World Cup Rambling

A bit leftfield here. In this edition, I will be reviewing the novel ’30 Days Across America’ by Christopher Dwyer, a story of two friends who take off across the United States to follow the 1994 World Cup. It’s a fun book to read if you’re a football fan and if (like me) you love USA 94.

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Time to wander off the beaten track to have a brief look at the European Championship Final.  I could hardly let England's first appearance in a major final since 1966 go by without giving you guys the benefit of my irrelevant opinions.  What went right for Italy?  What went wrong for England?  Is Gareth Southgate the man to take the Three Lions to a major trophy in the future? 

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It’s time to look at a more modern World Cup – 2006, and the epic semi-final between Germany and Italy.

Germany initially struggled under the stewardship of Italia 90 hero Jurgen Klinsmann.  A sceptical German public feared the worst.  What they got, however, was a dynamic, attacking team, packed with younger players (such as future World Cup winners, Lahm, Podolski and Schweinsteiger) and led by the underrated Ballack, powering their way to the semi-finals.  As the team grew in stature, there was an unexpected swell of patriotism.

Meanwhile, Italy arrived at the World Cup under a dark cloud.  The Calciopoli scandal tarnished the reputation of Italian football.  However, the Italian public rallied to the cause.  With the veteran Marcelo Lippi in the dugout, and star players like Buffon, Cannavaro, Pirlo and Totti on the pitch, the Azzurri found their groove.

What followed in Borussia Dortmund’s iconic stadium, was a gripping showdown.  Pirlo and Totti provided the magic for Italy, whilst Cannavaro produced a defensive performance for the ages.  The Germans, previously criticised for having a weak defence, stood up strongly, with Mertesacker and Metzelder on top of their game, and Lahm showing signs of becoming one of the world’s great full-backs.

On a tense night, the game moved inexorably towards a penalty shootout. Then, Italy won a late corner…

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The summer of 1970 – England, the reigning World Champions, are off to Mexico, in an attempt to win the Jules Rimet Trophy again.  It’s a whole different challenge for England, as they have to cope with the Mexican heat and altitude, as well as being tagged as the villains, owing to Latin American conspiracy theories about 1966. The drama begins off the field as England’s catering arrangements and Sir Alf Ramsey’s aloof demeanour raise the hackles of the Mexicans. Then a stopover in Colombia goes disastrously wrong with the Bobby Moore bracelet affair. Things get more intense as the tournament finally starts – from a physical encounter with Romania to an epic confrontation with Brazil, then a pedestrian match with Czechoslovakia and the ultimate showdown with West Germany.

Meanwhile back home, Harold Wilson, the Prime Minister, is seeking to repeat his own victory from 1966, by winning a fresh general election. After four turbulent years, Wilson’s Labour Party is comfortably ahead of the Edward Heath’s Tories in the opinion polls. However, the World Cup is preying on Wilson’s mind. The PM is taken with the notion that Labour’s fortunes rise and fall, in accordance with those of the England team. Wilson is worried about what will happen to the Labour government if England are knocked out of the competition shortly before polling day.

Could England’s defeat against West Germany really have affected the outcome of the 1970 general election?

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This episode is a look at the Zambian national team’s attempt to qualify for USA ’94. From the team’s emergence on the world stage at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, with a sensational 4-0 win over Italy to the tragic air disaster in April 1993, that claimed the lives of eighteen players – a devastating event that plunged a nation into mourning and robbed Zambia of its golden generation – and the sensational climax to the story, when Zambia re-emerged with a new team and came within a single goal of qualifying for the 1994 World Cup.

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This episode is a short tribute to the World Cup career of the late Paolo Rossi, who died on 9th December 2020. There is a look at his contribution to Italy’s 1978 World Cup campaign, when he emerged as one of the most promising young strikers in world football. Following that, we move forward to 1982, where Rossi emerged from the shadows of scandal, overcame a desperately poor start to the tournament, to drive Italy forward to World Cup glory, scoring six goals, including a hat-trick against the legendary Brazil team.

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Having won the World Cup in 1958 and 1962, Brazil were favourites to complete the hat-trick, by winning the 1966 World Cup in England. Instead, they crashed out at the group stage, a humiliating comedown for a team that was starting to think of the Jules Rimet Trophy as its personal property. From haphazard preparations to Pelé’s rough treatment, Joao Havelange’s hubris to bizarre team selections, I have a look at what went wrong for the back-to-back World Champions.

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Something a bit different here. In this episode, I will be reminiscing about my history of following the World Cup from 1990 to 2018. It’s not a retrospective of those tournaments. It’s my memories of watching them, be it my mum opening my eyes to the majesty of Maradona at Italia 90, sneaking around to catch snippets of the late kick-offs at USA 94, dragging myself out of bed to watch Japan/Korea 2002, or the glorious summer of 2014 when my (un)employment situation left me free to watch every match of the Brazil World Cup.  Prepare yourself for some outrageous claims, shock revelations, (in)sane theories and old grudges.  

WARNING: THIS EPISODE INCLUDES BAD SINGING

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Down to the last four where West Germany show themselves to be the ultimate Turniermannschaft by breaking French hearts yet again. The French are left with the mere consolation of the bronze medal after a win against the Belgians, who were condemned to the third place match by a sparkling Maradona performance. The field is left clear for Argentina to claim the ultimate prize but the West Germans, as usual, refuse to go quietly. In the end, however, nothing can stop Maradona getting his hands on the trophy, with a little help from his unsung colleagues.

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With the wheat separated from the chaff (some of it anyway), it’s time for the knockout stages, starting with the Round of 16. We have a seven-goal thriller as Belgium derail the Soviet juggernaut. Elsewhere, France topple Italy in the battle of the champions and the Danish summer romance ends in bitter heartbreak. Forward to the quarter-finals, where France and Brazil meet in a scintillating encounter, West Germany poop the Mexican party, Belgium edge past Spain and there’s the small matter of Argentina vs England, featuring the little man with a great left foot and a sneaky left hand.

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