“What you sayin’, Rudes?”

It all kicked off when European Champions Holland played West Germany in the 1990 World Cup.

AC Milan had the three Dutchmen Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten & Inter had Germans Andreas Brehme, Jürgen Klinsman and Lothar Matthaus.

Of course West Germany went on to win the tournament.

And Years later Rijkaard took Holland to the semis of Euro 2000 as a manager as well as winning the champions league with Barcelona.

But the spitting incident involving Rijkaard and Germany’s Rudi Voller remains etched in the memory of so many of us who watched that second round game in 1990.

Voller is now the German national side’s football director and Rijkaard personally apologised to him for the incident.

I always found myself sympathising with Rijkaard, but now I realise that even he said that he was in the wrong.