by Nick Holt
Likely first XI:
Fillol
Zanetti Ruggeri Passarella Marzolini
Ardiles Rattin Verón
Maradona
Messi Batistuta
6.6 WORLD CUP MOVIES
Sports movies are terribly hit and miss, mostly miss. Most don’t have the budget or expertise to film credible sport scenes. Most of them, especially if Hollywood producers get their hands on them, present a sentimental and distorted view of the sport they purport to portray.
There have been a handful of films based around the World Cup (and probably a few more I haven’t seen). Here are the small few I found worth watching.
Africa United (2010) dir: Deborah Gardner-Paterson
The story of four children who make a journey across half the African continent from Rwanda to Johannesburg for the 2010 World Cup Final. The film is warm-hearted but still throws a few punches about the plight of children and the threat of AIDS in Africa. 7/10
The Game of Their Lives (2005) dir: David Ansbaugh
The story of the players who made up the USA squad that unexpectedly beat England in the 1950 World Cup Finals. Again, a wee bit sentimental, but not too cloyed with Hollywood saccharine, although it fails to follow up with the story of how Haitian Joe Gaetjens was neglected and left to die in poverty. Director Ansbaugh had previous success with sports movies as the director of Hossiers (basketball) and Rudy (American football). 6.5/10
La Gran Final (The Great Match) (2006) dir: Gerardo Olivares Released in time for the 2005 Finals, Olivares’ engaging movie follows three groups of people (Amazon Indians, Mongolian tribesmen and North African tuareg nomads) attempting to travel 500 km each to find a TV so they can watch the 2002 World Cup Final. Some great photography and stand-out moments, even if a little far-fetched and simplistic. 7/10
The Miracle of Berne (Das Wunder von Bern) (2003) dir: Sönke Wortmann
An excellent account of West Germany’s victory in the 1954 World Cup Final seen through the eyes of a young boy and his ex-POW father. A little bit sentimental but also an interesting study of post-war Germany and the way that unexpected victory changed the mood of a nation. 7.5/10
Offside (2006) dir: Jafar Panahi
Iranian film about a young girl who disguises herself as a boy in order to watch the 2006 World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain. Laugh-out-loud funny in parts, censorious about the attitudes that make football matches male-only in many Islamic countries. Panahi filmed two endings to cover both possible outcomes to the match, which was a real event. 8/10
Sixty Six (2006) dir: Paul Weiland
Really sweet period piece about a young Jewish boy in London in 1966 who has the misfortune to have his Bar Mitzvah on the same day as the World Cup Final. Helena Bonham-Carter (that well-known Jewish actress) and Eddie Marsan are terrific as the parents and Gregg Sulkin magnificent as the put-upon Bernie. 7/10
Beyond this the only advice I can offer is to avoid any football film endorsed or made with the co-operation of or approved by FIFA. And avoid watching Zidane; slow-motion footage of a man spitting a lot is not art, it’s just unhygienic.
* Foster was an extraordinary selection. Dave Watson, although thirty-five, had done sterling service and won sixty-five caps without playing in a Finals tournament and it seemed a cruel cut to leave him out after he featured in virtually all the qualifiers. Especially for a player so desperately short of international quality as the headband-wearing Foster.
* Clarke scored Northern Ireland’s goal against Spain and went on to score thirteen goals, a national record, albeit an unimpressive one, until passed by David Healy.
* Archibald must rank as one of Barcelona’s most bizarre signings. Terry Venables took him from Tottenham in 1984 to general amazement. He was surprisingly popular and scored twenty-four goals in just over fifty La Liga appearances. He was less successful for Scotland, with only four goals in his twenty-seven appearances, the last of them against Brazil at this World Cup.
* Clijsters is the father of Kim Clijsters, the former world No.1 tennis star and three-time US Open winner.
† Belanov’s exciting performances in this tournament and in European competition earned him the European Footballer of the Year award for 1986.
