De Coubertin Books, £16.99
Reviewed by Tim Springett
From WSC 377, July/August 2018
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Search: ' Czechoslovakia'
Stories
Al Needham attempted to fulfil a long-term ambition again this summer. He didn't manage it but doesn't really mind
Doing the Sixty-Four – watching every single game in a World Cup, as they happen – has been a tantalising yet impossible dream, but, like a solar eclipse, all the celestial forces appeared to click into alignment for me in 2010. I was old enough to live away from my parents (so no dad saying: “Get this bleddy rammell off, Taggart’s on” – West Germany v Uruguay, 1986) and mature enough not to go on dates when games were on (England v West Germany, 1990 – yeah, I know). The hosts were in a decent time zone – so no missing games due to Sunday morning lie-ins (South Africa v Paraguay, 2002) or conking out on the settee at stupid o’clock (most of USA 94).
The penalty shoot-out has never been particularly popular. However, as Matthew Knott wonders, if we all dislike the system so much, why has no one come up with a lasting alternative?
As a system it has variously been labelled as “public flogging”, “a lottery”, “gripping drama”, and even “racist”. Even Sepp Blatter professes to dislike its use, yet August 5 marks 40 years since Denis Law stepped up in the first-ever penalty shoot-out in England and demonstrated its potentially humbling effect.
After 17 years of separation, James Baxter assesses future plans for a possible footballing reunification in central Europe
Nostalgia for Czechoslovakia, the federation that broke up in 1993’s “Velvet Divorce”, is fashionable in the modern-day Czech and Slovak Republics. Politically, the divorce, though amicable, is absolute. Sport might be another matter, however. There has been frequent talk over the years about merging the countries’ ice hockey leagues. Now there is a similar idea for football. Representatives of the Czech and Slovak football associations recently met to discuss a possible return to a joint top division.
Following a recent birthday Cris Freddi takes a look at the select group of international players to have reached triple figures
Francisco Varallo, who turned 100 in February, is the last survivor from the first World Cup. He played in the final. He shouldn’t have done. He hadn’t recovered from the injury that kept him out of the semi. But he didn’t want to miss the big game, so he told porkies about his fitness. Then he broke down in the second half and Argentina lost 4-2 to Uruguay after leading 2-1 at half time. Varallo captained Argentina when they won the Copa América in 1937 before a knee injury ended his career.