World Cup FEVER

[Stat Brother]

How can you have WORLD CUP FEVER when in 4 weeks and 2 days time Le Tour de France starts.

BICYCLIST FEVER is where it's at.







***puts tin hat on and retreats to a safe(ish) distance***

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

1990 did also mark the start of the breakthrough of African football with Cameroon upsetting the Argies and then kicking lumps out of us.

Exactly this. I remember some idiots at the place I worked then saying they weren't going to watch the Argentina v Cameroon game as it was a foregone conclusion, and, being Mr Know-It-All, I said I disagreed and that Cameroon were a decent team and might nick a draw.

The highlight was Cameroon's fantastic triple foul on Claudio Caniggia, who somehow made it past the first two assaults in one piece, if slightly off-balance, before Benjamin Massing completely took him out.

Great days. The idea that a forward wouldn't be rolling around on the turf after the first minor contact makes you feel so nostalgic ...

 

[atfc village]

Burrachagga's sneaky step on Massing's bootless foot makes me chuckle.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Burrachagga's sneaky step on Massing's bootless foot makes me chuckle.

I like Massing putting his boot back on as if he seriously expects to stay on the field after that!

 

[edna krabappel]

Great days. The idea that a forward wouldn't be rolling around on the turf after the first minor contact makes you feel so nostalgic ...

Especially an Argentinian forward.

Great World Cup from an England perspective (although I seem to recall us being pretty crap against both Ireland and Egypt (?) in the group stages. There was some dire football as the tournament progressed though. I do seem to recall this was the World Cup where Frank Rijkaard gobbed into Rudi Völler's grey perm.

Disgusting, of course, and yet also, somehow, slightly funny, given Völler's general obnoxiousness back in those days. Those days when we all hated Jurgen Klinsmann too.

What's been the worst World Cup then? How about USA 94? Right from the Diana Ross kick-off, that one was only going one way.

 

[happypig]

What's been the worst World Cup then? How about USA 94? Right from the Diana Ross kick-off, that one was only going one way.

SA 2010. My enjoyment of every game was tainted by the constant drone of the f##king vuvuzelas

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

SA 2010. My enjoyment of every game was tainted by the constant drone of the f##king vuvuzelas

This.

That world cup, along with fifa being so corrupt, has left me feeling very meh about the current world cup.

 

[8ace]

I think our judgement is clouded with regard to Italia 90 because we got to the semis. In reality we saw some of the dullest football ever witnessed at a World Cup, which meant the back pass rule was introduced in 1992.

100% this.
Football was bad enough in this county - let alone seeing someone like Italy play.
Usual NSC revisionist shit in action though

 

[SeagullinExile]

It has to be 1990 - Just for the fact that England fans ruined every Mexican wave with an 'AAAHHHHH ' followed by a rendition of 'lets all have a disco' to mightily piss off all the other fans in the stadium. Hilarious!

 

[Austrian Gull]

I guess this poll shows that fans generally look back fondly at the tournaments when England did well - 1990 was a dreadful tournament on the whole if you were to look at it from a neutral's perspective.

Argentina were everything wrong about football and they got to the final, England's group games were some of the dullest games I've ever seen at any level of football, the media creamed their pants over the Republic hoofballing their way to a penalty win over Romania, the final was the worst of all time (and there have been a couple of other stinkers).

I could continue...

1994 was miles better but no one cared because England weren't there.

 

[withdeanwombat]

Some other : Sweden 1958. Some other !

 

[Simster]

Especially an Argentinian forward.

Great World Cup from an England perspective (although I seem to recall us being pretty crap against both Ireland and Egypt (?) in the group stages. There was some dire football as the tournament progressed though. I do seem to recall this was the World Cup where Frank Rijkaard gobbed into Rudi Völler's grey perm.

Disgusting, of course, and yet also, somehow, slightly funny, given Völler's general obnoxiousness back in those days. Those days when we all hated Jurgen Klinsmann too.

What's been the worst World Cup then? How about USA 94? Right from the Diana Ross kick-off, that one was only going one way.

Völler was never obnoxious, he just had an annoying perm and that irritating combination of being both German and GOOD. But you're right, Rijkaard gobbing at him was both disgusting and proper funny. Funny how Klinnsmann went from persona non grata to absolute legend when he reached these shores. Now USA manager of course, where he has controversially left out Landon Donavan.

