During the late 1950’s and the early 1960’s, the World Cup was dominated by the Brazilians. Having won their debut title as world champions in 1958, they continued their form to the 1962 tournament held in Chile, winning consecutive titles.
The inventors of the game England, finally tasted victory in 1966 at the final held in Wembley. Having being knocked out of the first round during the 1966 edition, Brazil in 1970 fielded perhaps the best national team the game has ever seen. A team, spearheaded by Pele and Jairzinho, comprised of other key players such as Tostao, Rivelino and Gerson who were also at the peak of their respective careers. This champion outfit, led by Carlos Alberto enthralled spectators around the world with their mesmerizing attack force, reaching the pinnacle of the game. Mario Zagallo’s men remained unbeaten throughout the tournament and also won every game in the qualifiers. It was a fitting finale for Pele who ended his world cup career with three titles while Brazilians gained the opportunity to keep the Jules Rimet trophy permanently.
Germans overwhelm ‘Total Football’ with their second title – 1974
The Dutch team guided by Rinus Michels, were the favourites for the title as Germany hosted the World Cup for the first time. Nine venues hosted matches.
During the group stage, Carlos Caszely of Chile became the first player to be sent off in a World Cup game against their game with West Germany. The Netherlands demonstrated the Total Football techniques pioneered by the Dutch club Ajax, in which specialized positions were abolished for the outfield players as individual players became defenders, midfielders or strikers as the situation required. Scotland was knocked out on goal difference despite being unbeaten during the group stage.
Yugoslavia trounced the African nation Zaire 9-0 equaling the record for the highest margin of victory set by Hungary against South Korea in 1954. In one of the most politically charged matches of all time, West Germany hosted East Germany where the East Germans emerged victorious 1-0.
The incumbent Ballon d’Or winner Johan Cruyff led the Dutch in their 4-0 second round thrashing on Argentina. Later the Argentines were beaten again by Brazil 2-1 on a scrappy affair.
In the second round, West Germany with a solitary goal by Muller won against Poland in the deciding group game, sending them to the finals. Meanwhile Netherlands beat defending champions Brazil 2-0 in their decider. Poland later triumphed against Brazil winning the third place.
West Germany met Netherlands at the final in Munich on July 7th. Franz Beckenbauer led the home team while Cruyff headed the ‘Total Footballers’. Despite an early penalty by Johan Neeskens, Germans came back to win 2-1 with goals by Paul Breitner and Gerd Muller. This was the first time where defending European champions also won the World Cup title. Germany’s win was again similar to their triumph in 1954 where they lost a group game and couldn’t maintain their unbeaten status as other World Cup winning teams. The new FIFA World Cup trophy designed by Italian artist Silvio Gazzaniga was handed to the winning team of West Germany.
Poland’s Grzegos Lato led the tournament with 7 goals while Gerd Muller became the all time top scorer in the World Cup with 14 goals only to be surpassed by Ronaldo later. Gunter Netzer became the first player to be a part of a World Cup winning side playing for a club outside his home country. He was playing for Real Madrid at the time. The tournament became also became the last to feature no extra time matches.
Argentina reaches the pinnacle in a confetti-sprinkled Monumental – 1978
It was the longest wait for successive finals for a team as passionate Argentine fans gathered at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on June 25th to taste victory at a final after 48 years. On their previous appearance in a final in 1930 ended in a 4-2 lost to Uruguay. Five Argentine cities hosted six venues where the capital city featured two. The military dictatorship and the ongoing ‘Dirty War’ in the country spread controversy while teams were initially hesitant to participate in the tournament.
During the group stage, Tunisia became the first African team to win a match at the World Cup as they beat Mexico 2-1 in their group fixture. Hosts were drawn in a comparatively difficult group along with France and Hungary. Dutch player Rob Rensenbrink scored the 1000th goal in World Cup history in their game against Scotland but however the Scottish emerged victorious 3-2.
During the last game of the second round, following Brazil’s 3-1 win over Poland, left Luis Menotti’s Argentine outfit to ensure a four-goal winning margin against Peru to qualify for the finals ahead of Brazil. They eventually won 6-0 at Rosario. The Dutch who were unbeaten in their second round, qualified from their group to meet hosts Argentina in the finals.
The Dutch who tasted defeat at the hands of West Germany four years ago were determined to win this time. However yet again they were forced to deal with a home team at the final hurdle. After scores being leveled at full time, extra-time was given where goals from Mario Kempes and Daniel Bertoni secured a 3-1 win for the hosts. El Monumental was swamped with snowstorms of tickertape and shredded blue and white paper as skipper Daniel Passarella hoisted the trophy bringing delight to a nation suffering from political uncertainty. Amid Argentina’s celebrations, it was heartbreak for Netherlands as they were forced to settle as runners-up for the second tournament running. Mario Kempes with 6 goals won the Golden Boot as well as the Golden Ball for the best performance.
Italians discover ‘Gold’ on Spanish soil – 1982
Spain held the competition for the first time while it was expanded to 24 participants. Also for the first time it featured teams from all six confederations with New Zealand appearing for the first time from Oceania. 17 venues were arranged in 14 cities.
The group stage saw one of the upsets as newcomers Algeria beat West Germany 2-1. Following Algeria’s 3-2 win over Chile, in the final group game between Germany and Austria, both teams knew that a German win by 1 or 2 goals would qualify both teams. This resulted in a highly controversial game where both team kicked the ball aimlessly for the rest of the match after West Germany scored an early goal, much to the fury of the crowd. Following the event, FIFA introduced a revised system at subsequent World Cups in which the final two games in each groups were played simultaneously.
Defending winners Argentina lost to Belgium but saw both teams qualifying at the expense of Hungary and El Salvador. Hungary although failed to make it to the next round, beat El Salvador 10-1, equaling the highest margin of victory. Northern Ireland beat hosts Spain 1-0 while at the age of 17 years and 41 days, Norman Whiteside broke Pele’s record for the youngest appearance in a World Cup.
It became also the first tournament to feature a penalty shootout as the semi final between West Germany and France went into penalties after a classic 3-3 draw. The Germans overcame the French and entered their fourth final as Italy beat Poland 2-0 following strikes by Paolo Rossi.
The majestic Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid hosted the final between the two teams, with both seeking for their third crown. However Italy emerged victorious by beating West Germany 3-1 earning them their third title and a triumph after 44 years. Despite failing to win a single game in their group stage, the Italians managed to record wins against 3 former champions, Argentina, Brazil and Germany en route to peak. 40 year-old captain Dino Zoff became the oldest winner and the first goalkeeper-captain to lead his side to the ultimate prize since his compatriot Gianpiero Combi did in 1934. Paolo Rossi who scored six goals, won both Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards, becoming one of only three players to win all three major awards (World Cup, Golden Boot, Golden ball) in the same tournament, while the others being Garrincha (1962) and Mario Kempes (1978).
