World Cup

Tournament Origins

Soccer, or football as the rest of the world calls it, officially began in 1862 when J.C. Thring, an Englishman, published the first set of rules for what he called "The Simplest Game." As the British traveled the world, so did the simple game of soccer. By the end of World War I, soccer had already become a world sport. And when 22 teams from as far away as Egypt and Uruguay competed in the 1924 Olympics in Paris, it was clear that soccer needed its own tournament. Soccer was fast becoming a professional sport and in conflict with the amateurism of the Olympics. Two Frenchman, Jules Rimet and Henri Delaunay, proposed the idea of a World Cup to be held every four years. Uruguay, Olympic gold medalists in 1924 and 1928, volunteered to host the first tournament to be held in 1930.

Tournament Format

In the tournaments between 1934 and 1978, 16 teams competed for each finals tournament, except in 1938 and 1950 when teams withdrew after qualifying, leaving them with 15 and 13 teams respectively. Most of the participating nations were from Europe and South America, with a small minority from North America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. These teams were usually defeated easily by the European and South American teams. Until 1982, the only teams from outside Europe and South America to advance out of the first round were: United States, semi-finalists in 1930; Cuba, quarter-finalists in 1938; North Korea, quarter-finalists in 1966; and Mexico, quarter-finalists in 1970. The finals were expanded to 24 teams in 1982, then to 32 in 1998, allowing more teams from Africa, Asia and North America to take part. The one exception is Oceania, who have never had a guaranteed spot in the finals. The current format of the Finals involves thirty-two national teams competing at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. To determine the participating teams, qualifying rounds take place over the three years preceding the Finals. In the eighteen tournaments held, only seven nations have won the title. Brazil is the most successful World Cup team, having won the tournament five times. The current Cup holder, Italy, follows with four titles, while Germany holds three. The other former champions are Uruguay (who won the inaugural tournament) and Argentina with two titles each, and England and France with one title each. The most recent World Cup Finals were held between June 9 and July 9, 2006 in Germany, where Italy were crowned champions after beating France in the final, winning the penalty shootout 5-3 after the match finished 1-1 after extra time. The next World Cup Finals will be held in 2010 in South Africa.

Media Coverage

The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is now the most widely-viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games. The cumulative audience of the 2002 World Cup—including all of the matches—is estimated to be 28.8 billion. Over 1.1 billion individuals watched the final match of this tournament (a sixth of the entire population of the planet). The 2006 World Cup draw, which decided the distribution of teams into groups, was watched by 300 million viewers.

URUGUAY, 1930

Uruguay built a new stadium to celebrate the nation's centenary. Many teams were invited, but only four from Europe made the long voyage. Thirteen teams competed in the finals. The first-ever World Cup game took place on July 13 in Montevideo between France and Mexico, and Frenchman Lucien Laurent had the honor of scoring the tournament's first goal. The U.S. team did remarkably well, losing in the semifinals to Argentina. For the final, thousands of Argentinians crossed the River Plate into Uruguay to watch their team lose to the host nation 4-2 before 93,000.

ITALY, 1934

Uruguay, snubbed by the Italians in 1930, didn't make the trip. The U.S. team made the long journey for just one game, losing to the hosts 7-1 in sudden-death. Once again the British teams, enjoying their "splendid isolation," failed to show. Italy triumphed in the final over Czechoslovakia 2-1, in extra time under the gaze of Mussolini and 55,000 in Rome. All of the Czech players came from just two clubs: Sparta and Slavia.

FRANCE, 1938

Thirty-two teams entered the qualifying rounds, including Austria, which was gobbled up by Hitler's Germany. With the demise of Austria, only 15 teams entered the finals. The British were still absent. Brazil lost to Italy in the semifinal. Germany, much to the chagrin of Hitler, lost to Switzerland in a first-round replay. In the final, Italian coach Vittorio Pozzo forced his players to to raise their arms in the Fascist salute, to the digust of the French crowd. Italy won its second championship, beating Hungary 4-2.

BRAZIL, 1950

The Brazilians built the massive 175,000-seat Maracana Stadium for the finals in Rio de Janerio in what became a tournament full of surprises. First a rag-tag American team defeated England 1-0 in one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Uruguay beat Brazil 2-1 before 205,000 stunned Brazilians in the overflowing Maracana in the last game. The World Cup trophy, which an Italian soccer official hid in a shoebox under his bed throughout the war, was taken home by Uruguay for the second time.

SWITZERLAND, 1954

The 1954 tournament was known for the remarkable number of goals scored - 140 in just 26 games. Hungary, the favorite, trounced West Germany 8-3 in the first round. But the Germans were not finished. In the quarterfinals, Hungary fought out a 4-2 victory over Brazil in a game marked by a bench-clearing brawl. Three players were ejected in the match forever known as the "Battle of Bern." Led by the talented but injured Ferenc Puskas, the "Magic Magyars" of Hungary, reached the final game. In appalling weather, West Germany got sweet revenge, defeating Hungary 3-2 before 60,000 at Bern's Wankdorf Stadium.

