![]() ![]() ![]() In the end Spain ‘82 offered up plenty of other classic moments to make it one of the best ever finals. How could the tournament possibly recover? “Would you believe it!” yelped commentator John Motson, sounding like he was in a phone box. In the next group stage they came up against arch-enemy Argentina but beat them 3-1, so comprehensively that a young Maradona was sent off in a spiteful huff. Manager Tele Santana encouraged the whole team’s sense of expression and joy, and the tournament reaped the rewards. The team even had room for a dodgy goalkeeper called Peres and in Serginho a centre forward who played like he had his boots on the wrong feet. Falcão, Cerezo and Oscar charmed.īut it was Sócrates and Éder who stood out - the former a chain-smoking doctor and political activist who in his spare time was one of the world’s greatest footballers, while Éder was the undisciplined rogue, operating on a knife-edge of artistry on one side and self destruction on the other. Junior sported a terrific beard-and-afro combo that made him look like a percussionist for a 1970s funk-rock fusion band rather than an outstanding defender. Zico was the superstar whose every touch prompted screams. The magnificent team of 1970 had defined that template of beautiful flair merged with supreme confidence. It was a time when the golden shirt was something exotic and mysterious, rather than just a marketing tool.Įveryone knew that Brazil had a certain way of playing. ![]() This was in an age before wall-to-wall coverage of every game from every league, and English teams populated by Brazilian internationals. Zico was the superstar most of us had heard of, but aside from one or two others, they were an unknown quantity. Key to their appeal was that for British viewers at least, very little was known about them. They played the game the way the Selecao should play it, were stuffed full of incredible individuals, and were architects of their own downfall.īrazil were so good they had to beat themselves to lose. But Brazil in 1982 did something more than record a glorious failure. It’s not unheard of for the finest team to be the one that isn’t the last man standing. Ignore the ‘best team not to have won the World Cup’ label - the best team in the history of the World Cup full stop was Brazil 1982. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2022
Categories |