NHC World cup classics

[Hibrandenburg]

Brazil 1 Germany 7

Was sat I'm my flat and when the first goal went in it sounded like the Red Army had come back to take Berlin. The second and third goals were just as loud and night was turned into day with all the fireworks going off. By the time the 4th went in ammunition was obviously getting low and number 7 was eerily quiet. When Brazil got a consolation goal there was another barrage of fireworks which gave the situation an even more surreal feeling. Watched the whole extravaganza with my 5 year old who said afterwards that 7-1 means that Germany are nearly as good as Hibs, I didn't correct him.

[SuperAllyMcleod]

1982: Russia 1 Brazil 2

A fabulous game of football with Russia scoring first and a storming last 15 mins from Brazil with two ‘rakers’ from outside the box by Socrates and Eder.

First time I’d seen Socrates - amazing what 40 fags a day can do for your fitba skills. RIP.

[snooky]

Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany, France, Spain have all had great sides but these guys produced the best team football the world has ever seen.

[Halmyre Hibee]

1970 World Cup semi final Italy 4 West Germany 3.

[My_Wife_Camille]

Ghana v Uruguay 2010. Two stunning goals, Suarez hand ball on the line in injury time of ET and Gyan smashing it off the bar only for Uruguay to go through in the shootout

[SteveHFC]

Senegal beating France in the opening game of the 2002 world cup.

Sure a lot of big teams went out in the group stage.

[number9dream]

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82 World Cup was first I really remember. Brazil had great players apart from GK and striker! The French too had a great team at that time. Remember the France v West Germany semi final, 3-3 AET if I remember correctly. Schumacher flattening Battiston. Remember being gutted when France lost on pens.

The 3-3 game was sensational and one of my earliest experiences of being heartbroken by the beautiful game... lots of cars on Leith Walk with Italian flags & blaring horns after the final, which was also a great match!

[Mibbes Aye]

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Platini, Giresse, Tigana, Fernández. Possibly the best midfield ever.

The mark of a great side is that you don’t have to look up the midfield to remind yourself, it just rolls of the tongue.

They also had a rather natty strip, it’s not often a blue top is appealing but theirs had some panache, as did the white one.

I’m torn between that midfield and the Brazil one of two years earlier. The French line-up is a recognisable midfield four, albeit with one of the greatest players the world has seen and three other very accomplished midfielders.

The Brazilian side wasn’t as tactically well-defined. Serginho played up front but in front of the back four the rest seemed pretty fluid - Cerezo and Falcao were recognisable central midfielders but Zico, Socrates and Éder seemed to have more freedom, especially Sócrates who would languidly stroll about, socks at his ankles, before receiving the ball and pinging a slide-rule pass or a postage stamp shot with a level of insouciance that was utterly alien to his European opponents.

[Captain Trips]

Back in the day you only saw Zico, Socrates, Platini, Maradona every few years on TV and made the world cup so exciting.

82 was great had never heard of Zico etc and what a joy all these guys were. Then comes 86 and you are hoping to see these guys again plus some more new ones you hadn't seen before, Careca, Alemao etc etc.

I do miss the sort of mystery a world cup brought as we know most players these days.

[hibsbollah]

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Back in the day you only saw Zico, Socrates, Platini, Maradona every few years on TV and made the world cup so exciting.

82 was great had never heard of Zico etc and what a joy all these guys were. Then comes 86 and you are hoping to see these guys again plus some more new ones you hadn't seen before, Careca, Alemao etc etc.

I do miss the sort of mystery a world cup brought as we know most players these days.

Indeed. There's no mystery anymore. 1978 was my first WC, and assuming we were going to breeze past Iran and Peru because they were 'just wee countries' (ah the innocence of a seven year old), having no idea that in Cubillas Peru had one of the best attackers in world football and they played with an élan that was totally foreign to us. Reading about 78 years later, McLeod didn't even bother having Peru watched! , he didn't know about Cubillas, even though he scored at a ridiculous rate for Porto! There may have been a hint of xenophobia and a superiority complex going on. Inconceivable now.

[hibsbollah]

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The mark of a great side is that you don’t have to look up the midfield to remind yourself, it just rolls of the tongue.

They also had a rather natty strip, it’s not often a blue top is appealing but theirs had some panache, as did the white one.

I’m torn between that midfield and the Brazil one of two years earlier. The French line-up is a recognisable midfield four, albeit with one of the greatest players the world has seen and three other very accomplished midfielders.

The Brazilian side wasn’t as tactically well-defined. Serginho played up front but in front of the back four the rest seemed pretty fluid - Cerezo and Falcao were recognisable central midfielders but Zico, Socrates and Éder seemed to have more freedom, especially Sócrates who would languidly stroll about, socks at his ankles, before receiving the ball and pinging a slide-rule pass or a postage stamp shot with a level of insouciance that was utterly alien to his European opponents.

I loved Platini as a player, he had everything. Even a mean streak which is often forgotten behind his slide rule passing, distance shooting and agility. As a bureaucrat he presided over lots of bad things, and he came out with a load of nonsense from time to time, but as a player he's up there with Zidane and Ronaldinho.

Tigana was my favourite of that four, the first black player i was really conscious of that didn't play for West Brom. And he was sensational.

[Mibbes Aye]

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Back in the day you only saw Zico, Socrates, Platini, Maradona every few years on TV and made the world cup so exciting.

82 was great had never heard of Zico etc and what a joy all these guys were. Then comes 86 and you are hoping to see these guys again plus some more new ones you hadn't seen before, Careca, Alemao etc etc.

I do miss the sort of mystery a world cup brought as we know most players these days.

