World Cup Final History

By Michael Lewis
MLSnet.com columnist

Yokohama, Japan -- Even before the first ball was kicked, there were indications that the World Cup championship would be a special affair.

1930:

Before host Uruguay and Argentina squared off in Montevideo in 1930, there was a controversy over which ball to use, the story goes.

Each side wanted to use its own ball. In a decision worthy of Solomon, referee Jean Langenus of Belgium decided to use the Argentine's ball in the opening half and the Uruguayans' in the second. With their ball, the Argentines grabbed a 2-1 halftime advantage. With their ball in the second half, the Uruguayans rallied with three consecutive goals en route to a 4-2 victory.

A day later, Uruguayans literally danced in the streets as a national holiday was declared to celebrate the title. In Buenos Aires, Argentines stoned the Uruguayan consulate. The world of soccer would never be the same.

Of course, there would be no controversy over which ball to use in Sunday's final between Brazil and Germany because there is an official ball of the World Cup.

Still, the world championship game has given the soccer world more than its share of drama, last-minute heroics, controversy, grace and elegance, and disgrace and confusion.

Brazil's 17-year-old forward sensation, Pele, showed he could jump pretty high in 1938.

For grace and elegance, Brazil's wins in 1958 and 1970 stand out.

1958:

The 1958 tournament forever will be known as the event in which a 17-year-old Edson Arantes do Nascimento -- also known as Pele -- made his World Cup debut. But Brazil was far from a one-man team as the host Swedes and several other opponents discovered. After allowing Sweden to take a 1-0 lead three minutes into the affair, Vava and Pele went to work. Vava scored twice in the opening half and Pele duplicated the feat in the second half in what turned into a 5-2 Brazilian triumph, the only time a team won out of its hemisphere until 2002.

1962:

Four years later in Chile, Vava made history by becoming the first player to find the back of the net in consecutive Cup finals in Brazil's 3-1 victory over Czechoslovakia. Pele, incidentally, was forced to miss four matches, including the final encounters because of a pulled muscle. His replacement, Amarildo, scored four goals in the tournament, including the tying goal in the championship game.

1970:

After being eliminated in the first round in England in 1966, Pele and company wound up in the driver's seat in Mexico four years later. Their opponents were Italy, which managed to battle to a 1-1 halftime deadlock despite a score by Pele. The Brazilians, however, took things into their own hands, or in this case, feet, in the second half as Gerson, Jairzinho and team captain Carlos Alberto scored goals during a 21-minute span. No one realized it at the time, but it would be the last time Brazil would reach the championship game until 1994.

1994:

That final at the Rose Bowl did not come close to the flair the Brazilians exhibited in Mexico City. After a disastrous and low-scoring Italia ’90, USA ’94 brought a pleasant breath of fresh air back to the World Cup. But both teams, particularly the Italians, were exhausted in the final after playing a month in the heat and humidity.

In the penalty-kick tie-breaker, Dunga, the Brazilian captain, powered his shot into the right side for a 3-2 edge. Next up was Roberto Baggio, who had carried Italy into the final with five goals in three games, but had been doubtful for the match due to a hamstring injury. Baggio's attempt sailed over the goal and into the stands, incredibly ending the match and World Cup on an anti-climatic note.

1990:

A penalty kick by Germany's Andreas Brehme was all his team needed against Argentina in 1990.

For disgrace, that's easy -- West Germany's 1-0 victory over Argentina at Italia '90, which, in some respects was an appropriate ending to a dreadful World Cup. The Germans came to play soccer, the Argentines, well, soccer observers are trying to figure out what they were trying to do at Olympic Stadium in Rome. They had perhaps two scoring opportunities before Pedro Monzon was red-carded in the 65 minute -- the first player ever to the expelled from a championship match -- tripping Juergen Klinsmann.

Defender Andreas Brehme converted a penalty kick with six minutes remaining in regulation for the lone score on a controversial score -- referee Edgardo Codesal of Mexico ruled that defender Roberto Sensisi tripped Rudi Voeller -- the same Voeller who will coach Germany on Sunday -- in the penalty area, although many observers agreed it was a marginal call. Three minutes later, Gustavo Dezotti was given his marching orders for grabbing defender Juergen Kohler by the neck in the 87th minute. His teammates continued to argue with Codesal after the final whistle.

1950:

Confusion? Try 1950.

Instead of having a knockout round following the opening ground, a group system was used, putting the opening-round winners -- Brazil, Sweden, Spain and Uruguay -- in a round-robin system in Brazil.

