I FIFA World Cup-- Montevideo, 1930
History: Uruguay, a soccer-loving place and well-functioning democracy on the American mainland, was the home-grown winner by surpassing Argentina -one of the Earth's most prosperous states at the time--- at Montevideo's Centenario Stadium, beginning its own period of dominance.In doing so, this small nation became the first world champion in the history of the game.
In front of a crowd of over 100,000, Jose Nazassi, the country's captain, and his fellow players were elected national heroes on Uruguayan soil. Unequivocally, they had no idea of its far-reaching effects in the world, especially in the region.
Yet ,this win wasn't new to the Latin American republic, a country that has produced a host of talented players even when the country had a long history of poverty and political strife (1970-1985). This win came at the end of a successful period for the Uruguayan squad. Back in the 1920s, the national side picked a total of two Olympian gold medals (Paris 1924 & Holland 1928) and four continental trophies (1920, 1923, 1924, 1926).
The United States of America was one of 13 squads participating in the First WC, finishing third-top American performance in history.Yugoslavia -what now is Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro-was Europe's most celebrated contingent upon reaching the semis; the country became Yugoslavia one year earlier.
II FIFA World Cup-- Rome, 1934
History: Egypt was one of the first non-European/Latin American teams to attend the Men's Football World Cup, becoming the first country in the Arabic-speaking world to win that right. The South American republic of Argentina was the best non- European side in this year's WC, behind Austria, Spain,Hungary, Sweden, Switzerland and other teams.
Without a doubt, Italy became the second team to win the title in its home country. In front a delighted Benito Mussolini, the nation's fascist dictator, the European squad began to make a name for itself in the world of sports when as host team placed first in the Second Global Championship (which is now at the top-the icon of all world championships) at the Stadium of National Fascist Party in Rome.
Czechoslovakia (it split peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993) came close to winning the tournament. Indeed, it was a competition dominated by Europe's national delegations. Nonetheless, the majority of Italy's footballers were of South American origin, among them Luis Monti, who was plucked out of Argentina (having played for the South American republic in the finals four years ago). Over the coming years, the Italian side gained a world status as a leader in men's football.
III FIFA World Cup-- Paris, 1938
History: The III FIFA Cup was won by the Italian side for the second consecutive time ---being the first time that a national squad had won back-to-back World Cup titles in the history of the game. As a result of their triumph during the Berlin Summer Games in the mid-1930s, they were the front-runners for the trophy in Paris (France), home of the FIFA Cup, between July 4 and July 19, 1938. Aditionally, Vittorio Pozzo, the Italian coach, became the first national coach to win two consecutive WC titles in FIFA history.
In the gold-medal match, on July 19, 1938, Italy beat Hungary 4-2. Two years ago, the Hungarian side placed 13th at the 1936 Berlin Games. In the meantime, the Brazilian squad gained the bronze medal, having finished 13th in the past championship at Rome. Almost all the teams were from Europe. Most of Austria's sportsmen were to compete for Germany.
There were Romanian players in the international championship for the third time in a row. In fact, the continent of Asia made its first appearance with the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia). Also, Cuba sent athletes to France, becoming the first Caribbean country to do so in the history of the game. Incredibly, the Cuban national team had a good performance despite its inexperience. Overall, it placed seventh, at the expense of Romania and the host nation. Having won the gold at the I Central American and Caribbean Games in 1930, the island's team only obtained bronze in the regional games in the mid-1930s in El Salvador.
IV FIFA World Cup---Rio de Janeiro, 1950
History: Between June 24 and July 16, 1950, Brazil ---Latin America's largest republic--- gained the right to host the Men's Football World Cup. The final was played in Rio de Janeiro. The 1950 Cup also extend to Belho Horizonte, Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Porto Alegre and Recife.
In post-World War II years, the Spanish-speaking republic of Uruguay won the FIFA Cup as a dark horse candidate upon its sensational win over host country Brazil and huge favorite during the worldwide tournament. And indeed, Uruguay's football was seen as a success story in the next decades. A number of factors had contributed to this achievement: its long-standing democracy, national food, education system, and special passion for soccer.
India, which had competed in the Summer Olympics, declined to participate in Brazil.
