Topic of the month: (World Cup 2018) "The most famous bad guys in the history of soccer world cups"
"The most famous bad guys in the history of soccer
world cups"
What's Luis Suarez going to do on this World Cup?
Billions of viewers of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Russia
are preparing to cheer for their favorite teams and of course they will be
watching in particular what will make the greatest rivals in the history of
football, Cristiano and Lionel as it is their last opportunity to win the World
Cup. I'll say it immediately, I predict that this second one with Argentina
will finally succeed to make it, at the end of his career. I also believe that
another finalist will be quite a surprise (England, Belgium...?) While I also
predict that numerous favourites, led by Brazil and Spain, will disappoint
their fans. So at the end of this championship look where I hit, and where I
missed. But anyway, the world always celebrates winners and fair play. It's all
too predictable, I'm more interested in that what is unexpected in football.
Those non-sporting or even anti-sporting gestures that will be talked about
years later. Those players who manage to become the story of the World Cup for
non-football reasons.
In this article I write about footballers who have managed to become
notorious at even two football World Cups, what's not easy to do. Just to be
able to play at different World championships in the span of 8 years, you have
to be a footballer at a long-term top quality level.
Diego Maradona
Scandal 1 – "Hand of God"
Year 1986 in Mexico was the World Cup of the one and only
Diego Maradona. He scored against England's best goal in the World Cup history,
played never better and finally showed all the domination of his talent, which
for years by some fate or unfortunate injuries failed to show. Neither in the
club nor the national team. Great Barcelona already gave up on him and Maradona
tried to go back to the top in a much smaller club, Napoli. A much more difficult
place to win trophies than the favorized Catalan giant.
But in this World Cup Maradona was remembered for that
infamous goal against the same England. Goal scored with hand that after
Maradona, as far as I know, has never been allowed to any world-class football
player. Try to score a goal like that with your hand and you'll see it's
impossible to hide. That kind of magic can only do magicians like Copperfield
and Maradona. All right, Maradona said he didn't score it with the help of some
magician, but God himself. Therefore, if the goal to England was indeed scored
by God, as the 12th invisible player of Argentina, instead of Maradona who is
registered among 11 players, then this goal is technically speaking regular.
The prohibition of playing with hand does not apply to God.
Scandal 2 - Doping
Eight years later in the USA 1994 great Maradona was in the
twilight of his career. With Napoli he achieved miracles, the only two titles of
the Italian champion that this club had ever won, two times with Argentina he
came to the World Cup final and many people already knew all about his vices,
cocaine addiction and violations of sport discipline but he got it once again a
chance to show his talents. The opportunity didn't last long. He went on a drug
test and was expelled from the biggest competition because of doping, for
example like the athlete Ben Johnson at the Seoul Olympics. Maradona remained
until today, as far as I know, the only football player to be expelled from the
World Cup for doping. If they were more of them they were too low-profile
players to be heard of them.
Zinedine Zidane
Scandal 1 – 1st T.K.O. by head
His first scandal in the World Cup 1998 in France is not so
commonly known to football fans. It happened in a less important game with
Saudi Arabia that the French could win even without him.
In a moment of rage, Zidane hit by head an opposing player named
Fuad Anwar and received red card along with a number of games banned to play.
He returned to the national team, unfortunately in the semifinal game against
my Croatia, to play this key role in the game where France was on the verge of
defeat, and they would probably lose the semifinals if Zidane hadn't been
there. After that, the final against Brazil, quite opposite of the semifinals,
was an unexpectedly easy victory for France and Zidane.
Scandal 2 - 2nd T.K.O. by head
Zidane's second scandal, 2006 in Germany, is well-known to
everyone. It was known that this World Cup would be the swansong for Zinedine
Zidane. In fact, he wasn't even supposed to play it, because if I remember
correctly, a year earlier he'd already quitted playing for the national team.
And then someone talked him into it: Play it again (Sam) Zizou, encore une
fois. France played so poorly in that World Cup that nothing was expected of
them. They passed the first round just because of the pure luck that they
played against few really bad opponents, but that was supposed to be all from
France. For each subsequent match, sports journalists have already written the
text of the article: "Tonight, bad French team has lost as expected, we
only regret that this was the last game of the great maestro, au revoir
Monsieur Zidane!" But that last game of Zizou never came. That was one of
the strangest transformations in the World Cup history, that can be compared
only to the metamorphose of Italy and Paolo Rossi in the World Cup 1982.
Is it because such sterile teams are underrated by favoured
opponents or these discordant individuals, by some miracle, learn to play
football together again, we will never know. Only reamins the fact that Zidane,
at the end of his football career, when he was already 35, played again for a
short time as in his best days, when he was young and full of power.
And then came the finals against Italy. Now no one
underrated old Zidane any more. He had yet to play a very difficult game
against highly motivated Italian team. The match came to extra-time and despite
Zidane outplayed Italian defenders in many duels still no way to score that
decisive goal. Zidane nervously reacted to the provocation of Materazzi who
insulted him near the end of the extra-time and again, like eight years ago, a
Zidane strikes his opponent with head.
That was red card and no after game this time. Great Zizou
has finished his career, so he couldn't serve the red card penalty.
