On the final turn, a character of an unusual trait, extraordinarily gifted ball magician bangs in a goal from an impossible angle. The stadium erupts. The arrested world television audience tumbles down in catharsis.
Overpowering in ecstasy, exhibiting stupendous glamour, The World Cup episodes, whether played inside the capacity filled pitches or screened on Television, have overshadowed the Olympics, The Grand Slams, Miss World Beauty Pageants, The American Music Awards, The American Presidential Elections Campaigns. In the end, the perennial football showpiece has seized the entertainment blitz and presently is mankind’s greatest event spectacle.
Consequently, in 1998 a bemused world rose up to hail the goal facilitated by the “hands of God”. Behold, Diego Maradona, Bless the Argentinean, One man riot XI. The gift from the gods
Remember, the Black Panther Eusebio, Africa’s first impression on the star list of the World Cup. He played for Portugal deploying the grit and power of our native football and masticated the Koreans in a 1966 London memorable encounter.
The Brazilian World Cup best squad of all time is a difficult selection. All the same, the 1958 squad, featuring the immortal winger, little bird, Garincha and the games evergreen artist, Arantes do Nascimento, Pele is a Brazilian XI that had everything.
Roberta Baggio, Italy, and the Flying Dutch, Rastafarian Ruud Gullit were in a class of their own. Indeed, Roberta Baggio singlehandedly shot down Nigeria at the 1994 US World Cup. He scored a magnificent goal to even scores, three minutes to full time. Winning the match for Italy seconds to the end, by hitting a waltzing spot kick uneasily to be seen on the travel by the naked eyes.
How can we forget Roger Milla? In Rome, 1990, when Cameroun Indomitable Lions and the impeccable striker earned an extra third team for Africa at the 1994 Finals in the United States. The European nations have long regarded the World Cup as a Tournament of the best teams in the World.
At that moment not all parts of the World had to be represented if the best teams were from Europe, the European argue they should all be in the Finals. In fact, there was the “World Cup Championship” played between the best from South America, without the best Clubs from Asia, Africa, North America or Oceania.
The Africans and Asians argued that” geographical representation assured the best team in the world.
1990, FIFA” decided that the format for qualifying for the” World Cup finals would depend on the virtues of both arguments and economics. FIFA did not see a need to cast straws and have European, African, Asian and South American teams meeting in the qualifiers. The distances between the Countries would dictate high transportation and logistical costs.
FIFA therefore preferred a geographical format but satisfied Europe’s argument by awarding more final places to Europe. In the end, Europe had 13 places while Africa and Asia had two each. The only final place that was left to economical “peril” was Israel and Oceania playing against a team from South America.
FIFA was willing to live with this “peril” because of the political problems, which would have resulted if Israel had to play in its true geographical group in Asia against the Arabs.
The power of Europe in the FIFA boardroom had ensured that the World Cup finals were essentially among the assumed “best” teams of the World. In the last World Cups, however, that power has been eroded by the persistent en bloc voting of third world countries. First, such voting put Brazilian Joao Havelange at the helm of FIFA. Havelange then awarded Africa and Asia two places each instead of one in 1978 and awarded Africa a third place in the 1994 finals.