Thanks to the Haitian-born Joseph Edward Gaetjens, the underdog America defeated Italy, the defending champion, 1-0 in the first round in Brazil's city of Belho Horizonte, a place rich in African-Brazilian culture. Before that game, the United States had been all but ignored by journalists and experts. Born of a Belgian father and Haitian mother, Mr. Gaetjens is referred to as one of the most respected players in the history of America's soccer and the country's greatest foreign-born player. As well being a member of the 1950 World Cup Team, he played for Brookhattan (New York) in the American Soccer League.
During the 20th century, the most successful Spanish team at the FIFA WC was the 1950 national side, which made the top four on Brazilian soil.
V FIFA World Cup--- Bern, 1954
History: Between June 4 and July 4, 1954, Switzerland, among the globe's most industrialized nations, was World Cup host.The local team placed fifth, and was followed by Brazil (6th), England (7th), Yugoslavia (8th), France (9th), Italy (10th), Turkey (11th), Belgium (12th), Mexico (13th), Czechoslovakia (14th), Scotland (15th) and the Republic of Korea (16th).
Despite not being a heavy favorite on Swiss soil, Germany's national side ended winning the international meet after its victory over Hungary (Olympic gold medalist in the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games), emerging as one of the top leaders in FIFA Cup history alongside Brazil, Uruguay and Italy. Germany was the second European contingent to take home the global trophy. Austria was third and Uruguay fourth.
Players from what later became Slovakia and the Czech Republic participated at the Bern WC, competing under the flag of Czechoslovakia.
South Korea, one of the planet's poorest lands at the time, made its first appearance on the world stage, becoming the first team from Far East to compete in the global championship. Over the coming years, it won the Asian Cup Football twice (1956 and 1960). Over the following century, Seoul, the Korean capital, shocked the planet when it co-hosted the 2002 FIFA Global Tournament -where they (known as the "Taeguk Warriors") reached the semi-finals with athletes such as Cha Bum-kun, Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo.
VI FIFA World Cup--- Stockholm, 1958
History: The worldwide event was held in Scandinavia's Kingdom of Sweden, a famously peace-loving country. Here, the Brazilian side became a powerhouse in men's football by winning its first major international trophy. Of Brazil's athletes, Edson Arantes do Nascimento (also kwnown as "Pele") was by far the most important sportsman. From then on, he's well-known both within and outside Brazil. In the decades that followed, the Portuguese-speaking republic became one of the most successful national teams in football history. Additionally, Pele was the world's foremost player as well as being one of the most influential athletes of the modern age. Over his athletic career, he scored more than 1,280 goals.
For the first time in soccer history, four delegations from the United Kingdom qualified for the international competition: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Nevertheless, none of them made the semis.
In Sweden, the Soviet Union -the Earth's most efficient national sports machine during the 1950s-- made its long-awaited debut and came in sixth. Within the Soviet Bloc, the USSR was one of he most notable teams in the world of soccer, along with Hungary and Czechoslovakia. By 1956, they gained the Olympic Soccer Tournament in Australia's city of Melbourne.
The top performance by a Welsh squad occurred on Swedish soil as the country's sportsmen made the top five.
VII FIFA World Cup--- Santiago de Chile, 1962
History: Surprisingly, the South American republic of Chile -it is nearly twice the size of California- gained the right to host the globe's greatest sports event. The host nation earned the bronze medal upon finished third (its best finish in the WC) behind Brazil and Czechoslovakia. The Chilean side was followed by Yugoslavia (4th), Hungary(5th), West Germany (6th), USSR (7th), England (8th), Italy (9th), Argentina (10th), Mexico (11th), Spain (12th), Uruguay (13th), Colombia (14th), Bulgaria (15th) and Switzerland (16th).
Without a doubt, Brazil's team became the focus of attention upon their triumph in the international event in Chile, a country on the coast of South America. From that time on, Brazil was heavy favorite in men's football. Since then, Edson Arantes do Nascimento was the international star in the Chilean capital of Santiago.
The Republic of Czechoslovakia took a major step away from its past when it became the second Communist nation to reach the finals (after Hungary in 1954) in a time when athletic competitions between the world Soviet and non-Communists countries were part of the Cold War.
