Sport can be cruel to its heroes, but occasionally there are tales to warm the heart and lift the senses more than any other.
Take New Zealand's only appearance at the World Cup finals, in 1982 in Spain.

Captained by a lad from Preston called Steve Sumner, nobody could articulate that amazing football moment better than when he led the Kiwis out against the great Brazil on a balmy June evening in Seville nearly 26 years ago.

"To even think of playing Brazil in the World Cup finals was considered the impossible dream for New Zealand, but we had made it," he said.

"As I walked up the steps of the tunnel, I kept saying to myself, 'Try to control your emotions'.

"I remember the hairs stood up on the back of my neck and the goose bumps made me shiver.

"When I reached the entrance there was Brazil's captain, Socrates, maybe the greatest player in the world.

Prime

"You know, I felt in the best condition of my life until I saw him. I looked at Socrates and I felt fat. He was a really tall guy, but incredibly slender.

"He was an athlete in the prime of his life and skippering the greatest Brazil team since 1970. Then I looked down the line of all gold and I saw the faces of Junior, Zico, Eder and Falcao.

"I thought, 'This it, the biggest stage in world football'. I had to pinch myself. It was unreal. Unbelievable really.Ten years before I'd been back home in Preston wondering what the future held for me.

"When we walked out, it seemed like the whole crowd supported everyone's football favourites.

"Brass bands played, they danced the samba, and there was yellow and green everywhere you looked in the stadium.
"And when we lined up alongside these immortals we wondered if we would be put to the sword."

New Zealand's achievement in qualifying for the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain ranks as one of their greatest sporting moments.

Their driving force was Sumner, a proud Prestonian, who left Lancashire for a new life Down Under aged 17, when he was still on the books at Deepdale.

Born in Sharoe Green, he spent his formative years at St Matthew's Primary School on New Hall Lane, and later went to Brockholes Secondary school.

His mother and father still live in Preston, as does his brother Dean.
But for the next 15 years, his life was an incredible football adventure that could rival anyone's.

Sumner represented New Zealand 105 times, which is still a record, but skippering the 'All Whites' against Brazil topped the lot.

When he returned from the World Cup, he was a national hero.

It is a captivating, madcap story, and as we talk at Preston's Holiday Inn – he has returned home on a short business trip – it is difficult to fully appreciate those incredible World Cup moments against Scotland, Russia and Brazil.

Sumner's voice trembles with emotion when he recalls that
astonishing head-to-head with Brazil.

He recalls: "Playing Brazil was like stepping on to another planet, but in my heart of hearts that was the best game I ever played for New Zealand.

"These blokes lived and breathed a beautiful style of football that changed my football philosophy forever.

"It wasn't just about the skill levels, it was their attitude to the game.

"They expected to do things no other footballers in the world could do.
"It was like their every move was extravagantly celebrated.

"Possession was so valuable, and they had a softer touch on the ball."
GraceSumner recalled that sweeping movements involving a dozen or so passes were commonplace.

One-twos were played with consummate skill and simplicity. Speed, rhythm, power, grace – Brazil had the lot.

"It wasn't just kicked clear when under pressure, but caressed and with a gentle swerve of the body an opening would appear, or a magical first touch would instantly kill an uncontrollable ball or slice you open like a knife," said Sumner.

"I played directly opposite Socrates in the middle of the park and so it was my job to pick him up in my area or track him when he got forward.

"On one occasion he made a run into space, and I followed.
"Suddenly I glanced over my shoulder to see the ball on the opposite side of the pitch.

"As Brazil kept the ball Socrates and I made our way back across the pitch, him making little 10-15 yard runs until he decided he wanted the ball, and he positioned himself to receive a short pass.

"In one flowing movement, and one touch, he changed the point of attack and slipped a simple, perfectly weighted pass to his team-mate over about 15 yards.

"It may sound simple but it was sublime. He would have covered about 180 yards in that movement to give a simple 15 yard pass, not only retaining possession but opening us up at the same time.

"From the outset Brazil's alertness and mobility were astonishing."

New Zealand held out for half an hour until Zico'soverhead kick set the Brazilians alight.

They eventually won 4-0, with Zico adding another and Falcao and Serginho also on the mark in front of 43,000 supporters.

"We never expected to face something we had never experienced before," said Steve.

