Starting on June 9, 2006, at the FIFA World Cup Stadium, Munich, the opening match of the Football World Cup will see Germany play against Costa Rica. The 32 participating nations will battle it out for one month before the two top teams will play the final on July 9 in Berlin and take the crown as the kings of football. Let’s go back in time and see what happened since the World Cup legacy began from 1930.
Uruguay — 1930
The first Football World Cup was staged in 1930. The games were awarded to Uruguay as they were the Olympic champions at the time and they were celebrating the anniversary of their independence. As well as being the first ever hosts, Uruguay also became the inaugural champions, beating Argentina in the final 4-2. France’s Lucien Laurent was the scorer of the first ever World Cup goal in the first match between France and Mexico. USA’s Bert Patenaude scored the first hat-trick in World Cup history, as his team beat Paraguay 3-0. The match between Rumania and Peru had only 300 spectators, making it the World Cup’s lowest attendance match in history. The first ever World Cup final was played at the Centenario Stadium, Montevideo, Uruguay on July 30, 1930, between Uruguay and Argentina. The game ended 4-2 with Uruguay winning the first ever FIFA World Cup tournament.
Italy — 1934
It was the first Football World Cup for which teams had to qualify in order to take part. The number of participating nations this time doubled from the previous tournament, but only 10 of the 32 nations came from outside the continent of the host nation. Italy became the second World Cup champions, beating Czechoslovakia in the final, 2-1. This World Cup was unique in two ways. First, the reigning World Cup holders Uruguay declined an invitation to participate as a mark of defiance against the European rebuff from the previous World Cup in 1930, becoming the only holders not to compete in the following tournament. Second, the hosts, Italy, had to qualify.
France — 1938
France hosted the 1938 Football World Cup, the second tournament in a row to be played in Europe. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4-2 in the finals. It was the first time that host France, and champions Italy qualified automatically. The final took place at the Stade Colombes, Paris. Vittorio Pozzo’s Italian side took the early lead and with the final score favouring the Italians 4-2, Italy became the first team to successfully defend the title and were once more crowned World Cup winners.
Brazil — 1950
The 1950 Football World Cup was referred as the Jules Rimet Cup, to mark the 25th anniversary of Rimet’s presidency of FIFA. It was won by Uruguay, who had won the inaugural competition in 1930. Before the final match, the hosts, Brazil were sitting on top of their pool and had one game left to play; their final was against Uruguay who were a point behind Brazil. The host nation only had to draw the match to become champions and after crushing victories over Spain and Sweden, it looked Brazil could be the possible winners. Eleven minutes remained and the score was levelled 1-1. In the last 10 minutes, Uruguay hit the decisive second goal, took the lead and became second time World Cup winners.
Switzerland — 1954
1954 was the year when the 50th anniversary of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) was held. It seemed a good idea for football’s premier competition to be held in the home of its governing body, Switzerland. The tournament was won by West Germany, who upset Hungary 3-2 in the final. It was Germany’s first World Cup victory.
Sweden — 1958
The 1958 World Cup marked the debut of the 17-year-old Pele, who would become one of the greatest footballers of all time. This World Cup also saw the entry of the Soviet Union for the first time, and the entry of all the United Kingdom’s nations; England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It was the first World Cup that was shown on television.
Rasunda Stadium in Solna, Sweden was the venue for the final. In front of 50,000 people the Brazilians went a goal down against Sweden just after four minutes. In the second half Pele outshone every one, scoring two goals. The game really belonged to Pele, and the 1958 World Cup Trophy belonged to Brazil.
Football’s World Cup always promises some spine-chilling games; and its 18th edition is expected to be no different Chile — 1962
In 1962, the Football World Cup returned to the continent of South America, and was won by Brazil, who retained the championship by beating Czechoslovakia 3-1 in the final. In May 1960, as the preparations were well under way Chile suffered one of the largest earthquakes, 8.5 in magnitude, causing enormous damage to its national infrastructure. Carlos Dittborn, the president of the organising committee came up with the phrase, “Because we don’t have anything, we will do everything in our power to rebuild.” This became the unofficial slogan of the tournament. The entire damaged infrastructure was rebuilt at a record speed and the tournament happened on schedule with no major organisational flaw. Sadly, Dittborn did not live to see the success of his tireless efforts, as he died a month before the start of the tournament. The World Cup venue at Arica was renamed in his honour and bears his name to this day.
