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The grandest celebration in world sport, amerry circusthat rolls around every four years, is now nearing its culmination. The preceding five finals of this most magnificent competition have generally tended to be tense, cagey affairs both teams unwilling to give an inch and for that very same reason, unwilling to take too many risks.After all, only one team gets to stitch in that coveted star over its team crest.Heres a look back atthe previous five finals as we await the carnival to start in the Maracana
#1 1994: Brazil vs Italy
July 17, 1994. A blazing hot day in the famous Rosebowl in Pasadena, California home of the legendary UCLA Bruins football team and venue of five NFL Superbowls, the famous old stadium was now playing host to the biggest game in the world. In an altogether different version of football. The version that the rest of the world embraces and loves; the version that people back in the States,call soccer.
And what a match-up it was; two of the biggest names in the sports history meeting once again, having battled their way through some extremely tough competition. The high flying Dutch and the obdurate Swedes were amongst those beaten by a resolute and skillful Brazilian team led by the tough tackling Dunga and spearheaded by the deadly duo of Romario and Bebeto. The classy Spaniards and the breath of fresh air that was Hristo Stoichkov and his uber-talented Bulgarian comrades amongst those seen off by Italy, their legendarydefense marshaled by the two great generals - Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini, their attack inspired by that firecracker of an eccentric genius Roberto Baggio.
Both teams battled hard, neither willing to cede control of midfield, neither willing to take undue risks, Romario and Baggio feeding off scraps. It ended nil-nil after 90. It was still nil-nil after 120. USA 94 would see the first World Cup final to be decided by that most cruel of knock-out blows the penalty shootout.
The shootout lived up to its grisly reputation. Roberto Baggio, the man who had almost single-handedly inspired Italy to the final, hitting his absolutely vital spot kick miles over the crossbar. His compatriots Baresi and Massaro had both missed earlier kicks. Brazil won 3-2 in the shootout. They were now world champions for the record fourth time!
This was La Selecaos first win after that legendary 1970 dream teams triumph in Mexico City. Brazil and the world had waited 24 long years for this triumph.
A bit of trivia here The Brazilian team dedicated this victory to the most famous Brazilian at the time, the late great Ayrton Senna who had tragically passed away at San Marino just a few months earlier
#2 1998: France vs Brazil
Four years after thatdrama in the Rosebowl (almost to the day), cries of Vive! Vive! Vive Le France! and various variations thereof were ringing around the historic Parc des Princes in Paris as the host nation, France, marched out toface the defending champions, Brazil.
France had reached the final on the back of the most solid defence in the tournament. A defense marshaled by Lillian Thuram and Marcel Desailly, a defence that was protected by their captain, the no-nonsense Didier Deschamps. But this is no way meant they werent an exciting team to watch. Inspired by the great magician that was Zinedine Zidane, France lived up to the legacy of beautiful football that had been left behind by Michel Platini and his famous Carre Magique (Magic Square the quartet of midfielders that led a brilliant France side to the semis in the 82 and 86 editions). The wonderful Croatians spearheaded by the classy Davor Suker and the always tough to beat Italians were sent packing in the previous rounds
Brazil on the other hand had endured a shaky start to the tournament till Ronaldo came into his own. The great man lived up to his billing as the most exciting talent on the planet, as he ripped apart defences at will, Brazil knocking out a rather brilliant Dutch side (with Denis Bergkamp at the peak of his considerable powers) and an attack minded Danish side.
The world anxiously waited to see who would seize the mantle of the best player in the world and with it the title of World Champions for his team. Would it be the outrageous talent of Ronaldo? Would it be the velvety class of Zidane?
That question was answered rather emphatically that cold, fateful night. Ronaldo was a pale shadow of himself as he walked around the pitch in a daze (he had been given tranquilizers the night before after suffering from seizures no one was quite sure he would participate till he took to the field) and Zidane powered in two bullet headers and laid off a pass as Emmmanuelle Petit killed off the stunned Brazilians (these Brazilians seem to get stunned way too easily after the fall of a talisman see Germany vs Brazil, July 9,2014).
