FIFA World Cup: A selected retrospective

The quadrennial festival celebrating the beautiful game has typically been a fertile ground for the making of legends

Ever since its inception in 1930, the FIFA World Cup has progressively grown into a sporting spectacle like no other, captivating billions around the world with a virtually unmatched mix of drama, controversy, heartbreak, and euphoria.

This quadrennial festival celebrating the beautiful game has typically been a breeding ground for the making of legends: from a teenage Pele's World Cup final brace to Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' goal to Zinedine Zidane literally and figuratively seeing red, each edition of the tournament has produced stories that have since written themselves into the annals of football history.

This year's tournament is expected to be no exception, with two of football's greatest-ever players poised for what could be their final dance on the competitive international stage.

That story, however, is yet to be written, so for now, we'll focus on the ones that have been.

With 21 editions of the FIFA World Cup behind us and the first ever winter edition of the iconic tournament now staring us in the face, we delve into the recent past and into history books to bring you some known and some perhaps lesser-known moments, records, and 'factos' about the world's biggest sporting event.

The usual suspects

No discussion on a FIFA World Cup is complete without a tip of the hat to the icons who defined the beautiful game as we know it, so we’ll start there.

The birth of a legend

It was 1958 when the world got its first glimpse of what can only, in hindsight, be described as a phenomenon.

Pele arrived at the World Cup in Sweden with an injury that kept him sidelined for two games. Upon his first glimpse of action, however, the yet-unproven Brazilian notched an assist. If that weren’t a hint of what was to come, the then-teenager followed up with a winner in the quarter-final and a hattrick in the semi-final to give Brazil a shot at glory. At the age of 17 years and 249 days, Pele became the youngest player to feature in a World Cup final match, where he notched a brace in a 5-2 win over hosts Sweden to help Brazil lift their maiden World Cup.

He still holds the record for the highest number of assists in the World Cup and of being the player with the most World Cup triumphs – 1958, 1962, and 1970.

A paradigm shift

The first Dutch international to receive a red card, and a part of the team that is credited for the invention of Total Football, Johan Cruyff led the Netherlands to the final of the 1974 World Cup where they lost against a formidable West Germany side boasting the likes of Gerd Muller and Franz Beckenbauer.

While the Dutchman never won a World Cup in his career, he is credited with the invention of one of the most iconic and recognisable dribbling moves in football. Marked tightly by Swedish defender Jan Olsson in a group stage game of the 1974 edition, Cruyff feigned a pass and dragged the ball back behind his standing leg, turning 180 degrees and speeding away from his stunned marker, a move that has since been christened the ‘Cruyff turn’.

Coupled with his part in the cementing of Total Football, a philosophy and a system that has considerably influenced today’s modern game, Cruyff remains an icon of the sport.

Lightning sometimes strikes twice

After a disappointing World Cup defence in 1982 when Argentina were eliminated by Brazil and Diego Maradona saw red, the Argentine captained his team for the 1986 edition, playing every minute of every game.

Having secured qualification to the knockout rounds, Argentina beat Uruguay to set up a quarter-final tie against England, a tie that would go down in history as one of the most controversial and dramatic matches to be ever played at a FIFA World Cup.

With the game poised delicately at 0-0 at half-time despite a strong performance by Argentina in the first half, Maradona broke the deadlock in the 51st minute, capitalising on a miscued clearance to score the most controversial goal in footballing history. With the ball up in the air from Steve Hodge’s scuffed clearance and England goalie Peter Shilton rushing out to punch it away, Maradona, standing 8 inches shorter than Shilton, somehow beat the goalie to it, and the ball looped over the keeper and into the net to make it 1-0 for Argentina. Replays, however, showed that the ball had hit Maradona on the hand, and the goal understandably created a furore. Later, the Argentine would coyly describe the goal as “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God” and it wasn’t until 2005 that he admitted that he had intentionally handled the ball to score the opening goal.

While Maradona’s first goal against England was marked by controversy, his second, which came four minutes after the first, would go on to be regarded as the greatest goal ever scored.

Having received a pass inside his own half in the 55th minute, Maradona began a 60 yard dash. 10 seconds later, with four stunned English players left in his wake and Peter Shilton on his bottom, Maradona slotted the ball into an empty net, sealing the win for Argentina and cementing his legend.

THE WILD BUNCH

While many have made World Cup history for their remarkable footballing feats, some have gone into the history books for all the wrong reasons.

Spitting mad

Clashes between The Netherlands and West Germany have historically been heated affairs, and their Round of 16 clash in the 1990 World Cup proved to be no exception. That contest, which West Germany won 2-1, was marred by controversy after an incensed Frank Rijkaard spit on Rudi Voller’s hair.

The astonished German, after protesting, carried on with the game, but was picked on again by Rijkaard after a free-kick: with Voller on the ground after a collision with the Dutch keeper, Rijkaard attempted to drag him up by the ear and then stomped on his foot. The referee was not having any of it and promptly brandished a red card to Rijkaard, before turning and showing Voller a red too. The German, to this day, remains mystified about what he did wrong.

Seeing red

Zinedine Zidane was all but perfect in the 2006 World Cup, producing performances that left supporters and detractors equally mesmerised. He could have, and probably would have, capped off his illustrious career with yet another World Cup win, had it not been for Marco Materazzi.

With the match tied at 1-1 and well into extra-time, Zidane and Materazzi had a verbal exchange following a fantastic save by Gianluigi Buffon. While the exchange, at the moment, seemed trivial, Zidane suddenly turned and headbutted the Italian, leaving the referee no choice but to send him off. The absence of Zidane appeared to take the wind out of France, and Italy won the final on penalties, with Materazzi scoring the winning spot kick.

