Development Of The Game

2003/04 Premier League Champions: Arsenal Runners-up: Chelsea Champions League places: Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool. UEFA Cup places: Newcastle, Middlesbrough (League Cup), Millwall (FA Cup finalists) Promoted (from 2002/03): Portsmouth, Leicester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers Relegated: Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leeds United, Leicester City Leading Scorer: Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 30 goals Premier League Table 2003 – 2004 Pos Team … Read more

Once more, the unthinkable reared its head at the World Cup. Four years after Brazil watched stunned as the world title slipped away to Uruguay, it was time for one of the strongest teams in football history to crumble when faced with German determination and physical strength in the 1954 World Cup. Hungary had won … Read more

Pelé was just a seventeen-year-old boy and practically unknown when he arrived in Sweden in 1958 to play in the 1958 World Cup in history. However, Brazil’s 5-2 convincing win over the hosts in the final and Pelé’s outstanding performance, playing alongside another football genius, Garrincha, were enough to draw the world’s attention to the … Read more

Two years after suffering the biggest earthquake of the 20th Century, Chile staged the 1962 World Cup with four host cities: the capital Santiago, charming Viña del Mara, Racangua, and Arica. The National Stadium in Santiago was quite a picture, with the snow-covered mountains of the Andes in the background setting the scene. Brazil went … Read more

Land of basketball, baseball, and American football, the United States succumbed to soccer, as they call the world’s most popular sport, and hosted the 1994 World Cup. Doubts over how involved the population would get spread: the 1994 World Cup had the biggest crowd in the FIFA event’s history, 3,587,538 spectators, and other equally impressive … Read more

The 1966 World Cup in England was the first to have a mascot – Willie the Lion – but the dog Pickles became the hero after finding the Jules Rimet trophy in a garden, stolen four months ago before the tournament was scheduled to start. Indeed, the World Cup in England stood out due to … Read more

First World Cup to be broadcast to the whole world, the 1970 World Cup tournament was full of skillful and attacking plays, mainly from Brazil, with great players like Pelé, Tostão, Rivelino, Jairzinho, and Gerson. Brazil made a glorious exhibition of attacking football from the first match to the final. At the same time, thousands … Read more

Brazil did not in any way resemble the magical 1970 team, England did not even manage to qualify for the 1974 World Cup, and Argentina had yet to rise as a footballing power. Nonetheless, the World Cup in West Germany became a benchmark for the sport. All because of Dutch total football. Commandeered by football … Read more

After its South American neighbors (Uruguay, Brazil, and Chile), Argentina finally had the chance to host the 1978 World Cup. And contrary to what happened in Brazil and Chile, their story had happy endings. Mario Kempes finished the 1978 World Cup tournament as top scorer, and the celebration took over the streets of Buenos Aires, … Read more

It was no easy task. America and Europe were suffering from the consequences of the 1929 economic crisis, which led to high unemployment rates and the bankruptcy of several small companies and big banks. Football, officially organized by FIFA since 1904, was still taking baby steps as a sport and did not have anything resembling … Read more