* Jamaican-born Barnes announced himself on the international scene with a stunning solo goal against Brazil in a 1980 friendly. It remained his finest individual moment in a career that brought great success at club level with first Watford and then Liverpool. Barnes seemed to feel the weight of expectation more than most when playing for England and it froze some of that great natural ability. He could have been great, but is remembered only as a very good player.
* Both could add in 2014. Klose is still scoring for Germany at thirty-five years old. If he played in every match in the Finals and Germany reached the semi-finals, he would overtake his countryman, Lothar Matthäus, at the head of this table.
* Casillas will end up much higher on this list. Despite losing his place in the Real Madrid side in 2012–13, he remains first choice and captain of his country. At thirty-three in 2014, he feasibly has two more World Cups in him, and Spain will start as one of the favourites in 2014.
* Under new rules late replacements for injured goalkeepers were allowed and Beasant was drafted in for the injured Seaman.
GLOBALISATION
7.1 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
The next soccer World Cup to take place after Italia ’90 was the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991. I use the word soccer in deference to the United States, who were the competition’s first winners. The tournament was the brainchild of João Havelange (or more likely one of his underlings), who was the head of FIFA at the time. FIFA were determined to have control over the premier women’s football tournament, after China had experimented with an international competition (on an invitation only basis) in 1988.
For this first tournament in China twelve teams competed in the Finals; three from Asia (the hosts, China, Chinese Taipei and Japan), five from Europe (the most successful teams from the first European Championships, held earlier the same year) and one each from Oceania, South America, Africa and North/Central America.
The USA were clear favourites for the first edition. The women’s game was well established in the USA with roots much deeper than the men’s game and less likelihood that prime athletes would be lost to American football, basketball or baseball – all bastions of male domination.
The competition was expected to come from China and the north European teams, and so it proved, with the three Scandinavian sides and Germany joining the hosts, Taipei, the USA and Italy in the quarter-finals. The expected winners of these games all prevailed, the hosts going down by a single goal against Sweden, much to the disappointment of the organisers and the locals.
The stars of the women’s game at the time were the experienced American forwards Carin Jennings and Michelle Akers, along with the captain April Heinrichs and the young teenage star Mia Hamm. All except Heinrichs went on to make over 100 appearances for the US women’s team – Hamm reached a staggering 275. (Worth noting here that most senior women’s fixtures were internationals, there was little organised league football.) Akers finished as top scorer (she netted five against Taipei in the quarter-final), while Jennings was voted the best player in the tournament. Two other youngsters stood out, both of whom are now viewed as greats of the women’s game; the German midfielder Bettina Wiegmann and the Chinese striker Sun Wen.
Wiegmann scored for Germany in the semi-final, as did Germany’s best striker, Heidi Mohr, but Jennings scored a hat-trick and Heinrichs chipped in with two as the USA won easily, 5–2. Norway won the all-Scandinavian semi-final equally easily, beating Sweden 4–1.
Linda Medalen, Norway’s biggest star, equalised Michelle Akers opener for the USA in the final, in front of an official crowd of over 60,000 in Guangzhou. Akers added a second twelve minutes from time and Norway couldn’t find a response.
The second tournam
ent in 1995 was held in Sweden and the line-up was very nearly as-you-were, with only three different qualifiers. Asia lost a place as the contest was held in Europe, so North America got a second and Canada effectively replaced Taipei. Australia qualified ahead of New Zealand and this time all the European participants were from the north of the continent as England replaced Italy in the Finals. England’s best players were the veteran captain Gillian Coultard, midfielder Hope Powell and the Doncaster Belles forward Karen Walker. Powell later became team manager and also served as manager of the side that played under the GB banner at the 2012 London Olympics. The 1995 side also included Clare Taylor, who was a member of the England side that won the 1993 Women’s Cricket World Cup.
In the group stage Norway, the United States and China looked the most impressive; England beat Nigeria and Canada (just) but could make no impression on a rock-solid Norwegian defence. Concerns that England weren’t at the level of the very top sides were confirmed when they were brushed aside by Germany in the quarter-finals. China got their revenge on Sweden, knocking the Scandinavians out of their own competition just as Sweden did them four years earlier. The USA remained the favourites; Akers and Hamm were back, and, although Jennings had gone, the competition saw the emergence of Kristine Lilly as a driving force. Lilly was destined to become professional football’s most-capped player of either sex with 352 appearances between 1987 and 2010.
