Sepp Blatter thinks that this is the best ever World Cup – but there again he would.
Meanwhile a number of columnists, commentators, and bloggers have already taken this World Cup to the garbage dump. Maybe it is premature either way given that we are only at the quarter final stage.
My first vivid memories of a World Cup was 1966 and here is how I would rate the past editions (best to worst):
1974 - Memories - The Dutch and Cruyff.
Outstanding games - Brazil vs. Scotland, Poland vs. Argentina, Netherlands vs. Argentina, West Germany vs. Sweden, West Germany vs. Netherlands.
1986 - Memories – Maradona, Peter Beardsley.
Outstanding games - Denmark vs. Uruguay, Denmark vs. Spain, England vs. Poland, Denmark vs. Spain, Argentina vs. England, Brazil vs. France, Argentina vs. W. Germany
1970 - Memories – Brazil, Bobby Moore, Uwe Seeler, the first British TV panel of experts on ITV.
Outstanding games - England vs. Brazil, W. Germany vs. England, W. Germany vs. Italy, Brazil vs. Peru.
1982 – Memories – Northern Ireland, the French midfield, Paulo Rossi, Falcao.
Outstanding games – England vs. France, Northern Ireland vs. Spain, Brazil vs. Scotland, Italy vs. Brazil, W. Germany vs. France.
1966 - Memories – North Koreans, Eusebio, Beckenbauer and Geoff Hurst.
Outstanding games W. Germany vs. Switzerland, Portugal vs. Hungary, Portugal vs. Brazil, North Korea vs. Italy, Portugal vs. North Korea, England vs. West Germany
2002 – Memories – South Korean fans, Oliver Kahn, and Ronaldo.
Outstanding games – France vs. Senegal, Senegal vs. Uruguay, Costa Rica vs. Brazil, Argentina vs. England, USA vs. Mexico, South Korea vs. Italy, England vs. Brazil.
1994 - Memories – Romario and George Haghi.
Outstanding games - USA vs. Colombia, Spain vs. South Korea, Nigeria vs. Bulgaria, Bulgaria vs. W. Germany.
1998 – Memories – Laurent Blanc, Marcel Desaily, Dennis Bergkamp.
Outstanding games – Nigeria vs. Denmark, Argentina vs, England, Netherlands vs. Argentina, Brazil vs. Netherlands, France vs. Brazil.
1978 - Memories - Ossie Ardilles, Mario Kempes and Leopoldo Luque.
Outstanding games - Italy vs. France, Italy vs. Argentina, Sweden vs. Brazil, Netherlands vs. Scotland, Netherlands vs. Italy.
1990 – Cameroon and Group F (F for frigging awful, 7 goals in 6 games).
Outstanding games – W. Germany vs. Netherlands, Republic of Ireland vs. Romania, England vs. Cameroon.
"In the same way that our members send their best teams, FIFA owes it to itself, in its own flagship competition, to send out the best referees...Instead, I've noted that instructions aren't being followed consistently from one match to another."-Blatter
Bobby-
The #### that flows from his mouth never ceases to amaze me. I have a feeling that in hindsight, you might put 2006 at the bottom of your list with memories being: refs, cards, POR v NED, and some of the best acting seen in a long time, though Jose Antonio Reyes didn't get a chance to show off his superb acting skills. I so hate that guy.
Still, with Brazil playing France, Ronaldo facing Zidane, I cannot complain. I hope that match is not marred by Blatter's rules.
I enjoyed this world cup a lot. Much better than the previous two.
A bit harsh on Reyes; there's a difference between 'acting' and falling down easily IMO. Plus, he gets kicked a lot due to his unbeleivable pace. He draws fouls; it's his style of play, although, I think he should try and stay up a bit more.
Surprisingly, Drogba more or less behaved himself in this event, although there was the usual amount of whining to the refs -- far less diving than usual though. Lost a lot of respect for Henry the other day, however -- very reminiscent of the notorious Rivaldo incident, and I would have thought way beneath someone who impresses as usually being a very classy guy.
Well, I guess the WC that stands out the most for me is '86 because it had the best final I can remember. It was a wide open, back and forth, 3-2 match.
Maybe '82, although, I wasnt too fond of having 2 rounds of round robin play.
I don't remember seeing the '78 WC live but, I did see it replayed and it might be a top 5.
I think that the '02 WC had the potential to be one of the greats. The current champ (France) and perrenial favorite (Argentina) were upset in the first round, Turkey, S Korea and the US were great Cinderella stories, and the Brazil v England match was one of my favorites. The reason I dont list that as my favorite is because the final match was awful. Only one team showed up. Had Brazil been more efficient, it could have been a romp.
I remember the 1986 World Cup well. I'll never forget how Germany let Denmark beat them in the last group game. The winner had the privilege of playing Spain (Denmark lost 5-1), and the loser faced Morocco, then the winner of Mexico-Bulgaria, and Germany made it to the final. One of the last lines in the documentary about Mexico '86, was "never, ever, underestimate the Germans". Just ask the mighty Magyars of 1954. They beat the W.Germans 8-3 in the group stage and were 2-0 up inside the first 10 minutes of the final. Germany beat Hungary 3-2 for their first title. Every time I begin to tell my dad about how the W.Germans have no chance, in any tournament, he tells me about 1954.
