by Kenny Millar

Date: 14th June 2002

I lost the shirt right off my back! De La Cruz exits the World Cup - and I was there! Hibs fan and @Hibs.net regular reader KENNY MILLAR was fortunate enough to win a trip to the World Cup finals, and naturally Kenny and his Hibs-daft family chose an Ecuador match as the one they wanted to see.  So there they were yesterday, supporting Ulises & Co to their only victory in the finals.  The Hibs defender clearly could have done with these lucky charms from Scotland, but it was too little too late!  Kenny files a special report from Japan.... i've lost the shirt on my back! My brand new Hibs top, worn on it's first outing - without seeing any Hibs action - gone!  In the cold light of day it seems a moment of madness but in the rarified World Cup atmosphere with the magnificent Yokohama Stadium and the euphoria of Ecuador's first World Cup success, it seemed the right thing to do at the time . In it's place - a worn out yellow cotton Ecuador t-shirt.  Still, be positive, my ex-brand new shirt will soon be proudly on parade in that corner of South America.  It will be joined by 2 of last season's jerseys with 'De La Cruz' emblazoned on the back.  My brothers fared better than I did as they received proper shirts in return! We also managed to give away 2 old white away tops and 2 of the old style fluorescent yellow jerseys to young Japanese boys in the crowd. Just maybe in 30 years time a Japanese Sir Tom Farmer will decide to invest heavily in our beloved team after fondly remembering the day at the 2002 World Cup when he became a Hibee. So the seeds have been sown in Asia and South America. As for De La Cruz I can report that he is indeed the same player that we know and love (well most of us anyway!)  Composed on the ball with a good first touch he constantly posed a threat to the Croatian defence with his pace and trickery down the right.  Sometimes the crosses found their target, sometimes they didn't.  Then of course he was caught upfield a few times leaving his wide right defensive berth badly exposed, yet Ecuador seemed to be able to compensate for this.  A sound performance on this World stage from a man we should do our utmost to hold onto.  My Dad even managed to attract his attention at the end of the game as he came off the pitch and was given a wave as Ulises made it clear that he recognised the green jersey. Kenny meets up with Franck Sauzee before heading out to Japan The seats we had were fantastic, on the halfway line and right behind the tunnel and technical areas, only 17 rows from the front.  A couple of rows behind us began the VIP area and we had Platini and Blatter sitting no more than 30 yards directly behind us - I kid you not!  There was no segregation to speak of, but Croats, Ecuadorians, Japanese and many other nationalities mixed and sang together, and this surely was the spirit of the World Cup and a night I will always treasure. Earlier we had spent the morning on a Tokyo bus tour in the company of 15 Ecuadorian fans.  Not many could speak English, but their party leader claimed to be the guy who signed Ulises de la Cruz for Barcelona de Guayaquil, and he told us he is a personal friend.  I think his name is Graetzer but could be wrong with the spelling, but he is German and says he is simply known as 'The German' in Ecuador.  He believes that Ulises is bound for Celtic but also says that he is a man of his word (De La Cruz that is) and would honour any contract at Hibs!  And Hibs fans will be fascinated I'm sure to know he also told us that "The Tank" Eduardo Hurtado is doing very well back in Ecuador! Meanwhile back home the SPL fixtures have been released, and fans in both sides of the Edinburgh divide will be delighted to see the return of the New Year derby match as Hibs will travel to Tynecastle on January 2nd.  The first derby clash of the season will also be at the Gorgie ground on August 10th, a week after Hibs open the season with a home match against Aberdeen.  And there was good news for the Dempsie brothers at Easter Road yesterday, as the club confirmed that Allan Dempsie, who broke into Bobby Williamson's first team at the end of last season, has signed a one-year deal while brother Mark has been given a chance to recover from recent injury troubles and has signed a deal that will see him through to the winter break in January.