VIII FIFA World Cup--- London, 1966
History: In London, the men's football squad of England won the worldwide competition to become Europe's only home-grown champion since 1934 (the last European winner was Italy).This was the first time in which a nation other than Uruguay, Italy, Brazil, and Germany had captured the WC. Owing to this, there was special enthusiasm nationwide.
In fact, Portugal was the Portuguese-speaking world's most popular team when it placed third with the leadership of its star Eusebio, who hails from Mozambique (East Africa). Incredibly, the men's soocer side of Brazil came in 12th.
Having been suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (commonly referred to as North Korea) did not sent footballers to 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Two years afterward, however, they were one of the world's top eight teams in the United Kingdom. Curiously enough, North Korea, an international outcast, made worldwide headlines when it beat Italy 1-0, earning the right to compete in the next round in 1966.It was one of the "greatest athletic moments" in the isolated country's history. Soccer is very popular in the Asian country, a Communist state since the early 1950s.
IX FIFA World Cup--- Mexico City, 1970
History: The canary yellow Brazil of Edson do Nascimento "Pele", bookmakers' frontrunners, earned the Jules Rimet Cup by surpassing Italy at Mexico City's Aztec Stadium. Two years back, the Mexican metropolis became the first place to host the XIX Summer Olympiad. Among Brazil's other top-class were Pele, Everaldo, Felix, Jairzinho, Rivelino, Carlos Alberto, Brito, Gerson, Piazza, Clodoaldo and Tostao. Prior to becoming World champ, Brazil placed 11th in the Mexico City Summer Games.
The Arabic-speaking Kingdom of Morocco, a gateway between Western Europe and North Africa, became the third Arab country (after Egypt 1934 and Turkey 1954) to qualify for the universal tournament. On Mexican soil, England's contingent, defending champion, was the English-speaking world's most outstanding team when it finished eighth.
After competing at the 1968 Olympics, the then Czechoslovakia participated in Mexico 1970. Nevertheless, the Soviet-occupied country finished 15th,among 16 countries.
The golden age for Burma's football occurred between 1966 and 1972, but the Southeast Asian nation could not attend the FIFA Cup due to political violence and poverty.
X FIFA World Cup---Munich, 1974
History: The competition was held in Munich, which hosted the Games of the XX Olympiad in the early 1970s. In those Summer Olympics, West Germany's amateur team finished 8th, behind Poland, Hungary, East Germany, USSR,Mexico,Denmark, and Morocco.
With a world-class squad led by Franz ("Kaiser") Beckenbauer, the Federal Republic of Germany made history by capturing the 1974 world tournament after its battle against Holland, which had enjoyed a brief period of glory in the 1970s. By contrast, the German Democratic Republic/GDR -which had a rocky relationship with West Germany-- and its so-called "sports miracle" did not even make the semis in the global tournament. Unfortunately, East Germany (a Soviet satellite during Cold War) placed seventh -two years afterward, the East German side captured the gold medal in the Games of the 21st Olympiad in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Of the more than 15 squads, Haiti, with many fledgling athletes, was the most unknown team at the 1974 Munich World Cup, upon winning its ticket in the 1973 Concacaf Tournament (which produced the region's lone entrant in the FIFA WC) at home-which for a Latin American contingent of that time was a considerable achievement and breaking ground as the first squad of that region to win a berth in the international cup. The Caribbean team, spearheaded by its remarkable soccer star Emmanuel Sanon (the island's most revered citizen), wanted to show the good side of Haiti, one of the poverty-ridden areas on Earth -almost three-fourths of the Haitians lived below the poverty threshold. Among Haiti's fans were Jean-Claude Duvalier, the island's President-for-life (1971-1986).
XI FIFA World Cup--- Buenos Aires, 1978
History: The Argentine capital of Buenos Aires --- one of the Spanish-speaking world's largest cities--- became the fifth host country to win the Global Cup, which was televised by satellite across the world, from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Uganda to Iceland and the former Yugoslavia. Attendes included Hugo Banzer Suárez, Bolivia's right-wing leader and Henry Kissinger, America's former Secretary of State. This win was embraced with a tremendous enthusiam by the nation's population, from the capital and Rosario to Cordova and Bahia Blanca.
