The first World Cup I can remember watching in earnest was Spain in 1982. I was nine years old and was given my first World Cup wall chart from my dad. This was an incredible device in itself and I got many hours of fun before the tournament recreating my own tournaments with dice and later softening me up for a spell in a Dungeons and Dragons recovery unit several years later – you don’t know pleasure until you’ve held a 20 sided dice – but I… Read more
Like nasal hair, seemingly incomprehensible candy bar prices and bafflement at acronyms; another part of growing older is seemingly antipathy towards sporting stars – particularly footballers. When I were a lad (queue Dvorak’s New World Symphony – used in a British bread commercial and as musical shorthand for anything, grim, northern or nostalgic since) Footballers were a curious mix of demi-god and neighbour – they were the champions of a community… Read more
This is the 17th in a weekly series of World Cup history lessons brought to you by our very own “Professor” Guy Bailey. He is not actually a professor; the only professor on staff is Jamie Clary. Well, sort of. The 2002 World Cup The 2002 World Cup was the first to be hosted jointly between two countries – South Korea and Japan. Japan could probably have hosted the tournament by itself but FIFA politics being what it is decided to straddle the… Read more
Waiting for the World Cup to approach is similar to the countdown to Christmas. Certain TV programs appear in the schedules, certain songs start appearing on the radio, certain housing estates that look like fresh meat would be at a premium spend seemingly thousands of pounds on gaudy, outlandish decorations, the cost of running them will dwarf the amount spent on presents no matter how many children they have. One thing is lacking in the build-up over here… Read more
This is the 11th in a weekly series of World Cup history lessons brought to you by our very own “Professor” Guy Bailey. He is not actually a professor; the only professor on staff is Jamie Clary. Well, sort of. The 1982 World Cup The 1982 World Cup was held in Spain and was the first to be expanded to 24 teams, mainly at the behest of the European and South Americans but Africa also benefited with an extra place. Holland, the form team of the… Read more
This is the tenth in a weekly series of World Cup history lessons brought to you by our very own “Professor” Guy Bailey. He is not actually a professor; the only professor on staff is Jamie Clary. Well, sort of. The 1978 World Cup The decision to award the 11th World Cup Finals to Argentina for the first time was taken back in 1970 when they vied with Mexico for the honor. The Mexicans won out and Argentina had to wait another eight years. Unfortunately,… Read more
The World Cup usually boasts the greatest players in the World, but occasionally, circumstances conspire to keep some of the World’s greatest from strutting their stuff on the biggest stage. It might seem like an unforgivable crime against football, but here is part two of the best players who never played in the World Cup. Ryan Giggs Ryan Giggs is quite possibly the most successful club player of the television era. In a professional career entering its… Read more
This is the ninth in a weekly series of World Cup history lessons brought to you by our very own “Professor” Guy Bailey. He is not actually a professor; the only professor on staff is Jamie Clary. Well, sort of. The 1974 World Cup The 1974 World Cup was held in West Germany and was the first where the winners would be presented with the current trophy snappily titled The FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga. The… Read more
The World Cup usually boasts the greatest players in the world, but occasionally, circumstances conspire to keep some of the world’s greatest from strutting their stuff on the biggest stage. It might seem like an unforgivable crime against football, but here is part one of the best players who never played in the World Cup. Duncan Edwards He was described by Bobby Charlton as “the only player that made me feel inferior.” Stanley Matthews said he was “like a… Read more
Over the years, the World Cup has seen many great players, and many great performances. Sometimes, great players achieve immortality by picking up the biggest prize of all, a World Championship. But there are other legends who never quite got there, and were left to ponder, “what if?” These are the best players who never won the World Cup. Johan Cruijff His name is synonymous with beautiful football. As a player and manager, he won an incredible 38… Read more
This is the seventh in a weekly series of World Cup history lessons brought to you by our very own “Professor” Guy Bailey. He is not actually a professor; the only professor on staff is Jamie Clary. Well, sort of. The 1966 World Cup England was awarded the 1966 World Cup Finals in 1960 in honor of the codation of rules – football finally came home. Controversy reared its head before the tournament began when 16 African Nations boycotted the… Read more
This is the fifth in a weekly series of World Cup history lessons brought to you by our very own “Professor” Guy Bailey. He is not actually a professor; the only professor on staff is Jamie Clary. Well, sort of. The 1954 World Cup The 1954 World Cup saw the competition return to Europe and as it was the 50th anniversary of FIFA, they thought it fitting to hold the competition in their backyard – Switzerland. The competition format was a familiar one… Read more
This is the second in a weekly series of World Cup history lessons brought to you by our very own “Professor” Guy Bailey. He is not actually a professor; the only professor on staff is Jamie Clary. Well. sort of. The 1934 World Cup The second World Cup was to be played in Italy after an efficient total of eight meetings of the FIFA Executive Committee, taken without a ballot of its members and at the expense of Sweden but Italy had the money to put on… Read more
Steve Martin once did a bit on Saturday Night Live where his single Christmas wish was world peace. When he considered additional wishes, world peace withered in importance. He added money, power and a 31-day orgasm. FIFA is like that when it looks to decide where World Cups should be played. Putting aside those images of hooligans, riots and leg-breaking fouls, FIFA likes to portray itself as an ambassador of peace. But when it comes to choosing a World… Read more