SWEDEN, 1958

This was the first Cup shown internationally on television. The world saw the emergence of a 17-year-old Brazilian called Edson Arantes do Nascimento, forever known as Pele. He scored six goals in the tournament, but the goal-scoring wizard was the amazing French striker Juste Fontaine, who scored 13, still an all-time record. Host Sweden did better than anyone expected but lost 5-2 to pre-tournament favorite Brazil in the final, with Pele scoring twice.

CHILE, 1962

Just two years before, Chile was devastated by a series of earthquakes but still managed to build two magnificent stadiums for the finals. Pele was injured after only one game, but Brazil had a new star in tiny winger Garrincha, "the little bird." Police had to invade the field to break up a fight in the Chile-Italy game. Once again Brazil was the favorite and triumphed over Czechoslovakia 3-1 to win its second championship.

ENGLAND, 1966

The finals were held in the birthplace of the game and produced one of the best tournaments to date. Brazil was eliminated early, with Pele limping off the field. Italy went down 1-0 to the unknown North Koreans. Portugal reached the semifinals led by the great Eusebio. And Geoff Hurst scored the first and only hat trick in a championship game as England defeated West Germany 4-2. Before the tournament, the World Cup trophy was stolen while on display in London. However, eight days later it was discovered by a dog named Pickles.

MEXICO, 1970

A qualifying game between Honduras and El Salavdor provoked a war, which became know as the "Soccer War" in 1969. But the nations had made peace by the time the finals came around. England and Brazil were the favorites. In the England-Brazil game in the first round, England goalie Gordan Banks made one of the greatest saves in the history of the sport, on a Pele header. Italy's 4-2 defeat of West Germany in the semifinals was notable, as the teams struggled through extra time in the stifling heat of Mexico City. Fielding one of the best teams ever in the history of th event, Brazil beat Italy 4-1 in the final with Pele getting one goal. Brazil's Jairzinho scored in each of his country's games.

GERMANY, 1974

Just two years after the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, West Germany hosted the World Cup. A lack of good teams—England and France failed to qualify—and a scarcity of goals didn't make it the best of tournaments. But Holland and West Germany, led by star players Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer, respectively, had brilliant teams. The two met in the final with Holland the favorite. The Dutch had introduced a style called "total soccer," with players interchanging positions. The final game opened dramatically with the referee awarding the Dutch a penalty shot with less than a minute played. Neeskens converted the kick, and Holland had taken the lead without a German player touching the ball. West Germany rallied to tie the game and finally won 2-1 on a penalty kick.

ARGENTINA, 1978

For the first time, more than 100 teams competed in qualifying rounds. Argentina was in a state of political chaos, ruled by a military junta and under the threat of terrorist attacks. But for the duration of the finals there was peace. The Dutch were without Johan Cruyff but still had a talented team and again reached the final game. Argentina had to score four goals against Peru to win its second-round group and a place in the final game. The team scored six and advanced at the expense of Brazil. The championship game went into extra time with Holland and Argentina tied 1-1 after 90 minutes. Argentina then made sure of it, scoring twice to win 3-1.

SPAIN, 1982

The tournament expanded from 16 teams to 24. Italy started sluggishly with three ties in its opening group. Brazil looked sharp but had a weak goalie. Argentina introduced the great Diego Maradona, but his time had not yet come. West Germany got an early scare, losing to soccer minnows Algeria 2-1, and the French had the great Michel Platini. In the end it was the prodigal son of Italy, Paolo Rossi, just back from a two-year suspension for bribery, who became the goal-scoring hero of the finals. Rossi scored the first goal in the final game against West Germany, leading Italy to a 3-1 victory and its third championship.

MEXICO, 1986

Mexico was awarded the finals for a second time after original host Colombia withdrew. This will alwys be known as Diego Maradona's final. The Argentine midfielder, with the famous left-foot, dominated the tournment like no other player in the history of the game with brilliance and controversy. His famous "Hand of God" goal, against England in the quarterfinals, in which he punched the ball into the net with his hand, was spotted by everybody except the referee. His second goal of the 2-1 game was an act of genius and arguably the best goal ever scored. West Germany survived a penalty shootout with Mexico and again stumbled along to the final. In the championship match, Argentina led 2-0 with 17 minutes left when the Germans tied the score. Then Maradona struck, setting up the perfect assist for Jorge Burruchaga to seal a 3-2 victory.

ITALY, 1990

It was the lowest scoring tournament, with only 115 goals in 52 games. Cameroon opened things with a surprise win over champion Argentina but had two players ejected. Led by the 38-year-old Roger Milla, who was called out of retirement, Cameroon exhibited some of the tournament's most exciting soccer. England reached the semifinals only to lose to Germany in a penalty shootout. Maradona was a shadow of his former self but in one brilliant move destroyed Brazil's hopes and then Italy's in yet another semifinal penalty shootout. Along with Milla, England's Paul Gascoinge and Italy's Salvatore "Toto" Schillaci emerged as the tournament's stars. Germany got sweet revenge in the final, beating Argentina 1-0 on a penalty kick in a game that wasn't the best advertisement for the sport. "If it were a fish I'd have thrown it back," commented an American writer.