Argentina's would be superstar Diego Armando Maradona, who was a pro at 15, was left off the 1978 national squad. He was bitterly disappointing when he was not chosen by César Luis Menotti, the country's coach. Back in 1976, Maradona (often held up as one of the 20th century's greatest male footballers) made his professional debut with Argentinos Junior. He was originally brought there by its club Cebollitas. Toward the end of the 1970s, the nation's remarkable young soccer star led Argentina to win the First Junior World Cup on Japanese soil.
At the 1978 Cup, the home country ---the southermost nation of Latin America--- finished first after a surprise loss to Italy (1-0) and a controversial match against Peru. The title came at a time when the South American republic, once one of the most prosperous countries in the 20th century, aimed at cleaning-up the country's bad image, which kicked off in 1976. The competition had been carried out by Argentina's 1976-1981 military dictatorship, responsible for the deaths of up to 30,000 people. Indeed, the trophy wasn't a clear-cut victory. What did it take to win? If it had not been for six goals in the match against Peru, the Argentine squad would have been eliminated from the world tourment. In one of the most controversial matches in the history of the game, Peru lost 6-0 to the host team,wich needed to win by at least four goals to advance for the next round. Outwardly, the military regime used their power to win the event. In his 2008 book " Long Distance Love : A Passion For Football", Britain's author Grant Ferred wrote: "The story, of course, is that the regime of General Jorge Rafael Videla not only paid the Peruvians to throw the game---the Argentine "central bank agreed to unfreeze a $50 million live of credito to Peru", but they also shipped 35,000 tons of grain to a nation desperately in need of it on the eve of that match..."
The title-holders were congratulated by Argentina's ruling general Jorge Rafael Videla Redondo, one of the Western Hemisphere's worst dictators during Cold War. On March 14, 1976, María Estela "Isabel" Martínez de Perón (a professional dancer-turned-politician and the first woman in the Spanish-speaking world to ever held that office) was overthrown by the nation's anti-Communist leader Videla.
Curiously, the new winners were invited to visit Uganda (called "the Pearl of Africa" by Britain's former Premier Winston Churchill) by the country's notorious dictator Idi Amin Dada.
XII FIFA World Cup--- Madrid, 1982
History: For the third time, Italy gained the world trophy in Madrid, Spain. Before that, they had won the international competition in 1934 and 1938. Indeed, Paolo Rossi, perhaps the most famous Italian sports star in the 20th century, was the best player.
With their Spanish-based player Maradona, the men's soccer team of Argentina failed to advance the semis after losing (2-1) to eventual winner Italy and then with Brazil (3-1) in the second round. While the clear-cut loser of the Spanish tournament was Brazil, curiously a soccer-loving nation that has never won a gold medal in men's football at the Olympic Summer Games unlike Italy, Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, and Nigeria. Yet despite not winning the FIFA World Cup, the 1982 Brazilian contingent was regarded as one of the 20th century's most outstanding teams. Socrates was Brazil's 1982 World Cup captain.But there were other interesting facts.
Valiantly, the Spanish-speaking El Salvador, a tiny country in the war-ravaged Central America (at the time when it became a key Cold War battleground), qualified for the 1982 FIFA Cup (It also had competed at the WC 1970) by picking silver at the 1981 Concacaf Championship in Tegucigalpa (Hondruas)---in a prequalifying match, El Salvador made history when it beat Mexico. However, ES was thrashed in Spain when it played against Hungary (10-1).
The Gulf Persian Kingdom of Kuwait, an oil-producing country, earned a berth for the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Back in the early 1970s, Brazil's coaches and experts headed to Kuwait to set up an athletic system to improve the country's football. This strategy began to pay off as it earned a silver medal during the continent-wide championship in 1976 after losing to Iran. Then, by 1980, Kuwait won the Asian Cup and departed for the USSR to compete in the Summer Olympiad.
XIII FIFA World Cup--- Mexico City, 1986
History: From 1971 to 1982, the Latin American republic of Colombia (famous for its coffee, birdlife and long-standing democratic tradition) hosted the Pan American Sports Games, the FINA SwimmingWorld Championship, the Women's Basketball World Cup, the Central American and Caribbean Sports Games, and the Men's Basketball World Championship. However, it wanted to hold the FIFA World Championship. In the early 1970s, the country submitted a bid to host the 1986 Cup and then, by June 1974, it gained that right. Two years afterward, on February 8, 1976, Bogota, the nation's capital, hosted the Copa Colombia 86 (Colombia Cup). Over the coming years, however, the Colombian state, under Belisario Betancourt's presidency, declined to hold the international championship for financial reasons and Mexico City, among the world's mega-cities, was awarded the right to hold the event for the second time (1970), becoming the first city on Earth to do so.
