Charlie Dempsey Offers Thanks for the Truth...

I was engaged in a conversation with Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the opening banquet of the FIFA Congress at the Sydney Opera House, when Charlie Dempsey, the former President of the Oceania Football Confederation, pushed his way through and said with gleeful exuberance, "Thanks Chuck... your report on opening day of the World Cup in Germany told the truth and the way it was".

Frankly, I never realized that Charlie Dempsey had ever read my "Inside the World Cup" blog and particularly the story A Tribute to Charlie Dempsey on Opening Day. Now, two years later, Charlie had the first opportunity to thank me for setting the record straight and no one was going to stop him.