UNITED STATES, 1994

This was FIFA's great missionary venture, to spread the game in the sports-saturated market of America, where soccer had lond been misunderstood and numerous professional leagues had come and gone. The USA was well prepared with numerous stadiums available. Trays of turf were laid over the artificial surface at Giants Stadium and the World Cup's first indoor game was held inside Detroit's Pontiac Silverdome. The hosts beat outside favorite Colombia to reach the second-round but the Americans lost to eventual champion Brazil in a July the Fourth match. Bulgaria was the big surpise to reach the semifinals but this will always be remebered as the first final game in the history of the event to be decided on peanaly kicks after Brazil and Italy failed to score a goal in regulation and overtime. Italy's Roberto Baggio missed his penalty kick to hand Brazil its record fourth title and first since 1970.

FRANCE, 1998

The final between the hosts France and champion Brazil produced a marquee lienup before 80,000 at the stunning Stade de France just outside Paris, but the controversy over Brazilian star Ronaldo's pre-game illness dominated the pre-game news. Ronaldo played in the game but he was a shadow of himself and French ace Zinedine Zidane dominated the game scoring two goals as France won its first title 3-0.

SOUTH KOREA/JAPAN, 2002

For the first time in history the World Cup was hosted by two nations. Japan was the early favorite to be the host but a late surge from the South Korea forced FIFA to allow both nations to run the event. It was also the first Finals to be held outside Europe and South America. The South Koreans proved to be the surprise team reach the semifinals. The final game saw Germany and Brazil meet for the first time ever in the 72 years of the finals. Germany was missing its key player Michael Ballack who was suspended and Brazil beat Germany 2-0 to earns its fifth title.

GERMANY, 2006

The 18th staging of the Finals returned to Germany. Italy won its fourth title defeating France on penalties after the game finished 1-1 after extra-time. The final game will always be remebered for for the actions of French star Zinedine Zidane. Considered the star of the tournament, Zidane gave France an early lead with a cooly-taken penalty kick, but ten minutes into the extra-time period, Zidane aimed a head—butt at the chest of Italian Marco Materazzi, who had earlier tied the game 1-1. The Frenchman was then sent off the field by the referee. The 2006 World Cup stands as the most watched event in television history garnering an estimated 30 billion non-unique viewers, compiled over the course of the tournament.

The Trophy

The Jules Rimet Trophy was the original prize for winning the World Cup. Originally called "Victory", but generally known simply as the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, it was officially renamed in 1946 to honour the FIFA President Jules Rimet who in 1929 passed a vote to initiate the competition. Just before the 1966 World Cup in England, FIFA, allowed the Jules Rimet Trophy to be the centerpiece at a stamp exhibition in London. An hour after the trophy was put on display, someone stole it in broad daylight from its padlocked cabinet. Although the stamps at the exhibition were worth an estimated $6 million, only the trophy - insured for a mere $50,000 - was taken. The story of the theft of the world's most coveted trophy made the front pages of newspapers around the world, much to the embarrassment of the English police, who immediately assigned more than 100 detectives to search for the cup. The solid gold trophy had survived World War II hidden in a shoebox under the bed of an Italian soccer official in Rome, but had now slipped through the hands of English security. A week after the theft, a dog called Pickles discovered the trophy under a hedge in a southeast suburb of London. The owner of the dog said at the time, "I looked down and saw a bundle of wrapped newspaper. I tore the paper and saw gold and the words "Brazil 1962." (Brazil had won the trophy four years earlier.) Pickles became an instant hero, and a dog food company gave him a year's supply for "his outstanding service to football." A few months later, Pickles and his owner were given front-row seats at London's famed Wembley Stadium, where they saw England captain Bobby Moore hold the trophy high after his team defeated Germany 4-2 to win the championship. But the story of the original trophy did not have a happy ending. When Brazil won the finals for the third time in 1970, FIFA rewarded the nation by giving it the Rimet trophy to keep permanently. But the cup disappeared somewhere in Brazil and has never been recovered. For the 1974 finals, FIFA commissioned a new trophy. It was designed by Italian sculptor Silvio Gazamiga and today is insured for $2.5 million. After considering many names, FIFA decided just to call it the FIFA World Cup. Some have called it the ugliest sports trophy in the world. The 20-inch tall trophy is made of 18-carat gold, weighs 11 pounds and cost $30,000 to make. The team that wins the World Cup will keep the trophy until 1998. There are several replicas of the trophy currently circulating America and are being touted as the real thing. But be assured, the real trophy is still under lock and key in a safe at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Haydon, John. "Dog found original trophy after yeggs stole it." The Washington Times. June 13, 1994. Pg. B7