As luck had it, the last game of that round and the tournament turned out to be for all of the marbles as favorite Brazil and Uruguay squared off in the finals before a World Cup record crowd of 199,854 at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilians, who needed but a tie claim their first title, struck first on a goal by Cardosa Friaca two minutes into the second half. With a lead in front of a heavily partisan crowd, coach Flavio Costa tried to send instructions to forward Jair to drop back to defense, but he never got the message.

Uruguay continued to press and Juan Schiaffino netted the equalizer in the 66th minute and Alcide Ghiggia put home the game-winner with 13 minutes left in a 2-1 Uruguayan victory before a stunned crowd.

1954:

The Brazilians could never come back, although West Germany showed an amazing amount of resiliency to clinch the 1954 crown, which began an incredible run of eight Final Four appearances in 10 World Cups (the Germans have won three titles and advanced to the final on three other occasions). The Germans and heavily favored Hungary squared off in the championship encounter in Berne, Switzerland -- a rematch of their first-round game. In the earlier meeting, the Magic Magyars, as the talented Hungarians were known, rolled to an 8-3 triumph over Germany, which fielded a lineup that did not include several regulars.

What happened? Coach Sepp Herberger figured out that if his team lost to Hungary, it would avoid playing the talented Brazilians in the quarterfinals. Instead, the Germans would meet Turkey or the Soviet Union in a special playoff and that winner would play Yugoslavia in the quarterfinals. Herberger's plan worked perfectly as the Germans rolled over Turkey, 7-3.

In the final, Germany started its full lineup this time, although Hungary had to used an injured Ferenc Puskas. The Hungarians grabbed a 2-0 lead in the opening eight minutes on goals by Sandor Kocsis and Zoltan Czibor. The Germans, however refused to die, tying the match by the 18th minute behind Maximilian Morlock and Uwe Rahn. The score stayed that way until the 84th minute, when Rahn picked up a Hungarian clearance, ran into the penalty area and beat goalkeeper Gyula Grocsis.

It was Hungary's first loss in 30 international matches, dating back to 1950, as the best team of the early 50s returned home stunned.

Germany's Franz Beckenbauer hoists the World Cup after defeating Holland in 1974.

The Netherlands knows some heart-break, too -- not once, but twice. In fact, the Dutch are regarded as the best team not to win a World Cup. Of course, the Dutch had two great teams to overcome.

1974:

In 1974, the Netherlands, led by the incomparable Johan Cruyff, ran into the Franz Beckenbauer-led West Germany, which posted a 2-1 victory. The Dutch started off the game on the right foot, stringing several passes together before Cruyff was taken down in the penalty area barely a minute into the game. Johan Neeskens converted the penalty kick. Following the tradiiton of the 1954 match, the Germans never gave up as defender Paul Breitner converted a penalty himself and Gerd Mueller scored his World Cup career-record 14th goal two minutes before halftime as the hosts held on for a 2-1 win in Munich.

1978:

Argentina is crowned World Cup champion on home soil in 1978 - at Holland's expense.

The Dutch came close again four years later, losing out to a talented Argentine side that had so much talent and ability it was able to leave an aspiring 17-year-old player named Diego Maradona off the squad. That's because Argentina had such players as captain Daniel Passarella, Osvaldo Ardiles and Mario Kempes, among others.

Kempes had given the hosts a 1-0 lead late in the opening half, but Dick Nanninga, who had boasted to the media before the game that he would score a goal as a substitute in the final, did just that -- with nine minutes to spare in regulation. Overtime, though, was all Argentina as Kempes struck again, with a minute left in the first 15-minute extra-time period, and Ricardo Bertoni with six minutes left for a 3-1 victory in Buenos Aires.

1986:

A more mature and experienced Maradona led Argentina to the title eight years later before a crowd of 114,590 at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. While he did not play a major role for most of the final match and did not score a goal, he did set up the game-winner.

First, teammates Jose Luis Brown (22nd minute) and Jorge Valdano (55th) had given the Argentines a 2-0 advantage, but West Germany, not surprisingly, staged one of its patented comebacks, striking twice within the final 17 minutes via a couple of corner kicks originated by Brehme.

Diego Maradona holds the World Cup trophy after a tournament he dominated in 1986.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge headed home the first in the 73rd minute and Voeller scored in the 81st. But the seemingly emotionless Germans proved to be human. While still euphoric over the tying goal, the Germans allowed Jorge Burruchaga to break free at midfield. Noticing his teammate by hismelf, Maradona blooped a pass to Burruchaga, who beat goalkeeper Toni Schumacher with seven minutes left.