Widely considered as one of the world's oldest teams in FIFA World Cup history, Argentina saw a year of triumph when the national squad , led by its remarkable soccer star Diego Armando Maradona defeated West Germany to win the worldwide trophy in Latin America's republic of Mexico. By contrast, once again, Brazil failed to win the competition. The Brazilian squad had hoped to become the second team to win four FIFA titles (after their wins in Sweden'58, Chile'62, Mexico' 70). Meanwhile, Maradona was elected the tournament's Most Valuable Player, becoming the face of Argentine's football. Some years back, the Argentine side was second in the Under-20 World Cup.
Under the tyranny of megalomanic Saddam Hussein, the men's soccer team of Iraq earned an international championship in Asia, booking their ticket to the 1986 WC-the country's first participation.
XIV FIFA World Cup---Rome, 1990
History: At the height of power of the West German football, the nation obtained the Men's Football World Cup by finishing first in the Italian capital of Rome, at the expense of Argentina. They were led by Beckenbauer, recycled himself as a coach and from Germany's 1974 World Cup-winning squad. The 1974 German won the Global Cup for the fourth time as the host of the competition, after Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934), and England (1966).
With their top scorers David Platt, Mark Wright and Gary Lineker, England --- which produced the world's first formalized rules of the game in 1848--- became one of the Planet's five most outstanding teams
Once again, on the other hand, Cuba failed to qualify for the World Cup despite the backing of aid from fellow Marxist countries as the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland. In Communist-torn Cuba, there were also other foreign coaches from Western Europe.
After a hiatus of 40 years, the United States of America, spearheaded by Paul Caligiuri and Bruce Murray, participated in the international competition. Unfortunately, the U.S. men's football team had a bad return on Italian soil: they were defeated by the former Czechoslovakia (5-1) and it placed 23th overall, ahead of the United Arab Emirates, among 24 countries. Upon Mexico's disqualification from the X Concacaf Tournament ---which gave access to the 1990 WC-- the underdog America clinched a World Cup berth by beating Trinidad-Tobago (1-0). During that match, Caligiuri was the national heroe. The squad was runner-up to Costa Rica at the 1989 Concacaf Championship and ahead of Trinidad, Guatemala and El Salvador.
XV FIFA World Cup--- Los Angeles, 1994
History: The event headed to California's city of Los Angeles (USA), one of the most cleanest and organized places around the globe, was site for the FIFA Cup for the first time after having hosted the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.
In the States, Colombia, among bookmakers' favorites, was surprisingly eliminated in the first phase. However, Brazil's football, "the Portuguese-speaking world's most popular Ambassador", earned the 15th edition of the global championship, defeating Italy 3-2 in a penalty shootout to take the WC and giving the nation a reason to celebrate. The country's roster included top players such as Ronaldo, Claudio Taffarel, Romario Souza, Jose Roberto Gama de Oliveira, Ricardo Rocha and Claudio Branco, among others. The Scandinavian Kingdom of Sweden won the third-place play-off match 4-0 against Bulgaria.
Like some idols of Latin America's sports such as Cuba's Javier Sotomayor (the most outstanding athlete produced by Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution) and Costa Rica's Claudia Poll (the first Latino to win an Olympic gold medal in women's swimming), Maradona---one of the twentieth century's top footballers, was suspended from the 1994 World Cup for using a banned substance. Some years back, the FIFA Organization-- the governing body of soccer on Earth--- barred him as a footballer for more than one year after testing positive for cocaine.
After the break-up of the Soviet Union/USSR, Russia competed for first time as an independent nation in the FIFA Cup ---Earth's most-watched sporting event--- in 1994. Before that, it was member of FIFA with the Soviet flag.
In war-devastated Liberia (a small nation on the West African coast), through these years, George Weah, emerged as one of the most famous athletes in West Africa and then in the globe, but he and the Liberian national team, one of sub-Saharan Africa's worst football teams, cold not compete in the FIFA WC in the 1990s.
