THE BEAUTIFUL GAME |
Courtesy: The Sangai Express 25th May, 2002 |
From 1930 in Uruguay to 2002 in Japan and South Korea the journey has been long and eventful for the biggest sporting extravaganza, known the world over as the World Cup. With 32 teams or rather country, set to fight it out for the prestigious World Cup spread across 20 stadiums in Japan and South Korea, the World Cup has surely come a long way from the 13 teams which participated in the first World Cup hosted by Uruguay in 1930. the ‘Beautiful Game’ as the ‘Black Pearl,’ Pele, christened the game of football, the World Cup has seen its moments of glory and disappointment. If Maradona mesmerized the world with his wizardry in the 1986 World Cup along with the stunning solo effort that sealed the fate of England in the quarter final match, Maradona also shocked the world when he was unceremoniously banned from the 1994 World Cup at USA after testing positive for a banned substance. And of course who can ever forget the ‘Hand of God’ goal and the utter look of disbelief on the face of England custodian Peter Shilton when the goal was allowed by the referee in 1986 World Cup. Maradona was the man who inspired the 80’s generation and particularly the people of Manipur for thankfully in 1986 TV had entered the living rooms of the people here. And of course the penalty missed by the flamboyant, pony tailed Roberto Baggio in the final against Brazil in USA, 1994 that sealed the fate of Italy is also still fresh in the mind of the people. 1950 World Cup will be remembered for the emergence of the raw 17-year-old rookie Pele who took the footballing world by storm and remains to this day the most well known face of football.
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