The USA got a shock in the semi-final when they were shut out by that iron Norwegian defence. Norway conceded one goal in the tournament and that a late consolation for Denmark in the quarter-final, and they kept quality forwards such as Walker, Akers and Mohr subdued. The defence included twins Anna and Nina Nymark Andersen. Ann Kristin Aarønes scored the decisive goal after ten minutes (she finished as tournament top scorer), while a late strike from Wiegmann was enough to see Germany past China and into the final. The final followed the same pattern. Germany saw a lot of the ball but couldn’t get through and goals from Hege Riise, the player of the tournament, and Marianne Pettersen meant Norway were the second world champions.
The third competition, in 1999, was held in the United States, and the US media machine meant it was easily the most high-profile women’s competition to date. Three years earlier women’s football had started at the Olympic Games, and FIFA were determined not to be upstaged. The number of combatants was increased to sixteen and England were the only side to appear in 1995 but not in 1999; Italy were back in, and Russia, Mexico, Ghana and North Korea were added to the mix.
The USA, the Olympic champions, dominated their group, as did Norway, the holders, and China, Olympic silver medallists. The other group was closer and headed by Brazil, making their presence felt for the first time. This condemned group runners-up Germany to a tough quarter-final against the USA, which they only just lost, the US coming back from 2–1 down at halftime. American defender Brandi Chastain scored at both ends – she was to emerge as one of the tournament’s stars.
The Americans had too much experience for Brazil in the semi-final, and China tore apart a Norwegian side that was nowhere near as tight as in 1995. The final was an anti-climax, a rather tense game with few chances – the USA were wary of Sun Wen’s skill and pace, and the Chinese side were a counter-attacking team. The Chinese kept a tight watch on Mia Hamm, by now the game’s leading player, and the best passer of the ball and football brain the women’s game had seen. The game came down to a penalty shoot-out and it was up to Chastain to score the winning penalty kick. The tabloids, who had barely given the tournament an inch of coverage, were more than happy to print the picture of the delighted goalscorer whirling her shirt around her head.
China were due to host the 2003 Finals, but the SARS outbreak caused a hasty switch to the USA, the best equipped to deal with the problem at such short notice. The usual suspects turned up. Europe lost a place to accommodate the disappointed original hosts alongside newbies South Korea. Still no England, no Italy again and no Denmark for the first time, but France took their bow in the Finals, as did Argentina and South Korea at the expense of Mexico.
The United States were the favourites again, even though Norway pipped them to the Olympic title in Sydney in 2000. Germany and China were both contenders and Brazil were still improving.
Brazil had the precocious talents of seventeen-year-old Marta at their disposal, the heir apparent to Hamm as the world’s leading player, but they were still less focused as a team than the Europeans and were edged out by a disciplined Sweden side in the last eight. Both Germany and the USA had a prolific goalscorer and Abby Wambach got the only goal of the game as the US beat Norway, while Birgit Prinz scored twice as the Germans overwhelmed Russia. A young Canadian team sprang the competition’s biggest surprise, eliminating China with captain Charmaine Hooper’s early goal. Canada took the lead in their semi-final, too, but Sweden found two late goals. The USA lost 3–0 to Germany, but the game, which many felt featured the best two teams, and is regarded as one of the classic of the women’s game, was tight right until the end. Germany scored twice on the break in injury-time as the USA threw caution to the wind, and would face Sweden in the final.
Germany, with Wiegmann, a veteran now, as captain and the powerful Renate Lingor alongside her, were worthy tournament winners, but it took extra-time to see off a hard-working Sweden team, who had their own superstar now in Hanna Ljungberg. Ljungberg gave them the lead just before half-time when she outpaced the German defence, but the Germans scored immediately after the break through Maren Meinert, persuaded out of retirement to play in the tournament. Substitute Nia Künzer scored the decisive goal in the eight minute of extra-time, a powerful header from Lingor’s long free-kick.
