Former Everton midfielder Norman Whiteside, who remains the youngest player in World Cup history over 40 years after his debut, recalls the intense media scrutiny he faced after breaking Pele's record, comparing it to the attention David Beckham received when moving to LA Galaxy.
Whiteside made his World Cup debut for Northern Ireland against Yugoslavia in 1982 at just 17 years and 41 days old, a record that still stands. The Belfast-born star had already become Manchester United's youngest player and goalscorer earlier that year.
He joined Everton in 1989 at age 24, signing a lucrative four-year contract. Despite scoring 13 goals in 35 games in his first season, a knee injury forced him to retire prematurely at 25 after just 73 more first-team minutes.
Billy Bingham's faith
Whiteside credited former Everton player and manager Billy Bingham for giving him his World Cup chance. Speaking ahead of Bingham's 90th birthday in 2021, Whiteside told the ECHO: "Billy was fantastic for me. He had a lot of faith in me to throw me in at the deep end."
He added that the older players were more nervous than him, but the publicity after breaking Pele's record was daunting. "You talk about David Beckham going to Los Angeles Galaxy, but our hotel was like that when I was announced. You couldn't move. There was half a football pitch full of reporters."
Motivational master
Whiteside described Bingham as a master motivator, saying: "When we left team meetings I couldn't wait to put my green jersey on and I had goose bumps. Out of all the managers I played under, he was the one who had that drive, commitment and enthusiasm."
Despite scoring the winning goal for Manchester United against Everton in the 1985 FA Cup final, Whiteside quickly bonded with Blues fans. "As soon as I arrived at Everton, the Gwladys Street took to me because I'm a working class kid. I'd go out in Liverpool, mix with everybody and have a good time."
His final professional game was a 2-1 defeat for Everton at Wimbledon in November 1990, watched by just 6,411 fans. A testimonial match at Old Trafford in 1992 drew only 7,434 spectators.