XXVI FIFA World Cup--- Paris, 1998
History: On the eve of the 1998 World Cup, the favorites to win the competition were: Brazil (first), France (second), Germany (third), Italy (fourth) and followed by England, Netherlands, Argentina, Spain, Nigeria, Yugoslavia, Colombia, Norway, Romania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Paraguay, Scotland, Austria, Cameroon, Mexico,Morocco, South Africa, Chile, South Korea, Tunisia, Jamaica, Saudi Arabia, USA, Iran and Japan.
Spearheaded by Zinedine Zidane, France's team stepped into the spotlight in the late 1990s when it was crowned as the new world champ at home. Western Europe hadn't a home-grown winner since the mid-1960s. In the finals, they beat Brazil. But France also is a winner in recruiting foreign-born footballers. Most of them were foreign-born sportsmen or athletes from French overseas territories. For instance, Marcel Desailly hails from Ghana; Christian Karembou was born on New Caledonia, a rich-mineral dependency in the South Pacific; Lilian Thuram was from Guadeloupe, a Caribbean paradise with picture-postcard beaches; and Zidane was of Algerian background.
Despite its relatively low level of soccer, the Caribbean island of Jamaica, a cricketing nation, was one of the top men's football teams in the Western Hemisphere by gaining a berth in the 1998 WC. Here, surprisingly, Jamaica --- it is playground for tourists-- was the third best team in the English-speaking world after finishing 22nd, well ahead of South Africa (24th), Scotland ( 27th), and the United States (32nd).This Anglophone country is home of John Barnes, who played for England in the WC from 1986 through 1990.
XVII FIFA World Cup--- Seoul & Tokyo, 2002
History: The tournament made its first-ever appearance in Far East when Japan and South Koreaco-hosted the Cup. A handful of elite squads were the favorites in Asia and them were: Brazil, Italy, Germany, Argentine, and Spain.
The People's Republic of China made its first appearance in the World Cup, a long-awaited debut. In the meantime, Taiwan (also known as the Republic of China/ROC) whose wealth contrast with their poor athletic system, failed to make the semis in the Asian Championship, being eliminated to compete in the 2002 WC.
In South Korea and Japan, Brazil emerged as the winner and became the only-five winner of the men's soccer World Cup. With a well-functioning sports system, South Korea (co-host), homogeneus nation, became the first non-Latin American/European team since 1930 to reach the semi-finals in the history of the game. Senegal, a Francophone nation in sub-Saharan Black Africa, also had a good performance in Far East.
XVIII FIFA World Cup---Berlin, 2006
History: Brazil was the runaway favorite to win the FIFA World Cup on German soil, but Italy won it. France placed second and was followed by the host nation and Portugal.
One of the most interesting facts occurred when the West African republics of Cote d'Ivoire ---primarily an agricultural country--- and Togo arrived in Europe. Neither of them had reached the semi-finals, but they were an example. The impoverished black republic of CI headed for Germany to compete in the world competition in the face their troubles as a war-scarred nation. Even so,the Francophone country finished 19th, among 32 teams.
Even when Togo was one of sub-Saharan Africa's least-developed countries, the country -a narrow strip of land on South coast of West Africa-- came to Berlin as one of the continent's best squads. Also, Trinidad-Tobago and oil-rich Angola (it had suffered several years of ethnic conflict) made their international debut in the world of soccer.
XIX FIFA World Cup--- Johannesburg, 2010
History: Against all odds (the nation's crime are among the highest in the world), the magnificient country of South Africa - a place at the southern end of the African continent- was home to the FIFA World Cup. The championship was overshadowed by some troubles. On the positive side,the event was won by Spain for the first time--- at the expense of Holland/Netherlands. Without a doubt, the Spaniard league, "a world-class championship", was key to Spain's triumph in sub-Saharan Africa. Germany was bronze. Uruguay, the once-all powerful team, finished fourth. Meanwhile, the 1.73-m-tall Argentine Lionel Messi and his team ( one of the frontrunners) failed to do so. On the other hand, the Rainbow country, the Earth's most powerful black-lead nation, made its long-awaited comeback in 1993 and subsequently captured a worldwide status as it competed at the 1998 WC. Among their fans were Nelson Mandela, a Nobel-Prize Winning and the country's first black Head of State -who was much admired within the FIFA. Prior to the 1990s, SA had been ruled by an all-white regime and a pro-racist policy called apartheid, being excluded from FIFA and other sports organizations.
