The World Cup has the potential to make legends of players,
managers and teams. Throughout the history of the tournament, men such as Pele
and Franz Beckenbauer have become darlings of the competition, while teams such
as the Brazil’s 1958 team and the Dutch side of 1974 played their way into
immortality.
However, seeing the ball squirm through the hands of Igor
Akinfeev and Fabio Capello’s subsequent look of self-pity, I found myself
wondering about those that the World Cup has not treated so kindly.
Although Capello’s Russia fought back to claim a 1-1 draw
against South Korea, the Italian would have been suffering a kind of déjà vu as
he was reminded of Rob Green’s blunder against the USA four years ago. Capello
got some stick for the management of his goalkeepers in South Africa, but to see
two almost identical mistakes made by goalkeepers for different nations in
their opening games must have left Capello wondering if his World Cup misfortune
was ever going to end.
This is a man that suffered World Cup pain as a player as
well as a manager. His goal against Poland at the 1974 World Cup proved to be
worthless as the Italians failed to make the second round, whilst he was
overlooked for the squad four years later despite good form in the Milan
midfield. The Russians will no doubt be hoping his luck finally comes in when
he leads them on home soil in four years’ time.
England fans are likely to have more sympathy for the
misfortune of Paul Gascoigne, one of their favourite sons. Yes, he clattered
naively into Thomas Berthold to rule himself out of a potential final, but few hearts
– English or otherwise - weren’t touched by the tears of a player who’d lit up
the tournament.
Little did he know that the World Cup heartache was only
beginning. Gazza’s goals in qualifying for the 1994 World Cup couldn’t stop
Graham Taylor’s ‘Turnips’ from failing to qualify for US competition, but the
England midfielder thought he’d earned himself a shot at World Cup redemption
four years later when the Three Lions qualified for France ’98.
Strong performances throughout qualifying – most notably in
the heroic 0-0 draw in Italy – meant many saw him as a favourite for Glenn
Hoddle’s squad. Whether or not being pictured out partying with Chris Evans a
week before the final squad was to be announced affected his chances is a
question that is yet to be answered, but the Middlesbrough man was overlooked.
Gascoigne took the news infamously badly, proceeding to
smash up Hoddle’s office as his World Cup misfortune was compounded. He was
never to play for England again and his career and private life spiralled out
of control to such an extent that he is known by my sister merely as “the bloke
who turned up with beer for Raoul Moat.”
Capello and Gascoigne are just two examples of the many
individuals that have fallen foul of the World Cup’s darker side, but entire
nations have been known to be hard-done-by by football’s biggest tournament –
just ask the Algerian side of 1982.
After upsetting European Champions – and eventual finalists –
West Germany in their opening game, results transpired to leave the African
side ahead of their more illustrious European opponents after Algeria had played
three games. The issue was that the Germans still had a game to play against
group leaders Austria.
The two sides knew a narrow German victory would take both
through, so when Horst Hrubesch put Germany a goal up, Austria were more than
happy to sit back and take the result. Algeria could only helplessly sit and
watch as one of the World Cup’s great controversies was played out before them.
FIFA have since determined that the final games in a group must be played
simultaneously, but the rule-change came too late for Algeria, who are yet to
make the knock-out rounds of a World Cup.
Much is made of the romance of the World Cup, and its
ability to make heroes. But at the same time the World Cup can break
individuals and indeed entire teams. The World Cup has been the source of
heartache for many, but, as Capello, Gazza and Algeria would tell you,
sometimes it’ll hurt some more than most.
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