KUCHING: A flying newspaper and a penalty shootout in a Perlis living room remain vivid memories of the 2002 FIFA World Cup for one fan, who has since moved to Sarawak, where those moments continue to live on.
For Nealdy Thow, football is not just about matches and results. It is about place, family, time and how a single tournament can anchor memories that last a lifetime.
“The memory is a little bit fuzzy but I remember watching it at our old house in Perlis, most probably with my mum or dad.
“Before that World Cup, I bought a football magazine. I was really excited because it was the first World Cup in Asia,” he told Sarawak Tribune when contacted.
That excitement peaked during one of the tournament’s most dramatic moments, the quarter-final between South Korea and Spain, which went down to penalties.
“I was watching it with my parents. When Korea won the shootout, we were all shouting. My dad was holding a newspaper and in the excitement, it flew up and hit the ceiling fan,” Nealdy shared.
What could have been just another football match became something far more lasting – a shared family moment frozen in time, remembered not for statistics, but for emotion.
Even before the tournament, the passion was already building. Nealdy still remembers watching Brazil’s match against Malaysia at his old home, when the star-studded Seleção featuring Ronaldo and Ronaldinho lit up Bukit Jalil.
“Both Ronaldo and Ronaldinho scored. I watched it at my old home. That Brazil team in 2002, to me, is still the best squad of all time. So much joy watching them play,” he enthused.
The 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, was the first to be held in Asia, making it especially memorable for many Malaysian fans.
Nealdy’s family moved to Sarawak in 2003, where he has since built his life and family, but the memories of that World Cup remain as vivid as ever.
“I’m not from Sarawak originally, but my kids are Sarawakian. I married a Bidayuh from Singai. This is home now,” he said.
Today, he sees football as more than a game – a link between the different chapters of his life, from Perlis to Sarawak.
While he sees the Netherlands and Portugal as potential surprise winners, Brazil’s 2002 team remains his all-time favourite.
More than two decades later, the memory of a flying newspaper and Korea’s penalty shootout victory still stays with him, from Perlis to Sarawak.
