340 Curiosities and Anecdotes of the World Cup History

By Michael Ellis

DID YOU KNOW ...

In the 1930 World Cup final, the author of one of the goals did not have an arm?

In the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, a goalkeeper used gloves for the first time?

The first ' Hat trick ' in the history of the World Cups was made by an American player?

Did the World Cup in Qatar 2022 surpass the goal mark of 92 years of World Cups?

Only in the 1982 World Cup in Spain did teams from the 5 continents participate?

 

340 Curiosities and anecdotes of the HISTORY OF THE WORLD CUP.

Amaze your colleagues, friends and family with your mastery of World Cup history. If you consider yourself a true soccer fan or want to be, you cannot miss the opportunity to learn absolutely everything about incredible stories, anecdotes, feats, and individual records of the king of sports.

 

A book suitable for all ages, includes:

- History of the 23 World Cups (Uruguay 1930 - Qatar 2022)

- 340 Curiosities and anecdotes

- Stats and overall records

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Ellis
• Release date: May 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223514930

Book preview

CHAPTER I

THE BALLS

The balls used during the Soccer World Cups have evolved thanks to the use of new technologies that make it possible to define aspects such as speed, impermeability, precision and design. They were manufactured by the host country between the 1930 and 1966 editions, as well as by the German sports equipment company Adidas since 1970, which has a contract with FIFA until 2030.

At first, the balls used to play were made with animal bladders, which were sewn by hand and inflated with the mouth. However, due to their brittleness, these balls burst easily. For this reason, the English sought a solution and began to make them with leather covered with cork, which gave them greater resistance. This change in the manufacture of balls occurred between the 18th and 19th centuries.

By 1872, the Football Association of England established certain guidelines for the manufacture of the ball. It was specified that it should be spherical, with a circumference of 68 centimeters and a weight of between 396 and 453 grams at the start of the match. However, these balls absorbed water during play, causing them to gain weight and double in size.

At that time, it was common for footballers to suffer concussions from hitting the ball with their head, which deformed the ball. To protect themselves, many of the players used equipment such as a kind of beret.

CHAPTER II

THE MASCOTS

Beginning in 1966, the mascot's design generally represents characteristics of the host country, such as its customs, clothing, flora, or fauna. In general, they adopt anthropomorphic forms (human form or appearance) of animals that allow the mascot to be transformed into toys and stuffed animals, becoming one of the main merchandising products for tournaments, directing sales especially towards the children's market. Among some we have:

WILLIE - England 1966: It was the first World Cup mascot and was represented by a lion that wore the shirt of that country. The character was created by a children's illustrator and sometime after the World Cup ended he had his own comic.

JUANITO - Mexico 1970: An innocent boy who was a soccer lover and wore a traditional Mexican hat. He had the uniform of the Mexican team and a ball at his feet, as well as a big smile that captivated the fans.

GAUCHITO - Argentina 1978: As it happened in 1970, once again a child was the character chosen to represent a World Cup. The clothing was traditional for a gaucho character: hat, scarf and whip. He wore the uniform of the Argentine team, which was crowned champion at that event.

NARANJITO - Spain 1982: For many it is the most remembered mascot in the history of the World Cups and for the first time a fruit represented a World Cup. Its creators were a man and a woman, who decided on the typical fruit of Spain. It was so important that it had its own television show.

CHAPTER III

THE BEGINNINGS

By the early 20th century, soccer had become popular worldwide, and national soccer associations were beginning to be established. The International Association Football Federation (FIFA) was founded in Paris on May 22, 1904, and integrated with the football associations of France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

In 1928, FIFA had just organized the Olympic Games in Paris and Amsterdam. Although at the time the country that won the gold medal was considered the World Champion, the soccer federation attempted to distance itself from the Olympic committee and create its own competition. Thus, on May 26 of that year, the creation of the World Cup was announced during a congress.

Despite the fact that several European countries offered to host the tournament, the FIFA president at the time, Jules Rimet, decided that the tournament would take place in Uruguay, since his team was the reigning champion of the last two Games. Olympics.

The Uruguayan leaders had announced the construction of a super modern stadium for the time, and the date conveniently coincided with the centenary of their independence, for which reason said stadium was called El Centenario.

All countries were invited to participate, and this was the only time in the history of the World Cup in which there were no qualifiers, instead the teams had to register before January 28, 1930.

CHAPTER IV

THE EUROPEAN BOYCOTT

The choice of Uruguay to host the first World Cup in 1930 was not to the liking of some European countries, who were unwilling to make the costly transatlantic journey. This led to no European team confirming their participation at first. However, FIFA intervened and managed to convince some officials, and finally France, Belgium, Romania and Yugoslavia agreed to participate.

Despite this, the 16 slots allocated for the tournament were not fully filled, resulting in only 13 teams participating. Although the lack of European participation may have made the tournament less important in international terms, the first World Cup was a great success and laid the foundation for what was to become one of the world's biggest sporting events.

Over the years, the World Cup has evolved and expanded to include teams from all continents. Currently, the