This section is to recall some stories that occurred in different World Cups, from the first tournament played in Uruguay, in 1930 to the most recent one (and more advanced) held in Japan and Korea, in 2002.
Prior to the match between Uruguay and Bolivia, in the 1930 World Cup, the Bolivian team posed for the picture of honor, each player showing a letter to form the phrase “Hurrah to Uruguay!” The curious thing was that the third letter “u” was missing and the final legend read : "Uru"GAY" Hurrah! Such a detail was remembered through time and gave origin to a new saying: “No Uruguayan was born a coward”.
During the match played on July 21 between Uruguay and Romania in same tournament, and before Anselmo scored the third goal for the locals, the curious thing was that, the physician and the masseur of the Uruguayan team were inside the field, assisting a player. Obviously, nobody objected. Back
In Italy, 1934, everything was ready for the first appearance of the host national team to contend with the weak American team. The scoreboard was 7 to 1 in favor of the Italian national team. All goals, however, were scored by Italians, not because the visiting goal had been against, but because the goal scorer was Aldo Donelli, an Italian immigrant born in New York. Back
In France 1938, during the match between Brazil and Poland it rained heavily. Sick and tired of the mud, Leonidas took off his soccer shoes to lighten his body and threw them at his coach. The Brazilian forwarder wanted to play barefooted but the referee did not let him do so. Shortly afterwards, Leonidas lost a soccer shoe in the middle of the opponent area and, barefooted, he scored a tremendous goal: nowadays, such action would have been invalidated.
For the first round, Cuba and Romania contended in a match ending in a three-goal tie after an excellent performance of the Caribbean goalkeeper Carvajales. Since a winner should emerge from that match, who did not appear after the overtime, a second match ended with a 2-1 victory of the Cubans, who got through to the quarter final.
The curious thing in the second match was that, in spite of Carvalajes’ excellent performance in the first match, the starter goalkeeper was Ayra, since Carvajales was invited to comment the tie-break in a Cuban radio station because of his good performance. Back
In 1950, the Uruguayan team arrived at Maracaná stadium 4 hours in advance for the final match. Since construction of the stadium was not completed, there were hollows in the roof of the visiting team dressing room through which fans peeped to see players warming-up. On that occasion, things turned out different: stones and firework started to fall in the Uruguayan team dressing room and players had to shelter under the mattresses in the room. Back
World Cup matches have been live broadcasted since the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. This would not have been true if 8 countries (France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, England, Switzerland, and Germany) had not joined efforts to found Eurovision. The combo included match broadcasting and an interview with Pope Pious XII.
In that same tournament, during the semi-final match between Uruguay and Hungary , there were only 3 minutes left before the match ended with a 2-1 victory of the Europeans over the Uruguayans. However, in minute 87, Uruguayan forwarder Juan Eduardo Hohberg, who had already scored the first goal, pushed the ball into the net to seal a tie, thus forcing overtime.
The curious thing was that immediately after the second goal, the Uruguayan soccer player, out of a mixture of excitement and tiredness.....fainted! Back
In Sweden 1958, a little black man of only 17 showed incredible magic to gather thousands of fans in the Sweden stadiums. His name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento: Pele. Back
In spite of the Brazilian victory, the 1962 World Cup was remembered as a dull tournament, gathering low level teams. Many incidents occurred in several matches among the players; so much so that three days after the competition started there were already thirty-four injured players. On the fourth day, fifty were the injured players. A total of three leg fractures, one nasal septum fracture and one hip fracture were handled. Back
In England 1966, Rattin, the famous Argentine leader left the field after his dismissal during the match against the local team, by treading on the red carpet of Queen Elizabeth II, who was present in the stadium. Back
World Cup pets were a novelty from Mexico 1970. The original pet was Willy, the lion. Its successor would be a child called Juanito, dressed with the typical Mexican costume. Back
In 1974, four goals were scored by Gerd Muller throughout the tournament. This number allowed him to become the “World Cup Historic Goal Scorer”, with 14 goals to overthrow the French player Juste Fontaine, who in Sweden 1958 scored 13 goals. Back
In 1978, goal number 1000 in World Cups was scored by the Dutch player Rob Resenbrink; goal number 1001 was scored by the Peruvian forwarder Teofilo Cubillas. Back
Spain 1982 recorded the biggest margin of a victory in World Cup history. El Salvador was terribly beaten by the Hungarian team, who won 10-1. In that tournament, the youngest player in World Cup history made his first appearance: the Irish forwarder Whiteside, of 17 years and three months of age, even younger than Pele. Back
The great quarter final match was played in 1986 between France and Brazil. Two soccer stars met in the field: Zico for Brazil, and Platini for France. The experienced and glorious Nº 10 player from Rio, was sent in late in the second half to honor his experience. However, when the match was about to end, he kicked a penalty into the goalkeeper’s hands.