Interestingly, David Lacey from The Guardian commented that World Cup 1994 was one of the best World Cups in recent memory.
I disagreed with him. The '94 finals were played during intense heat, which had a severe impact on the players. Most of the matches were played at Noon or later, in order to be shown live during primetime in Europe.
Atmosphere for this one has been great, but just not enough goals. Finishing has been atrocious, plus the odds are kinda tough when you've got 5 dedicated defenders v. .5 dedicated attacker.
But one day, hopefully in this century, somebody's gonna have a sane moment + realize that this is entertainment, not major surgery.
Folks are spending a lot of money + want a few kicks. Screw the 'simple game' ####--change some rules + get more goals in the game.
By the way, does anyone know the whereabouts of Ronaldinho? You know, the greatest player in the world...the guy who made us forget about Pele?
Bobby, I realize two days between matches gives some of us the time to revive vivid memories, our family of 5 flew in from Japan to soak up 6 games in South Korea/02 BUT Sepp for once is right as this World Cup is still undecided and "building" ...capturing the passions of the globe, not just the remaining 8 nations, plus the training camps are still in full swing.
That England is only now holding their lineup under lock and key illustrates that they fully expected to reach this stage, and like Brazil and Argentina, their world cup begins from here on.
I agree with your views roughly 95% of the time but respect your views more than that - keep up the great work yourself and continue making those around you a better team.
The cyclical nature of goals/game is moving up since 1994.
There are very few Cinderella stories this year, with Ghana being the best so far. However, the big teams aren't getting knocked off by lesser foes, making for great head-to-head matchups here late in the tourney.
For grounds and production value, Germany seems to be great. They even did something about the weather since 1974.
Everything is in place to make this the best World Cup ever. Now the big teams have to play up to their capability and give us the show of a lifetime.
I was 11 years old in 1982 and that one still sticks in the memory. How could it not? My hero, Michel Platini, the gruelling battle with Germany, K-H R coming off the bench to score, even though injured. It was the best World Cup match I can remember and cemented my love for this game forever.
What about Hugo Sanchez for Mexico in 1986? That volley was even better than Maxi's goal against Mexico.
I liked 1998 more than you did. What ,with Owen and the Beckham saga, Ronaldo, the emergence of Zidane, DENNIS BERGKAMP (who doesn't get the respect he deserves as one of the best to ever lace up a pair), Jay-Jay Ochocha.
Anyway, lots of great memories. I think people will still be talking about this World Cup in years to come, but not for the quality of the football or a dominating performance by a player, but we'll see.
Durham Gunner-
I too rank Dennis Bergkamp as one of the best players ever.
There are a few goals in the history of the game that I would describe as artwork and Bergkamp scored one of them-
2002, Newcastle v Aresenal...you know what I'm talking about. "And Bergkamp...well he just sometimes takes your breath away"
Tedallal-
I don't think I'm being harsh on reyes, though it is his style of play to run, fall, and cry. I suppose there is a difference between acting and falling, but I was just wondering what you call it when (against madrid this past cl) reyes takes a dive, falls outside of the field, then crawls back on to the pitch, then cries. I'm not sure whether thats being an actor or a cheat, maybe both?
I agree with you on that one 100%. However, it's only one case. I can mention few occations where he got kicked by the likes of G.Neville and Faye (Bolton player). As I said, he draws fouls; yes he cries and whines, but he was fouled nontheless. Anyway, you so hate him; so there's no point arguing! :)
i am also in agreement w/the bergkamp statements as he is one of my favorite players to watch in the world. i am so excited to see the qf's as 15 of the 17 previous wc trophies have been taken by teams that are still in the tourny and the ger/arg match tomorrow has CLASSIC written all over it
I'm still a little cranky after the U.S.A.'s first round exit, but I've learned that it was all their fault and not mine, much like a divorce. I was born in 1993, so I'm a bit behind on the past World Cup gossip and I've only been a football fan for around a year-year and a half now so this is officially MY first World Cup. I've only missed one game so far this tournament, and it's been alright. I was dissapointed Spain had to depart so quickly-I didn't even get to say goodbye!- but then again I was misled by their group stage performance and they decieved me into thinking they could kick the #### out of Les Bleus. The refs I think misinterpreted FIFA's expectations of yellow & red cards and have gone overboard with the discipline of players. We're not through with the tourney and yet we've still set a record for yellow & red cards. The refs have really thrown the players under the bus on this one. Not a bad WC though.
I think that it is way to early to judge this WC as we haven't even seen the quartefinals yet. Also, I think it's been great. The other day I sat down to see which games I have to delete off my DVR to make room for the rest of the WC as it's almost full. It was very hard to decide because most games have been very good and I'd like to keep them.
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