And talking of USA, I have to take issue with your final sentence. Apart from the final, USA 94 was absolutely superb. Admittedly, it was a bit flat from our point of view because no home nation made it and so the media creaming themselves at that shit Oyreland team certainly grated. But the tournament was played to the biggest crowds ever (by far), the backpass rule made it's tournament debut, there were some great goals (right from the start, Klinnsmann's opener, then the Cameroon left back scored a beauty, the famous Saudi goal v Belgium, a couple of screamers from Nigeria), some big upsets and near upsets (Bulgaria over Germany, nearly Nigeria over Italy - both at the business end of the tournament). The Americans put on a fantastic show and the football was superb.

I guess this poll shows that fans generally look back fondly at the tournaments when England did well - 1990 was a dreadful tournament on the whole if you were to look at it from a neutral's perspective.

Argentina were everything wrong about football and they got to the final, England's group games were some of the dullest games I've ever seen at any level of football, the media creamed their pants over the Republic hoofballing their way to a penalty win over Romania, the final was the worst of all time (and there have been a couple of other stinkers).

I could continue...

1994 was miles better but no one cared because England weren't there.

Very very much this. In a way, it's quite nice when England aren't there - we're just able to enjoy the football without the team (and sometimes the fans) embarrassing the country. I didn't care who won but how can you just not care about the World Cup?

 

[Simster]

This.

That world cup, along with fifa being so corrupt, has left me feeling very meh about the current world cup.

You need to do yourself a favour and get bang up for this one. It's in Brazil, there are some great sides out there, and not just the traditional powerhouses (who all look as strong as ever). Save your meh for Qatar in 8 years time when it will be richly deserved.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Germany was fantastic, especially as like many people I was there - went to the England group games too. I always remember enjoying 1986, but probably because it's the first one I remember. 1990 was great because we did well, but as a world cup it was pretty average I thought. So 1986 and 2006 for me

 

[edna krabappel]

You may well be right, [MENTION=232]Simster[/MENTION]: perhaps my view of the tournament in the USA has been clouded by the crap final.

Great point about the cringey media sucking up to Oireland. England didn't qualify as I recall, so it was shamrock hats a-go-go at the BBC and "what great fans they have" (who were of course "simply happy to be here").

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Did anyone watch the Brazil freindly last night on BT Sport?

That Neymar kid is quite GOOD isn't he?

 

[vegster]

I think our judgement is clouded with regard to Italia 90 because we got to the semis. In reality we saw some of the dullest football ever witnessed at a World Cup, which meant the back pass rule was introduced in 1992.

We also saw Gazza at his peak, opposition midfielders bouncing off him as he dribbled,the sliderule pass for linekers goal and his " pass the ball to me and I'll take anyone on " attitude.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

You may well be right, [MENTION=232]Simster[/MENTION]: perhaps my view of the tournament in the USA has been clouded by the crap final.

Great point about the cringey media sucking up to Oireland. England didn't qualify as I recall, so it was shamrock hats a-go-go at the BBC and "what great fans they have" (who were of course "simply happy to be here").

This poses a serious question. How would those great Oirish fans compare with the greatest fans in the world at massive club over in Hampshire? Who would win in a #twats-off between the shamrock hats and the drums'n'bells?

 

[Birdie Boy]

1970 - only 2 but all clips I have seen makes it look good.
1974 - Holland and the Cruyff turn, fantastic.
1982 - Robson's goal and injuries! Was this the one when that huge German keeper nearly took the strikers head off? That might have been 74 or 78..
1986 - The first Mexican wave.
1990 - Platt's goal against Belgium, Linekers goals and that look to the bench, Gazza, the miss in the last minutes against Germany (well not a miss, sliding in at far post and not quite touching the ball). The penalties.....

It has to be 1990 for me.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I'm bang up for this but I do need to do some research on the players etc. 1978 was the first one I watched and it was fascinating...and looked like it was played thousands of miles away in another continent with the fuzzy screen and distant sounding commentary. Enjoyed that. A lot of my enjoyment comes from when I have time to watch the games. 1994 passed me buy but I bought a set of videos to catch up on it and they sat on my shelf until I threw them out a year ago. 1990 I was at uni and about to embark on a backpacking trip around the US; remember watching lots of games and then just England when in the US. 2006 was great as well. I feel this one is going to be special. Heaps of pressure on Germany to deliver this time round as well.