Luis Suarez
Scandal 1 – "Hand of God" from second-hand shop
2010 at the World Cup in South Africa, it was last minute of
the extra-time of the quarter-final match against Ghana, when the 23-year-old
Uruguayan forward player found himself by the goal but his own, and just like
the unrepeatable Maradona, he tried to prevent, and not score the goal with
hand. This time everyone saw what happened, nothing could be hidden. Luis
Suarez received a well-deserved red card, but the Ghana representative, Asamoah
Gyan, missed the penalty kick and the opportunity for the first African team to
enter the WC's semifinals. When the Africans after that poorly executed the penalty
shootout series 5 to 5, it was proved at the end that Suarez' anti-sporting
"crime" had paid off. He said after the game that he would do the
same again to help his team and that from now on, Maradona's "Hand of God"
belongs to him. I don't think so Senyor Suarez, to take that title from Maradona
much more should be done.
Scandal 2 – "Jaws"
2014 in Brazil, Uruguay was in a very tough group with Italy,
England and Costa Rica, which ended up surprisingly first in the group. Uruguay
and Italy played a decisive match for passing to the next round and Uruguay
could only go through with victory. Luis Suarez struggled in the attack against
the traditionally solid defense of Azzuri. Each time Italians were closer to
the ball than he was, even when the Uruguayan tried desperately one more to hit
the ball over too high defender Giorgio Chiellini. No one would notice what
happened, unless the angry Chiellini hadn't rushed to the judge, showing him
that Suarez had bitten his shoulder. The judge couldn't punish the Uruguayan only
on the base of his appeal, but after the game the video control confirmed that
the attacker actually bit the defensive player.
Suarez' "crime" paid off again in the end. Through
the literally "bitten" Italian defence, Uruguay managed to score that
winning goal and pass on.
Luis Suarez later justified himself that his teeth, to say
in simple way, "by some strange coincidence of Newton's laws of movement,
and law of inertia according to Einstein's theory of relativity, his teeth ran
into Chiellini's shoulder, from all places in the universe just there."
But we did find out after that it wasn't his first biting of
opposing players. He already did it in Ajax, then Liverpool and now again. He
was expelled from the World Cup for this unique reason, punished by a
multi-month ban of playing, and later Barcelona decided to buy him by placing a
special punishment clause in the contract, if such an act were repeated.
Scandal 3 - ?
Luis Suarez is 31 years old today. This World Cup in Russia is probably the last one for him, last chance to do something special that none of us would think he was capable of. So he could become officially the first footballer in the history of World Cups, who marked 3 World Cups with his non-sporting gestures, what is for the Guinness Book of records. It's really not a small achievement, remember just how many famous players and how many untouchable stars full of ego have played so far on World Cups. (no need to emphasize the competition of great players who want to play there and from whom you have to be better). I know it's not fair-play, not even sportingly to expect something like this but trust me, in Russia I will at least partially support Uruguay.
ADDITION
My selection of the best football anthems, PART II. Enjoy!
Zpívej, kdo jsi sparťanem
“Zpívej, kdo jsi
sparťanem” is the football club anthem of the famous Czech club AC Sparta Prague, one of the oldest clubs in central Europe, founded in
1893.
This One's For You Poland
The version of UEFA EURO 2016 official song
performed by David Guetta and Zara Larsson for the Polish football team.
Lewy
The song Lewy sung by Polish singer Jagoda for
her football national team.
Aarzemnieki
Club anthem of Riga United from one small Baltic
country not very known for football successes, but for those who don’t know
Latvia succeded to qualify and participated in the football Euro 2004.
I am from Austria
Unofficial Austrian football anthem by Rainhard
Fendrich often sung by Austrian fans on the games of the national team.
Slovenija gre naprej
Vlado Kreslin, Pero Lovšin and Zoran Predin are
3 famous Slovenian rockers from different bands who joined forces to make
football anthem “Slovenija gre naprej” for Slovenian football team.
Dinamo ja volim
The most famous football club anthem from
Croatia. Punk rock song “Dinamo ja volim” by Pips Chips & Videoclips was
recorded in early 90’s of the last century. In that time new government changed
the name of the club Dinamo Zagreb, because it sounded too much “communist”.
Fans of the club never accepted other names and continued to support the name
Dinamo, which was returned to the club in 2000. Croatian national team that
will play in Russia has many football anthems, but this one is still the best.
BONUS:
Oh Mamà Mamà Mamà Ho visto Maradona
Oh Mamà Mamà Mamà Ho visto Maradona
I am sure that there is no other football club
in the World that has such a good chant dedicated to just one player, like
Napoli fans have for Diego Maradona.
The World Cup in
Russia can be watched on the TV or via Internet WiFi connection in our
hostel Flores too.
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Note: During the football World Cup that will take all media attention, probably I won't publish new posts on this blog except maybe some football comments, if something enormously interesting happens in Russia (eg. Croatia in the semifinals, Luis Suarez exceeded all my expectations...) Or if some very interesting tourist news happens.
I wish you a pleasant view of the World Cup and the successful result of the football team which you support, and after that a nice tourist summer.
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I am Dinamo fan i DINAMO JA VOLIM but even more BIJELO-CRVENAAA POLJA HRVATSKA... Forza Croatia!
OdgovoriIzbrišiProbably Uruguay will go through in next round, but Luis Suarez won't do any scandal. He will be good and peaceful boy like angel this time :) He hasn't any bonus yet. One more scandal and he will be dumped forever :)))))
OdgovoriIzbrišiWe will see what will happen, I'm glad to see that Luis Suarez as DARTH VADER of this World Cup is still alive and kicking. The EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!
OdgovoriIzbriši