In 2007, China were given the chance to host the tournament, after missing out in 2003. There were, as usual, few changes in the make-up of the contestants. England made their second appearance and Denmark were also back – out went France and Russia.
The groups were a little closer than in previous tournaments, suggesting some of the also-rans were catching up a little. Only Brazil won all three games, including an impressive 4–0 demolition of China; the Chinese were not as good as in previous years but they were no pushover. The USA were surprisingly held to a draw by North Korea, Norway were held by Australia, and England got a very creditable 0–0 draw with Germany, especially so after a shaky first match which saw them draw 2–2 with Japan – both England goals scored by their star player, Kelly Smith. A thrashing of Argentina saw them through in second place.
Normal service was resumed in the semi-finals as the four top seeds all prevailed. England held the USA until half-time but three second half goals finished them off. Norway edged out China, Germany cruised past North Korea and Brazil edged out Australia 3–2 with a late Cristiane goal after they carelessly let a two-goal lead slip.
It was no surprise when Germany beat Norway rather easily – they looked an awesome unit, and were yet to concede a goal. Brazil beating the Olympic Champions, the United States, was a bit more of a shock, Shannon Boxx’s sending off, while harsh, was irrelevant as Brazil were already three-up by half-time. Marta was simply wonderful, a bag of tricks and sashays and slaloms – she scored twice to end the tournament as top scorer and Golden Ball winner as best player. But even Marta’s genius was not enough against the machine that was the German defence and Birgit Prinz’s clinical second half finish from her first real chance of the game sent the German on their way; Simone Laudehr added a late second.
In 2011 the Women’s World Cup came back to Europe for only the second time, to Germany, with the final earmarked for the Commerzbank Arena (formerly Waldstadion), home of Eintracht Frankfurt.
Asia lost a place in 2011 and it was China who surprisingly missed out for the first time, leaving a fast-improving Japanese side and an athletic Aussie team to lead the way for the continent. Mexico got the spare place, and Colombia and Equatorial Guinea made their debuts at the expense of Argentina and Ghana. France qualified from the Eur
opean zone, not Denmark; England appeared in successive Finals tournaments for the first time.
The favourites were the usual ones; the USA were the Olympic champions, Germany the holders and European Champions and Brazil still had the unfettered brilliance of Marta.
Germany won all their group games but they did actually let in goals, which gave the other sides hope. The German squad was getting on a wee bit, and they had lost Lingor to retirement; she had been a powerhouse in their winning sides of 2003 and 2007.
England topped their group; a disappointing draw with Mexico was followed by a narrow win against New Zealand courtesy of Jessica Clarke’s late winner and an excellent 2–0 victory over Japan. Brazil and Sweden topped the other two groups, Sweden with a terrific 2–1 in over the United States.
It is the fate of English football teams to lose in the quarterfinals, and the women are no different from the men in that regard, nor are they any better at winning penalty shoot-outs. Veteran defender Faye White had the misfortune to miss the crucial spot-kick against France. France, a much-improved side, did well against the USA in their semi; the game was 1–1 until the last ten minutes when the prolific Abby Wambach and new star Alex Morgan scored two goals in three minutes to settle the tie.
The USA had squeezed past Brazil in the previous round in another classic. Lauren Cheney gave the USA the lead but Marta equalised from the penalty spot after Rachel Buehler hauled her back and earned a red card for doing so. Marta’s first penalty was saved superbly by Hope Solo (what a fantastic name!!), but the Australian referee ordered the kick retaken for encroachment and Marta made no second mistake. With two minutes of extra-time gone, things looked bad for the USA as they found themselves a goal down. A cross from the left found the US defence appealing for offside instead of concentrating, and Marta snuck in to hit a clever volley across Solo and in off the far post. The USA never gave up and in extra-time of extra-time Wambach secured legend status when she beat the goalkeeper to a deep cross and sent the contest into a penalty shoot-out. Daiane missed her kick for Brazil and Ali Krieger scored the last and decisive fifth penalty of an excellent set of kicks from the USA.