Definitely. A lot of the South American players weren’t with European clubs so at best you would maybe see a handful if they were drawn against an English club in Europe. The only other source was World Soccer magazine.

The novelty factor was something else. My particular favourite wasn’t the midfield or forwards, it was the swashbuckling full backs that Brazil seemed to produce every four years. Guys who were less interested in defending than they were in curling thirty-yarders into the top corner and the only rule was they had to have a one-word name.

Leandro, Junior, Branco and Josimar. Legends all, who paved the way for the likes of Roberto Carlos and Cafu once things like playing in Europe and TV and the internet had become commonplace

[Viva_Palmeiras]

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Controversial one here but here goes....Brazil 4 Scotland 1 1982. We were not bad back then but Brazil were wow, the last great ginga style Brazil team. Other than that there was the Maradona show in the 2-0 game against Belgium in 86 or more recently the France 3 Brazil 0 final in 1998.

There was an article in the Sunday Times with Alan Rough quizzed about how he would tackle Branco’s freekick. Easy another man on the wall. Well that didn’t really work out did it :) still rooted to the spot as it hit the back of the net iirc. They viewed the Russian game as “Le Crunch” and it turned out that way... :(

[Captain Trips]

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Definitely. A lot of the South American players weren’t with European clubs so at best you would maybe see a handful if they were drawn against an English club in Europe. The only other source was World Soccer magazine.

The novelty factor was something else. My particular favourite wasn’t the midfield or forwards, it was the swashbuckling full backs that Brazil seemed to produce every four years. Guys who were less interested in defending than they were in curling thirty-yarders into the top corner and the only rule was they had to have a one-word name.

Leandro, Junior, Branco and Josimar. Legends all, who paved the way for the likes of Roberto Carlos and Cafu once things like playing in Europe and TV and the internet had become commonplace

All the defenders could play a pass as well. Then you had the Italian defence solid as a rock and wouldn't think twice about putting you in the sir.

Boniek and Lato another 2 greats. All these guys would be if 25yr old today playing be £100m+.

[theonlywayisup]

How about these?

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1863/wor...es-of-all-time

[Mibbes Aye]

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All the defenders could play a pass as well. Then you had the Italian defence solid as a rock and wouldn't think twice about putting you in the sir.

Boniek and Lato another 2 greats. All these guys would be if 25yr old today playing be £100m+.

I think you could go higher.

Boniek and Rummenigge would match Neymar and Zico and Platini were better still.

[Jackh]

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Argentina 0-1 Cameroon

Opening game of Italia 90. The “minnows” of Cameroon beating the team that made it to the final. A team filled with players such as Maradona and Cannigia.

The game is one of my earliest memories of watching football on the telly. Also had a highlights video of World Cup 90 and a massive sticker album.

This particular game also had one of the worst tackles I’ve ever seen on Cannigia after he had skipped over 3 or 4 prior to getting taken out waist high.

Why did Argentina open Italia 90?

[My_Wife_Camille]

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Why did Argentina open Italia 90?

They were the winners of the previous tournament. I think Germany 06 was only the first to be opened by the hosts

[Pretty Boy]

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They were the winners of the previous tournament. I think Germany 06 was only the first to be opened by the hosts

Yep always used to be the holders who opened the tournament hence why Scotland played in the opening game v Brazil in 98.

[CropleyWasGod]

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Yep always used to be the holders who opened the tournament hence why Scotland played in the opening game v Brazil in 98.

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They were the winners of the previous tournament. I think Germany 06 was only the first to be opened by the hosts

When I was a lad, it was the hosts who opened it.

66, 70, 74 were all like that.

[Juice-Terry]

Didn't read that whole thread, so sorry if someone's already said this (more or less). I agree that Italy 3 Brazil 2 in '82 was very special indeed, but so too was the semi final between France and West Germany were the Germans came back from being two down in extra time to win on penalties. Remember clearly Klaus Fischer's overhead kick to level it. Also remember "German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher, [who] knocked Battiston unconscious and forced him from the game with two missing teeth, three cracked ribs, and damaged vertebrae (though no foul was given on the play)." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germany_v_France_(1982_FIFA_World_Cup) And I also remember Hrubesch scoring the winning penalty for West Germany. Great game, great spectacle.

[Pagan Hibernia]

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Argentina 0-1 Cameroon

Opening game of Italia 90. The “minnows” of Cameroon beating the team that made it to the final. A team filled with players such as Maradona and Cannigia.

The game is one of my earliest memories of watching football on the telly. Also had a highlights video of World Cup 90 and a massive sticker album.

This particular game also had one of the worst tackles I’ve ever seen on Cannigia after he had skipped over 3 or 4 prior to getting taken out waist high.

This was my first World Cup also, and still my favourite. So many memorable moments. The assault on caniggia that you mentioned, Roger Milla’s dance, valderrama’s hair, frank rijkard spitting at Rudi Voller, Maradona beautifully setting up Caniggia to beat Brazil after the Brazilians had dominated the game, wild eyed Schillachi coming from nowhere to be the tournaments top scorer, Gascoigne’s tears, Maradona’s tears after the final, the Argentinians losing the plot and ending up with 9 men, and of course Pavarotti’s booming voice providing the soundtrack to the whole thing. The less said about Scotland’s performance the better but no World Cup has come close for me since. Ironic that football purists think it’s one of the worst tournaments of all time. Just shows the power of nostalgia.

[nellio]

Ireland 1 Italy 0 USA 94.

[FifeHibs]

Although not a game, the 1990 World Cup sticker album which was an A4 folder was as good as sticker albums get.

Weekly sections that had teams, great goals and history.

[ekhibee]

The 1970 Brazil World Cup win over Italy, and Germany's demolition of Brazil in the last World Cup.