When the referee blew the final whistle to end Brazils misery, the scoreboard read 3-0. France hadreoundingly and deservedly been crowned world champions. This was their first ever world title and they were the first host nation to win it since Argentina, way back in 1978.
#3 2002: Brazil vs Germany
2002 was a landmark year in this most global of sports. For the first time, the World Cup was going to be held in Asia, far away from the traditional power bases of football. It was to be co-hosted by the football mad nations of South Korea and Japan.Seoul, Suwon and the other Korean stadiums and town squares were witness to armies of a million red shirted fans screaming their heads off in sheer joy as South Korea marched on to claim a monumental (albeit controversial) fourth place finish. The equally fanatic blues of Japan witnessed their side make history as the Blue Samurais powered their way to the quarterfinals. Although they did not make it all the way to Yokohoma, they had left an indelible mark on the tournament.
The teams that had reached the finals were, however, rank outsiders. As surprising as it is hear this now, both Germany and Brazil had struggled in the qualifiers and their chances for glory had been all but dismissed by thefans and the experts.
Marshalled by the imposing and outstanding Oliver Kahn, Germany had reached the final playing sensible, solid, no-nonsense football with the occasional touch of genius from the mercurial Micheal Ballack. Brazil,under the firm hand of Luis Felipe Scolari, had built together a solid defensive platform from which to best unleash the myriad tricks and magical abilities of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and the young and exciting winger Denilson.
Unfortunately, for the Germans and the watching world, who were eagerly awaiting a grand match between these footballing powerhouses, Ballack had managed to get himself suspended for the biggest match of his life. So had Ronaldinho, but with Ronaldo and Rivaldo on form and strutting their stuff confidently, there was never much doubt as to who the champion would be.
Germany, as ever, fought with everything they had, but when Ollie Kahn made what was possibly his first big mistake of the tournament to let a Ronaldo toe-poke in, they knew it as well. Ronaldo scored another, as he swept in a Kleberson pass - after a sublime dummy by Rivaldo - to seal the victory and his personal redemption after his disappearing act, four years ago.
2-0 it ended, Brazil now winners of the World Cup, an astounding five times.
#4 2006: Italy vs Germany
2006 was the year of the defender. When the utterly imperious Fabio Cannavarogets crowned the best player in the world for his immense displays in the World Cup, you know you hadnt witnessed the most exciting of tournaments.
Which isironic, because Italy played out one of the all-time classics in theirsemifinalto beat the exciting host nation, Germany, 2-0 in extra time, both goals coming after Marcello Lippi had unleashed four attackers on to the field. Imagine that! An Italy with four attackers playing at the same time it was that kind of a world cup for Italy, tactially flexible, technically adept and defensively impregnable, they had mastered the art of winning as they walked into the Olympiastadion in berlin to face their old foes and neighbours, France. After their humiliation in the last edition, France had become a resurgent team, regainingtheir defensive solidity with the old hands Lillian Thuram and Patrick Viera rolling back the years and showing the world what they were capable of. This side, however, revolved around one man, a man to who all the players (even Thierry henry) and even the coach deferred to.Zinedine Zidane. The old magician was back, having been forced to come out of his retirement, and he was showcasing one of the greatest displays of individual brilliance that the World Cup had seen as he guided France through the tournament
The final, as many expected was a tight affair, two brilliant defenses battlingto keep outZidane and Henry on one side and , Andrea Pirlo and Francesco Totti on the other. Early in the match, France won a (controversial)penalty, which was converted in the coolest way imaginable by Zidane as he chipped a teasing lob straight down the middle of the goal as the great Gianluigi Buffon watched on helplessly, having dived to the right. Marco Materazzi, thevillain who hadgiven away the penalty, then powered home a wonderful header from a delicious Pirlo corner. The match was now tied at 1-1.
