The 1986 World Cup saw the rise of another football immortal. Until that year, Diego Armando Maradona was only an excellent Argentine midfielder with rare skill, a track record of indiscipline, and a controversial figure. However, after June 1986 in Mexico, Dieguito became a myth. For everyone, a genius with his left leg; for many, … Read more
For Brazilians, only the 1950 World Cup is more traumatic than the 1982 World Cup, hosted by Spain. The World Cup in Brazil went into football history books for coining the expression Maracanazo, or the Maracanã blow, referring to the 2-1 defeat suffered by the hosts to Uruguay in a packed-out Maracana Stadium. The 1982 … 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Fascism was spreading through Europe, and the imminence of war was felt in all corners of the continent when France hosted the 1938 World Cup. The Second World War would only start in 1939, but in June the year before, a series of problems threatened the staging of the tournament. The Spanish Civil War started … Read more