The competition was played in nine South African cities: Bloemfontein ( Free State Stadium), Cape Town (Greenpoint Stadium), Durban ( Moses Mabrida Stadium), Johannesburg (Soccer City & Ellis Park), Nelspruit (Mbombela Stadium), Polokwane (Peter Mokabe Stadium), Port Elizabeth (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium), Pretoria ( Loftus Versfeld), and Rustenburg (Royal Bafokeng).
XX FIFA World Cup---Rio de Janeiro (2013- 2014)
Rio Outlook: Unsurprisingly, the host nation is the big favorite to win the worldwide trophy in 2014, alongside Italy, Germany and Argentina. The XX FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be held in Rio de Janeiro, one-time capital of Brazil. Certainly, Rio has the distinction of being the birthplace of Socrates. Aside from being one of the best playmakers on the planet during the 1980s, he was an active campaigner on human rights issues and democracy in his homeland, who fought for the end of Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship. Alongside Oscar Niemeyer (architect) and Jorge Amado (writer), Socrates (who passed away in 2011) was well-known as a cultural icon in the South America's largest nation.
For the second time in the history of the game, the global competition will be held on Brazilian soil, where soccer is followed with a near-religious fervor by the country's people, from Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Belem do Para to Manaus, Porto Alegre and Recife.
With footballers such as Socrates, Garrincha, Pele, Rivelino, Kaka, and Bebeto, soccer is the national pastime and has been focus of popular culture in the Portuguese-speaking republic since the 1950s. Most Brazilians associated the soccer with the multiethnic nature of the nation. Curiously, Brazil's famous authors and singers have been inspired by this sport and their well-known stars.
Selected Biographical References:
1- Almanaque Deportivo Mundial 1977, Editorial America, Panama City, 1976 (Spanish)
2- Almanaque Universal Nuevo Milenio 2000, Editoral Televisa, 1999 (Spanish)
3- Allison, Lincoln. The Changing Politics of Sport, Manchester University Press, 1993
4- Bennet Paterson, Carolyn. "Haiti: Beyond Mountains, More Mountains", National Geography, January 1976
5- Burns, Jimmy. Hand of God: The Life of Diego Maradona, Soccer's Fallen Star, Guilford, Lyont Press, 2001
6- Dunmore, Tom. Historical Dictionary of Soccer, Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2011
7- Escenas Inolvidables del Siglo XX, Mexico,Reader's Digest, 1998 (Spanish)
8- Gamon, Clive. "Diego's Downfall; Soccer's Hero Takes a World-class Tumble", SportsIllustrated, 10 June 1991
9- Guevara Onofre, Alejandro. "Central American Soccer-50 Years of History", www.ezinearticles.com
10- -------- "Uruguay 1930 -- South Africa 2010: The Brazilian Men's Football Team", www.voices.yahoo.com
11- -------- "South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup: All About France", www.voices.yahoo.com
12- -------- "South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup: The Rainbow Country", www.voices.yahoo.com
13- ------- "The World's Worst Soccer Teams: Cuba", www.voices.yahoo.com
14- ------- "Heroes of the FIFA World Cup: Haiti 1974", www.voices.yahoo.com
15- ------- "Heroes of the FIFA World Cup: El Salvador 1982", www.voices.yahoo.com
16- ------- "The Arab World: Soccer Facts!", www.voices.yahoo.com
17- Laity,Paul. "Costa Marfil Brujería: Qué Forma de Ganar", National Geographic, Mexico DF, Junio 2006 (Spanish)
18- Lisi, Clemente. History of the World Cup 1930-2010, Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2011
19- Mason, Tony. Passion of the People: Football in South America, Verso, 1995
20-Matthew Fitterman y Nick Wingdield. "Esta Finalmente despegando La Fiebre del Fútbol en EE.UU", El Comercio, Lima, 3 de agosto 2009 (Spanish)
21- Murray, Bill. The World's Game. A History of Soccer, University of Illinois Press, 1996
22- Sankar, Celia. "Los Reggae Boyz", Americas, Washington DC, Junio de 1998 (Spanish)
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