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Stars share World Cup memories

For Steven Gerrard it was Paul Gascoigne in 1990, for Kaká, Brazil in 1994; the UEFA Training Ground speaks to some top players about their fondest childhood memories of FIFA World Cups.

Stars share World Cup memories
Stars share World Cup memories ©Getty Images

Ahead of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the UEFA Training Ground spoke to a number of the tournament's leading players including Steven Gerrard, Kaká and Tim Cahill about their childhood memories of the event.

Gerrard, who will be playing in his second World Cup, recalls with fondness the 1990 finals and particularly the performances of Paul Gascoigne. "I was ten years old and it was the World Cup in Italy. England did very well to get to the semi-finals before unfortunately going out on penalties. Gazza was the inspiration – he played the football of his career and all the England fans jumped on that and we were cheering them on all the way to the final."

In what is one of a number of dedicated World Cup features on the UEFA Training Ground, we also hear why Brazil's success in 1994 was so special for Kaká and how Australia's Tim Cahill was affected by Roberto Baggio's penalty miss in the United States for Italy against the Brazilians.

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