Cant wait for KICKOFF!

It can be stated with certainty that no sporting event on this planet can hope to match the aura and charm of the Football World Cup. Millions of fans in over a hundred nations wait with bated breath for the great tournament to begin..The sense of anticipation and tension is palpable..All this with good reason!..The world cup over the years has witnessed extraordinary crowds, brilliant players and great teams..The variety in style and footballing approach is unmissable..The open free flowing Brazilian style is in sharp contrast to the much more text book style of England and Germany. Holland's ability to enthrall and also disappoint in equal measure sets them apart. Argentina's fantastic footballing skills and of late the supreme athleticism of the the African nations has virtually guaranteed some high octane entertainment..

Top performances from players and teams over the years stand out in memory. Right from the supremely confident Ferenc Puskas who led Hungary in 1954, the precocious talent of Pele who appeared on the world stage in 1958, the unbelievably skilled Garrincha who played throughout with deformed feet, England's fairytale win in 1966 with the help of Geoff Hurst and Bobby Charlton not to mention Eusebio's remarkable football all through the tournament, Pele and Jairzinho gracing the 1970 edition, Holland, led by the classy Johann Cruyff, charming one and all in 1974 and 1978 yet finishing agonizingly short, the resilience of Germany in 1974 and the brilliance of Argentina in 1978..Dino Zoff's Italian champion side of 1982 which won despite the presence of the great Brazilian pairing of Zico and Socrates. 1986 was all about Diego Maradona. His extraordinary repertoire of skills proved too much for most teams and his goal against England remains embedded in memory...West Germany prevailed in 1990 and 1994 just means Roberto Baggio's penalty miss..Brazil played a truly superb tournament in 1998 courtesy their superstar Ronaldo but a mysterious illness kept him out of the finals and they were easily beaten by France with the genius Zinedine Zidane scoring twice..The Brazilians combined superbly and coached by the eccentric Scolari, they took the trophy for the fifth time. In the last edition i.e. 2006, Italy prevailed over France in a tense shootout which was made famous for all the wrong reasons with Zidane head-butting Materazzi and getting sent off at a crucial juncture..

As a tribute to this fascinating trophy, I felt I should just revisit the previous tournaments and take a walk over the years highlighting the major moments which for sure will stay registered in the memory of a football lover..

The first trophy was played in 1930 in Uruguay and the host prevailed in the finals..Italy won the 1934 and 1938 editions and the number of teams in the tournament was slowly increasing...The world war prevented the staging of the tournament in 1942 and 1946..In 1950, the World Cup was staged in Brazil..In front of a packed Maracana stadium rumoured to have accommodated close to two hundred thousand people, the hosts and favourites Brazil lost to Uruguay 1-2...This was deemed the final though it was actually one of the round robin games played..

The 1954 World cup was staged in Switzerland and Hungary were led by Ferenc Puskas, nicknamed the Galloping Major'. They trounced one and all and thrashed the eventual finalists West Germany 8-3 in a round robin game..But German resilience came to the fore in the final and they prevailed over Hungary 3-2... The 1958 finals in Sweden was dominated by the Samba boys from Brazil..Pele, who went on to become the finest footballer of all time made his debut at the age of 17..Just Fontaine of France scored a record 13 goals in the tournament which is still a record..Brazil defeated Sweden 5-2 to take their first title..The 1962 tournament was all about the wondrously gifted Garrincha, known as the 'little bird'..Born with deformed feet after a polio attack, his runs on the right flank became legendary..He conjured up some sublime performances all through the World cup and Brazil won the title by beating Czechoslovakia 3-1..

Photos below: left- the legendary Ferenc Puskas and right- the dazzling Garrincha





One of the most popular editions of the great tournament was the 1966 one..It was held in England and people all over hoped that England would win its first trophy..There were superb matches none better than the game where minnows North Korea took a stunning lead of 3-0 against giants Portugal only to lose 5-3. Portugal's Eusebio was the standout performer..England and West Germany progressed to the finals played at the legendary Wembley stadium and at the end of normal time the teams were tied 2-2...A highly controversial goal was awarded to England in extra time when most believed that the ball had not crossed the line..The referee in a moment of indecision and madness awarded a goal and this decision is debated till today..Geoff Hurst added another goal and eventually ended up scoring a hat trick to help the captain Bobby Moore and the great coach Alf Ramsey lead the England team to its maiden triumph..

Photo: below- England win the World cup 1966



The 1970 world cup was held in Mexico and some of the more memorable moments included the stunning save that Gordon Banks produced to prevent a certain goal off a header by the great Pele..Brazil cruised to another triumph by thrashing Italy 4-1 in the finals and Pele was the toast of the footballing world..The 1974 edition was held in West Germany..Holland, known as the 'brilliant oranges' stunned the world with a superb display of attacking football..Their attractive style was due to their captain, the classy Johann Cruyff..Neeskens scored in the final against Germany even before the opponents had touched the ball..but the gritty Germans somehow clawed their way back and won 2-1..The Dutch supporters were devastated but the superb football endured in memory..The 1978 finals again saw Holland stumble at the final hurdle, this time against Argentina..It is universally accepted that the Dutch teams that ended up as the runner up in 1974 and 1978 were the best never to win the trophy..

