The Archive

Karsten Blaas & Phil Ball recount how Germany's veterans ran out of steam and argue that Spain's failure was a consequence of their reverting to type

Germany July 4th is a very special day for German football. On that day in 1954 they turned the world upside down by beating the seemingly invincible Hungarians and winning their first World Cup. That victory ushered in a long period of continuous success, including 11 major international finals, two more world titles and three European Championship victories. On the very same day 44 years later this era seems to have come to an end.

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World Cup hosts of the immediate past and future lost all their games in France. Rich Zahradnik & Sam Wallace sift the debris

USA I sat in my living room on July 4th safe from Paris and the Germans, safe from Nantes and the Yugoslavs, and, praise to the heavens, safe from Lyon and the Iranians. I watched the day’s two quarter-final matches as any American fan should expect to watch them, a neutral connoisseur enjoying some of the best in the game (Argentina, Holland, Croatia) along with some of the luckiest (Germany).

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More changes to the laws, who wants 'em? Phil Cornwall does, if it means discouraging players from persistently taking a dive

In this World Cup, we have seen enough diving to last a lifetime. But I think there’s a need to distinguish between the different motives for it – and indeed accept some of it. Often it has simply been to draw the referee’s attention to offences – notably shirt-pulling, which has been rife and is hard to spot. Are strikers supposed to meekly accept being grabbed, now that defenders won’t risk them getting away for fear of having to tackle with their legs and risking a yellow or red card?

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Dear WSC
Reading your letters page over recent months has led me to the conclusion that many of your correspondents are obsessive on subjects that are essentially trivial. I feel strongly that this valuable space should be reserved for people with something to say. Incidentally, I feel I should point out that in your article on World Cup nicknames (WSC No 137) you refer to Bam Bam as Fred Flintstone’s son, when he was in fact Barney Rubble’s son.
Alastair Walker, Farnsfield

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FIFA is slowly overhauling itself, and the new regime are showing worrying signs about their plans for the world game

By the time you read this, FIFA’s congress will have elected João Havelange’s successor as president of world football’s governing body. Whether the winner is former chief executive and secretary-general Sepp Blatter, or Lennart Johansson, the head of UEFA, they will inherit an organisation changed out of all recognition since Havelange ousted sleepy old Stanley Rous in 1974.

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