In the aftermath of the incident and the ensuing drama, it wasn’t exactly clear what Materazzi had said to Zidane. A year later, however, the Italian opened up, explaining how he had slighted Zidane’s sister: the Frenchman, perhaps arrogantly, had told Materazzi, “If you want my shirt, I will give it to you afterwards,” to which the Italian had said, “I prefer the whore that is your sister.”

Tooth and nail

Known for being a live wire and dubbed the ‘cannibal of Ajax’ by De Telegraaf during his stint at the Eredivisie, Luis Suarez lived up to his reputation, both as an incredible footballer and an incorrigible opponent, in not one but two World Cups.

After shattering Ghana’s hopes of progression in the 2010 World Cup by blatantly handling the ball and denying Dominic Adiyiah from what would have been a certain winner, Suarez struck again in 2014 World Cup, this time, with his teeth.

In a heated match for qualification to the Round of 16, Suarez literally took a bite at Giorgio Chiellini and even had the impudence to feign that he had hurt his teeth. He escaped punishment in the match, but was later banned for four months. Uruguay, meanwhile, qualified at Italy’s expense.

Chiellini, however, later revealed that he actually admired Suarez’s guile. “Malice is part of football, I wouldn't call it illegitimate. To get past a rival you have to be smart. I admire his cunning. If he lost it, he'd become an ordinary forward,” the legendary defender said.

DAYS THAT SHOOK THE (FOOTBALLING) WORLD

Fascism, ghost goals, match fixing scandals, and more, the FIFA World Cup has seen its share of controversies.

Il Duce’s men

It was 1938 and fascism was on the rise in Europe. It was also the year when the last World Cup before World War II was held.

Italy, the defending champions, faced France in France in the quarter-finals. Owing to both teams’ jerseys being blue, Italy, under normal circumstances, would have worn their alternate white kit.

However, on Benito Mussolini’s orders, the Italians donned the black of the feared and despised Italian fascist paramilitary, did their fascist salute at the beginning of the match, and went on to win the match.

Italy also won the final against Hungary and retained the trophy for 12 years as war swept across Europe, leading to the suspension of the quadrennial tournament till 1950.

Doped up

After his heroics in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, hopes were high when Diego Maradona took to the field again in 1994. Little did he know that it would be the end of his international career.

Having helped Argentina to wins over Greece and Nigeria, suspicion fell on Maradona after a rather wild celebration after his goal against Greece.

The Argentine was subsequently tested for drugs, caught for having taken ephedrine, and was banned from the World Cup, marking the end of an international career that lasted 17 years.

A tale of two goals

England’s only World Cup win in 1966 was memorable for two reasons: Geoff Hurst’s hattrick, the only one ever scored in a World Cup final, and the nature of his second goal. With the match tied at 2-2 in extra-time, Hurst swivelled and took a shot at the German goal, but the ball bounced off the underside of the crossbar and was cleared by the Germans. Unsure about whether the ball had actually crossed the line, the on-field referee consulted his linesmen, who ruled it a goal. Later studies and simulations showed that the ball had, in fact, not crossed the line.

Almost half-a-century later, in what can perhaps be considered a form of karmic retribution, Germany knocked England out of the Round 16 in the 2010 World Cup after a goal by Frank Lampard, which may have changed the outcome of the match, was disallowed despite it having crossed the line.

Refs for hire

The 2002 World Cup, the first in Asia, is remembered for many things, controversial refereeing being one of them.

Co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, there were several matches wherein referees appeared to be partial towards South Korea, almost as if they were hell-bent on helping the hosts advance.

Having advanced from the group stage, South Korea faced Italy in the Round of 16, where the disallowing of a perfectly fine Italian goal and the sending off of Francesco Totti helped the Koreans secure a 2-1 win over Italy.

While there was furore over the decisions in favour of South Korea in the Ro16 match, the hosts were again helped by questionable decisions—two disallowed goals and numerous offsides—in the quarter-finals against Spain, leading the Spanish media to dub the officials as “thieves of dreams.”

The referees of the two games were subsequently forced to retire due to match fixing allegations.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE JULES RIMET TROPHY

It was March 1966, the year England won the World Cup, when the original trophy—the Jules Rimet trophy—was stolen ahead of the start of the tournament from an exhibition in Westminster Hall.

A manhunt by Scotland Yard proved to be futile and there were fears that the trophy would not be recovered before the start of the tournament.

However, seven days after the theft, David Corbett was walking his dog Pickles, who picked up the scent of and found a parcel wrapped in newspaper lying close to the house. Upon opening the parcel, Corbett, to his surprise, found that it was the Jules Rimet trophy and handed it back to the police. For the recovery, Corbett later received rewards totalling £6,000. And Pickles? Well, Pickles became a major celebrity, and even starred in some movies.

However, the story of the trophy does not end there.

When Brazil won the 1970 World Cup, their third, they were awarded the Jules Rimet trophy in perpetuity, but it was not to be.

13 years after their 1970 triumph, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen again in Brazil, this time by a banker, an ex-cop, and a decorator. At the time, it was claimed that the trophy had been melted and sold as bullion, and all the accused, including a gold dealer whose involvement was suspected, were arrested.

However, they all fled following the awarding of their sentences. Some were later re-arrested, one was shot to death at a bar, and another died in a car accident.

As for the trophy, it was never recovered, but the theory that it was sold as bullion is contested: the Jules Rimet trophy, as pointed out by football writer Simon Kuper, wasn’t made of solid gold, but was rather made of silver and coated with gold, a fact that makes the bullion theory rather implausible.

So, if it wasn’t melted down, where is it? For all we know, it could be lying unattended, somewhere on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, waiting for a pick up that never happened. The mystery goes on.