World Cup Memories

The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world. Every four years, the planet takes a universal month off to celebrate the biggest price in the biggest game. While gaining traction in the United States, it is still impossible for most Americans to realize just how huge the World Cup is in the rest of the world.

The lure of the World Cup is magical. As a kid it was a magical month for me. Always taking part during summer break from school it was a month long soccer-fest that I would look forward to from the moment the previous final ended. For a full month, I was treated to the best teams and the best players in the world every day, in the opening rounds as many as four games a day. My summer would be spent in front of the TV and in between games on the playground trying to re-enact spectacular goals and amazing saves. My friends and me would get into fight over who was Eder, Scillachi, Zico or many of the other players that was catapulted to super stardom by the Cup.

To me, the memories of the world cup are primarily centered around these long summer days filled with football. The quiet euphoria of realizing as soon as a game ends there is another world class game to look forward to in just 30 minutes. The times between game days discussing the games with my friends or trying to impress my uncles and grandfather with moves copied from Creuff and Platini. The countless hours spent with a sketch book and crayons drawing up plays and goals from the days games. The intense heartbreak when a favorite team is eliminated and the pure joy of seeing the worlds greatest players performing on the worlds biggest stage.

These are the memories and feelings I attach to the World Cup. An event I will keep looking forward to every four years for the rest of my life. Still, for all the joy I take from watching football, there will always be games and events that particularly stand out in my mind. Here is an incomplete list of special moments from the World Cups I can remember.

My first clear memory of the World is the final between the Netherlands and Argentina in 1978. The games were played in Argentina in front of an extremely enthusiastic home crowd. The game ended with a 3-1 victory for Argentina in extra time. At the time I was devastated that Holland had lost. I remember arguing to my grandfather that the Dutch goalie was unable to get up and save the third goal due to the large amount of confetti on the field. He was kind enough to let me have my moment of self deception. In retrospect it's clear that I had favored Argentina throughout the Cup up until the final. My notebook from that time is filled with drawings of Mario Kempes and myself involved in some of Argentina's goals. During the finals though, I remember being crushed by the despair of the dutch players when defeat was inevitable. I didn't know it at the time, but the 1978 loss for the dutch side marked the last opportunity for Johan Creuff and the Netherlands to claim the games greatest

price. At the top of the world during the years of total football, the Dutch have yet to return to a World Cup final.

My next memories are form the subsequent World Cup in 1982. Coming into the games the talk was all about the new Argentinian prodigy, Diego Armando Maradona. With the expectations of a whole country on his shoulders, he was expected to secure a repeat. This was not to happen as Maradona was ruthlessly marked every single second of the Cup, with little protection from the referees he was fouled virtually every time he touched the ball. Finally his frustration boiled over and he delivered a shocking stomp to the groin his Brazilian opponent. Maradona was sent off in shame and his Argentina failed to qualify for the second round.

The shame of 1982 was forever forgotten after the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Coming into the games Argentina were not considered among the top candidates for the title. A decidedly average team was again captained by Maradona, but his disappointing showing in the previous cup had people questionings his ability to perform at the highest levels. As the 86 cup unfolded it would soon be clear that Maradona was more then up to the task. Better prepared for the intense marking and tackles he would face he would go on to produce the most impressive display in any World Cup, possibly the greatest achievement in all of sports. Maradona was the architect behind everything Argentina produced in the tournament. Scoring or assisting on virtually every goal they scored. In what would eventually be crowned with Argentina's third World Cup, the most memorable moment from the games was the now infamous quarter final between England and Argentina.

A quarter final is always a tense moment, but for these two teams they were playing against the backdrop of the Falklands War. The first half of this game is now football legend and saw two of the most talked about and renumbered goals in World Cup history. Both goals was scored by the little sorcerer, Diego Maradona. He scored his first goal on a run into the England area where he surprisingly beat England keeper Peter Shilton to an air ball. Shilton immediately called for a hand ball, but the referee allowed the goal. Replays show that Shilton was right, and Maradona would later go on to say that the goal was scored by the hand of God. The second goal of the half is now universally considered the best goal ever scored. Maradona receives the ball near the midfield circle, turns away from two opponents and goes on a solo run that is jaw-dropping to watch to this day. Only using his left foot he weaves through the English defense with immaculate ball control and several displays of his unbelievable busts of speed. The monumental run is capped of by him rounding the goalkeeper and scoring into the open net just as a defender takes out his legs.

The World Cup is full of stories of super stars raising to the challenge, but some of the most compelling memories for me are the Cinderella stories and the heroics of the smaller nations. To me, one of the greatest World Cup stories is from the 1990 Cup. Cameroon had qualified for the first time but were largely ignored in the run up top the games. No African team had ever made it out of the qualifying round, and nobody expected Cameroon to fare any better. Cameroon had other ideas and went on to shock the world by winning their way through the opening stages. At the forefront of the Lion's charge was Roger Milla. Completely unknown before the games, the 38 year old striker would tear through unsuspecting defenses and end up joined top scorer of the games. Milla seemed to score in every game and became the figure head of the African football revolution. As Cameroon danced their way into the querter finals they were ultimately stopped by England in a hard fought 3-2 loss in extra time. The defeat prompted me to resent English football for several years afterwards. Cameroon had made their mark though, and ever since Roger Milla put on his dazzling show African teams have been featured regularly in the later rounds.

Some times the heroics comes from the most unexpected of places. With the World Cup being played in Italy in 1990, expectations were sky high. With probably the strongest domestic league and a national team filled with the biggest stars in the world. As the tournament proceeded though, it was a relative unknown that would seize his moment and the hearts of Italy forever. Salvatore Scillachi figured to be a second string striker for the Azuri, playing behind superstar like Vialli and Baggio. He did indeed start the tournament on the bench, but when Italy struggled to break through the Austrian defense he was substituted into the game late and came up with the winning goal. Schillachi was not done, and as the month went on scored several key goals for Italy. Carrying the expectations of a whole nation on his shoulders, Salvatore Scillachi lived up to his first name; the savior. Despite Italy falling to Argentina on penalties in the semi final, the 1990 world cup is still commonly referred to as 'The magical nights of Toto Scillachi' in Italy.

Apart from amazing performances and inspired runs, the World Cup consists of a myriad of spectacular events that stand out in memory. From Joel Bats' ultra cool in the penalty shootout where he made the legendary Socrates look like a fool, to the shocking exit from football for Zinedine Zidane when he planted his now infamous forehead in the chest of Matarazzi. Georghe Hagi's 60 foot lob against Colombia in 1994 or the mad dog, Hristo Stoichkov curling a freekick into the top corner and turning away to celebrate before the ball hits the target. Owairan's spectacular goal for Saudi Arabia against Belgium in 1994.

For my whole life, the World Cup has been a constant source of anticipation and joy. Four years of build up is released in a euphoric month of football bliss. The worlds biggest sports event will always yield new fantastic memories to go along with the heroes and moments from the past. For this reason, I still get butterflies in my stomach when the cup draws near. And I still feel the same feeling of longing for the World Cup the moment the final is over.

Source: Personal Experience