"That's just how it worked out, because Brazil's movement was mesmerising.

"I'll always remember one moment of sublime skill from Falcao, who brought a 40-yard pass down on the back of his heel, killing the speed of the ball stone dead in the process.

"You only get away with things against Brazil if they allow you to.
"We didn't give the ball away too much against them, but creating things against Brazil was a different story.

"I received the ball in midfield and as I looked to play it forward the back four seemed to tighten up like a concertina expelling air.
"The only option that was left to me was to play the ball wide, which I did, exactly as they allowed me to."

What is difficult to portray in print is Sumner's warmth and sense of humour, best displayed when he starts listening to himself then spontaneously erupts at what he has heard himself say.

"It is funny what you remember sometimes," he said. "Half an hour before the game, someone said Pele was outside our dressing room door.

Most of our players wanted to look at football's greatest player of all time.

"But four of us just sat there, thinking about the task ahead and trying not to let such things unsettle our concentration.

Annoyed

"I thought, 'We are on the big stage too'. That annoyed me a bit because we had won the right to be there.

"But Brazil proved their
football was from another planet and I will cherish that game forever."

Eight days earlier, in Malaga, the Kiwis began their first World Cup campaign against Scotland, and Sumner scored New Zealand's opener. In
between, the Kiwis had lost 3-0 to the Soviet Union, who had Oleg Blokhin and Dasaev in their ranks.

Sumner added: "Scotland had Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, John Robertson, John Wark, Alan Hansen and Gordon Strachan. They were a very capable team indeed.

"We'd read about them in the newspapers and had seen them on television, but that was it.

"They were all household names in Britain, so it was a huge test for us.
"The Scottish crowd was incredible, with their giant Saltire flags, many of them dressed in kilts, tartan bonnets and jackets.

"When we lined up for the national anthem, with the Scots lads pounding out Flower of Scotland, and the bagpipes playing inside the stadium, it was an incredible moment with that colour and noise."

New Zealand came in at half-time 3-0 down, with Kenny Dalglish opening for Scotland and Wark scoring twice in three minutes, seemingly putting the game beyond reach.

"At the break, the coach said, 'You deserve the chance to be at the World Cup finals, don't let yourselves down'," he said.

"We pulled two goals back in the first 15 minutes and it was game on.
"I scored our first goal.

Wynton Rufer made a break down the right and played a ball in behind Danny McGrain, the Scotland skipper.

"I seemed to be chasing a lost cause because McGrain had eight yards on me. But when he played the ball back to Alan Rough, McGrain dropped his pass short.

"Before Rough could get to it, I was in.
"In that split-second I remember just trying to keep it down and tuck it under him.

"As I tumbled over him I managed to keep my feet for one more touch and that was enough to force the ball over the line for our first goal in a World Cup finals.

"I picked the ball out of the net so we could get on with the game and as I made my way back to the half-way line I recall looking to where I thought my mum and dad would be.

"There was my father, stood up arms aloft, as if it was the winner in the final.

"When Steve Woodin got our second, suddenly it felt like we had the edge over Scotland.

"The momentum of the game shifted because they started having a go at each other as if what had happened wasn't part of the script.

"Then John Robertson fired in a ferocious free-kick, spinning into the top corner, and the Scots fans went mad.

Class

"Steve Archibald, who had come on as a substitute, got their fifth with a powerful header.

"I played directly opposite Souness. He was a class player but in that match I didn't think he played well. We'd come from poles apart.

"He was playing for probably the greatest club side in the world at that time, Liverpool, and I was a part-time footballer in New Zealand.

"But I came away from the Scotland match disappointed, because I didn't think I'd got to grips with it.

"I didn't watch any of our three World Cup ties on film for eight years afterwards.

"I passionately wanted something more.

"But when I did view the film I thought I was hard on myself.

"It was a tough, physical game against the Scots.

"Souness caught me hard in the throat with an elbow, and John Robertson got me too.

"The Scots were hardly shrinking violets, but New Zealand were hard, tough, competitors and that physical aspect never worried us one bit.

"It was an incredible period of my life.

"Such was the interest back home that even those who had no interest in football until 1982 wondered if we could actually win the World Cup.

"When we got back to New Zealand and saw thousands waiting for us at Christchurch airport it felt like we had."

>> First look at PNE's new home kit