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icking Back to Past World Cup Glory

Brandon Yip
OP Contributor

Well, another World Cup has come and gone. |
managed to catch the final between Brazil and
Germany, and | have a few things to say about that
game: What the hell happened to Ronaldo's hair?
It was the worst cut since Gordon Campbell's sev-
ering of programs.

What is it with some of these athletes, that just
because they're in the media spotlight, it gives
them an excuse to look stupid? Did Ronaldo piss
off his barber? Perhaps that small streak of hair
above Ronaldo’s forehead added velocity to his
headers—| don’t think so!

Maybe Germany's stellar goalie Oliver Kahn tried
to suppress his laughter each time Ronaldo came
in with a scoring opportunity. Eventually, Kahn
couldn't help himself, broke down, and had to
chuckle—thus letting Ronaldo score two goals.
Ronaldo finally got the monkey off his back from
the 1998 disaster, when they lost 3-0 to France in
the Final.

One more note: English goalkeeper David
Seaman should get rid of that ponytail. It’s passé!
Actually, Seaman should be more concerned
about why he was so out of position when
Ronaldinho lobbed one over his head.

Anyway, | have come up with a top-ten list of
memorable soccer moments from past World Cup
tournaments. Of course, this list is subjective and
there have been hundreds of exciting games
played since the first World Cup was held in
Uruguay in 1930 that didn’t make this list. Like
them or hate them, these are the games that | feel
should be noted. :

1) Brazil vs. Sweden (June 29, 1958)
Final Score: Brazil 5 Sweden 2

The sixth World Cup held in Sweden in 1958
featured the debut of Pelé—one of the greatest
soccer players of all time. Pelé was only 17 years
old when Brazil smoked Sweden in the champi-
onship game. Pelé scored two goals in Brazil's 5-2
victory over Sweden.

2) England vs. West Germany (July 30, 1966)

Final Score: England 4 West Germany 2

Host nation England won this championship
match, but not without controversy. The game was
tied 2-2 after regulation. Midway through the first
half of extra time, England’s Geoff Hurst blasted a
shot past goalkeeper Hans Tilkowski. The ball hit
the crossbar and bounced down and out, but did it
go in? The referee awarded the goal after consult-
ing with the linesman. England later sealed the
victory with Hurst's third goal of the game. Today,
many people still argue about that controversial
goal. And we thought refereeing in the NHL was
bad!

3) Italy vs. West Germany (July 11, 1982)

Final Score: Italy 3 West Germany 1
On this day, the Italians prevailed—led by the
goal-scoring sensation Paolo Rossi. In the 56th
minute, Rossi netted his sixth goal of the tourna-
ment—putting Italy up 1-0. Twelve minutes later,
Marco Tardelli added the insurance goal on a
beautiful left-footer.
4) England vs. Argentina (June 22, 1986)
Final Score: England 1 Argentina 2
The talents of Diego Maradona were prominent
throughout this tournament and none more appar-
ent than in this controversial quarter final match.
Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal became infamous
with English soccer fans, when he punched the
ball into the net past goalkeeper Peter Shilton—
putting Argentina ahead 1-0. England protested
but to no avail. But there would be no debate

 

surrounding Maradona’s next goal—one of the
greatest in World Cup history. After receiving the
ball close to centre, he quickly rushed down the
field beating three England players, then placing
the ball past Shilton while falling to the ground—
making it 2-0. Gary Lineker later scored for
England, but it was too late.
5) West Germany vs. Argentina
(June 29, 1986)
Final Score: West Germany 2 Argentina 3
It looked like this final match was going to be a
blowout with Argentina going ahead 2—0 on goals
by Jose Luis Brown and Jorge Valdano. However,
West Germany did not give
up, quickly scoring two goals in a span of eight
minutes to tie the game. Diego Maradona did not
play a big factor in this game, but he set up the
winning goal—sending Jorge Burruchaga in alone
with a beautiful pass—who then slid it under goal-
keeper Harald Schumacher.
6) USA vs. Italy (June 14, 1990)
Final Score: USA 0 Italy 1

This “David and Goliath” first round match was
considered to be a cakewalk for the Italians, who
were heavily favoured to pound the Americans.
After Giuseppe Giannini scored to put Italy ahead
1-0, the blowout appeared inevitable. However,
Italy was content (as usual) to sit on their lead—
playing their typical defensive system. The
Americans settled down and played a solid game
the rest of the way. Late in the second half, the
U.S. had their best chance to tie the game. On a
U.S. free kick, Bruce Murray curled a shot over
the Italian wall. Walter Zenga made a spectacular
diving stop leaving a juicy rebound for Peter
Vermes, who fired the ball off Zenga’s butt. The
USA was eliminated, but they showed tremendous
grit and desire, giving the Italians their worst scare
of the tournament—until Italy faced Argentina in
the semis.

7) West Germany vs. Netherlands

(June 24, 1990)
Final Score: West Germany 2 Netherlands 1

This highly anticipated second round match
featured two of the great European teams, West
Germany and the Netherlands. Unfortunately,
tempers flared during the match with Dutch star
Frank Rijkaard and German striker Rudi Voeller
both being sent off for an altercation—Rijkaard
spat on Voeller. The Netherlands, who were the
1988 European Champions and were favoured to
advance further into the tournament, disappointed
many with a lacklustre effort. After West Germany
opened the scoring on a Jurgen Klinsmann tap-in,
Andreas Brehme made it 2-0 on a beautiful curling
shot that sealed the victory.

8) USA vs. Colombia (June 22, 1994)

Final Score: USA 2 Colombia 1

This first round match of the 1994 World Cup in
the U.S. had the host nation upset Colombia 2-1.
The victory eliminated Colombia from the tourna-
ment and put the Americans on the map as a
rising soccer nation. However, the game would be
overshadowed by tragedy. The Americans got their
first goal when Colombia defender Andres Escobar
accidentally scored into his own net. The mistake
would cost Escobar his life. Shortly after returning
to Colombia, he was gunned down in a restaurant
parking lot. Rumours circulated that disgruntled
gamblers, who lost huge bucks on Colombia’s
loss, killed Escobar. The brutal slaying of Escobar
highlights football’s darkest moment.

9) Brazil vs. Italy (July 17, 1994)

Final Score: Brazil 1 Italy 0
(Brazil won 3-2 on penalty kicks)

This match was full of goal-scoring opportunities
with the defensive-minded Italians facing the elec-
trifying Brazilians. The game was scoreless at
regulation time and remained that way after extra
time. Then came the dreaded penalty kicks, the
first time that a World Cup Final match was
decided on penalties. Brazil won the game after
Roberto Baggio missed his penalty kick, sending it

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