Remember When… We Had A Golden Generation
Football Daily
BBC
4.3 • 4.6K Ratings
🗓️ 3 June 2026
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When England flew to Germany for the 2006 World Cup, expectations were at fever pitch for a star-studded team led by David Beckham. The so-called Golden Generation was ready to deliver. But it never happened – instead came a series of heartbreaks and disappointments that left the fanbase in despair.
Rick Edwards is joined by Sharon, Billy and Gary, three fans who probably suffered through more games than anyone else during the Golden Generation. They reflect on their incredible experiences at different tournaments, but also the growing sense of a team that felt further away from the fans than ever before.
02:24 - How optimistic were England fans going into the 2006 World Cup? 04:31 - Sharon, Billy and Gary’s experiences on the ground in Germany 11:10 - England meet Portugal in the quarter-finals again 13:12 - Owen Hargreaves & underappreciated members of the Golden Generation 17:30 - England at South Africa World Cup 2010 19:15 - Wayne Rooney hitting back at the fans & disconnection with the team 25:03 - The end of the Golden Generation 27:30 - Disaster at Brazil World Cup 2014 29:52 - Reflecting on this era 32:55 - The beauty of following England on the road
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Hello and welcome to Remember When, |
| 0:09.0 | the show that brings together football fans |
| 0:10.6 | to talk about the seismic moments |
| 0:12.2 | that shaped their team's history |
| 0:13.5 | and had a massive impact on their own lives too. |
| 0:16.4 | We're here to talk about the stories, |
| 0:17.9 | the memories, the moments that unite us as football fans |
| 0:20.5 | wherever we're from and whoever we support. I'm Rick Edwards and today we're revisiting |
| 0:24.9 | not just one World Cup but an era. It's England's Golden Generation. |
| 0:29.3 | Lamb to heart! Brilliant! It was it now! |
| 0:33.1 | That surely crossed the line. It's not been given. Surely that was it. The birthday of the golden |
| 0:39.8 | generation is up for debate. Many points to England's 5-1 win over Germany in 2001, those |
| 0:44.8 | halcy and early days, as Sven Goren Erickson's reign. The 2002 World Cup ended with bitter regret, |
| 0:51.4 | Euro 2004 with an even stronger sense of what might have been. |
| 0:56.1 | So undoubtedly, expectations were at fever pitch when England touched down in Germany in the summer of 2006. |
| 1:02.7 | It's the whole part of this world of atmosphere to be here near the ground and enjoying it. |
| 1:06.4 | Just the feel of it, just being in Nuremberg will have played in the game. It's absolutely brilliant. |
| 1:10.8 | And can they win? Now, Ruinies on? |
| 1:12.5 | Definitely now. |
| 1:13.8 | England had a virtually unprecedented crop of talent. |
| 1:16.4 | Stephen Gerard, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, John Terry, |
... |
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