kacprzak of “getting close to getting England citizenship” by playing what he felt was extra time as Norway defended their lead.
When Kacprzak finally blew the whistle, Lillelien was ready to take to the air as the chief radio commentator for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, known as NRK.
A slightly edited version of his cheery comment reads: “Lord Nelson. Lord Beaverbrook. Sir Winston Churchill. Sir Anthony Eden. Clement Atlee. Henry Cooper. Lady Diana. We beat them all.”
Then came Lillelien’s most famous words.
“Maggie Thatcher. Do you hear me? We have a message for you. We knocked your boys out of the World Cup. Maggie Thatcher. As they say in your language, in the boxing ring at Madison Square Garden in New York, your boys have been beaten hard.”
Then he repeated for good measure: “Your boys beat hell.”
The last line, in particular, has been repeated – and changed to suit the occasion – since Lillelien delivered it.
England, contrary to what Lillellen had said, was able to enter the World Cup in Spain in 1982, but still.
Social media didn’t exist in 1981. The impact and thrust of his speech, if it had happened now, would have boggled the mind.
Lillelien, who was very famous, died six years later at the age of 60, but those words he always insisted were spontaneous, unprepared.
The emotional speech has been preserved forever by the wonders of YouTube, aided by Lillelien, who is fluent in English, switching to her native language when she says: “Maggie Thatcher. Can you hear me?” and “your boys took one hell of a ride.”
England’s defeat was one of the most shocking in its history, having won the first qualifying match 4-0 at Wembley last year.
At the time of Norway’s victory, Lillelien’s colorful comments meant that those who represented England in that defeat would never be allowed to forget it.
Every time England meet Norway, Lillelien will be remembered fondly by everyone except those who still have to suffer from those painful memories.