Later on, after the overtime and during the penalty kicks, the French Captain celebrated his birthday by deviating his kick over the horizontal bar. Platini consoled himself with the qualification of his team; Zico, however, bore the responsibility of the elimination of Brazil: it was his sad farewell to World Cup tournaments. Back
During the match between Bulgaria and Mexico, in the 1994 World Cup, Marcelino Bernal , a Mexican defender, had to make every effort to take a ball away from the goal line, that had been kicked by Balakov. Did you know that when the Mexican defender fell down on the net, one post broke and, in less than five minutes, it was efficiently replaced by the assistants? In that World Cup, Cameroon’s forwarder Roger Milla, 41, would become the oldest forwarder in activity. Back
France 1998 was curiously the scenario for the encounter of two opposite teams and cultures: USA and Iran were in same group. When the match was about to start, the Iranian goalkeeper approached the box behind his goal and gave a bundle of roses to an American fan. An action never to be forgotten. Back
Before the 2002 World Cup started, the Senegalese forwarder Khalilou Fadiga stole a gold match from one of the stores adjacent to the hotel where the African team was lodged. The player was discovered; however, to avoid further problems, the owner of the jewelry store decided to give the object away.
The quickest goal in all World Cup matches was scored during the encounter between South Korea and Turkey, for the third and fourth positions of the Asian World Cup. The Turkish forwarder Hakan Sukur opened the score 13 seconds after the encounter.
Noteworthy is that one of the best postcards of the sport was engraved during that match. After the match, which ended in a 3-2 victory of the Turkish, both teams embraced one another and took a half olympic lap to the stadium. Back
Prior to the match between Uruguay and Bolivia, in the 1930 World Cup, the Bolivian team posed for the picture of honor, each player showing a letter to form the phrase “Hurrah to Uruguay!” The curious thing was that the third letter “u” was missing and the final legend read : "Uru"GAY" Hurrah! Such a detail was remembered through time and gave origin to a new saying: “No Uruguayan was born a coward”.
In Italy, 1934, everything was ready for the first appearance of the host national team to contend with the weak American team. The scoreboard was 7 to 1 in favor of the Italian national team. All goals, however, were scored by Italians, not because the visiting goal had been against, but because the goal scorer was Aldo Donelli, an Italian immigrant born in New York.
In France 1938, during the match between Brazil and Poland it rained heavily. Sick and tired of the mud, Leonidas took off his soccer shoes to lighten his body and threw them at his coach. The Brazilian forwarder wanted to play barefooted but the referee did not let him do so. Shortly afterwards, Leonidas lost a soccer shoe in the middle of the opponent area and, barefooted, he scored a tremendous goal: nowadays, such action would have been invalidated.
In 1950, the Uruguayan team arrived at Maracaná stadium 4 hours in advance for the final match. Since construction of the stadium was not completed, there were hollows in the roof of the visiting team dressing room through which fans peeped to see players warming-up. On that occasion, things turned out different: stones and firework started to fall in the Uruguayan team dressing room and players had to shelter under the mattresses in the room.
World Cup matches have been live broadcasted since the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. This would not have been true if 8 countries (France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, England, Switzerland, and Germany) had not joined efforts to found Eurovision. The combo included match broadcasting and an interview with Pope Pious XII.
In Sweden 1958, a little black man of only 17 showed incredible magic to gather thousands of fans in the Sweden stadiums. His name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento: Pele.
In spite of the Brazilian victory, the 1962 World Cup was remembered as a dull tournament, gathering low level teams. Many incidents occurred in several matches among the players; so much so that three days after the competition started there were already thirty-four injured players. On the fourth day, fifty were the injured players. A total of three leg fractures, one nasal septum fracture and one hip fracture were handled.
In England 1966, Rattin, the famous Argentine leader left the field after his dismissal during the match against the local team, by treading on the red carpet of Queen Elizabeth II, who was present in the stadium.
World Cup pets were a novelty from Mexico 1970. The original pet was Willy, the lion. Its successor would be a child called Juanito, dressed with the typical Mexican costume.
In 1974, four goals were scored by Gerd Muller throughout the tournament. This number allowed him to become the “World Cup Historic Goal Scorer”, with 14 goals to overthrow the French player Juste Fontaine, who in Sweden 1958 scored 13 goals.
In 1978, goal number 1000 in World Cups was scored by the Dutch player Rob Resenbrink; goal number 1001 was scored by the Peruvian forwarder Teofilo Cubillas.
Spain 1982 recorded the biggest margin of a victory in World Cup history. El Salvador was terribly beaten by the Hungarian team, who won 10-1. In that tournament, the youngest player in World Cup history made his first appearance: the Irish forwarder Whiteside, of 17 years and three months of age, even younger than Pele.
The great quarter final match was played in 1986 between France and Brazil. Two soccer stars met in the field: Zico for Brazil, and Platini for France. The experienced and glorious Nº 10 player from Rio, was sent in late in the second half to honor his experience. However, when the match was about to end, he kicked a penalty into the goalkeeper’s hands.
During the match between Bulgaria and Mexico, in the 1994 World Cup, Marcelino Bernal , a Mexican defender, had to make every effort to take a ball away from the goal line, that had been kicked by Balakov. Did you know that when the Mexican defender fell down on the net, one post broke and, in less than five minutes, it was efficiently replaced by the assistants?
France 1998 was curiously the scenario for the encounter of two opposite teams and cultures: USA and Iran were in same group. When the match was about to start, the Iranian goalkeeper approached the box behind his goal and gave a bundle of roses to an American fan. An action never to be forgotten.
Before the 2002 World Cup started, the Senegalese forwarder Khalilou Fadiga stole a gold match from one of the stores adjacent to the hotel where the African team was lodged. The player was discovered; however, to avoid further problems, the owner of the jewelry store decided to give the object away.