And thats how it stayed till the 110th minute. The minute that would go on to define not just the Final, but the whole tournament. Materazzi had been niggling away at Zidane for the whole match, tugging his shirt during set pieces, abusing him, torturing him physically as well as mentally. Then, in the 110th minute, a nerve snapped somwhere in the darket recesses of the mind of the great man from Marseilles. He had had enough; turning around, he head-butted Materazzi in the chest, right in front of the linesman. He was quite naturally sent off, a tragic end to a remarkable career. The shell shocked French would go on to lose 5-3 on penalties, Fabio Grosso sweeping in the winning kick.
Italy, after suffering a fit of humiliating match-fixing scandals that had rocked the very foundations of Serie A, had shrugged all that away and battled a way through to be crowned world champions for the fourth time.
#5 2010: Spain vs Holland
Africa: the Great continents love affair with the beautiful game had led to the 2010 edition of the World Cup being hosted in South Africa and although the Bafana-Bafana could not progress further than the group stage, the Black Stars of Ghana charmed the world enroute to their dramatic quarterfinal against (who-else) Luis Suarezs Uruguay.
In a world cup that will be primarily remembered for the maddening sound of the vuvuzelas (native musical instrument that when blown by large numbers of fans resembled the buzz of a million angry bees) and the even-more maddening unpredictability of the official ball, Adidas Jabulani, the contenders in the final were thetraditionally unlucky sides of Holland and Spain.
Holland had ditched their concept of Total Football created and masteredby Johann Cruyff and his fellow wizards of the 70s and 80s, and were now playing a risk averse,extremely physical brand of football epitomized by the two pit bulls they had in midfield- Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel
Spain, too had turned around their traditional stereotype of an exciting yet unlucky side that were always fun to watch, but rarely lived up to their potential. Playing a brand of football masterminded by the great footballing tacticians of La Masia, and honed to perfection by Pep Guardiola for his great Barcelona side, the Spaniards had tiki-takad their way through to the finals (having won Euro 2008 playing a similar style of football). They had been accused ofplaying un-inspiring, negative football (tiki-taka demands that the ball be constantly passed around and when the opposition is determinedto sitdeep,this oftenresults in the passing happpeningin the teams own half), some (including me) accused them of boring their opponents to sleep and winning thereby. Neither the Spanish team, nor their fanscould give a damn they were playing in Johannesburg, in the final of the World Cup.
The match itself was a slow, turgid affair marked with strong, physical challenges (refer the vicious attack by Nigel de Jong on Xabi Alonso) as the resolute Dutch strove to find a way to break the hypnotic passing rhythm of the Spanish.
The Netherlands did create several chances, most notably when the flying winger Arjen Robben was through one-on-one with Iker Casillas, but he failed to convert.The Dutch payed for their lack of a killer instinct as the most unassuming man on the pitch, and inarguably the best playerof the tournamentturned on the afterburners and accelerated through the Dutch defence to score a landmark goal. 1-0 Spain. And thats how it ended.
Andres Iniesta had won Spain their first World Cup, as La Furia Roja and tiki-taka sealed their dominance over the world of football.
#6 2014: Argentina vs Germany
July the 13th. 2014. Rio De Janeiro. The most famous stadium in the world will play host to Argentina vs. Germany. A hundred questions remain to be answered, will Lionel Messi seal his place amongst the Pele and Maradona? Can Germany break the misfortune that has seen their talented, attacking side play some brilliant football only to fail at the final stages. and lay stake to the mantle of one of the greatest teams ever?
Going by history, and the second semifinal of this year, many expect this to be a cagey , risk-averse affair with two physically strong teams unwilling to cede an inch a la their last encounter at this stage in 1990, where a solitary Andreas Brehme goal crowned Germany champions. The optimists amongst us, and all the neutrals, will be hoping for a repeat of the 1986 final when an exhilaratingly open match ended 3-2 in favour of a Maradona led Argentina.
Whatever happens may the best team win!
Komm Die Mannshacft! Vamos La Albiceleste! Go on guys, give us a game to remember.
