‘Jack Charlton, Tony Cascarino and the Pope’ sounds like the start of some elaborate, and probably offensive, joke.
And it sort of was, as former Republic of Ireland manager Charlton poked fun at the player who was at fault for his side’s World Cup exit at Italia ’90.
Football fans woke up on Saturday to the sad news of Jack Charlton’s passing.
The England legend died peacefully at his Northumberland home on Friday, July 10, at the age of 85.
Many will remember the former defender for being part of the 1966 World Cup winning side, and a key member of the famous Leeds United team in the last 60s and early 70s.
But he was also an adopted son of Ireland thanks to his ten-year career as manager of the Republic of Ireland team.
Known as ‘Big Jack’ by Irish fans, Charlton completely changed the fortunes of the men in green and became a beloved figure across the Irish Sea – a love he returned.
And one thing we’ve already learned since Saturday morning is there are plenty of stories about the legendary man, and most of them are belly-laugh funny.
So here’s one from the talkSPORT archives we thought we’d share again, as we look back on the life and career of one of English football’s great characters.
We found this gem of a story from Weekend Sports Breakfast host Tony Cascarino about a trip to the Vatican in Rome to meet the Pope.
It led to one of the Ireland players striking up a surprise bond with the late Pope John Paul II, which came back to bite him later on.
Here’s Cas with the full story:
Asked by Laura Woods if he’s ever met any famous people, Cascarino replied: “Yes, I’ve met the Pope!
“We went to the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and it was quite funny because Jack Charlton was there and when Jack first saw the Pope he said to us: ‘Hey, I’m more famous than him.’
“But what not a lot of people know is, Pope John Paul II was a semi-professional goalkeeper, so he ended up having a chat with Packie Bonner about goalkeeping.
“So we’re in the Sistine Chapel and we’re talking and all laughing watching Packie and the Pope talk about goalkeeping, and you could tell they were because of what they were doing with their hands.
“Anyway, we played Italy in the quarter-finals of the World Cup we lost 1-0, and Packie Bonner has made the mistake for the goal.”
The Irish put up a good fight in Rome and dominated the opening 30 minutes against an Italy side that featured Paolo Maldini, Roberto Baggio and Carlo Ancelotti.
But the hosts scored what turned out to be the winner against the run of play in the 39th minute, with Bonner pawing at a speculative, but sweetly-struck, shot from Roberto Donadoni and leaving the goal wide open for Salvatore Schillaci to slot home.
Cascarino continued: “In the dressing room after the game Jack Charlton thanked us all, and his final words were: ‘We’ve had a great World Cup, we’ve had a great time, go and have great holidays…’
“… ‘Oh and by the way Packie, the Pope would have saved that!’”
And the funny thing is, in his prime, he probably would have.
RIP Big Jack, you’ll be missed.