As it turned out, both players tainted their reputations in later years, Maradona with two drug scandals and Burruchaga for his involvement in the match-fixing scheme with Olympique Marsielle in France.

1966:

For drama, excitement and controversy, nothing can beat the 1966 final between England and West Germany at Wembley. This encounter had plenty of twists and turns. First, Helmut Haller gave the Germans a 1-0 edge 12 minutes into the match, but Geoff Hurst equalized for the English six minutes later. The score remained that way until the 78th minute, when Martin Peters put the hosts back into the lead, 2-1. It looked as though England would finally capture its first World Cup, but as time was running out, Wolfgang Weber managed to put one past goalkeeper Gordon Banks for a 2-2 time.

A World Cup final mystery to this day: Geoff Hurst's shot in 1966 - in our out?

English coach Alf Ramsey told his troops: "You've beaten them once this afternoon. Now go out and do it again."

Some 11 minutes into the first extratime period, Hurst scored one of the most controversial and talked about goals in soccer history, firing a shot that bounded off the crossbar and into the goal. Or did it? Linesman Tofik Bakhramov ruled it did, despite protests from Beckenbauer and his German teammates. Hurst added his third goal in the final seconds to become the only player to record three goals in a championship match.

"I believe the goal was," Hurst said. "When you play in the final, you believe the goal was in. . . . I don't think anyone has proved the goal didn't cross the line.

"It is one of the most, if not most controversial moment in world sports. It is still talked about today."

1998:

So is the 1998 final and for good reason. The host French stunned favored Brazil, 3-0, in Paris. Zinedine Zidane connected for a pair of header goals in the opening half and and Emmanuel Petit added a third two minutes into stoppage time at the end of the match.

French captain Didier Deschamps leads his team up the stairs to the World Cup trophy.

The big controversy and mystery of the match was what exactly happened to Brazilian superstar Ronaldo before the match and whether he should have played. Depending on what media report you believed, Ronaldo had either an ankle injury, convulsions or came down with a stomach ailment the day of the match. There also were reports that Ronaldo had vomited and that there were arguments about whether Ronaldo should play (Nike, the Brazilian National Team's sponsor, was accused to pressuring the coaching staff to induce Ronaldo to play, but the forward denied those allegations last October).

In fact, in the first lineup handed out to the media before the match, Edmundo's name was in the Brazilian lineup, and not Ronaldo's.

In January, Brazilian newspaper Lance claimed that Ronaldo had eight injections of the painkiller Xylocaine to alleviate pain in his right knee during the Cup, which caused a fit before the final. The injections entered his bloodstream, which raised his heart rate, sending him into convulsions.

1982:

Italy celebrates after defeating Germany in an unexpected triumph in 1982.

There was no controversy when Italy captured it third crown as a team of destiny in Madridin 1982 in what turned into Paolo Rossi's tournament. Rossi had been banned from the game for two years and had a mere six weeks to train in his comeback. After a mediocre opening round, Rossi caught fire later on, connecting for a hat trick in a 3-2 win over Brazil and for two more in a 2-1 semifinal victory over Poland.

So, it was fitting that Rossi scored the first goal in the final in the 57th minute against West Germany, after teammate Antonio Cabrini missed a penalty kick. Marco Tardelli and Alessandro Altobelli went on to score second-half goals before Breitner connected for the Germans with seven minutes remaining, but it was too little and too late as the Italians prevailed, 3-1.

That was the third of the Italians' championships. The first two were secured in the 1930s, when the World Cup was not as high profile as the present incarnation of the tournament.

1934:

In 1934, Italy managed to walk away with a 2-1 extratime win over Czechoslovakia in Rome as Angelo Schiavo scored on a shot that sailed under the crossbar five minutes into the extra period.

1938:

Four years later in Paris, the Italians became the first country to win two World Cup titles, successfully defending their crown with a 4-2 triumph over Hungary as Silvio Piola collected a pair of goals, one in each half.

One thing is certain when Brazil and Germany take the field at Yokohama International Stadium on Sunday night – one soccer powerhouse will add to its total. The Brazilians are seeking a record fifth championship, while the Germans want to join the South Americans at four titles.

Michael Lewis, who writes about soccer for the New York Daily News, is covering his fifth World Cup. His fourth book, World Cup Soccer (2002 edition), was published last month. He can be reached at SoccerWriter516@aol.com.