Forty-five years later, it remains one of the most famous works of soccer commentary.
“Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Princess Diana, Vi her slut dem all somemen, Vi her slut dem all somemen! (We beat them all, we beat them all!)
“Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thatcher…your sons have been treated badly! Your sons have been treated badly!”
It was the night Norway defeated England 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier in September 1981. It’s reasonable to think this match could be repeated several times before England face Norway in the World Cup quarter-finals in Miami on Saturday.
The film was made famous by the late Bjorge Lillerien, who is still considered a national treasure in Norway some 40 years after his untimely death from cancer.
Lillelien was an inspirational figure for Norway. A book has been written about the famous game, and he was actually at the center of it all.
Back in 1981, England, featuring the likes of Kevin Keegan, Trevor Francis and Bryan Robson, lost to Norway thanks to goals from Roger Alversen and Halvar Thoresen.
It was an incredible moment, an upset that shocked English football and perhaps defined the Norwegian national team.
Lillerian also became famous all over the world because his emotional outbursts were so iconic that he listed all the famous people in British history.
Mr Lillerien was the first ever full-time sports commentator, working for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, and his words just summed up the shock caused by such an unlikely victory.
Norwegian commentator Arve Fuglum, who wrote a book about that night and Lillerien called “Norwegian Gold – Passion for Sport: Unforgettable Voices,” says the night was a big moment for the country.
Norwegian commentator Björge Lilelje, who uttered the immortal words (Image: Scanpix)
Mr Fuglum said: “In my book, I asked rhetorically, ‘Do we remember the game or do we remember the commentary?’ I think it’s a mixture.
“It’s worth noting that it was 15 years after England were crowned world champions. 15 years ago now was 2011. That’s not long at all!”
“You’re talking about a country that didn’t have any football history like England. We had one game a week on TV and it was England’s. They were heroes and we grew up watching that.”
“That’s why Bjorge lost. It was a big moment, but he summed it up perfectly. It’s amazing to think that this commentary is as well known in England as it is in Norway.”
“He was an inspiration, a national hero. He died young of cancer. This was about two days before Norway played East Germany in 1987, and the game still started with a minute’s silence.
“Can you imagine? They held a minute’s silence for the commentator. That’s how important he was to Norway and Norwegian sport.”
“He’s continued to inspire people ever since. That’s why I wrote a book about the game. It’s about the game itself, but a lot of the content is about him. We still talk about the game and what it means.”
Bryan Robson scores England’s goal, but it’s not enough (Image: Mirrorpix)
“This is England. For Norway, it was the perfect capture of the moment. It was a great piece of history.”
Faglum also recalls how this commentary came about. After studying history, politics, and journalism in Chicago, Lillerian also loved boxing, having spent some time covering matches in the United States.
“That’s probably where your sons got the bad beating,” he said. “He loved boxing and you had that too.
“But he also loved politics. That’s Maggie Thatcher. And Princess Diana. He would often go for a walk with his dog before a match and gather his thoughts and keep them in his head rather than write them down.”
“That’s why it came so naturally and clearly. He just listed the names and had thought about it for a while, but it wasn’t in the script, so it was the best way to go.”
Fuglum did not take part in the World Cup, but is currently on holiday in various parts of England, although he continues to commentate in his native Norway.
He expects a very close match at the World Cup this Saturday. “I think we can go all the way. It might end in a draw.
“We have great players in Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, but we know how good England are. It’s going to be a close game. It could even go to penalties. We know how England think about penalties! But they probably have players who take better penalties than we do.”
That’s what they thought in 1981…
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