Photos: left- Pele and Bobby Moore after Brazil beat England in 1970
right- the 'ballet dancer'- Johann Cruyff of Holland





Dino Zoff, at the age of forty, along with the great Paolo Rossi,led Italy to their third trophy in 1982 in Spain..Brazil had two legends in Zico and Socrates and were very much favoured to win the world cup..Italy though upstaged them in the semis and defeated West Germany to take the trophy after a long gap of 44 years (the last they won was in 1938)...

The 1986 world cup in Mexico was all about Diego Maradona, the diminutive Argentinian who enthralled one and all with his superb runs, exceptional control and brilliant judgment..The quarter finals saw Maradona rip apart England with some glorious football..Two goals in that game will never be forgotten as long as the game exists...The notorious 'Hand of God' goal when in the spur of the moment, Maradona punched the ball from near his head into the goal..It was blatant..Much to the chagrin of the Englishmen, their appeals went unheard and the goal stayed..The legend though erased this from memory by scoring what is regarded the finest goal ever...He took a couple of turns in his half and beat a host of English defenders before finally racing past the bemused Peter Shilton to slot home the goal of the century..Argentina went on to claim the trophy by defeating the Germans in the final at the Aztec stadium..The 'Mexican wave' gained popularity ever since this tournament..The 1990 tournament was held in Italy and the Germans won by defeating Argentina in a controversial and ill tempered final..'Toto' Schillaci of Italy scored the most goals..The biggest upset was when Cameroon beat Argentina with goals from the talented Roger Milla..

photo below: Maradona lifting the trophy, Mexico 1986



The 1994 tournament was held in the USA and record attendances were witnessed for most games..England failed to qualify for this edition and Brazil was on song throughout..Romario and Bebeto combined brilliantly..the trademark celebration of the Brazilians was the rocking of a cradle started by Bebeto to signify the birth of his child...Dunga lifted the trophy for Brazil after a dull final which was decided on penalties..Italy's great striker Roberto Baggio missed his shot and was in tears after that...The tragic killing of Andres Escobar, the Colombian who scored an own goal left a bad taste at the end of the tournament..

The 1998 edition in France saw both Brazil and France dominate throughout..David Beckham's sending off against Argentina after kicking out at David Simeone remains a highlight along with Michael Owen's remarkable first goal..The Dutch were unlucky to lose to Brazil in the semis while France edged the Croats..Croatia's Davor Suker scored the most goals in the tournament.. Ronaldo had been superb all through the tournament but just prior to the final collapsed and with this episode went Brazil's confidence..Zinedine Zidane scored twice off corners to make it 2-0 for France and then Emmanuel Petit scored a third to make it a comprehensive win for the French..

photos below: left- Romario and Bebeto- cradle celebration 1994
right- Zinedine Zidane in 1998





The 2002 edition was held in Japan and South Korea..State of the art grounds including the Sapporo dome and Yokohama provided a visual treat and the football was also high quality..Senegal upset holders France to create a huge shock..Turkey played superb football but finally lost to Brazil in the semis..In the quarter final, England opened the scoring through Michael Owen but then soon enough, they were buried by the dazzling skills of Ronalidinho..His super run and pass to Rivaldo set up the equalizer and the next goal was a stunning free kick when from over 35 yards he lifted the ball over the dumbstruck David Seaman.. Ronaldo and Rivaldo were in supreme touch and they combined wonderfully in the finals against Germany...In the semis against South Korea who earlier had created a huge shock when they downed Italy and Spain, Michael Ballack, Germany's talismanic striker had scored but was then forced to commit a professional foul to deny a Korean goal..He was sent off which meant he would miss the all important finals..The Germans tried their best to keep the Brazilians at bay especially through the efforts of their brilliant custodian Oliver Kahn...But Kahn's first fumble cost them a goal when Ronaldo pounced on the rebound and a superb dummy by Rivaldo led to the second goal which enabled Brazil to clinch the trophy for the fifth time...

photo below: Ronaldo in 2002



The 2006 edition in Germany was ordinary for most parts and the finals was contested between Italy who had mastered the art of defensive football..France had Zinedine Zidane and they knew he was the sole hope..The final was evenly contested until Zidane in a moment of madness charged and head butted Materazzi of Italy..The latter had been riling the legendary Zidane and the reaction though expected wasn't appropriate considering the occasion..Zidane was sent off and Italy won the final on penalties..The triumph was overshadowed by this unfortunate episode..

photo below: Zidane runs into Materazzi in the finals in 2006



The 2010 edition promises to be bigger than ever with the African nations aiming to provide a grandstand finish..Top class young stars such as Wayne Rooney of England, Lionel Messi of Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal will brighten up the tournament..Brazil and Argentina look good though it must be said Argentina were lucky to qualify..England look a rejuvenated side under Fabio Capello and would seek to end their drought..Holland and Spain are in excellent form and boast the service of some truly world class players..Spain have been tipped the favourite by many to lift the trophy..The Spanish along with the Dutch and English, remain one of the perennial underachievers in football...I am looking forward to a truly classic tournament and cant wait for kickoff..My guess/hope is that the semis will have Holland, England, Brazil, Argentina/Spain...After that its anybody's game!..I just cant wait for June 11th...

photos below: left - Lionel Messi
centre- Wayne Rooney
right- Cristiano Ronaldo