Mexico 86: Hero Maradona
“To me, you are the highest point of love,
The earth, fire itself, the sun,
The rain and the wheat fields,
Thanks to that sweet way you have of loving me.”
Valeria Lynch
Mexico overcome the tragedy
Mexico 86 should have been Columbia 86....
Vamos Uruguay
Welcome to Uruguay
On May 26, 1928, at a meeting in Amsterdam, the FIFA congress decided that a new tournament would open to all its members. FIFA wanted to stage a tournament of its own and get out of the...
England on top of the world
A shocking start
In 1930, FIFA made the decision to stage its own international tournament. With Uruguay now two-time official world champions and due to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, FIFA named Uruguay as the host country.
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The national...
Guillermo Stabile: The story of first World Cup hero of Argentina
Football was introduced to Argentina in the latter half of the 19th century by the British immigrants in Buenos Aires.
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Two English immigrants - Thomas and James Hogg, organized a meeting on 9 May 1867 in Buenos Aires where the...
Bert Patenaude: The first footballer to smash a hat-trick in FIFA World Cup
Each and everyone enjoys watching a footballer smashing a hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup. When Cristiano Ronaldo essayed that dramatic hat-trick against Spain in Russia, the whole world went crazy. Pele took the world by storm after he...
The forgotten 6 minutes
France opened the inaugural World Cup with a dash – Mexico were thrashed by 4-1 with Lucien Laurent becoming a part of World Cup folklore. The next of the French were against the hot favourites Argentina.
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Like Uruguay, that Argentine...
No music. No party. Brazil arrive in Uruguay and leave silently
Jules Rimet proposed a multi-national football tournament, which was opposed, but later on, it became a reality on July 13, 1930. He invited as many countries as possible, but only thirteen of them accepted the invitation that included just...
The dream of Jules Rimet comes true
In 1904, a Frenchman named Jules Rimet was involved in the founding of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association - International Federation of Association Football, commonly abbreviated to FIFA and, while the fledgling organization had plans for a global...
The German Giants
The worthy winners – Germany
Rome expected the Azzurri to clash in the finals of Italia 90, but to the astonishment of local fans and the rest of the world, probably, the worst team of the event advanced to the...
When the brilliance and fighting spirit of England ended in tears
There was no hope
After the dramatic exit from the quarterfinals in Mexico, 1970, England did not feature in a FIFA World Cup until 1982. In Spain, their blistering start to lose its momentum in the second round, while in...
Italy watch and die at Naples
Diego Maradona played a psychological game before the mega clash and immediately it put Italy under pressure. Italy feared Maradona and as soon as Argentina equalized, they turned pale. Argentina fed their anxiety and ultimately brought the whole of...
The fairytale of Sergio Goycochea
Argentina, the defending World Champions, were shocked by Cameroon in the opening match of the World Cup 1990. It put them in such a situation, where they can’t lose in the remaining matches. Surely the matches against the Soviet...
David Platt magic at Bologna
In the most crucial match in the history of English Football, Mark Wright nudged in a header against the stubborn Egyptian to help England through as the toppers of Group F, where the fate of the teams was hanging...
The chaotic clash between Germany and Holland at San Siro: Frank Rijkaard spits on...
On June 24, 1990 – two high voltage matches took place. In the afternoon, an unimpressive Argentina knocked out the favourites Brazil in Turin courtesy of Holy Water Scandal and in the evening at the iconic San Siro Stadium,...
The forgotten Yugoslavian side of Italia 90
Introduction
Those were the days when teams from Eastern Europe were a powerhouse in World Football. Hungary and Austria gave football a lot to relish. The former Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia were feared and respected. The Polish side were highly...
Cameroon and Roger Milla: The delight of Italia 90
A sad exit in Spain
For the first time, 24 teams competed in the FIFA World Cup 1982 in Spain where two teams from Africa featured. One of them was Algeria, who shocked the European Champions Germany in the opening...
Viva Brazil
Introduction
The sand of the desert is sodden red
Red with the wreck of a square that broke
The Gatling’s jammed and the Colonel’s dead,
And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.
The river of death has brimmed his banks,
And England’s far and...
Match of the Century
Introduction
How does one define “Match of the century”? What are the criteria that fulfill a football match to become the “Match of the century”? In my opinion, it is never easy to point out one particular match as the...
A piece of magic from Pele
It should have been the Soviet Unions in the semifinals at Guadalajara against Brazil, but against the fighting spirit of Latina America's toughest side, the Russians failed to advance. Uruguay would meet Brazil again in a World Cup match...
Germany and England repeat another epic, but this time, Germany win
The rivalry
The Football Association instigated a four-game tour of Germany and Austria by a representative England team in November 1899. The England team played a representative German team in Berlin on 23 November 1899, with the German side losing...
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