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Ten World Cup Facts |
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To celebrate World Cup 2010 in South Africa here are some fascinating World Cup Facts!
The first ever World Cup
The first World Cup was held in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1930. The final was
between Argentina and Uruguay and the Uruguayans won!
Most successful team
Brazil has won the competition for a record 5 times
Biggest victory
Hungary hold the record for the biggest ever victory at the finals when they
beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982.
Exceptional Pelé
Edison Arantes do Nascimento or Pelé as he is best
known is the only player in World Cup history to have been presented with three
winners' medals ( In 1958, 1962 and 1970)
Youngest player
Norman Whiteside is the youngest player to appear at the finals. He was just 17
years and 41 days when he played for Northern Ireland against Yugoslavia at the
1982 World Cup in Spain.
Shock/ horror result
England 0 - United States 1
The was possibly one of the most disappointing results for England in the
twentieth century when they were beaten by the US at the World Cup in Brazil in
1950
Football's World Cup stolen – fame for a dog called Pickles
On 20th March 1966 the elegant solid gold Jules Rimet trophy was
stolen while on exhibition at Central Hall Westminster. The trophy was
eventually found wrapped in a newspaper under a bush by a dog called Pickles
seven days later. The same Jules Rimet trophy was stolen again in 1983 in Rio de
Janeiro and was never recovered.
Success for England
Success came to England in 1966 when they beat West Germany to win the world Cup
in extra time!!
World Cup Golden Boot
Although officially known as the 'Adidas Golden Shoe', the Golden Boot is
awarded to the player who scores most goals in a World Cup finals tournament.
The only English player to win a Golden Boot is Gary Lineker and that was in
1986. The last player to win both the Golden Boot and a World Cup winners' medal
in the same year was Brazil's Ronaldo in 2002
The FIFA World Cup Trophy
In 1974 the work of the Italian artist
Silvio Gazzaniga was selected from a total of 53 designs from seven countries.
The solid 18-carat gold
trophy depicts two human figures holding up the earth. These are Gazzaniga's own
words to describe the trophy "The lines spring out from the base, rising in
spirals, stretching out to receive the world. From the remarkable dynamic
tensions of the compact body of the sculpture rise the figures of two athletes
at the stirring moment of victory"
Take a look at
http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/worldcup/trophies.html
Sources
- The Vision Book of Football Records 2010 by Clive Batty
- Pickles the World Cup Dog and Other Unusual Football Obituaries by Peter J Seddon
- The FIFA Website (www.fifa.com/worldcup)