England — 1966
1966 was a year of triumph for the host nation, England, who won in a controversial final beating West Germany 4-2. The tournament’s leading goal scorer was Eusebio of Portugal with nine goals.
The 1966 World Cup had a rather unusual hero off the field; a dog called Pickles. During the tournament, the FIFA World Cup trophy was stolen from an exhibition display. A nation-wide hunt for the icon began. It was later discovered wrapped in a newspaper as the dog sniffed under some bushes in London. Pickles met his untimely end when he was strangled by his own leash. It was the first World Cup that had a mascot and an official logo for marketing purposes. London’s Wembley Stadium provided the venue for the final, and 97,000 people witnessed the clash between England and West Germany.
Mexico — 1970
This tournament is still considered by many fans to be the finest World Cup in history. Not a single red card was issued in the competition. The Brazilian team, led by Pele, who was in his fourth and final World Cup, is often regarded as the greatest team ever. Brazil became the third time FIFA World Cup champions defeating Italy 4-1.
West Germany — 1974
The host nation won the title beating the Netherlands in the final, 2-1. The victory was the second for West Germany, who had won in 1954. The first round saw a politically charged match as West and East Germany played each other in Hamburg. East Germany won that match 1-0, but fell in the second round. An interesting fact about the final was that the kick-off was delayed because the corner flags had not been put in place.
Argentina — 1978
It was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3-1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina who became the sixth team to be the world champions.
Spain — 1982
The 1982 World Cup was won by Italy, who beat West Germany 3-1 in the final. With its third World Cup title, after 1934 and 1938, Italy levelled record three World Cup wins with Brazil. This World Cup was marked by a series of great matches, most famously the epic semifinal between West Germany and France, and is widely regarded as the second-best ever after the legendary 1970 tournament.
Mexico — 1986
It was won by Argentina, who beat West Germany 3-2 in the final at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca. It was the tournament of Diego Maradona who was at the peak of his form and he led the Argentinean team to the title. His most memorable performance probably came during the quarter final against England, where he scored both goals in the 2-1 victory. Maradona’s first was assisted, in his own words, by the “hand of God”, unseen by the referee, he used his hand to score the goal and the other was considered to be the “Goal of the Century”, in which he swept half the length of the field past five English players before scoring. His brilliance and goal-scoring expertise made Maradona the Player of the Tournament.
Italy — 1990
Italy became the second country to host the FIFA World Cup twice. It was won by West Germany, who beat Argentina 1-0 in the final, repeating the final of the 1986 World Cup. With its third title, and three second place finishes, West Germany became the most successful World Cup nation for four years, until Brazil won their 4th Championship in 1994.
West German team manager Franz Beckenbauer became the second footballer, after Mario Zagallo of Brazil, to become World Champion as a player in 1974 and as team manager in 1990. The World Cup began with an upset. Defending champion Argentina fell 0-1 to Cameroon in the opening match. Cameroon’s Roger Milla, who came out of retirement for the World Cup, became an international superstar at age 38, long after most top-level footballers typically retire.
USA — 1994
Brazil beat Italy 3-2 on penalty kicks after the game and extra time ended and score remained 0-0. The average attendance of nearly 69,000 shattered a record that had stood since 1950. Saudi Arabia, Greece and Nigeria made their debut in this World Cup. The total attendance for the final tournament of nearly 3.6 million remains the greatest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the competition to 32 teams in 1998.
France — 1998
The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final. This was the first World Cup title for France, who joined Brazil and five others; Uruguay, Italy, Germany, England, and Argentina to be the world champions by winning all its matches. Michael Owen of England made his World Cup debut in 1998 by scoring one of his most amazing solo goals ever.
Korea/Japan — 2002
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was held in South Korea and Japan. It was the 17th tournament, and for the first time in history, the World Cup was organised by two countries, which also meant that for the first time three teams, South Korea and Japan as co-hosts and 1998 World Cup champion France received automatic places in the tournament. The tournament was won by Brazil for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2-0.
Germany — 2006
The 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany is scheduled to take place from June 9 to July 9, 2006. This tournament is the 18th to be contested. In June 2000, Germany won the right to host the event beating the bids from England, Brazil, Morocco and South Africa, who will be the hosts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Starting on June 9, 2006, at the FIFA World Cup Stadium, Munich, the opening match of the Football World Cup will see Germany play against Costa Rica. The 32 participating nations will battle it out for one month before the two top teams will play the final on July 9 in Berlin and take the crown as the kings of football. Let’s go back in time and see what happened since the World Cup legacy began from 1930.
